Week 37 :: TandemWOW

Week 37

7 Mar 2020
Mark

Day 253

Saturday 7th March 2020

Tres Cantos to Matillas.

We had breakfast with the lovely Sue Lincoln (wearing cycling gear - no spotted leggings in sight) and headed off into the hills.

We followed a cycle track at the side of the motorway meeting up with cyclists heading into the mountains. The views of the mountains in the background were spectacular. We could see snow capped peaks.

We left the cycle track behind and followed a road through the mountains passing towns and villages. The weather was clear and bright but cold. The wind was building and we were keen to get the stretch directly north done so we could ride in cross rather than headwinds.

We stopped for coffee and amazingly ran into a friend of Sue’s, Joanne, in the cafe. We had a quick chat and set off again.

The views were amazing - and the hills were big. We had tortilla for lunch - which was lovely the first time - but not quite as enjoyable the second time after a 25% gradient climb before it had time to digest.

We had climbed quite high and could start to feel the altitude as we were over 1000 metres.

After a few more lung busting climbs we finally made it to Matillas as the light was fading sending the mountains red.

We are starving but having to wait for dinner - which starts after 9pm. Unfortunately we just missed lunch.

Day 254

Sunday 8th March 2020

Matillas to Deza.

Happy International Women’s Day.

I may as well mention yesterday evening’s meal - as it arrived so late it could be included in today’s blog.

Cycling and tiny portions of Nouvelle Cuisine don’t really go together - we had one mouth full of fish in a nice sauce - that was it. Raz also had a cake 1cm square with a blob of ice cream. We went to bed hungry.

We woke up hungry and the slightly grumpy and seemingly overworked hotel owner made us one slice of tomato bread toast with coffee.

We set off hungry and rode up hill to the next town in search of food. We made it to a cafe where we were thankfully trapped as an international women’s day parade went by. It was great to see so many people parading - all dressed in purple.

It was a beautiful day - cold but bright. There was a frost on the ground as we set off. Today was another climb day. The scenery as spectacular. We climbed much of the morning - passing towns and villages many with old churches and castles at their centre. Most were at the top of a hill.

We had a spectacular descent down a valley with sandstone cliffs - we saw caves and dwellings carved into the rock.

The last 12 miles were tough - we ended up on a gravel road which was hard work. However the views in the evening light were stunning.

We arrived in Deza - and finished the day with a lung busting climb to the hotel.

Day 255

Monday 9th March 2020

Deza to Milagro.

We left beautiful Deza fuelled on a breakfast of toast.

We set off up hill and into a ferocious headwind. The views were spectacular- massive plain with snow capped mountains in the background.

We were the only people around - very few vehicles passed us all morning.

We saw part of the Camino de Santiago - with its yellow arrows marking the way. We also saw vultures flying on the thermals.

We finally came across a cafe at about 1.30pm and ate a big meal.

We continued climbing. The going was slow because of the hills and the wind - which was so strong we had to shout to be heard.

As we were about to start our descent off the high plain, we had a puncture.

We fixed it and headed down but still into the wind - we were peddling hard even on stretches of down hill.

We entered the province of Rioja and could see vine yards.

We finally arrived in Milagro in the dark. The lovely women at the Casa cooked us a massive dinner.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow to Andrew Fitzgibbon - one of my best mates. Looking forward to seeing you Fitz. I’ll play some Van Morrison in your honour. Have a great day.

Day 256

Tuesday 10th March 2020

Milagro to Lekunberri.

We left the lovely Montse, our Casa host, after a nice breakfast. We stopped at a bakery to stock up on food before leaving town.

Today was another climb day as we headed into the Pyrenees on route to the coast and France.

The scenery was fantastic. We saw storks nesting along the river. We passed through wine country - which we left behind as we climbed.

We passed very close to the town of Pamplona famous for the Running of the Bulls (Feast of San Fermín).

We crossed the Camino de Santiago again seeing some walkers along the route.

We stopped at a cafe as I was seriously short of food. Cyclists call it bonking (I appreciate this has other meanings)... anyway i bonked and needed food.

We set off, the food crisis over and after a long climb we had a short but spectacular decent with views of the Pyrenees- many of the mountains were covered in snow.

The rest of the ride was a climb into the Pyrenees- it was beautiful- steep cliffs and a windy road into the mountains.

We are staying in a hostel which was once a ski lodge - but it no longer snows here. Tomorrow we will climb a bit more then descend to the coast and into France.