I am here by choice and in the knowledge that it was never going to be easy. I don`t apologise for the emotion of the last post but I am feeling slightly embarrassed! Nevertheless it somehow engendered a rather large reaction from all sorts of people and I am very thankful for all your kind words and support.
This week`s cycling has been mainly coast-hugging. I used the sea as a navigation aid and kept close to it, finding some deserted roads as a result.
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| Lunch in Sitges, feeling very sophisticated as the Film Festival was in town |
The same roads are pretty bouncy though, and after 1.5 rough days, things started to break. On Wednesday afternoon my saddle fell apart, a pannier clip popped and I got a puncture. In the space of 30mins. In 30 degree heat with no shade. A moment to savour! I managed to fix it all with my bag of bits. No jokes about being too fat for my saddle please!
I continued to cycle and eventually came to a place called Peniscola. Here I was told of a road that ran through the Nature Reserve for 17km, was really beautiful and just for bikes. Wonderful news! I would find camping at the end of the road too, just in time for tea. So off I pedalled and eventually found myself on an unsurfaced, rock-and-dust track. Not the sort of place for a heavily laden touring bike! By this point I had come down some pretty steep hills so resolved to push the bike to the end. Bad Decision. I was pushing till 8pm that evening, soaked in sweat and covered in dust.
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| Stunning scenery on the Death Road |
I learned from this episode; never listen to a woman who looks like the school dinnerlady you didn´t like when she talks about the `brilliant road` ahead. She hasn`t been there, can`t ride a bike and has no idea how heavy my bike is!
Other than that, it`s been quiet. Very blooming quiet. In fact, so quiet I got scared! All along the coast are out-of-season (or out of money) holiday resorts. Miles of bungalows, apartments and roads to nowhere, all deserted and running with weeds. No road signs, no shops, no life. I think I`m going to head inland for the next while!
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| Another quiet town. At least it was open! |
And now I am in Valencia. Pleasant city, biggest Oceanarium in Europe apparently. Biggest entry fee too, 27 Euro! Not too sure how I`ll spend my time now. I feel like going to the Oceanarium but the price and ethics of the thing put me off. I´m not too bothered by old buildings either. Maybe an open bus tour? Might be a plan!
As far as continuing the cycle goes, Google is directing me inland and saying 8 days to Gibraltar. This is a lot faster than I had planned, and I don´t have much idea what to see along the way. Should I spend another day here? Push on tomorrow and stay in Sierra Nevada mountains for a while? I don´t really know what I want from the trip now. I think it has become a mental and physical challenge to find the correct route and see how far I can get in a day, instead of a method of taking in the culture of the area. There are only so many old buildings I can look at, and only so much time I can spend in a museum! I will reacha decision soon. It is a nice choice to have!
Cheerybye for now.
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