Day 8. Mora de Rubielos to Segorbe

The group with Carlos

Julie and Christine volunteered to escort Keith's damaged bike on the train so they loitered on at La Casa until after lunch. The rest of us set out mid morning with Keith on Julie's bike. Today's ride was pleasantly downhill for the most part. One intriguing section of the route took as winding through a large wind power generation facility. The loud noise and deep humming from the turbines was almost deafening. Also there was the terrible stench of the hundreds of dead birds scattered around. Can you spell irony? On our train trip from Barcelona to Valencia and our later return we passed one of Spain's eight nuclear power plants at Vandellòs on the Med. I know which one I would prefer to live next to. Spain is one of the largest producers of wind-powered electricity and every where you go you will see turbines on the ridgelines.

Albentosa.
If you cross the viaduct and go through the tunnel,
you'll come to a very nice patch of blackberries.

Tunnel coming into Caudiel.

The route today included several charming small towns including Albentosa, Barracas, Caudiel where I stopped for a quick lunch and there was some sort of local festival going on and Jerica where for a few kilometers the route left the old railway line and diverted through the streets of the town. There were many nice looking bars and restaurants. I stopped at one for a quick beer (it was pretty hot by then).

Actually I was doing a fair bit of stopping as my rear tyre had developed a slow leak and I was waiting for Keith to catch up with the special security tool that was needed to remove the wheel. He never did, so I had to make a stop every couple of kilometers to put more air in the tyre. Very tedious.

The last part of the route into Segorbe used a section of dirt road into Altura and then I "followed my nose" to Segorbe. Hotel Maria de Luna wasn't hard to find and was a nicely appointed city hotel. All the riders turned up, and Christine and Julie arrived on the train. We tried in vain to get Keith's bike fixed. The two bike shops did not have a mechanic working on the day, so Julie and Christine kindly volunteered to take the train again the next day to Valencia. In fact all of us decided to ride and then take the train from down near the coast.

Keith and  I repaired the flat tube only to have the valve stem break off. We fixed another punctured tube and it appeared to be holding air OK.

For dinner Christine and I went to the restaurant associated with the hotel, which was actually about a block away at another hotel property. We we pleasantly surprised: decor, table settings and service all at a high quality and food to match. The winelist was many times longer than the menu and we settled on a Ribiera del Duero which went down well.

After Teruel: Troubles with rented bikes - lucky to be alive and unhurt

International travel with your own bicycles can be expensive (airlines especially) and damage (airlines, hotels) to them happens. And in some places, getting from A to B with bikes is difficult (can't take them on high speed trains).
So we rented local bikes from Valencia and then Girona.
The bikes from Valencia were old style city hybrids, with racks and 21 speed. I thought 21 speed stopped being manufactured in 1990s - I was wrong. Probably appropriate use for these is riding around the flat city at 10 to 20kph with some groceries.
However, we put a few days of clothing and things into panniers, loaded panniers on the bikes, and we took them out in the country on roads, gravel and dirt tracks.

We had hot dry days with long times between towns to get more water. I rode at a varied pace: ride with Julie and others, stop for photos while they rode on, then zoom to catch up.

That was what I was doing when I had the Incident - I didn't die, I wasn't even hurt, I was shook up!
I'd stopped for these photos:

...and then set off to catchup to Julie.
The good tailwind was still blowing, not hot like it been on previous days. I didn't have bike computer with me, but I guess I was pushing the heavy hybrid along at 30kph on flat. I came around bend in path and could see it was straight for over a kilometer, dipped down and back up, but no other riders in sight.
So I went up to top gear and spun hard - 40+ kph? After a few hundred metres, It happened: loud noises from behind and below, pedals felt wrong - I think "back wheel tragedy" and slam brakes on. You have got to loose the wheel momentum before it throws you sideways into a tree or headfirst onto the ground. That's what kills you. Later I looked back and saw a dead straight furrow in the gravel on top of the bitumen - great braking!

My fear was that the wheel might have collapsed but I was lucky enough to have avoided that. What I saw was that part of the rear derailleur was broken off and trying to go around with the chain. Here is the broken part:





I'd stopped the bike before it damaged the spokes, but I now had a bike without gears,  a flat tyre (how did that happen?), and no human beings around. I was in shock, I couldn't even get the bike pump to work.

I texted Julie and Patrick, pondered just leaving the bike and walking in the next 10 or 20 km.
After several minutes, Julie phoned back, and soon Sandy and Peter were coming back to help out.
Peter had a multi-purpose bicycle tool with a chain breaker, so we decided to break the chain, remove the derailleur, make a short chain so that the bicycle would have a single gear and be "ride-able" after a fashion. We did this, and it took ages to get it done. Peter was fantastic - couldn't have managed on my own. Eventually we had the back tyre pumped up and the wheel back in. In hindsight, we should have pulled the back out out further to keep the chain tight - but we were just glad to get the bike back together. It was hot & dry, and we were keen to get on to our accommodation for the night.

We set off and it didn't take long to find out that the chain would move around the rear cogs when I applied effort. Should have stopped and pulled the wheel back out to stretch the chain - but I just wanted to get going. Took ages to get to accommodation - Peter and Sandy just sat back and rode at my awful tortuous pace - thanks guys!

Day 7. Teruel to Mora de Rubielos

The hardest part of today's ride was getting to the rail trail! Earlier I've said that the Ojos Negros trail is not well signposted. Perhaps the worst instance is getting into and out of Teruel. We asked for directions at the hotel, and with the assistance of Google Maps and the GPS I found a road route that would get is to the rail trail. This road route was not the easiest. First through busy Teruel on the road and then a steepish rolling section, climbing the whole way with a cross/headwind. So by the time we got to the rail trail there were already some tired legs. Then a real problem. There was a 2m high wire fence with a locked gate between us and the trail! It later turns out that we should have used a service road that we had ridden past less than a kilometer back, but it was not signposted as leading to the via verde.

Nothing for it, we unloaded the bikes and lifted them, the panniers and the less capable climbers over the gate! It took a while and I am sure it looked strange to the passing traffic but what else was there to do?

The top of the hill

Sarrion, one of the pretty villages that we passed.

OK, so now on the rail trail! It was steadily uphill but not difficult riding to the pass at Puerto de Escandon at 1223m, then downhill for the next 20km! Along the way a few small villages and a commanding view out over the valley. Tunnels and viaducts added to the variety. After riding with the group to the top of the hill I put on a bit of speed and the group were strung out by the time we arrived at La Casa de la Estacion at Rubielos de Mora. It turns out that Keith had a serious mechanical (rear derailleur self destructed), Jeff and Gerda stopped for photos, lunch etc.

Our host Carlos welcomed us and I sat down with a couple of beers to await the others. I also had mechanical issues to sort out: a tube had ripped out the valve, due to rims being drilled too big and a VERY loose fit tyre. This problem came back to haunt me again the next day.

But meanwhile we talked to Carlos, met his family and their two dogs, did some washing and generally had a relaxing time. The homecooked meals for lunch and dinner were excellent and we were made to feel quite at home.

Day 6. Monreal del Campo to Teruel.

This was a longish day in the saddle for those who do not ride regularly, and the warm weather added to the challenge. In the end it was probably "a hill too far" for some but we all made it!

A farmer moves a flock of sheep past an irrigation channel

The day started with breakfast at the Hostal and we rolled out on quiet country roads. Quite noticeable was the elevated concrete irrigation channels, some it which appear to be still in use.

Arriving at Villafranca del Campo

Shepherd with donkey. The two sheep dogs did most of the work.

The first village along the way was Villafranca del Campo, then through Alba. Along the way some sights of rural life, including shepherds grazing their flocks on the roadside.

On to Santa Eulalia del Campo where we stopped for refreshments and a comfort stop. I asked for directions to the Via Verde and was given several routes, which would all probably have turned out OK. In the end it was a simple matter to find the right road out of town.

Onto the via verde

From there it was only a couple of kilometers out of town up a gradual hill to where we met the rail trail! We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the riding surface. In general the Ojos Negros was not well signposted but the surface was better than parts of the second via verde. The next stop was at Caude for lunch. The ride into town is down a gentle hill, past parks and similar amenities. Very attractive.

Viaduct approaching Teruel

We probably sat for too long over lunch, because after that it was quite warm. We had a few navigational difficulties soon after town (poorly signposted temporary diversion) but the use of the GPS helped me to spot where we needed to be and a quick cross-country section over a field had us back on track. The next section was fairly fast although some riders were starting to feel the distance (over 70km in total). Getting close to Teruel the terrain was much lumpier and it was not at all clear as to where we should get off the via verde onto the road. In the end we probably went further than we needed to but at least it did take us over one of the more impressive viaducts.

There are two of these towers in Teruel.
The story goes that they were built by
rival suitors for the local noble's daughter,
with the builder of the best tower winning her hand

We crawled up the last of the hills and stopped for a refreshing drink at a service station, then followed the GPS directions into town.

The first pleasant surprise was this fabulous tower. Then it was just around the corner to our hotel, the El Mudayyan which was very pleasant. Once again they were all prepared for storing our bikes, so after a quick shower it was off to explore this very attractive city.

Beer and salty nuts.
Great post-ride refreshments!

My first stop was for a beer in the plaza half a block from the hotel. I was very impressed with the quality of the architecture right through this city. Over time (and a couple more beers, most of the crew dropped by and then we all set off to explore the various sights.

Teruel is a city with fantastic Mudejar architecture,
listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Our hotel was only a few meters up the lane
that you can see on the right.
These stairs lead down to the lower town where the
railway station is.

Beautifully decorated pedestrian bridge links the old town to the next ridge.

The timing of our trip meant that we caught the end of the famous Jamon festival in Teruel. I dropped in and found a tasting plate. Five euros for the plate and glass of wine.

At the Jamon Festival

There were three carvers working nonstop to supply the slivers of jamon for the tasting plates. It was a real family occasion with jumping castles etc. for the children, music and a real air of enjoyment.





We then headed back to the plaza where Christine and I had dinner with Keith and Julie. Not too bad and certainly deserved after a longish day of riding.

K&J: Valencia

The Keogh genome has them up before sunrise and organising others. Didn't work out Monday morning - I heard Patrick moving around the apartment when it was still dark, but I rolled over and went back to sleep :-)
Eventually, at a more "polite" hour, we were all up and walking off to the central markets in Valencia. What a fantastic building with food stalls and a couple of places to have coffee. Wonderful fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, oils, etc etc..

Julie and I ran out of time to do the tourist walkaround: we had to find the bicycle rental place, sort out payment, bike fitting for 4, adjust Vodafone prepaid phone data plan, wash some clothes,... Had lunch in apartment from food bought in markets, and some wine.... Then out after siesta to finish off the chores.
Then back to pack panniers and suitcases - things with us for the week, things in railway lockers.
Patrick had booked us into a fantastic restaurant for dinner : about 10 min walk away. Very pleasant evening!

We will be back in Valencia next Saturday, perhaps see more that weekend.

K&J: Last day in Madrid

This was the day that the Vuelta (which is THE bicycle race in Spain, in case you didn't know) finished in Madrid - and we were in Madrid. These crazy scrawny men had raced over mountains, sealed roads, paved (rough, awful, hard, painful) roads, ridden in 40+ deg heat, ridden in rain, and with awful winds - for 3 weeks to wind up in Madrid.... and Julie and I were there for that last stage.

We had a position just over 100m from the finishing line which meant I could take some photos - sorry, not sorted through them yet to see if there are any worth showing.

We started off the day happy because the main road outside our hotel was being blocked off to traffic because the Vuelta went down it (several laps) in the afternoon. Perhaps we could have stayed in hotel all day and watched them go past - but we had booked a spot near finishing line so we had to checkout by noon and spend the arvo at the finishing line. That meant hiding our bags somewhere - at the Madrid railway station where we would leaving from that night.
When we had breakfast, the road outside the hotel still had taxis on it so we went up to our room to pack with happy expectation we could still get taxi from front door of the hotel. By the time we came down with suitcases, the taxis were off the main road. We dragged them down a side road and after a few blocks saw a taxi coming up the road. He stopped and chatted to a few locals about the blocked roads, weather, poor football results, whatever - I have no idea what the conversations were because my Spanish is zippo and he wasn't close anyway. That all finished and the car moved closer towards us, so we asked him about taking us to Atoche railway station. After some mixed Spanish/Ingles about the roads being blocked and it was not easy, we managed to get across that we weren't worried about the time/effort/cost to get there.

We set off down tiny narrow back streets that RS Gilbert would be freaked out by (sorry, Canberra joke). Driver consulted a local once and altered directions to avoid a blocked road. We wound up with a lovely scenic tour past the Plaza Mayor, some impressive buildings, then around past the royal palace, down beside it to the river, across, and into the multi-lane underground freeway around the city, through some non-tourist suburb and then arrived at the Atoche station. Eur17 - happy with that, paid him 20 for his good humour and effort.

We then got the Metro back towards hotel and checked out with our "day bags". The Hotel Atlantico was a great location and easy for non-Spanish speakers. Will write a positive review for TripAdvisor.

Strolled down some of those back streets to south of Via Gran and wound up in the department store Corte Ingles (or somesuch name). Bought some new lightweight sandals (both of us) and then found  a little place for lunch. After that we eventually found our spot near the finishing line for the bike race and spent several hours waiting for all to happen. Got to hate the spanish fondness for smoking cigarettes when they have nothing else to do... This couple near us went through at least one and half packs in under 4 hours - yuck!!! So hard to get away from the stench.

The race: they did 10 laps in around the city and past us. So fast.... We saw Simon Clark I think..
The GreenEdge-Orica car was ignoring people waving at them!

When it was all over, we walked down to the train station. Got there early and had cold drinks. I tried a gin & tonic with Scheppes rosewater flavoured tonic water - worked for me, very refreshing!
Soon it was time to board the super fast train. We had lashed out and bought business class tickets - there were 2 other people in our carriage so it was nice and relaxed. Before long we were heading out of Madrid watching the info readout go from 60kph to 100kph to 150kph - and when we were finally out in the country we saw the magical 300kph+

At those speeds, the ride is a little bumpy - it is kinda awkward to use phone keyboard etc but Ok to read and watch the spanish language shows on the monitor (I didnt).

Service was nice - included hot meal dinner (I had fish) with tiny bottle of wine.
Arrived at Valencia before I realised.

We got off the train and then had to walk with our bags into the station - that is one long train - it took ages to pass the train. We boarded at one end in Madrid and had to walk to the other end in Valencia.
Got a taxi, who had trouble finding our tiny sidestreet destination in her GPS and maps. Eventually did but then she had taken us to the wrong end of what turned out to be a oneway street - and the street is named after a Portal. Turns out the Portal is like a hole in a city wall and too small for many cars anyway. The tiny lane (Carre?) was kinked, so we paid the taxi and dragged the bags along the lane and came around the corner to find someone who looked like Patrick Keogh walking towards us. It was Patrick - so we found the apartments and got in for the night.
Long day, too much time in sun and around smokers, but a good day on our vacation!!

Day 5. First, and very short, day on the bike.

Thanks to the work that Carlos did we had train tickets and authorisation for our bikes all sorted. We took a couple of trips to ferry our luggage and bikes down the hill to Valencia Nord. We decided to leave the bags in lockers at the station, but we didn't know that we would need exact change in coins to make the lockers work. We eventually got that sorted and had time for breakfast before the train.

The via verde goes over a viaduct.
As seen from the train window.

On the train we hung three bikes from the vertical hooks and just stacked the 4th one against them. The hooks have built-in security cables so it was all fairly comfortable. On the trip we were able to see the via verde for a large part of the route, including some of the high viaducts that we would ride over. We could aso spot our accommodation for several of the nights as the train rolled past.

Ready to roll.

The conductor was very solicitous to ensure that we got off successfully at the right stop and so we arrive at Torrijo del Campo without incident. From there it was a short and easy ride for the four of us to Monreal del Campo, through the town and out to the Hostal. As per the arrangements that I had made they were prepared for bike storage and we checked in. Over the course of the next couple of hours we were joined by Peter and Sandy and Jeff and Gerda who had stories to tell of their cycle touring.
The Hostal featured fairly ordinary truckstop food and drink but it was OK. The rooms were fine and there was no traffic noise to speak of.