I just thought I would get caught up. After arriving in Blanes, Spain, a week ago, and having done over 100 miles on the bicycle in two days. Two days that included peddling over the Pyrenese mountains and riding in rain, I decided to stop for awhile and relax. I did just that until yesterday. I read a lot, walked a lot, ate a lot, and sat on the beach a lot. Yesterday I headed out into the countryside to explore some with my bicycle. I had a fun time and rode 31 miles. Today I took the train into Barcelona and from there out to the Cataluna Grand Prix circuit for the MotoGP motorcycle races. In Barcelona a railway worker directed me onto the wrong train so here I sit at a far away place waiting for another train to get me back to the right place. Luckily, I built in a couple hour buffer just in case. It all should work out.
And work out it did. I finally made it to the race track (Cataluna Circuit) and had a good time watching the fast guys go around the track. Then another train ride back here to Blanes. Tomorrow I'll ride my bicycle the 55-60 miles to the Barcelona airport to meet Don Simone who is flying in to do some motorcycling with me for awhile.
Later ...
29 May 2012
After two really tough days of riding where I put on 111.5 miles, with lots of steep climbs, I am going to relax a couple days again. I'm in a small town on the coast and I have a place to stay that is very inexpensive. I slept a full 10 hours last night and plan on that again tonight. I walked around town and along the beach most of today so I'll turn in early and read until I fall asleep. I'll probably do the same tomorrow. I'm actually only a days bicycle ride from Barcelona and I don't have to be back there until Monday. Who knows maybe I'll spend a few more days here.
28 May 2012
After riding along the coast today for about 30 miles I stopped for lunch at a little seaside town and once again ordered chicken. This time it looked like chicken, felt like chicken and, low and behold, it even tasted like chicken. The coast route seems though it should be flat and along the water. But no, it is either straight up or straight down. I began to dread the descents because after every exciting descent was a brutal ascent. Oh well. I'm not too far from my destination today but I am sitting on a restaurant porch watching the lightening show and waiting for a thunderstorm to pass. At least this time I found shelter before I got drenched.
The thunder and lightening finally passed after about an hour but the rain didn't show signs of letting up so I suited up in my rain gear and continued on my way. I arrived in Blanes and found the hostel that I stayed at last week only to find they only are open Fri, Sat, and Sun. But the lady that owns it, recognized me through the window and opened just for me. I am the one and only occupant. She just gave me keys to all the doors so I can come and go as I please. I will stay at least a couple days here.
Rode altogether 44.1 miles today with about 10 of those in the rain.
27 May 2012
Well, I made it back to Spain. The weather was beautiful so I headed through the Pyreneese mountains over Col du Banyuls. This is not a tall pass but it is brutal, specially approaching it southbound. On the Spanish side, I only noticed grades of 10% so heading north would be the best way. On the French side the grade was much worse. Two of the climbs were 18% grades. What a workout first thing in the morning! After peddling awhile in Spain I stopped for lunch. Another surprise. I ordered chicken and fries. I have no clue what I got! They kept saying it was chicken, but ... There were about 10 "nuggets" (I don't know what else to call them). Each was deep fried on the outside and just mush on the inside. They didn't look like chicken, they didn't feel like chicken, and of all things, they didn't even taste like chicken! Oh well. I felt pretty good, even my legs, after riding over the mountains so I just kept peddling. I finally stopped at a beautiful town of Palafrugell. The town is having their spring festival and the whole town is in the town center. When I arrived into town, a parade was going on. Tonight there is live music and the whole town seems to be there and everyone is dancing to the music. Lots of fun!
Did good on the miles today with a fun 67.5 miles peddled.
25 May 2012
When I got up this morning in Narbonne, France, I got to thinking about where I was going. I have no agenda, no set destination. I do however, value my money and my daily expenses have more than doubled since entering France. So the decision to head back to Spain was made. I'll do the same thing in Spain as I am doing in France, wander aimlessly but at much less expense. In the meantime I'll make a stop at Banyuls sur Mer for a day or two anyway. I really enjoyed that little town on the beach and there are many small streets to explore. I have not found a way to connect to the internet in Banyuls so this report and any other emails will probably be delayed until I move on from there.
26 May 2012
Well here I sit on the beach in Banyuls sur Mer, France, eating a pizza. I've been here a couple days now and it's time to move on. Tomorrow I hope to ride over the Pyreneese mountains by way of Col du Banyuls. I hope the weather holds out. I sure don't want any more of the wind and thunderstorms that I had earlier on this adventure. I have been told the the road is good but one source said it was all paved and another said much was dirt. Oh well. So if all goes well I'll ride over the mountains tomorrow and be back in Spain. If the weather doesn't cooperate, I'll either take the coast road south or hop on a train a bit.
24 May 2012
Today was a good day. Lots of variety and great scenery. Another day of strong headwinds so I wasn't sure how far I would get. I left Canet-Plage and just put my head down and peddled north along the beach into about 25mph winds. I had lunch in Leucate and halfway between there and Port-la-Nouvelle I fell off the bicycle once. Don't worry, it was just another way I found to humor the locals. Yeah, right! At Port-la-Nouvelle, I got onto a barge tow-path on the Canal de la Robine and rode that to Narbonne, about 10 miles or so. The path was nice since there was no car or truck traffic, but it was rough. Just a two-track dirt path. My touring bike is a road bike with no suspension and not made for that, so it was a challenge but the scenery and the challenge made it worthwhile. I have settled into a hotel for the night in Narbonne. Todays mileage was 48.3. So far I have ridden 206.9 miles since leaving Barcelona.
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