Filling in the gaps

February 14, 2024

When we left Valencia for Barcelona last August (has it really only been a half year since we were falling through Spain last time?), I pulled together all of the times we’d biked in Iberia before, and compiled them into an integrated map:

1997: Nice to Lisbon
2000: Clermont-Ferrand to San Sebastián
2013: Faro to Granada
2014: Girona to Bilbao
2017: Bilbao to Sete
2019: Santiago to Valencia
2022: Barcelona to Nice.

That tour filled in one of the large unexplored regions in the country, and our ride this spring from Barcelona to Valencia will fill in another. Once we make it to Santander, our integrated map will look like this:

Pretty good! By the end of this tour we’ll have biked through 15 of the 17 provinces of Spain, missing only the Canary Islands and Asturias. I doubt we’ll ever make it to the Canary Islands, but if we find we have enough oomph in the legs for another tour of Spain some year soon, maybe we could start in Oviedo and make our way southeast to Barcelona again, finally making it to Leon, Toledo, La Mancha (that big, empty area south of Madrid), Cuenca, Morella and Tarazona. They’re all places I’ve hoped to see someday.

Hey, Rocky! It could be another nine month Schengen Shuffle - Barcelona to Nice, a third way!

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Patrick O'HaraMan. You guys are inspiring 💪!
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2 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Patrick O'HaraWe’re inspiring? You’re inspiring! You keep making it out there summer fter summer. I’m anxious to see where you’ll go this time. And you know what a brown creeper is too - impressive!
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2 months ago

Patrick O'HaraTo Scott AndersonAh. Shucks. We're actually planning our hotels today. Still planning on beginning in Frankfurt. The Rhine to Koblenz, then southwest along the Moselle to Trier, south along the Saar and south through the Alsace/Vosge. We're actually at a bit of an impasse at Basal. Do we head south and into the Jura towards Geneva, Annecy or east towards The Bodensee and south into Switzerland. Either way, we fly out of Frankfurt. So, at least we have an endpoint.
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2 months ago

Suzanne GibsonTo Patrick O'HaraSounds like a good tour is in the making! I - and some other CBers - will be riding along the Moselle and Saar end of May. When will you be there?
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2 months ago

Patrick O'HaraTo Suzanne GibsonHi Susan. We'll be in Europe from July 15th to August 15th. Looks like we'll miss each other. We're looking forward to the day we retire when we can visit during the less busy and pricey shoulder seasons!
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2 months ago