A Huelva Ride!

September 25, 2022

Islantilla to Huelva

We woke up to a cooler morning which was quite a surprise. When we went for breakfast it was only 18°C. We coped well with this meteorological crisis since the forecast was for 26° by 11 AM. Off we went for breakfast, which was excellent, and very very busy. All those morning golfers. Terrible coffee though!

Our modest accommodation, the building where breakfast was served.

The adjacent building where our two bedroom apartment was located.

Once started we had a little climb out of Islantilla to Lepe. We had a good bike path through Lepe, with one short rough section. It was concrete, but full of holes and depressions. It was like they poured the concrete and had every child in town run through it while it was still wet. Then there were the slightly raised bricks every ten meters and dodging the dog doo. Picking up after your pooch clearly isn’t a thing in Spain.

After Lepe we rode the highway with a wide shoulder to Cartaya. What a highlight of the day that was. A simply amazing spot. We wandered about the beautiful little town for quite awhile.

We came around a corner and were instantly charmed.

Another view of the central square, which of course was surrounded by cafés and people enjoying them.

Looking down from the central square. This is where all the people were. Where the cars couldn’t go.

We left town reluctantly and boom, we were on a bike path that rivalled the best of the best. Paved, smooth, quiet and it took us all the way to another gem of a town, El Rompido. We stopped for our picnic lunch in the sunshine in the square.

Beautiful views of the park and the tree canopy. The park is 12 000 hectares.

Do you think we have enough room? Wide shoulder, bike lane, pedestrian area and we had it all to ourselves.

Crochet is clearly a thing in these towns.

This was hilarious. This little guy kicked his soccer ball up onto the ramp above the fountain. Rather than walk around and up the ramp to retrieve it, he went climbing up the anchor. He managed to get the ball.

And the detail on this one. Cartaya and El Rompido were gorgeous.

At this point the CN told me we should pick up the pace a bit. When I think of how the day turned out, he was probably right, we should have. Instead we stopped at Nuevo Portil Golf Club for a cold drink. The ride to the golf club had beautiful vistas along the water. Once leaving there we were on a stunning bike path through the huge park. All the way along the signage and the CN’s GPS indicated it went all the way to Huelva. We spun along just loving it, and astonished there was no one else on it.

Every golf course should have a swimming pool by the clubhouse, don’t you think?

View down to the highway with Huelva in the background.

When we got to Huelva it all became clear. The path suddenly ended in big concrete blocks, the bridge it went over was undergoing major construction and was completely closed and bikes were absolutely not allowed on the other bridge. So there we were, about 3 km from our hotel, but no way to get to it. We discussed possibilities (I threw in the idea of a bus or a cab). I said to Keith it must be how someone who speaks only Spanish would feel arriving at the George Massey tunnel at home. We asked some fishermen, but there was little common language, enough to get the point across, and some great gestures, big x’s with the arms for example. So there we were facing a 35 km detour. Anyone can do 35 km, right? Just like riding to Sidney, except doing it on the highway with a massive tail wind and then a massive head wind. We did 90% of the ride on the highway, only trying Eurovelo 1 for a short but very scenic segment. The highway was great, very lightly traveled and with a wide shoulder. We figured it would be the fastest way to get it done. When we had the tailwind I felt like I was flying. We won’t discuss the headwind part.

This was a beautiful view when we were on the Eurovelo.

We had to share the bike path with dirt bike riders from the village.

It was actually just fine. Andalucía cycling is fantastic. We did see two other bike tourers from France today, and a number of roadies. The CN once more led us straight to our hotel and soon we were reading menus (with Google translate, there is very little English spoken here) and enjoying a late dinner.

You can see how close we were to our destination and our detour.

Today's ride: 89 km (55 miles)
Total: 792 km (492 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	8
Comment on this entry	Comment	10

Scott AndersonWhat a catastrophe having that bridge out! That would have totally destroyed us, because we began our ride to Huelva in Tavira back in Portugal and the day was plenty long already. Glad you made it in safely.

And great title for the day’s post, by the way.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesOh my, that bridge out of commission was unfortunate (and unecessary at that point in the day.) Glad you found a reasonable workaround.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Rachael AndersonWow, we’ve had to make some detours but nothing like that! Glad the rest of the day was good.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Scott AndersonKudos for the title go to Keith. He really made me laugh when he came up with it!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Rachael AndersonThe look on my face when Keith showed me on the map must have been priceless.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Steve Miller/GrampiesI think when we first realized time of day and proximity to the hotel was the thing. Nothing like having the goal in sight and then having to go the long way around. The ride itself was good, once we wrapped our minds around it.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Angela Naef35 km workaround, ugh! Nice resilience though! Really enjoying following along!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Keith ClassenThanks Angela - we appreciate your comment and nice to hear from a new follower.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Jane KyleWhat an epic adventure! Well done!😊
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesI am just reading this now, so I am exclaiming to Dodie first about the great bike path and then about the detour. She had read this long ago, so now has to go through it again with me. And when you get the email notification of this comment, you too will have to detour again!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago