Seville to Carmona

October 27, 2022

hot, hot, hot

We got a good start from Seville. In anticipation of a hot afternoon, we were out of our hotel before just before sunrise. We had another delicious tostada at the same place as yesterday - Organica. Then we bought lunch things because we'll be travelling through the countryside today and might not be in a town at the right time.

Our exit route chosen by Komoot was probably not the most efficient, but it wasn't terrible. There were good cycle tracks out of the city, marred only by a giant construction zone that we had to backtrack around. We got to the outskirts of the city in good time.

That's where the route got weird. I'd had an inkling it might be tricky by reading previous journal entries. I was confused by a suggested track that seemed to have a loop in it. A kind grey-haired man on a mountain bike led us out of the city, explaining in Spanish that the maps were wrong, and the route that the computer suggested route would have led us to a dead end on the other side of the canal/ditch. Gail did most of the listening- it was all too fast for me. He seemed quite worried about us - warning us of holes in the path (although the path seemed quite good to us) and that it’d be very hot this afternoon. He was right about that part! We thought it was just a short diversion, but he led us for quite some time. Once the route became clear and we re-joined our planned track, he turned around and went back to his regularly scheduled ride.

Leaving Seville on their great pathway system.

Our local guide helping us navigate morning rush hour.

Here's the drainage system we were navigating around. Apparently the trail on the other side was a dead end.

Today probably included the highest percentage of unpaved trails that we’ve ridden. The trail was pretty good almost to Alcalá de Guadaíra, when the suggested track got quite overgrown. A not-too-terrible walk through a farmer’s empty field got us back on track. In fact, there was a good trail the whole way - I had just gotten distracted by the Garmin following an old obsolete route.

After some dipsy-doodling up and down hills in Alcalá de Guadaíra, we made a planned stop at a bike shop to check our tire pressure and lube our chains. Then we stopped for a picnic lunch in a park overlooking an astroturf soccer field. On our way out of town after lunch and with temps soaring to unseasonably high levels, we split a large bottle of lemonade from a grocery store - it hit the spot. Then we rode our only pavement section after Seville, going past a women’s prison, before accessing the Via Verde de los Alcores, which was really just an unpaved farm route, rather that a well-developed cycle path. But it was nice to be off the blacktop on a day where temps climbed into the mid 30s.

We saw plowed but empty fields and some olive groves. We saw men harvesting olives with nets and hand tools, and also saw harvesting of smaller trellised olives by large harvesting machines that drive over top of the rows of trees. Gail reports that some grapes are harvested the same way.

The unpaved road took us all the way to the edge of Carmona, our destination for the day. While others have reported not loving this trail, our gravel-tire equipped bikes did fine. At some point, I managed to shut off my Garmin tracker, so we’re missing our route for about 15 km.

The harvester only works on these nice short trees planted in perfect rows. Most of the trees we saw on our trip were being harvested by crews of people, not giant machines.

Typical of the paths we rode today. Not overly manicured, but perfectly fine for a bike with gravel tires.

Holy cow, these fields are DRY. Are they between seasons, or was it just too dry to plant anything this year?

Our Carmona accommodation is basic, but nice. We were allowed to wheel our bikes right into our fridge-equipped room. After much needed showers, we wandered towards the centre of town for beer and dinner. A caña (small draft beer) was only 1 euro at 100 Montaditos, a chain restaurant - best price yet. Not many food options were open early in the 'new' square near us, so we walked through the city gates into the old town, admiring the Sevilla gate. We had snacks at a nice bar with a lovely server who was originally from Nepal, but has lived here 3 years. We had to wait until 8:30 for the kitchen to open though. Things are much different in smaller cities - we're back to Spanish eating hours.

The Puerta de Sevilla (Seville gate) in Carmona. It dates from Roman times.

Another beautiful Spanish door. There are so many!

Beautiful sunset on a warm evening. Spain had it's hottest October on record.

This route is missing about 15 km - I accidentally stopped my Garmin from tracking.

Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 669 km (415 miles)

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