To Elvas, Portugal

June 29, 2023

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The grocery closed yesterday afternoon, and never opened again. We were a captive audience at the included breakfast this morning. We knew to ask for eggs. She brought one plate of scrambled eggs. I asked for another plate. The waitress replied that the plate had four eggs. I asked again for another plate. We could see she thought that was excessive. She must not be used to serving bicyclists! I ate my first croissant of the trip. It was melt in the mouth delicious.

We tried to be efficient with our getting ready routine. The downside to eating our free breakfast was that the day was heating up. I asked the waitress for ice. I said we would like lots of ice because we were bicycling and it was very hot outside. It took her two trips to get enough ice for four bottles. She must have thought that was excessive also.

I was not happy to go outside and find my bicycle being watered by the sprinklers! The seat was wet, as was the towel I sit on, and also the towel I use to wipe the bike, which I had left on the rear rack. My helmet and shoes were tucked under the bicycle and weren't quite as wet. I tried to tell myself that it was going to be a hot day, I would appreciate all of that moisture later.

We were trying to ignore the strong wind as we got ready. I told Jacinto since we were on the top of the mountain, it should be the worst up there, and it would get better as we descended. Speaking of descending - I wasn't looking forward to going down those cobblestones anymore than I did going up. We talked about staying on the wide road (that's a laugh of a description), but both of our GPS systems had us going back down through the castle gate we had entered. I scootered my feet as I sat down for much of the descent, I walked one really steep part (I'm not sure that was smart with cleats), and I rode a little. By the time we got down to the paved road, less than a mile, I was already panting. It was downhill!

To get off of the hill, we took a paved road all the way. No more cobblestones in this area, thank you. Should you decide to ride this way, do not take the cobblestone route through Escusa unless you are looking for an unnecessary challenge. You can ride all of the way on paved roads. How we ended up on that road, I'm not sure. Perhaps we saw it as a shorter mile route, or perhaps one of the routing systems thought it was a good idea.

We had several turns onto smaller and smaller roads. Here's an etiquette question for readers with European riding experience. When you are on a very small, no center line road, and a car is coming, what do you do? I continue to ride, but pull as far over as I can. Jacinto stops, so they can pass. Admittedly, cars seldom pass on this type of road, but I'm not accustomed to stopping when a car passes. It doesn't seem like I'd make much progress. We did have one van pass, the passenger yelled, "Hola" and then he gestured to the right with his arm, as if to tell us to get over. There was no more over to get, Jacinto thought that meant we should stop.

After the initial, not fun, downhill. We had a steady climb. I was in the granny gear for climbs I wouldn't usually consider difficult. My legs had no go. They didn't hurt, but they sure weren't putting out any energy either. Matters weren't helped when we had to backtrack at a trench dug across the road. I did not want any extra miles today, thank you! Even pleasant country miles. Finally, at mile 15, we hit a downhill. Between that and a tailwind, my day started looking much better. Depending on which direction the road turned, sometimes the wind was a crosswind, but even that felt good from a cooling perspective. I was happier.

The entire day today was on low traffic roads. Now we are seeing small pickup trucks (think of the old, small size Toyotas), with flatbeds and rails. There are also small straight trucks, with flatbeds and rails - think lumber yard delivery truck. I'd say the majority of work type vehicles is still some variety of van. The semi trailers were were seeing the day we crossed the border are gone. I wouldn't expect them on these country roads, but we didn't see them yesterday either.

I kept doing the mental math on when we would get to town, and how hot might it be when we arrive. Our lodging, the Bastion Apartments, wouldn't let us in until 4 PM. No sympathy for the roasting bicycle riders in the heatwave.

I was drinking through my fluids at a good clip. I also ate several figs. I offered Jacinto a couple, but he said they were too slimy.

We passed through several small towns. Jacinto didn't get lost even once. He has a computer with the route right on his handlebars, so he can see the turns live. I need to upgrade from using my phone. As we passed through one town, there was a large group of men sitting outside a cafe, drinking coffee. I called out, "Bem dia", they replied back to me in unison as if they had practiced. I don't think recumbents are common. People stop and look at me as I pass. I like to greet them as I go by, it seems friendly. That shakes people out of their stupor, and people almost always reply. Some people add something else, but here in Portugal, I don't know what they are saying.

At mile 39, we finally saw a gas station. I was out of cold water, and hot water both. Jacinto bought two drinks, a bag of ice, and a bottle of water. I was resupplied and refreshed for the last ten miles. I tried to think of how it shouldn't be that far, except for the darn construction.

I kept thinking traffic would pick up as we got closer to Elvas, I was expecting a bigger town/city, like Segovia. From the direction we approached, traffic was light.

We are learning never to pass an open restaurant. At a major intersection, there were two restaurants. Jacinto asked at the first one, but they were closed. It was 2 PM. The second one was open, we went inside. We both ordered steak with fries. With great hope, we asked for salt and ketchup. They had both! My fries were suddenly much tastier.

Jacinto asked if they had any sort of hot sauce. He's been wanting jalapeños and tortillas for days. They have BiriBiri oil. Jacinto says it is slightly like Chinese hot oil. He opened the top of the bottle and coated his steak. The waiter was horrified! That is too spicy hot, where are you from, Argentina? The waiter said it was a good thing Jacinto was drinking soda, because beer makes that BiriBiri far too hot. Of course, that was a challenge to Jacinto. He then ordered a large beer! Being Jacinto, he wouldn't admit that the sauce was hot. But he did say his steak tasted better with the sauce on it.

After we got done eating, we had to ride up, up, up to town. On the approach to town, I saw the aqueduct spanning the valley. Jacinto was concentrating on traffic, he didn't see the aqueduct at all. It was so huge, I don't know how he couldn't see it. I didn't take a photo, as it was a steep downhill. On the other side of the hill, was the castle. This looks like an interesting town. I'm very relieved for the day off tomorrow. I need a rest, but there are things to see!

Of course we wandered around, not able to locate our lodging. The streets are cobblestone and steep. Finally we found it. We didn't have the code to get in the door. Jacinto called. The man spoke English. He sent a link to an app, that we had to swipe and it would communicate with the door. That was problematic and we are concerned about leaving and getting back in again. Once we were in, it's a roomy apartment. The AC is ice cold. I have on my soft jacket. Jacinto has gone a little crazy with cooling the place off. We don't have a washer, which is a shame. The wi-fi is good.

Jacinto's been to the grocery store. We didn't see any signs at all, but google says there are restaurants, and stores, they just don't have signs outside. Once we search for them, they exist.

We are having scrambled eggs with veggies again tonight. Jacinto has been carrying the oil to cook the eggs, so we need to use it. We have ice cream bars in the little freezer of the small fridge. I'm mentally invested in my ice cream not melting! I'd better get cooking.

It ended up being a recommended riding day on country roads. I'm happy to have a positive report after my poor finish yesterday.

We finally found a public bathroom. Men only

The stairs up to our room looked like the real deal. They were very steep and my poor quads got an additional workout.

Jacinto did not want to get his bicycle. The automatic sprinklers were on and watered both of our bikes. I had already gotten wet retrieving my bike, so I got his also.

We are ready to roll. It is quite windy, but I assured Jacinto the wind would decrease as we got off of the hill.

We went past the road construction sign, thinking bicycles can usually squeeze through. It was a deep trench. We had to reroute. I was not happy at the additional miles.

Aren’t these odd? I have never seen such a plant before. EDIT- Brian Huntley identified these for me as a very poisonous plant, the orange candle flower. It’s Latin name is Italian Poison! The link says it is invasive in the USA and very difficult to get rid of. It’s resistant to herbicides. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/arum-italicum/?fbclid=IwAR2Gf8dUO_vMK_PkfrlI6pV7z4yBc4UMjECBsMuglF3asRbsEXGhhKhtu8I_aem_ATbndQYAoT5luVwc35V0JGq171nXSD8mq7ZwXh_dHaW4L8AeB2jDJ6U-3pjSFMy7YH4

I recognize this from Tucson - but is it an agave or a century plant?

This Avenue of cork trees was a visual delight. The shade was also appreciated.

We entered through the Elvas gates. There was another set. It was curved. Both were wide enough for only one car and cars honked as they entered. Jacinto made it through the second one with no cars, but had to stop a car from entering before I got through. There was no line of vision because of the curve. That was a good military tactic when building the wall.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 552 miles (888 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	3

Scott AndersonHa, ha. I’d forgotten about that climb into the city at the end. Enjoy your day off! It’s a great place to wander around.
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9 months ago

Rachael AndersonWow, you made it! Congratulations, you both are incredibly strong and tough. Have a great day off!
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9 months ago

Janice BranhamI'm taking notes on your assertive breakfast ordering. As a wise woman I once worked for frequently reminded me, "You don't ask...you don't get."
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9 months ago