June 22, 2023
To Ledesma, Spain
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I slept well in our deluxe room with my own pillow. Look at me be pampered - I'm still traumatized over having to share a single giant queen size pillow! We went down to the breakfast buffet. After we had eaten several rounds of yogurt and meat/cheese, Jacinto asked the attendant if they didn't have eggs. Yes. She picked up the sign on our table, "Eggs made to order". Ooops. I wasn't too hungry at this point, but ordered eggs and bacon anyway. The bacon looked like American bacon, but tasted more like Canadian bacon. I was really hoping for apples and bananas, to carry, but there was the typical melon and pineapple. I think the muesli here doesn't fit my expectations. This is an upscale hotel, with very nice everything. The muesli is 95% plain oatmeal, with a very little bit of fruit in it. I should have gone for that one pound bag of granola back at the CicloLodge. Live and learn. This has definitely been a learning tour!
We have had mild temperatures, but they are going up quickly. Jacinto keeps saying that we are climbing into the mountains, temperatures should stay moderate, but he is not correct. I mentioned several times that today was a climbing day and I really wanted to beat the heat. It was 9:44 when we rolled out. Here's amazing news - we did not get lost this morning while leaving town! We were following Jaicnto's GPS. I told him not to lose me, as I hadn't changed my route to match his. We got to a pair of round abouts. Which direction did he go? I could not see any lights at all. I needed to read the signs and make decisions. Traffic had been light, but of course right then I had a polite car behind me waiting for me to make a choice. Happily, I went the correct direction and saw Jacinto's light in the distance. Here's a plug for the Cygolite 350 tail light. It's visible for a LONG distance, and is fairly inexpensive.
We started out riding on the plains. I thought it was humid, as I was sweating, but not really working on the flats. Soon enough we started to get into the foothills and see some trees. We rode through a couple of small towns.
When we toured through Michigan in 2021, we bicycled through Green Bay. I fussed and stewed about crossing that city for days. When the time came, the city was deserted. I contacted a friend and asked if there had been a new COVID lockdown we hadn't heard of. It was so odd to see such a large city with no traffic. Dorothy laughed at me and said the college was on break, and Green Bay was a college town. Lucky us to arrive there when it was quiet. That is kind of how I feel about Spain. This is our seventh day riding. Where are the people? Where are the cars? They cycling has been excellent - the traffic that does pass us is polite. Occasionally we are entering town, and I expect cars. Where are they? When we ride through the little towns, where are the people? It's odd.
We had some extended, but easy climbs today. Jacinto tested his knee more and more. He was gleeful in telling me how good he (and his knee, and his butt) feels.
We got to town about 2 PM. Our lodging tonight is the Hotel Rural Local. It's also a restaurant. Jacinto went in to register. The men at a patio table spent quite a bit of time checking out Jacinto's bike. It has a Rohloff hub. They had to puzzle that one out - they could see the cables for the shifter, but weren't familiar with a grip shifter. I have to admit I enjoyed listening to their conversation and didn't break in to tell them what they were figuring out on their own.
We are on the second floor, which is really the third floor. Our room is appears freshly remodeled, with a very nice bathroom. Unfortunately, the AC makes lots of noise, but doesn't blow air. Jacinto went back down and told them. The result is that we have a little fan that isn't good for much. The setting sun is shining on our terrace. We are hoping it will be cooler as the sun sets at 10 PM. ! ! !
We had researched food before arriving, and had picked a restaurant. We ordered the menu' del dia. We both had rice with octopus for a primero. I gave Jacinto all of the 'good' stuff (the octopus). For segundos, we both had the grilled fish. Amazingly, it came with a side salad instead of patatas. I think this is the first meal I've eaten without patatas. We had some sort of nut ice cream for dessert that was tasty.
Jacinto couldn't find his credit card to pay, and had to pay cash. 26E. He had forgotten his card on the counter at the hotel when he paid. Whew.
We went back to our hot room. I took a nap. I could hear myself snoring! Jacinto said he didn't know how I slept in this heat. We are supposed to walk up to the fort, but we are waiting for it to cool off. Right now we are going downstairs for tapas. Our lunch is gone.
We crossed the Camino several times and for the first time saw hikers with backpacks. The German cyclist yesterday said he tried cycling the camino, but it was too soft of a surface for his 2" tires, and also there were too many hikers. He got on the road. We see the bright yellow sun marker that signifies the camino in quite a few places.
Today was a good riding day. I think perhaps my favorite of the trip. Every day has been a good day. We have friends cycling in northern Spain, they are getting wet.
Later - We ate so early that we wanted tapas later. Except here at the bar they had the same tapas they had when we arrived at 2 PM. We walked around our area, but didn't see any restaurants open. We went back in and ended up in the restaurant instead of the bar. I ordered grilled veggies and Jacinto got a menu' del dia (I thought that was only lunch?). We ended up eating far too much food, far too late at night. It's 10 PM and we just ate. The sun isn't even down yet! No wonder Spaniards stay up so late. The restaurant is open for coffee at 8 AM, food at 9 AM. We missed getting anything at the fruitirea. It was open when we arrived, closed when we got back from lunch, and never opened again this evening. I like a daily apple while riding, but that's been hard to accomplish this trip. It is also difficult to clean my chain every day when I don't have my bike with me. We'll figure it out.
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10 months ago
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10 months ago
Goat gruff in years!
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Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 246 miles (396 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 11 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 7 |
10 months ago
Of course, I just wrote that big piece in the journal about lack of cars and people and tomorrow we ride a frontage road for almost 20 miles into Ciudad Rodrigo. There isn't another choice. then we head to La Alberca - back to the quiet roads.
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