April 26, 2022
Carmona to Ecija
Today’s ride was similar to the Andersons on November 15, 2019 from Carmona to Ecija. https://www.cycleblaze.com/jou... Thanks to them we had a heads up about the different routes leaving town and the challenge of getting over the Corbones river.
One last ride through Carmona and exiting through the Córdoba Gate, we glided downhill to the turnoff to the Roman bridge for a few pictures. From here the Andersons took dirt tracks for 5km and were able to cross the river on stones, keeping their feet dry.
With the rain over the weekend, the river was high, the fields were muddy and Steven had just washed the bikes. As we sat on the balcony of the Parador on Saturday night, we had looked out on our route options and decided on the autoroute as we would be on it for only about 2km.
Fast forward to this morning, we put our heads down and rode full speed on the highway and in just 8 minutes we were at the next exit. The vehicles gave us a wide berth and with a five foot shoulder, we felt safe - enough.
After that it was perfect cycling on the A-226, a deserted, paved road all the way to Fuentes de Andalusia for lunch in a square with some of the townsfolk. Steven was able to exchange pleasantries with two elderly gentlemen, which was impressive what with the speed they spoke and (probably a) local dialect.
The cycling was terrific with rolling hills, farmer's fields and the Sierra Norte’s peaks way off to the left. We left Fuentes making a trip down one side of a V and then coming back up the other side of it to parallel our lunch spot, but all on pavement avoiding the more direct GPS route through fields. On we went on this almost perfectly straight A-364 until the Los Molivos restaurant/hotel where we stopped for a mixed salad and coffees to give us the energy for the last 15km. Last night we had thought about booking accommodations here but Ann vetoed the idea wanting time to visit Ecija.
We checked in to the Amphora, a cute hotel with a super location on the Santa Maria Plaza, just off the Plaza De Espana. Our take on the pronunciation of Ecija from our host at the hotel made it sound close to the way one says Ithaca. Hungry at 8pm we set out in search of dinner and ended up at La Raja, a restaurant serving local specialties. At 8:45pm we were the only ones in the restaurant and, although it seemed a strange request, they agreed we could order dinner. By the time we left at 10:30 pm, it was full.
Possible lightening and showers were forecast for Córdoba for 3pm tomorrow, so we were hoping to get to bed at a decent time for an earlier start tomorrow.
| Heart | 4 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 803 km (499 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 6 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 4 |
1 year ago
Yes the ride was wonderful. Just looking out from Carmona to where we were heading was so inspiring, of course other than getting over the river. We were worried about the highway but it went by quickly and the rest of the day was such a delight.
1 year ago