Valencia Ride

October 26, 2023

After two days off the bikes for travel and sightseeing we are ready to get back to it. Team Anderson's ride to the seaside marshes of Albufera Park looked enticing, but with the strong wind forecast I fear it would be a battle out there on the flats. Instead we'll head southwest through the orange groves, hoping for some cover in the hills.

After a loop by the bus station to be sure we know where to go tomorrow for the trip to Granada, we point the bikes south. The ride out of the city is mostly on dedicated bike paths. It's low stress cycling, although I am prone to navigation errors as the bike lane weaves back and forth from one side of the road to another. While watching what's in front of me, I miss some of the turns on the Wahoo screen.

Very impressed with all the facilities in Valencia for bicycles. The bike lanes veer away from intersections, reducing the potential for conflicts with cars.

They do a pretty good job of arranging crosswalks and bike lanes to give each mode it's own space.

A spiraling ramp takes us up to a long bridge over the Turia River and the highway.

The Turia is looking mighty low due to a long-running drought.

Awesome investment in bike infrastructure

Further on the bike lanes are intermittent but the roads are in great shape and not very busy. We ride past more flowers and long stretches of orange groves in various stages of growth from young trees to green fruits to mature oranges. The wind pushes us around on the bridges and high spots but we get a lot of cover from the hills and vegetation.

Based on all the fruit on the ground, it looks like these trees were ready for harvest a while ago.

The wind gets fierce as we ride farther out

There are a few options to turn away from the wind and loop back towards the city. The road to Picassent looks like the best prospect for lunch so we turn east and sail downhill with the wind for the next few miles.

I like the approach to fast food here. Pick out what you want from a cafeteria line and they'll heat it up and bring it to your table on china plates, no plastic.

The Valencia skyline appears on the horizon

We cross back over the Turia and turn towards the City of Arts and Sciences. Two days ago we blew through here on the way in from the ferry. There's time for a better look at the striking modern buildings in this complex. The whole area is worthy of a longer visit to see these exciting structures from all angles.

A 21st century answer to Modernisme? The twin Torres el Saler residential buildings were just completed in 2020. Every home has a terrace in this undulating design. Very nice.

Approaching my favorite type of bridge: the cable-stayed Pont de l'Assut de l'Or - the Dam of Gold.

Below the bridge, the Agora covered plaza hosts concerts and events to promote knowledge, science and culture

We're glad to at least get in a speed sightseeing tour of the City of Arts and Sciences. Overall today has been a very pleasant ride with enough work to keep the legs tuned up for the next one. There's time back at the flat for a cleanup of the bikes, then an easy pasta dinner from the market.

Looking ahead to Andalucia, the final stage of our tour of Spain, there are some respectable climbs ahead of us. Back in Mallorca, lightening the load for our loop tour of the island made a big difference in the mountains. We spend some time sorting through the panniers to find anything we can live without for the next couple of weeks.

The weightiest items are the bags we use to take our bikes on trains and buses. Once we're off the bus in Granada we won't need them again for a couple of weeks. Swimsuits, sandals and other warm weather stuff are superfluous now that the weather is cooling so they get tossed on the pile, along with my old saddle and other odds and ends.

The ballast pile is bigger than I thought. After we get to Granada, it will all get shipped down the road.

We love to unwind by playing cards at the end of the day. I've been so occupied with the journal that we haven't cracked the deck open yet this trip. Tonight I'm feeling good about progress on catching up, so Barry digs out the cards for a session of Kings on the Corners and Gin.

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Today: 37 miles, 2,349 feet of ascent

For the tour: 606 miles, 39,171 feet of ascent

Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 608 miles (978 km)

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