Eight am came a bit too soon this morning, since I was up so late last night dealing with tech issues. Fortunately, today’s ride was relatively short, and the day dawned clear and crisp, so we were relaxed when we joined Jorge and Meredith in the hotel dining room for breakfast. The Casa del Organista is such a nice hotel; I’m really looking forward to staying another night there at the end of our tour.
After breakfast, we finished packing, and loaded up the bikes to head out. I grabbed a shot of Mallory chatting with Meredith while getting prepared on the hotel patio:
And here’s the view from that same patio, looking east, toward the local church that dates from something like the 14th century!
We finally got on the bikes at about 10:30. Then, on the first downhill run (probably less than two kilometers into the ride), I heard a ‘bang’ behind me, and then “John!” Mal had blown her front tire. I got out one of our spare tubes and proceeded to replace the blown one. As I put the tire back on the rim, I noticed that the sidewall was quite damaged. I assumed it was from riding on the rim after the tire blew, but when I put the wheel back on the bike, I realized that her brakes were out of alignment. The hot brake shoe had caused the blowout, and damaged the tire in the process! The good news was that I had Ignacio’s number, as well as a cellphone that works on the Spanish cell network! I left him a message, and he called me right back to say he’d meet us at our hotel in Cabuerniga with a new tire and another spare tube. Crisis averted, and on with the first day’s ride!
Did I mention that today was the first crystal-clear day of the year in northern Spain? Man what a day… For those of you who are familiar with our Ireland tour in 2010, I can safely say that today was as much the opposite of the first day of that ride as it could possibly have been.
All day I was struck by the diverse plant life along the road. We were amazed to see beautiful little purple columbines, bluebells, gentians and bachelor buttons, contrasted with stupendous eucalyptus forests and palm trees! Crazy!
After riding maybe five kilometers or so, we came to the top of of a rise, and this is an example of the views we enjoyed:
Our hotel tonight is in the village of Cabuerniga, which was only 20-25 miles from Santillana. We had a splendid time getting here, stopping along the way for a picnic lunch and enjoying the sights and sounds along the way. Here’s Mal at our lunch stop, followed by an action shot with livestock (a popular theme):
As we neared Cabuerniga, I got the perfect opportunity to document the spectacular cowbells we’d heard along the way:
The Iron Donkey guidebook recommended that we drop our panniers at the hotel and continue on to the picturesque village of Barcena Mayor. Feeling none the worse for wear, we went for it, and were glad we did. Below, in order, are examples of the centuries-old structures in the village, followed by a shot of the river Saja along the way.
The best part is that we did more than 40 miles by the time we were done, in under four hours riding time, and we feel tired, but not whipped.
All the while I’ve been writing this, Mallory has been happily writing emails and sending her photos to many of you individually. If it’s not already apparent, we’re having the time of our lives!
Tomorrow’s ride may be the toughest of the trip, but we’re psyched for it (almost 40 miles, with several steep climbs). Stay tuned for the report tomorrow tonight…
