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Trans- Iberia
  • Simon Randfield
  • Helen Randfield

Trans- Iberia

Across Portugal and Spain by bike Read more
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  • Trip start
    November 11, 2024
    Trans- Iberia

    And so it begins

    November 12, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Back to the beginning- back to Sagres and Cap st. Vincente , the south westerly tip of Portugal from where we set off through Portugal/ Europe last year. This time not North but East- but only 2.5 weeks to see where we might get to.
    As per last year, a late flight into Faro and then a taxi to Sagres meant an even later night bike building session which went well, such that shortly after dawn ( fortunately not too early in these parts) we headed off - out and back -to Cap SV.
    Beautiful weather - is this really November?- and back for a swim and a giant breakfast- like- we- might-never-have- breakfast-again. Final packing, more bike faff, then off we set!!
    An easy first day was a wee bit more "undulating " than expected, but not too long. Great rural roads and plenty of sea views gave way to more conurbation around Lagos and Portimao, but ride with GPS did a good job and we arrived at the hotel in time to freshen up, catch the sunset, drink beer and eat dinner! What a great start!    Read more

  • Trans- Iberia
    2

    Along the Algarve

    November 13, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    So Day 2 commences and we decided to make the most of the stunning weather and do a boat trip to the Benagil caves before any cycling. Wearing nearly all of the clothes that we have with us we piled into a boat and set off east to visit a ‘safari’ of cliff animal shapes and some truly spectacular caves. The joy of this time of year was that we were the only boat on the way out and it is a coastline worthy of the summer visitor numbers.
    Back to our ‘charming’ hotel (yes that was in the name) and we left the beautiful beach and high rises of Portimão behind on our bikes.
    After 15 k or so of busy road we decided to abandon our pre planned route and headed for smaller roads risking bigger hills. Fuelled by an excellent pastel de nata we negotiated the pretty overwhelming conurbations along this coast including Albufeira. Quite a mind boggling amount of accommodation but mostly v quiet just now and some really stunning coastline.
    From one flavour of tourism to another we passed through Vilamoura and Quinta de Lago with super top end properties and amazingly green golf courses.
    Excellent route finding from S again kept us on small roads and some amazing walkways across the wetlands to Faro where we met with Jude and Tim and Jane ( Jude’s mate from Christchurch). Hedge sadly missing and missed.

    Looking forward to tomorrow although forecast very dodgy. 🌧️⚡️⛈️    Read more

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    Ayamonte

    November 14, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    An action packed day on the Algarve! Woken by thunder and lightning is never that great a feeling- but less so when you need to do some cycling! However we watched the first few biblical downpours come and go and managed to get 30km down the road to Tavira before the first clouds spilt their contents on some godforsaken bypass/ roundabout. Frustratingly close to a cafe- the first for a while- but at we were able to recuperate there. Next issue: Tim's slow puncture. By the time this was fixed Helen had an unfortunate interaction with a slippery level crossing- and Jude - and the ground😖. The end result was a broken brake/ gear shifter, a bruised thigh( hels) and a swollen bruised ankle ( jude). Local cycle shops were very helpful- but unable to help. So, led by Tim, with copious superglue, duktape and cable ties we were able to cobble it all back together into something cautiously road worthy. 🤞
    What can't you fix with cable ties and duktape?
    Invigorated by our dice with death- and it could have all been a lot messier- we made good time to catch the 2.30 ferry from Portugal to ayamento in Spain.
    Except the 2.30 ferry wasn't running. Hmm. Time for a leisurely lunch and by the time we realised we'd lost a further hour between Portugal and Spain - and noted more torrential rain- we bailed to a lovely hotel in Ayamonte.    Read more

  • Trans- Iberia

    A day of 2 halves

    November 15, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    The Posada was very comfortable but once again we were woken by thunder and lightning and intermittent torrential rain. We spent a leisurely breakfast looking for the weather app with the most preferable forecast and set off. Within 10k we were hiding under a tree by the side of a busy road and once again a few k later. ⛈️😔. Even more frustrating was the petrol station/ covered forecourt literally 200m around the next bend. Coffee helped our recovery and the next bit of the ride was largely on undulating cycleways through sandy forest with a bit of seaside- and improving weather. After crossing marshland on a great network of traffic free cycleways we crossed into Huelva and found a decent lunch.
    Despite lunch finishing at 4 we still felt it a reasonable idea to cycle another 60 k down into the Donaña national park. The first bit was a brilliant esplanade which spat us out onto a horrible dual carriageway bridge. Next were extensive petrochemical factories and then a lovely quiet road- unfortunately quit because it was a ferry access/ dead end. We could hear the road we should have been on 100 yds away but behind a barbed wire fence. The extra 6-7 k detour was pretty painful with some tough stints on the front of the peloton into a head wind.
    That was the nature of the next 40k- arrow straight/ head wind. Unfortunately no view of the sea. Redeeming factor was some excellent cycle ways- but these then deteriorated into sandy tracks. The road went on for EVER , "punctuated" by Helen's puncture at dusk with the mosquitoes and the last stint was in the dark but we still arrived just ahead of the Lochs and Glens bus tour at the hotel and muscled our way to the front of the buffet dinner queue!    Read more

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    Civil in Seville

    November 17, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Up before the Lochs And Glens crew to sunshine and a cracking flattish cycle through rural farming land towards Seville.
    We made really good headway on small roads either multiple coffee stops and a leisurely lunch. Tim keen to alternate between being our lead out man and stopping for coffee.
    We cycled into Seville having decided that the next day would be a rest day. Bruise on Helen’s hip from fall now huge and all sporting lots of mossie bites courtesy of my dusk puncture stop. Rest day felt like a good idea.
    Have spent today soaking up culture. Alcazar, coffee, Plaza Espana, Los Setas.    Read more

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    Prado del Rey

    November 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    And so to the hills!
    First a fun and easy paced "commute" out of Seville on cycle paths. We returned to plaza espagne for a very different, peaceful , experience. Needless to say suburbs come with fewer cycle paths and industrial wastelands, but within an hour we were spat out onto arrow straight country roads heading south with a tailwind and smiling faces. A coffee stop helped maintain momentum but fortunately spotted a very average service station cafe just before we headed into the cafe- free hinterland.
    The hills loomed ahead, and after villamartin we hit our first significant hill of the trip, with 90+ km in the legs. Fortunately we had a summit finish in Prado del Rey so were able to collapse into a cafe/ supermarket/ accomodation, wobbly legs n all    Read more

  • Trans- Iberia

    Prado del Rey to Ronda. 🗻🚵

    November 19, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    So off we go from Prado del Rey. In the foothills but we are heading for the mountains. Today was a beautiful ride on quiet roads starting with undulating foothills but then going into higher mountains with a couple of killer climbs- steep into Zahara and long and grinding into Grazalems and finally into Ronda.
    Discovered the joy of double shorts as antidote to climbing in same position. Game changer!
    However the team were up to it and arrived after 1930 m of climbing in good spirits.
    Apartment in the most amazing position above the gorge with a very chilly and untempting hot tub on a balcony with lovely sunset views.
    Final night with Tim and Jude before heading our separate ways. Will miss Tim’s steady pacing and Jude’s chat. Both great company as ever.    Read more

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    And back to the sea side..

    November 20, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    A lovely night in Ronda was our last with Jude and Tim- they're heading south with flights to catch from Gibraltar. Bye bye and thanks for the company!
    We headed Further east, but not before a puncture and panic that we'd left the keys in the apartment door🫣. Our route took us straight up out of the town - topping out at a cool and misty 1170m puerto del viente - the highest point so far. The cycling down the other side was the stuff of dreams ( if your dreams include being a tad chilly) . El burgo for a coffee cheered us up then on to Ardales and El Chorro in warm sun and tail winds. Again, spectacular cycling sweeping downwards on smooth tarmac: dreamy!
    A late lunch delayed the return to reality - the sprawling suburbs of Malaga, some pretty grim bits that were double takes for shanty towns of poorer parts of the world. However we were still heading downhill with the sun and wind on our backs so pushed on beyond 100k to a nice hotel in the centre of Malaga.🛌🛌🥱🥱    Read more

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    Wind assisted pedal

    November 21, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Leisurely start from Malaga with trip to bike co op shop to restock and donate the bar tape we had bought in Tavira but never used for my repair. Brake lever / gear shifter still holding up well.
    Having pushed on to Malaga we decided to go beyond Nerja to try to shorten the next day. Simon doing constant route planning…..
    Great westerly today which blew us along. Impressive coast with blustery wind causing crashing waves. Largely stuck to the road which was less busy than we had feared. Super flat with cycle tracks to start then a bit more lumpy with some scary tunnels.
    Staying in Salobrena. Odd place by the beach. Old town in hill with castle probably nice but having horizontal evening and contemplating early start.
    Plans evolving again as we realise Alicante is still a long way off and unlikely to get that far.    Read more

  • Trans- Iberia

    Go East!!!

    November 22, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Spent last night listening to the wind whip through Salobreña so up early, desayuno in the cafe downstairs and out into the wind. Blowing from the west so we thought we'd be able to coast along once a tailwind at some speed. In reality the wind dropped off quite early , but any assistance was gratefully accepted and we made good progress eastwards. The route was a mixture of impressive- and quiet- main road ( the so called road of death) clinging to the vertiginous mountainside and flat land covered with extensive polytunnels. This is where most of your fresh Waitrose produce comes from! A few care fully placed seaside/ roadside fueling points saw us along to a very strange theme hotel and one of the best meals yet!Read more

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    Cabo de Gata

    November 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    So we decided (or H did) that Alicante was going to be too much of a push to make so we are going to count Cabo da Gata as our end point and stay in Almeria tonight. It makes a perfect geographical point to point across the Iberian peninsula: so why not?
    Morning dip ( can’t believe we have cycled so much coast and not been in the sea) followed by a very straightforward cycle round the cliffs to Almeria which on a beautiful Saturday morning was very nice :a chilled cafe promenade vibe. We booked a hotel and dumped our bags free of luggage😊
    Just as well as we set off to cycle to Cabo da Gata into a relentless headwind. Simon, unleashed from his heavy bags, was on fire and Helen struggled with the time trial nature of it all - long flat sections with a stream of male cyclist groups powering back with tail wind wondering why the daft gringos set off so late. And where are all the female Spanish cyclists?!
    Nice little hill at the end and lovely views if a little dry and desert like. Then we turned westwards to headed "home" , via a leisurely beach side lunch and huge tailwind back to Almeria.
    Just over 1000k in the bag and Cap to Cabo ( if there is such a thing? there should be) completed so
    no more posts as we will be in holiday mode from now on and you don't want photos of us sprawled on the beach in my budgie smugglers.    Read more

    Trip end
    November 24, 2024
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