7th July 2002 - 19.27 GMT

Biking through Castilla & León

Day 5 - Salamanca - Bridge Camp near Vecinos

Open spaces

A day to forget. The sky was cloudy most of the time and the whole day the riding was against an unpleasant wind. I just crossed Salamanca without visiting the remarkable old part, I had seen it several times before and I was behind schedule the whole day. Leaving Salamanca south west into the direction of Vecinos and the Sierra de Peña de Francis, it was obvious that some climbing had to be done. It was no fun at all. Wind and a grey sky left me exhausted and worried, because there where no signs of any kind of protection.

Bridge Camp

So when around 6 a clock some drops became to fall and I saw this nice, large bridge, I called it the day and stopped. It was still very early and 85 km where much below my expectations, but there was no sense to make just another 5 or 10 km and then be stranded in the middle of the Sierra without any shelter for the night. So I had ample time to make my bed, write some diary and read some more "Jueves", before it was diner time.

Day 6 - Vecinos - Santibañez de la Sierra - Oregano Camp (Caminomorisco)

err Open spaces

The morning started with light rainfall and I stayed much longer then usual in bed and rolled out only at 10 o clock. The weather was much improved compared to yesterday, the wind almost gone and I made good progress the whole day while crossing the Sierra.

Sierra Don't-rember-her-name

The views were great, I had more descents the ascents, the terrain not very challenging and the traffic almost not existent. A very cool and nice day on the bike. At the end of the day I picked the rest area "El Oregano", the first of several areas in the region to pitch up my camp. Right behind a fountain I had some protection and a good underground to sleep nice and smoothly.

Oregano Camp

Day 7 - Coria - Portezuelo - Garrovillas - Arroyo de la luz - Old sewer Camp

Stormy weather over Garrovillas

A very mixed, long and exhausting day. More then 12 hours on the road with 8 hours of heavy biking. The day was also very tactical, because I tried to take ,more then ever, the strong wind into account and choose the roads mostly on the expected wind resistance. Leaving Oregano Camp at 8:30, it started perfect with a long, soft descent and fast, long straights . Only one hour later, I had 20 km under my belt and it should continue almost the same way until Coria, where I just arrived in time before closing to make a "Breach, Bang and Clear" at the local "Dia" supermarket. After a good lunch, the fun was over. The hefty wind would be sideways and a strong allergic reaction set in again. Just like on Day 1, when I crossed this valley in the other direction. Soon after it became real mad and dangerous on a stretch on the N630. The wind threw me constantly out of balance and I drove like drunken, and on some narrow bridges, 20 m above the ground, trucks were executing mad passing manouveurs , occupying completely my lane, and setting the bridge in strong vibrations.

Breakfast the next morning at Sewer Camp

The last 20 km of the day were a small compensation for all the stress during the day, as I took advantage of the wind and pushed to the village of Arroyo de la Luz with almost no effort and found with the last rays of light a sewer for the night.

Sewer Camp

Day 8 - Aliseda - Alurquerque - Campo Maior - Vila Fernando - Sousel

A dry night, untouched by the numerous spiders hidden in the sewer and the high grass and an extremely enjoyable ride between Aliseda and Alburquerque made for a great first part of the day.

After Alburquerque

The new, deserted tarmac entered some protected wild life reserve, with plenty of birds and rabbits. On a descent a deer tried to flee, but due to a fence it ran parallel to the road. A biker chasing a deer at 40 km / h . Albuquerque was paralysed, the Spanish soccer team was playing at the world cup and population was cramped into the bars. Things were still getting better with the virgin tarmac of the newly constructed N007 to Campo Maior / Portugal. What an easy ride until the border, but soon things went from best to mediocre to bad. First, the road changed to a patchwork of holes, then the wind turned, and after Campo Maior the terrain became an up-and-down. It all had an abandoned appearance, overgrown sidelines, rusty or missing road signs. Caia dam was a real low point. Overgrown, garbage, shity smell in the air, graffiti and no informative signs. In the few villages along the way, there were no shops or gas stations to buy any kind of food or get some water, the hilly, fenced terrain offered no camp for the night, the damn wind continued to blow into my face and my morale was falling to new lows.

Birds and Frogs everywhere

I put my hope for a supermarket on Sousel, it turned out to be a desperate race against time. With 15 min an 5 km to go, I saw the town towering on a hill before me. And then it started to rain, and one, two more hills. I arrived 5 minutes past eight after some more uphill, but no gas station or supermarket. Empty streets and rain. I took some cover, put my stuff in plastic bags and thought about what to do. I decided to get some water and find some place in this town to sleep. For free, of course.

Lucky wash house camp in Sousel

The night felt, the rain continued and no place available in the town. At least a place to get some expensive Coke and sweets and then I rolled out, with no illusion to find a dry place for the night. But right around the corner, the most comfortable place surprised me, the washing hall of Sousel. Nice roof, running water, perfect floor and wind protected. Another happy end !

Day 9 - Mora - Coruche - Montijo - Lisbon - Home

After the 100 % No-Fun yesterday afternoon, I was determined not to repeat this kind of stress today. I knew, the last leg would be very long, around 150 km and that the wind may not be to my favour.

Almost there - Praça de Comercio in Lisbon

So I was ready to call in Ros, if necessary, to give me a ride for the last 50 or 80 km. Anyway, it was also a question of pride to try it on my own, I woke up by the noise of the cocks at 4:30 and rolled out at 6:30, walking and pushing the bike for the first km to warm up my aching legs and knees. To my big surprise and joy, the terrain was almost flat and there was even some support from the wind. Under this great conditions, I arrived at 12:00 in Coruche, 85 km from Sousel. All flat, most of the time along the Rio Sorraia. At 16:00 I reached Montijo, hoped on the ferry to Lisbon, had my "Last Resort Coke" and the last Mars and rang the bell 18:00.

Overall Stats