Day 10 Benisano to Xabia -Thursday 9th August 2007

It was grey at first,sunny and warm later on (what else would you expect?). This final stage took us from Benisano which is 20 miles west of Valencia, south east towards Cheste (the Moto GP race track town) and on to the Mediterranean coast at Tavernes de Valdigna. From there it should have been an easy ride following the coast to Oliva. I had decided (because it was the last day) to turn left into Denia and up over Montgo mountain (753 metres) and down into Xabia. There is a flatter route but it is longer and I would have had to skirt around Montgo. Anyway I thought of myself as a bit of a mountain climber now. The distance would again be about 120 miles. The temperature at the end would be touching 40 degrees!

On a grey morning we leave the small town of Benisano.

























From Benisano it is a fairly easy ride along the CV50 towards Chiva, Cheste and Tavernes. The picture was taken just outside the town of Cheste ( the Moto GP circuit for Valencia)

Just outside the coastal town of Tavernes whilst traversing a roundabout, I noticed a 'roadie' (bike rider) approaching said roundabout from the right. I thought to myself -he will soon come past me: with just 50 or so miles to go I can't be bothered. He rode past with the normal greeting 'Hola, Buenos Dias!' I replied with the usual 'Hola esta un muy bien dia hoy'. This immediately got us into a conversation which I didn't really need as I was trying to keep up with him. The conversation continued - '?De donde?' he asked - 'Inglaterra. yo montar un bicicleta desde Inglaterra hasta Xabia en diez dias!' he loooked and said 'Estupendo adelante!'
( forward or follow me!). I did but then he waved me through to do some of the work! (picture)


























He very quickly took me through the town of Tavernes where he left me and I carried on the coast road towards Denia. It was on this road, about 3 miles from Oliva that I could no longer ride in safety. They had changed the road lay out to a 3 lane highway with spurs onto the adjacent motorway. Anyone who has driven the N332 will know what I mean!


























This picture was taken approaching the sea front in Denia with just Montgo to climb!






















A final drink before tackling Montgo!

Off we go, upwards again, for the final 10k.
















This where we are going - Montgo

At last the final climb conquered. The temperature at this point was 42 degrees! I was losing fluid as fast as it was going in! But now, it was literally all down hill from here!




















THE END.

Champagne by the Med - a sit down and time to reflect. It has been a fantastic journey full of ups and downs (literally). For me all I had to do was get up every morning and ride a bike; for Stelly, she had the worry of keeping in touch, driving on her own, parking the vehicle in apprpriate places for food stops ( not easy!), putting up with my frustrations when I couldn't ride a dangerous piece of road and a host of other things. In short , I could not have done this without her, she was fantastic.

Xabia Port with Montgo in background

LOGISTICS

Total Miles 1198

Actual miles on bike 1093

Time on bike 69 hours 37 mins

Av Speed 15.8 mph

Breakdowns. 2 punctures

Nutrtion. During each day's ride I consumed a continental breakfast, apart from a fry up on the ferry on the morning of Day2. Isotonic drinks and coke during the ride supplemented with malt loaf and cheese sandwiches. Evening meals generally consisted of a fish dish followed by ice cream and wine.

Health. Generally good with about 4 kilos weight loss.

Day 9 -Teruel to Benisano-Wednesday 8th August 2007

After the tremendous storms of yesterday we left Teruel on a cool cloudy morning. Just 110 miles today. This was a ride I was looking forward to, in so much that according to my map preparation, it was going to be a nice scenic ride. Scenic it certainly was, nice it wasn't!

We left once again with grey skies and a cool wind. I wasn't expecting to have to wear arm warmers and a light rain jacket.

Our journey today was from Teruel to Benisano in the region of Valencia. Although it was over a 100 miles away it now felt that the end was drawing ever closer. To get to Benisano one leaves the Province of Teruel, pass through what is known as the Rincon de Adamuz (Corner of Ademuz) , which part of the Valencia region then briefly through the Provinces of Cuenca and Castilla La Mancha before finally enering the Province of Valencia proper. We followed the fast flowing river Turia which was red with the mud that had been washed into it from the previous day's storms. The area is very agricultural with all sorts of vegetables and fruit trees.
The road was fairly narrow, but busy and it was here that I was forced into a ditch by a lorry. Carrying on to the strange town of Ademuz (there are some cave houses here) we had a forced stop because the spare bike I was on got a puncture. As no 1 bike was still not fixed we had no option but to make repairs.






















Stelly had gone on ahead and I followed the twisting road which ran alongside the Rio Turia below.Ahead of me I could see that the road appeared to turn left,via a small bridge, over the river, but from a distance it looked like something out of a 'Raiders of the Lost Ark ' film. It was very narrow (enough for one vehicle ) so I assumed thet Stelly must have gone that way. I rode over and looked down - what a sight! When I saw Stelly further up the road, I asked 'Did you get a picture of that bridge from the top?' Her reply - ' 'You know what I'm like with heights and anyway did you see the buches of flowers tied to the railings!!'



A view of the bridge. (the road is hidden but is on the right )








The Rio Turia below













With the bridge crossed the road began to go up for a while; not too bad I thought but then up and up and up............Like the Pyrenees all over again! Only this time there seemed to be no end because I couldn't see the top. It did eventually flatten out (sort of) to a plateau with sheep grazing but I'm not sure what on.

At last it was down hill to the small village of Titaguas from here on the road was reasonably level. Wrong!! up we went again to the top of alto de La Montalbana. By now the temperature had soared no cloud and a baking sun!

Then it was all down hill again towards the town of Lliria which just 5km from our destination .
Problem! When I planned this route I tried to keep as much as possible to minor roads. We were on the CV35 which is classed as a minor road, until one gets close to Valencia that is, where they turn just about everything into a minor motorway and still call it the CV35! For 5 miles I had no option but to get into the van until we were just outside of Benisano and I could ride to the hotel. I then repaired No 1 bike before showering, going for a walk and a meal!






Rolling down to Lliria




















We've just been over those mountains in the distance!




















A friendly wave



























Quick repairs and a clean outside the hotel.


Benisano,a quiet walk through town before dinner.

Day 8 - Zaragoza to Teruel - Tuesday 7th August 2007

For Spain, a cold morning (14 degrees) and quite windy. Today's stage from Zaragoza to Teruel is 120 miles of basically flat plain terrain interspersed with the odd small village. Still in Aragon region which comprises the provinces of Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel. This was to be mentally, the hardest part of the whole venture.

Most of this area is devoted to pig farming which is where the famous cured pork (Jamon, York or Serano) comes from.

This is the start of today's ride, just ouside of Zaragoza. It was too busy in the city to negotiate the roads and find the correct route out!

Not praying (I should be)

just adjusting my computer!

On my way to to Daroca under grey skies and a stiff breeze.

It was not long after this picture was taken when I got my first puncture. Not bad I suppose. Rather than fix it there and then I decided to swap bikes and change the tube when we arrived at our hotel in Teruel.
The entrance to Daroca - 83km from Zaragoza and 118km to Teruel. Daroco is a quite interesting medieval city enclosed behind a 13th and 14th century wall measuring 3.5km. This seemed to be an appropriate place to stop for an early lunch because from here to Teruel there was very little in the way of hostelries. The main street is roughly cobbled and it was difficult to drive the vehicle in the confined spaces and with the continual bumping we were concerned about the crack in the windscreen which was steadily growing!

Leaving Daroca for Teruel the roads took on a whole new perspective for the next 70 miles!!

Looking north west!!

Looking south east!!

It was at this stage that I decided to go as hard as I could (within reason) before I lost my mind completely! I managed to cover the final 55 miles in 2 hrs 17 minutes!





















Teruel at last! Note the leaden skies. It was just beginning to rain.


The view from our hotel in Teruel. An absolute downpour! Hailstones the size of marbles! Needles to say I did not repair No 1 bike! In fairness Teruel is a lovely town and it did dry up later (much later). The sun even came out in the evening

Day 7 - Jaca to Zaragoza - Monday 6th August 2007

The day dawned with grey skies and some rain. Apparently yesterday's heat over the Pyrenees caused a massive thunder storm on the Spanish side; some youths on a summer camp had to be evacuated. A little like the Ten Tors this year.
Today's ride took us from the Pyrenean town of Jaca , in Aragon, through Sabinanigo and Huesca to the bustling city of Zaragoza just 90 miles of busy road, hilly (mountainous) in places and then uninterestingly flat.






An unusual roundabout in Sabinanigo. We saw plenty of eagles in this area but no wolves!





























The road to Zaragoza via Huesca was very busy with little safe space for a bike. Fortunately, like the French, the Spanish drivers are a little more considerate toward cyclists. Nonetheless. is was quite scary at times!















A look north for our final glimpse of thePyrenees























In the middle of nowhere, with nothing all around but flat countryside we saw a sign for a place called Temple (Tem-play).
We could see nothing from the main road although it was signposted as only 3km away. Passing through orchards and a market garden area we suddenly came across this tiny village. A good place to stop for lunch. The church was very interesting - note the heron's nest on the church tower. As we finally made our way to Zaragoza a stone hit the van window causing a huge crack to appear in the windscreen. We rang the hire company and they said it would be OK. 'But we're in Spain' - Oh in that case monitor it but don't get it replaced. We decided to both drive tha last 5 miles to thr Hotel and call it a day! One thing about Zaragoza - why are they always digging the roads up?

Day 6-Segos -Jaca (Spain) Sunday 5th August

'THE ONLY WAY IS UP' - (I'm too old for this!)

This was the day I was looking forward to - a crack at one of the Pyrenean Cols. OK, not one that is often used in 'Le Tour' but high enough and hard enough for me, and it was the most direct way to the Spanish Border. We left Segos in warm sunshine, already 27 degrees at 8 30 am,for another 90 mile sojourn to Spain (sounds easy doesn't it?). Basically our route took us from Segos to the Pyrenean towns of Pau, Gan, Oloron -St-Marie the Col du Somport and then down the hill to Jaca in Spain!! A mere 97 miles in 8 hours.



Waking up to a beautiful warm morning ( note trusty vehicle bottom right of picture - we have neighbours ). After my over indulgence last night I was hoping that I would feel alright for this most challenging ride of all.



Saying goodbye to a friend. He thinks we're mad going out in this weather. He is probably right! Mind you there were a number of other people who thought likewise.










Departing up the hill from the Hotel in Segos, it is already hot and there are much bigger hills to come!

On leaving Oloron-Ste-Marie the climbing commenced for the next 52km. Passing through the village of Asasp-Arros the gradient gradually began to increase as did the temperatures. Bizarrely this tiny village had a huge Rugby ground with flood lights.

A few miles further on and the road begins to rise towards the village of Accous which is about 90km into the ride, roughly half way. Feeling OK so far.

Now it's getting steeper as we approach the village of Urdos. At this point the temperature was touching 39 degrees and I had used up all the fluid in my drink bottles. The drinks weren't only warm they were hot! I had to replenish quickly and badly needed a cold drink.

I needed this cold drink and of course a mini break!

A refill and it was off for the final 10 miles to the summit!

Approaching the Tunnel du Somport'
This tunnel is exactly 8 km long and ends in Spain. However we must go over the top on the old road; the temperature is now 38 degrees.

Meanwhile the views of the valley below are fantastic. That is if one has the inclination to look down. The picture on the right is from the mountain stream where Stelly filled a bottle with cold water to pour over my head. Can you spot the frog?

Out of the saddle now !

Getting steeper. It was at this point that I caught sight of a guy on a mountain bike - just twiddling away. I decided to chase him down. Why do I do this??!!





Over the top!

Into a rhythm - it hurts!

The Border - Spain already, only another 500 miles to go!



That hurt!

Down hill to the Spanish town of Jaca

That's where we've been!!