Author Archives: gwenhaynes

Spain Bike Trip – Day 29

23 Tuesday May 2023

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May 22, 2023. Laguardia to Estella. Distance: 42 miles Elevation: 3,190 feet

We got off to an early-ish start today. First thing we did was to start climbing up and over the Sierra de Cantabria Mountain Range.

Once up and over the top we crossed a wide river valley with gently rolling hills.

About 5 kilometers out of Estella (our destination) we stopped at an old monastery (built in the 12th century)

that has a Fountain of Wine

where we filled our water bottles – just kidding – we just had a taste or two. It was pretty good.

It’s mainly for the pilgrims passing along the Camino de Santiago. We met a young pilgrim there who was from Connecticut!

We got to our hotel around 2pm

showered and explored this cathedral/fortress right across from our hotel.

Note the light colored building across from the steps is our hotel.

Church of San Miguel

The highlight of this visit was when one of our fellow cyclists Chuck stepped up to the alter area and sang the hymn “How Great though Art”. Turns out he has an amazing baritone voice and he loves to sing in these old cathedrals just to experience the incredible acoustics. It was truly breath taking.

Later we walked across the bridge for a group dinner right on the river shore.

And here is Estella at dusk on our walk back to the hotel.

Spain Bike Trip – Day 28

22 Monday May 2023

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May 21, 2023. Laguardia Rest Day

Since breakfast was not until 8:30 this morning we took a stroll outside the city walls.

Trees holding hands

After breakfast we wandered out of the walled city and took this dirt road to some ponds that would have had a lot of birds if the ponds hadn’t dried up. Our bird watching comrades were happy to hear and see plenty of birds here.

It was a lovely walk through the vineyards.

Here’s the view looking back at the town of Laguardia.

Back at our hotel they were preparing for the owner’s daughter Elsa’s 1st communion celebration. She’s 8 years old.

We had a very leisurely lunch at our hotel where we sat outside in the sunshine and watched the comings and goings on the square. After an afternoon nap we set out for Bodegas Ysios

down a little dirt road that was headed straight towards the winery. But it turned out to be a dead end so back we went to the hotel for our daily Happy Hour/Meeting at 6. We walked nearly 9 miles today.

After the meeting we went out for a light dinner and ended up at an Irish Pub since most places were closed ’cause it’s Sunday or because they don’t open until 8pm at the earliest. We figured it was a good evening to get to bed early.

When we got back to the Square in front of the hotel we discovered a community band had just begun to play a concert – right under our window.

They were quite good and fun to watch the square fill up with spectators. A pleasant surprise to top off the day.

Spain Bike Trip – Day 27

21 Sunday May 2023

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May 20, 2023. Santo Domingos to Laguardia. Distance: 37 miles. Elevation: 2,680 feet

The weather forecast called for colder and wetter weather than yesterday so we really bundled up today since we got a bit too cold and too wet yesterday. Plastic baggies between our socks and shoes to keep our feet drier. Plastic hotel shower caps over our helmets to keep the rain from dripping down our heads to our necks and beyond. And wouldn’t you know it – we only got a few sprinkles. I felt like I was “hermetically sealed in a mayonnaise jar”. (Who remembers this quote?)

It was a fairly easy ride today with only about three climbs of 12 – 14% grade. We are now in serious wine country. Here’s what the terrain looked like most of the day.

with an occasional fortress here and there. I felt so protected on this ride.

We got to our hotel Hospederia de los Parajeds in Laguardia around 2pm

where we opened the door to our room and found this palatial place!

And the view from our balcony!

The town square and the path we came in on.

Looking right.

And looking left.

A local red and white – always incredibly tasty.

Every night at 8pm the clock chimes and out come these little dancers for a short jig.

And I’ll close with this sweet bicicleta.

Tomorrow is a rest day.

Spain Bike Trip – Day 26

21 Sunday May 2023

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May 19, 2023. Burgos to Santo Domingo Distance: 54 miles Elevation: 3,020

We headed out under cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 40’s. We had an uneventful ride with two major climbs and the headwinds were a bit less severe. At about a third of the way to our destination the cloudy skies got really dark and it began to rain. It rained off and on the rest of the ride, sometimes just a drizzle, sometimes more. By the time we got to our Hotel/Parador de Santo Domingo de la Calzada

the clouds parted and out came the sun. We were pretty wet and cold but as usual after a hot shower we were off to explore Santo Domingo.

Our first stop was the Cathedral of El Salvador.

Very interesting front door.

This theme was carried out throughout the cathedral where several windows were replace with more modern stained glass.

Even Jesus on the cross was given a new look.

Below the church the burial vault was quite amazing with modern mosaics covering the walls.

Next stop was the free standing bell tower right next to the cathedral.

Here’s one of the bells in the bell tower.

The view from the top.

And here’s another view of our hotel.

Spain Bike Trip – Day 25

19 Friday May 2023

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May 18, 2023. Burgos rest day.

After breakfasts we climbed up (and down) to the ruins of the Burgos Castle.

Here’s the view of Burgos from up there.

If you zoom in on the horizon you can see lots of windmills on the ridge.

Amazing bronze relief map of the sites we could see.

Then it was off to explore the Cathedral.

This place is massive and what impressed me most were the ceilings in the various alcoves. They remind me of looking through a kaleidoscope.

After we left the cathedral we checked out a place that was known for it’s hot chocolate.

Intense hot dark chocolate with churros.

Next we spent a few hours in the Museum of Human Evolution. Quite an impressive place and very interesting.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped to visit with one of the pilgrims.

Then back to the hotel for naps, then Happy Hour at 6pm and out for tapas with friends for dinner.

And back on the road tomorrow.

Spain Bike Trip – Day 24

19 Friday May 2023

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May 17, 2023. Lerma to Burgos. Distance: 53 Elevation: 3,157

I must say we were all sweating today’s ride. Yesterday we had an incredibly strong head wind and today it was expected to be even stronger. As we left the hotel at 9am the wind was blowing 16mph and was expected to increase every hour until it reached 20 mph by noon where it was to stay at 20 most of the afternoon. The weather report said winds 20-30mph with gusts over 40. Yikes!

Lucky for us it turned out to be a beautiful day – in spite of the wind. Beautiful countryside. We climbed up and over a mountain pass where there were trees to block the wind. We stopped around 10:30 in a small town for a coffee and snack along with a few of our comrades.

Throughout Spain there are many pilgrimage trails, the most well known is the Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain. We have seen pilgrims walking along footpaths as we bike by. Most pilgrims walk but others ride mountain bikes or go on horseback – thus the horse parked outside the cafe.

Once we left the cafe we cycled along this beautiful river walk to reconnect with our route

which then took us up onto a wide open plain where the wind was howling. With a 20mph headwind it is very slow going.

Along the way we met up with El Cid.

The wind must blow a lot in this area as there were rows of windmills along every ridge. And boy were they turning.

As we climbed up the next ridge

We came very close to some of the windmills.

Finally we crossed the river and entered the arch of Burgos.

Even though we were a mere 2 kilometers from the hotel we stopped in the town square to join some of our fellow riders for lunch.

I had to take a picture of my endive salad ’cause it was so pretty and picture perfect.

Once settled in we wandered the town where we walked by the great Cathedral of Burgos – which we’ll explore tomorrow.

Stay tuned…

Spain Bike Trip – Day 23

17 Wednesday May 2023

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May 16, 2023. Penafiel to Lerma. Distance: 50 miles Elevation: 2,210 feet

So far on this trip we had record breaking heat, then record breaking cold. Now we’ve hit record breaking wind. This morning just as we got going the wind kicked up to maybe 9mph out of the NNE. It continued to increase to 22mph with gusts throughout the day of well over 20mph. Tomorrow will be the same except stronger winds but still out of the NNE. We just happen to be traveling NNE so it will be another slow, hard day. Very exhausting riding.

Aside from the wind it was a beautiful ride. Quiet country roads, very little traffic. Lots of vineyards and wheat fields. And poppies.

Looking back to where we started this morning in Penafiel in the distance.

We got to our hotel the Perador de Lerma around 2pm.

We were surprised to see this amazing setup for our bikes down in the “car park” under the hotel. They are set up for Cicloturismo.

Here’s the view from our room. Right over the front door looking out over the square.

Once we got settled and showered we headed off for some tapas. Then wandered a bit and got to our Happy Hour/meeting at 6pm where the birthday boy was serenaded with Happy Birthday as he was presented with his little birthday brownie with a #7 candle on top.

Later we went out for more tapas with a couple of friends, still really cold and windy.

And here’s the end to a lovely day of riding and celebrating the big 7-0!

Spain Bike Trip – Day 22

16 Tuesday May 2023

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May 15, 2023 Sepulveda to Penafiel. Distance: 50 miles. Elevation: 2, 475 feet

Our ride began with about a 2km, very chilly descent out of Sepulveda followed by a very long 5km ascent up and over the next mountain range. The descent took us through a fascinating river gorge (the Rio Duraton) with steep rock walls on either side.

At kilometer 17 we took a 4k side trip to an abandoned monastery

Zoom in real close to the upper center and you’ll see the monastery.

which is known for is large Griffon Vultures that soar with the thermals over this river gorge.

We arrived at the Hotel Convento Las Claras, a converted convent a little before 3pm, grabbed a burger at the hotel, showered and were off on another adventure.

Our hotel in the foreground the Penafiel Castle in the background.

Instead of our daily Happy Hour we were all invited on a tour of a local winery, Protos Winery.

Here we toured the winery which is massively huge, starting our tour in the original facility with its underground storage and fermentation floors.

Tunnel under the street to get to the new facility. Note pipes on ceiling. They carry wine from one side to the other for the various stages of winemaking.

In the new facility.

Then on to a tasting area in the new facility.

On our walk back to the hotel we crossed this river in the town.

A fun way to end a great day of cycling in Spain!

Spain Bike Trip – Day 21

15 Monday May 2023

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May 14, 2023. Segovia to Sepulveda. Distance: 41 miles. Elevation: 2,510 feet

The weather has been interesting on this trip. We started out with an unprecedented heat wave in southern Spain. It was at least 10 degrees above normal. Now that we are headed in to northern Spain they are having an unprecedented cold snap with temps 5 degrees below normal. A couple of days ago the temperature was 37 degrees when we got up. No one was in a hurry to leave that day.

Today was just about right, still wearing our leggings and showers pass jackets all day with 50 shades of gray clouds giving way to blue skies and white puffy clouds when we got to our destination. Much of our riding was on very small country roads, very little traffic. Rolling hills and wide open plains. Quite a lovely ride.

We got to our Hotel Rural Vado del Durarton around 2pm.

Here we’ve just arrived and are taking the bikes around back for safe keeping.

By 3:30 we joined some friends for an amazing afternoon lamb dinner, the local specialty. It was incredibly tender and tasty.

Waiting for the red wine to go with the lamb. SLO friends David and Barbara on left and Steve from the Bay area in middle.

After a long leisurely lunch we got back to the hotel just in time for the daily 6pm Happy Hour/presentation on the next day’s ride. As soon as that was over we had a wonderful Mother’s Day call back home with Justin, Lauren and Annabelle.

By 8pm we were too pooped to pop so there was no wandering the town this time. Therefore not many pictures to share. Here are just a few.

Note our ride in to town, from upper left, quite the long descent before the climb back up to the city.

Note stork nest atop the bell tower.

And my favorite picture of the day was just as the sun finally broke through the clouds.

Spain Bike Trip – Day 20

14 Sunday May 2023

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May 13, 2023. Rest Day in Sagovia

After a slow start to the day we wandered past the aqueduct to the Old Town of Segovia. Here’s a view of the aqueduct from the other side of the square.

Another sight along our wanderings was the Cathedral of Segovia. According to wikipedia “the church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built in the Flamboyant Gothic style in the mid-16th century.” I’ve not heard of the “Flamboyant” Gothic style but it’s a good description of this church.

We also checked out the Alcazar de Segovia, a medieval castle from the 12th century. It is said that Walt Disney drew his inspiration in part from this castle when dreaming up Cinderella’s castle in Disneyland.

The highlight of the day was a late lunch at Asador Maribel known for its suckling pig entree which Chris was anxious to try. We went with a friend who speaks fluent Spanish and did all the ordering for us.

And here’s his brother arriving at the table next to us.

We were so pooped after our big lunch we went back to the hotel and took a long nap. After our happy hour/meeting we headed out for a light tapas. We found a little place that was just right. They even had a tv showing big wave surfing which we enjoyed watching while we ate. I asked the bartender/owner if he was a surfer. He’s from Segovia but spent a lot of time surfing at Manhattan Beach in Southern California. Small world.

Now back to the aqueduct. Just in case you were wondering how it came about here is the local legend of its origin.

This is the legend of the serving girl who used to climb, every day, to the very top of the mountain and return with her pitcher full of water. One day, fed up of this daily toil, she made a wish to the Devil, whom she asked to build some means by which she would no longer need to go up and down every morning with her pitcher. One night Lucifer granted her wish, asking for her soul in return if he managed to finish the aqueduct before the cockerel crowed.

The girl agreed and the Devil began to build the aqueduct but the girl regretted her decision. Just as he was about to lay the last stone, the cockerel crowed, meaning the Devil lost his wager and the girl kept her soul. In the gap that remained, the statue of the Virgin of Fuencisla, patroness of the city, stands today.

And here’s the devil himself taking a selfie with his handiwork in the background.