Laughing out Loud
June 15, 2009
This was a five star, laugh out loud, serendipitous day. I now realize one of the main factors for a great day is to not be going to a major destination. I’ve really enjoyed seeing all of the cities, but on those days the riding can take a back seat to just getting there in time for sight- seeing. When I started out from Cuenca this morning I thought it would be enough to just spend the night in Albarracin. There was no pressure to get here, or thinking ahead of what I should do when here. Having said that, Albarracin is a great place and I’m going to stay here an extra day.
But beyond the freedom to take all day on the bike, every bit of the 80 miles was great riding. I left Cuenca on a bike trail along the river. The woman at the tourist office had told me that almost all of the traffic would be on another route and I only saw a handful of cars. The only thing I knew about the area around Cuenca are the weird rock formations called “ciudad encantada”. They require admission and are probably a zoo on the weekends, but were fun to see.
Ciudad Encantada
My route was through mountainous terrain all day. Some of it reminded me of Northern Arizona with pines and reddish rock cliffs. No that’s wrong, it reminded me of Spain.
Other parts were through canyons with fast flowing streams and lots of greenery.
I detoured at one point to climb several hundred feet up to a village set on the side of the hill.
I kept looking for signs to Albarracin and was curious why there weren’t any. When I finally got to my turnoff it was a very narrow path with a sign saying that the pavement was bad. The road climbed 1000 feet up and the rough pavement didn’t bother me at 6mph. The first car going my way was surprising since no cars had come by in 1 ½ hours.
It was so steep I almost fell off
There were good winds all day. I expected tailwinds going up the valleys, but it was blowing down the other side also. Just before town I met a touring cyclist headed the other direction. He’s from Madrid and it was fun to talk with him about the area.
Eduardo
Near the end of a perfect ride
Albarracin is built on a rock promontory created by the adjacent river. There isn’t any room for a modern road so it tunnels under the narrowest section of town. The uphill side was protected by a wall that arches high on the hillside above. I’ll climb up to the walls tomorrow.
Albarracin
View Larger Map
This was a five star, laugh out loud, serendipitous day. I now realize one of the main factors for a great day is to not be going to a major destination. I’ve really enjoyed seeing all of the cities, but on those days the riding can take a back seat to just getting there in time for sight- seeing. When I started out from Cuenca this morning I thought it would be enough to just spend the night in Albarracin. There was no pressure to get here, or thinking ahead of what I should do when here. Having said that, Albarracin is a great place and I’m going to stay here an extra day.
But beyond the freedom to take all day on the bike, every bit of the 80 miles was great riding. I left Cuenca on a bike trail along the river. The woman at the tourist office had told me that almost all of the traffic would be on another route and I only saw a handful of cars. The only thing I knew about the area around Cuenca are the weird rock formations called “ciudad encantada”. They require admission and are probably a zoo on the weekends, but were fun to see.
Ciudad Encantada
My route was through mountainous terrain all day. Some of it reminded me of Northern Arizona with pines and reddish rock cliffs. No that’s wrong, it reminded me of Spain.
Other parts were through canyons with fast flowing streams and lots of greenery.
I detoured at one point to climb several hundred feet up to a village set on the side of the hill.
I kept looking for signs to Albarracin and was curious why there weren’t any. When I finally got to my turnoff it was a very narrow path with a sign saying that the pavement was bad. The road climbed 1000 feet up and the rough pavement didn’t bother me at 6mph. The first car going my way was surprising since no cars had come by in 1 ½ hours.
It was so steep I almost fell off
There were good winds all day. I expected tailwinds going up the valleys, but it was blowing down the other side also. Just before town I met a touring cyclist headed the other direction. He’s from Madrid and it was fun to talk with him about the area.
Eduardo
Near the end of a perfect ride
Albarracin is built on a rock promontory created by the adjacent river. There isn’t any room for a modern road so it tunnels under the narrowest section of town. The uphill side was protected by a wall that arches high on the hillside above. I’ll climb up to the walls tomorrow.
Albarracin
View Larger Map
posted by Gary and Jani at 11:45 PM
1 Comments:
Gary, we are enjoying your travelogue immensely--eagerly awaiting each new posting and copying off new ones everyday to put in a notebook (which we will
insistently thrust on any wayward guests who wander into our house).
Hoping most of the rains come at night and the sun is not too hot. Igor and Mrs. S
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