The Picos have piqued my interest
June 3
I can see that it would be a mistake to use up all my adjectives this early in the trip. Hot, hotter, and hottest are safe bets to make their true appearances later. So in that spirit I’ll have to downgrade what felt hot, to comfortably warm. I’m confident that describing the scenery of the Picos de Europa as majestic will hold up over the next few weeks, but I’ll have to wait before anointing any one day as the best scenery of the trip.
Now that the disclaimers are out of the way; it was a warm and beautiful day. I left Comillas at 7:30 when it was still very quiet. My freelancing along the coastal roads allowed me to see a little more of the countryside than I had planned. I wasn’t lost; I knew I was still in Spain. The next town from Comillas is San Vicente de la Barquera. It’s a pretty town, but a little too touristy. Shortly after leaving the town I headed inland, then along the northern edge of the Picos. The road follows a river upstream, has great asphalt, very little traffic, and on this day a great tailwind. It felt good to move along at a reasonable pace, but all things even out in the long run. Shortly after leaving the river I saw a road high above me and wondered where it was headed. Won’t I ever learn? It was my road up there in the sky. A worthy climb to a pass and an even worthier descent to Cangas de Onis.
"Flat" coastal roads
Great road into the Picos
Tomorrow I’ll leave the panniers at the hotel and do a ride that Alberto (from work) told me is a classic. The road climbs from Cangas to Covadonga which is famous for being the site of a battle that started the Christian reconquista of Spain in the year 718. My focus is the climb from there up to two lakes.
The weather forecast is for rain and possible thundershowers. The hills around Cangas are already covered by clouds so I hope it won’t be too bad in the morning.
Roman bridge in Cangas de Onis
View Larger Map
June 4, 2009
I’m finally starting to settle into the Spanish schedule. A nap and snack in the afternoon make it bearable waiting until 9PM for dinner. That’s my bedtime (or later) in Everett. Early to bed may make Jack healthy and wise, but in Spain it will make Gary very very hungry in the morning. So I stayed up and had a local Asturian dish, fabada (bean and chorizo stew) and roasted pork ribs.
It was nice to sleep later this morning, knowing that I’d be in town for one more night. My hotel was not that great, but fortunately they only had a room for one night. It didn’t take long to find another hotel and this time I upgraded from two stars to three.
After moving my stuff around the corner I set out for the mountains. The clouds were low in the valley and rain looked likely. It didn’t take long for the road to start climbing into the clouds. For the most part it was just a heavy mist, but there were several rain showers that made me question going to the top. The saving factor was that it was still about 60 degrees and I had extra clothing for the descent. Visibility was no more than 10 meters, but at my slow pace I wasn’t going to slam into any of the many cows in the road. They wouldn’t move so I rode right between them. They’re harmless….right?
My good friends
The climb was a steady 10% grade topping out at almost 4000’. The fog didn’t let up and I couldn’t see anything. It was amusing to see all the viewpoint signs pointing at nothing. Doubts were creeping into my mind about being able to descend safely on a (rain and cow-crap slickened) narrow road in a blinding fog. I thought seriously about asking one of the tour vans if they would give me a ride down the mountain, but after putting on my warm clothing I noticed that the sky was much brighter. Not only did it get brighter, the clouds opened up to give me glimpses of the surrounding peaks. When I started down it was amazing to see what I’d ridden past. Unfortunately it didn’t last. A few hundred feet lower and it was back to the pea soup. I made sure to keep the speed down and at times could follow cars which I hoped would act as cow catchers.
The fog clears
This sheep herding dog picture is for you, Jani
Can you spot the cows?
This afternoon has been leisurely. I’m sitting in a café, drinking Rioja as I write this account on my laptop. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
I’m not sure where I’ll end up tomorrow. If the weather is okay I plan to circle around the south side of the Picos to Potes. If the weather is bad I may decide to go straight to Leon. From what I’ve seen the rain in Spain falls mainly on the mountains.
View Larger Map
I can see that it would be a mistake to use up all my adjectives this early in the trip. Hot, hotter, and hottest are safe bets to make their true appearances later. So in that spirit I’ll have to downgrade what felt hot, to comfortably warm. I’m confident that describing the scenery of the Picos de Europa as majestic will hold up over the next few weeks, but I’ll have to wait before anointing any one day as the best scenery of the trip.
Now that the disclaimers are out of the way; it was a warm and beautiful day. I left Comillas at 7:30 when it was still very quiet. My freelancing along the coastal roads allowed me to see a little more of the countryside than I had planned. I wasn’t lost; I knew I was still in Spain. The next town from Comillas is San Vicente de la Barquera. It’s a pretty town, but a little too touristy. Shortly after leaving the town I headed inland, then along the northern edge of the Picos. The road follows a river upstream, has great asphalt, very little traffic, and on this day a great tailwind. It felt good to move along at a reasonable pace, but all things even out in the long run. Shortly after leaving the river I saw a road high above me and wondered where it was headed. Won’t I ever learn? It was my road up there in the sky. A worthy climb to a pass and an even worthier descent to Cangas de Onis.
"Flat" coastal roads
Great road into the Picos
Tomorrow I’ll leave the panniers at the hotel and do a ride that Alberto (from work) told me is a classic. The road climbs from Cangas to Covadonga which is famous for being the site of a battle that started the Christian reconquista of Spain in the year 718. My focus is the climb from there up to two lakes.
The weather forecast is for rain and possible thundershowers. The hills around Cangas are already covered by clouds so I hope it won’t be too bad in the morning.
Roman bridge in Cangas de Onis
View Larger Map
June 4, 2009
I’m finally starting to settle into the Spanish schedule. A nap and snack in the afternoon make it bearable waiting until 9PM for dinner. That’s my bedtime (or later) in Everett. Early to bed may make Jack healthy and wise, but in Spain it will make Gary very very hungry in the morning. So I stayed up and had a local Asturian dish, fabada (bean and chorizo stew) and roasted pork ribs.
It was nice to sleep later this morning, knowing that I’d be in town for one more night. My hotel was not that great, but fortunately they only had a room for one night. It didn’t take long to find another hotel and this time I upgraded from two stars to three.
After moving my stuff around the corner I set out for the mountains. The clouds were low in the valley and rain looked likely. It didn’t take long for the road to start climbing into the clouds. For the most part it was just a heavy mist, but there were several rain showers that made me question going to the top. The saving factor was that it was still about 60 degrees and I had extra clothing for the descent. Visibility was no more than 10 meters, but at my slow pace I wasn’t going to slam into any of the many cows in the road. They wouldn’t move so I rode right between them. They’re harmless….right?
My good friends
The climb was a steady 10% grade topping out at almost 4000’. The fog didn’t let up and I couldn’t see anything. It was amusing to see all the viewpoint signs pointing at nothing. Doubts were creeping into my mind about being able to descend safely on a (rain and cow-crap slickened) narrow road in a blinding fog. I thought seriously about asking one of the tour vans if they would give me a ride down the mountain, but after putting on my warm clothing I noticed that the sky was much brighter. Not only did it get brighter, the clouds opened up to give me glimpses of the surrounding peaks. When I started down it was amazing to see what I’d ridden past. Unfortunately it didn’t last. A few hundred feet lower and it was back to the pea soup. I made sure to keep the speed down and at times could follow cars which I hoped would act as cow catchers.
The fog clears
This sheep herding dog picture is for you, Jani
Can you spot the cows?
This afternoon has been leisurely. I’m sitting in a café, drinking Rioja as I write this account on my laptop. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
I’m not sure where I’ll end up tomorrow. If the weather is okay I plan to circle around the south side of the Picos to Potes. If the weather is bad I may decide to go straight to Leon. From what I’ve seen the rain in Spain falls mainly on the mountains.
View Larger Map
posted by Gary and Jani at 10:39 AM
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