nbjtours

Zaragoza, Spain

89 Miles 3940 ft

Starting out today in the back of beyond in rural Spain and passing through some very medieval towns and villages we were suddenly transported five centuries from the 1500s to present day Zaragoza in one Big Bang.  

 Monica checked the census of the nearby village of Urries and at last count there were only 59 souls left. Fewer than live in my little cul de sac of 19 houses. 

This was the Spain that this route is hopefully designed to find. Scandinavia was an unknown and after the busy and known spaces from Denmark to France, we will see things that are off the beaten track.  

 Just up the road was the superbly named Sos del Rey Catolico ( Sos of the Catholic King) An incredible little town on a hill that was still as it was in the sixteenth century. I had a quick scout round on the bike on the cobbles (yes, I did cycle up this street) as Nigel and Monica walked round, leaving before two coach loads of tourists spoiled the ancient atmosphere.  

 A good climb over the next ridge brought more views, before a downhill section leading onto a long straight across a barren plain.  

 I normally moan about the weather but today have had a stiff following crosswind pushing me along three sections for several straight flat miles at 30 mph plus, at one stage covering 6 miles in eleven and a half minutes. It is the first time I have ever run out of gears on the flat. The only thing to be wary about being a gust which knocks the bike sideways two to three feet so I ran down the middle of the road to give me extra leeway.  

 A brief coffee stop in Sadaba, a slightly larger town, was followed by another 15 miles straight wind assisted blat to the equally well named Ejea de Los Cabelleros ( Ejea of the Knights). I enjoyed flying past a tractor at over 30 mph as he just could not keep pace.  

 I saw some more vultures and other birds of prey, as well as many butterflies, but agriculture was limited, with occasional olive groves, a small vineyard still loaded with grapes and good old maize. A lot of the land looked rough scrub and not good for much, hence the lack of habitation and human contact all day, although I did see two or three Lycra clad cyclists sprinting in the opposite direction. 

 
Coming off the slightly main road and turning towards Castejon and another good blat, Nigel joined me for the last 3 miles before lunch. 

After lunch, a nice climb up a small valley to the top of San Esteban at 700m, gave a superb view over the wooded hillside, leading to a very arid looking plain around Zaragoza.  

 The final blat of the day on the smoothest road in history, brought me to the suburbs and the difficulty of finding a way to the campsite on the other side of the city, but staying off the motorway, as I had no desire to repeat my Swedish experience. 

Although not signposted, I initially got through a massive industrial estate, then beside a military complex before following another cyclist onto what looked like the hard shoulder of a dual carriageway into town and then switching to a cycle path- phew.  

 Zaragoza is an ultra modern city with some really unusual architecture around the historic core and despite the local drivers best efforts I got through their traffic to the campsite unscathed  

  Tomorrow will be the first day I am not getting on my bike for six countries, much to the relief of my backside,  as we pick Chris & Nick up from the airport, ready for the final push to Tarifa. 

A good end to the day was aided by the first appearance of Monica’s Beetroot and apple salad for at least two weeks.