Tuesday, 15th September
Happy 70th birthday Bill! And thanks Bike Adventures for the nice jersey present...
We were promised "one of the best days you will have on a bike", and they were right. Almost immediately, we turned right, crossed the river, and headed into an almost wild landscape of rocky crags - effectively the last of the Pyrenees of the ride.
We couldn't believe that this hole in the cliff had formed naturally - Tony D suspected that dynamite might have played a role, and I agree - perhaps there was a shortage of gravel when they built the road?
The river must be dammed further down - no wind, that's a good sign.
Although it was overcast as we continued to climb, we never thought it would rain. The light through the gorge is almost "Turner-esque" (if that's a word).
We passed through the first of half a dozen tunnels on the long, but gradual, ascent to the first of the day's mountain passes.
We suspect that dynamite would have played an important part in the construction of this tunnel too.
From the top of the first pass - if you look carefully, you can see the road and some of the tunnels far below...
The King and Queen of the mountain (Douglas and Hilly) take time out for a chat with John as they approach the top. That was our opportunity to catch them!
Looking back to the small town of Alinya half way up the climb - the road curves around the cliff on the right.
Graham and Robin managed to chat all the way up - well, part of the way up, anyway...
After a short descent we stopped at the only bar/cafe/restaurant of the day! The four hunters in the bar couldn't believe how far we had cycled, especially given our average age.
Down from one pass, and ready to climb another...
And half way up there's a zoo of all things!
Several times during the past few days we've seen large numbers of birds of pray circling around the cliffs - someone more knowledgeable than me thought they were Vultures.
If you look closely again, you can see a stone house built into the cliff face...
...don't strain - here it is. At times today we could have been in Arizona (or is that Kansas?).
The top of the last pass, but not a deer in site.
We saw several natural water sources during the ride - at this one, some of the locals had come to fill up for the week. We did the same.
Time for a stretch and a chat before the long descent into Solsona.
But not before a short, but sharp, climb - this is the view back to where we had been earlier.
Almost there - unfortunately, we had to follow this tractor laden with manure all the way into town!
Unusually, we arrived before the van (and the luggage). What else to do but have a beer and visit the nearby Lidl (supermarket like Aldi) for some take-ways.
The hotel looked good, but we might have been in Torquay - the WiFi was only available in reception, and the hot water wasn't available at all...
The centre of town was a couple of kilometers away, but there was nowhere to eat near the hotel so we walked in.
As in larger towns, there's an old town, and the rest of the town. Solsona has a nice old town with a cathedral and gateway just near the river.
So the search for the "perfect" place to drink and eat commenced...
We found two tapas bars in a small square and tossed a coin - unfortunately, after a jug of champagne sangria (to celebrate Bill's birthday, we decided we needed a little more than these places were offering. Besides, the ground sloped and there was no toilette in the bar...we're not getting any younger.
To cut a long story short, we found nothing in the old town, settled for a rather dodgy, and empty, restaurant by the river, and had the best meal - cooked by an even dodgier barman come waiter come cleaner come chef with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth!
It just goes to show that in Spain nothing is at it appears.
PS. Apologies for the delay in recent posts - the Internet has also been dodgy these past few day.
No comments:
Post a Comment