23 December 2021 Alarm at 5.10 am. No breakfast. Bikes packed. Arrive at Logroño. Board train to Castejón. No problem. 90 minutes later arrive. Quick change. Castejón to Miranda de Ebro. Two hours later, arrive. Four-hour wait for the San Sebastian train. Every train we have caught (successfully) has been a ‘Regional Express’. Train to…
Day 10 – Bodegas Bilhar
22 December 2021 Message on my phone. David’s kid has a COVID contact at school. Can’t pick us up. Can’t host us. If we ride out, cellar door opens at 9.00 am. Javi will host us. “Life is a long preparation for something that never happens.” ― W.B. Yeats Eat breakfast. Buffet. Embarrassed myself. Again….
Bodegas Bhilar and Merdano Irazu tasting notes
22 December 2021 Tasting notes from Bodegas Bhilar and a couple of Merdano Izuras from Linus. Very rusty. Been a while. 2016 Bodegas Bhilar Struggling Vines Pincha Hapa Blanco Golden colour. Plenty of skin contact. Natural yeasts, but does not have the off-putting funk I dislike with orange wines. It is a powerful nose with…
Day 9 – Missed appointments
21 December 2021 Wake up early. Restless night. Buffet breakfast. Dignity lost at round four. Check out. Quick ride to the station. Zaragoza Delicia. 10.48 departure. Tickets purchased night before at Zaragoza Goya. Only need ticket for bikes. Language barrier. Can’t get tickets for bikes. Head to Customer Service. Lady writes down what we need….
Day 8 – Trains
20 December 2021 Slept 13 hours last night. Feel good this morning. We are meeting a friend in Logroño tomorrow afternoon. We don’t run a schedule. No real plans. No destinations. Day to day. When you make an arrangement you suddenly have an itinerary. Obligation. That is OK, but not ideal. I like the freedom…
Day 7 – Sub Zero
19 December 2021 Big day. 40 km. Not a great night. The bed was average. Host came home at 10.00 pm and watched Youtube for a few hours. Up early. Cold. Below zero. Breakfast from a packet. Not great. Shell has a dream. Her numb hands and feet. Solution. Plastic bags. Fashion faux pas. Worked…
Day 6 – Downhill
18 December 2021 Up early. Terrible sleep. Pipes creaking. Cold. Oil heaters here. Everything hot. Breakfast. La Tera Firma. Zero English. Zero Spanish. We get there. An open fire grill for toasting bread and sausages. Coffee ordered. Café. Recall milk is Leche. Nailed it. For Shell. I get a shot. Not quite nailed. The place…
Day 5 – The last hill
17 December 2021 “Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.” ― Jack Kerouac Shell good. My cold is worse. Cough. Blocked nose. Overcome. The last of the big climbs. Until we hit Loroñgo. The day seems tough on paper. It is a ride of three sections. One challenging. …
Day 4 – Back in the saddle
16 December 2021 A good night’s sleep for both. Shell much better. I am not well. Throat better. Chest troubling. Bad cough. Breakfast porridge on the camp stove. “Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.” ― Aldous Huxley 11.00 am. We head off for…