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…
Day 3 – Stalled
15 December 2021 Shell had a shocking night. Toilet frequently. My cold has shifted to my chest. She can’t ride in her current state. Rest the only option. “For the personality, bankruptcy or failure may be a disaster. For the soul, it may be grist for its strangely joyful mill, and a condition it has…
Day 2 – Recovery
14 December 2021 “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” – Lao Tzu Thick fog overnight. Everything is wet. My arse is saddle sore. My legs fine. Throat still a problem. Only…
Day 1 – Lessons
13 December 2021 “Sal, we gotta go and never stop going ’till we get there.’ ‘Where we going, man?’ ‘I don’t know but we gotta go.” ― Jack Kerouac 6.00am start. 7.00am depart. Clear skies. Little wind. Wake up with razors in my throat. Getting sick. Nevermind. The ride through Barcelona was smooth. Little traffic…
Ready
12 December 2021 Last gym session for six months. Not a great night’s sleep. Mind racing. Details. Logistics. If we lose GPS we are lost. I need a map. “Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I…
Bike Day
Gym worked. Slept to a reasonable time. Porridge for breakfast. Satan’s for a Cortado. Watching the clock waiting for the bikes. I was awake last night thinking about the logistics of the trip. Water. How much will I need? Will we be able to refill on the way? And so on. Walk to Castro bikes….