Portugal & Spain 2008

Sunday - A day of two halves

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Sunday 22nd June

Dave tapped on our bedroom door early on and told us John had been in the bathroom for the last two hours and really wasn't at all well, he'd just dosed him up with Imodium, but at the moment things didn't look good for him riding today, poor John, it would be really bad luck to miss the last days ride :-(

Eventually, Patto and I dressed and went down for breakfast, it was like a miracle! there was John! It seems the Imodium had worked its magic and the sickness had just about gone, yes, he still felt a little fragile, but he was back on the trip! Note to self, always pack Imodium on a trip!

A little later in the car park while prepping for the days ride, Dave said his taped up toe piece had been moving around late yesterday afternoon and needed re-taping, unfortunately there was no more insulating tape left. Dave took a chance and nipped off down the road to our local filling station finding out that not only were they open, but they also sold a duct tape!

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Seeing as how Dave was doing a little maintenance, Patto and I decided to do our bit too and topped up the oil on both our bikes, just under half a litre went in each engine.

N43 09 47.9 W4 36 35.0 (Google map)

09:55 And finally we're away, today we're riding a big loop to the South/East of Ojedo/Potes. Really, it's a big extension of Fridays run, because we are using the same roads both out and back. Again, we're riding anti clockwise from our hotel.

10:30 The view on the right of us was looking great, we stopped a couple of times to try and take picture but couldn't find a decent break in the foliage, anyway, this does give you a good idea of this roads surface doesn't it, totally worn out. really it's not too bad to ride on, just don't push it!

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10:34 Then, just half a mile further up the road we found the proper place to stop, Mirador de Piedrasluengas, named I presume after the village just a little further up the road.

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Here's the view from the Mirador showing the valley below blanketed in cloud. it's pretty spectacular!

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On the info board was a picture of the old viewing point with a coating of snow, now that did look good, sadly, we'll have to make do with sunshine :-)

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And close by the Mirador is a sign giving us the name of the pass we're riding, Puerto de Piedrasluengas, now there's a surprise!

N43 02 29.4 W4 27 30.4 (Google map)

Ok, enough here, let's move on to...

11:01 Mirador de las Matas!

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The view from Mirador de las Matas. Hmmm, well, I think we all felt a little cheated with this one, but if you feel inclined to stop, there is an info board here with the names of the mountains marked on it, just don't forget your binoculars, because you'll need em.

N42 53 15.5 W4 29 17.2 (Google map)

We'd actual ridden through some fabulous scenery so far (I just don't have the pictures to show you) and now we were looking for refreshments.

12:05 And this is what we found, a great Sport Cafe/Bar in the little town of Fontibre. You'll know when you've got here when you see the flags!

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The place seems to be run by a young couple, perhaps it's their first venture, and what a good idea it is. Quite a few people were coming and going, some staying for a cool drink under the brollies, some enjoying light meals, we of course stuck to soft drinks...

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The temperature here was 27c, but it seemed a lot warmer, most of us had to stay under the shade of the brollies. Anyway, we got comfy and watched live motorcycle racing on the flat screen TV, it sure beats my local biker cafe!

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If your interested, 50yds down the side road is a giant relief map of the whole area, it's getting a little weather worn right now, but still worth a look.

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12:10 We'd stayed an hour, I don't think anyone was in a hurry to move on, but the road was calling, and it's time to move on.

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13:18 Here we're approaching Puerto de Palombera on the Ca-280, but looking back the way we'd just come. We'd already ridden through some misty cloud on the way up here, you can see it top left in this shot, trouble was the road ahead looked no better :-(

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And as we rode on it got worse, eventually it was like riding in thick fog, and I just knew we were missing great scenery from what we'd seen on the way up here :-(

14:06 Eventually there was a break in the mist so we stopped here to see what we could see.

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And here's the best bit of the view from the Mirador above, that's the village of Camona on the left and San Pedro on the right, sadly, the mountains in the distance are lost in the mist.

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Well, things weren't getting any better hanging around here, so we might as well move on. I hoped the next pass, Collado de Hoz (N43 14 43.3 W4 32 33.6 (Google map)) would be free of mist and cloud, but sadly it wasn't and we just rode past.

14;54 It was looking as though that would be it for our last run out, when we finally had a little luck coming out of the mist to find this view over the little community of Caldas, the road and view was so exciting I actual rode back to make sure we had the pictures.

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This panorama tries to capture a wider view of the area, but fails miserably, you need to be there.

N43 15 08.9 W4 35 26.8 (Google map)

From here it was only a 3 mile ride back on to the N-621 gorge road to Ojedo, as usual, that was a great run and completely free of cloud and mist.

Back at the hotel it was maintenance time again, this time chains. Nothing escapes the camera.

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It takes three people, one to tilt the bike over, one to turn the wheel, and one to do the spraying, I stayed out of the way and took the pictures :-)

N43 09 47.9 W4 36 35.0 (Google map)

After that, all that remained to do was get cleaned up and pack ready for tomorrows departure. Of course packing doesn't take long, for us guys five minutes tops, and it does leave the room looking smart, so a good opportunity to take a picture.

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And tonight we're heading for the Casa Nisio again for more delicious pizza, this time John's having pizza too, can't think why :-)

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A rare picture of the interior (it's the only one I have), the big TV doesn't look quite so big in this shot, and it's mostly hidden behind the post and Aguila Amstel sign.

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The windows have been folded back making the interior comfortable, Patto can't resists starting a Marcel Marceau routine while talking on the phone to his better half.

N43 09 39.1 W4 36 40.7 (Google map)

The meal was just as good as the previous night, and just what we needed, all that was left to do now was a little window shopping...

And have a few drinks at the usual watering holes. We suspect Spain must have won a football match as there was much cheering in the bars and cars parading up and down the main street with horns blowing and passengers hanging out of the windows waving flags. From where I was sat I saw a small sparkling object come twirling out from an upstairs window, "stand by for the big bang" I said, a few moments later Ker-BOOM!!! they must have heard it on Mars! where do the kids buy those things!

So ends our last day in the Picos, it had been a day of two halves, great weather till lunch time, then the cloud dropped and spoilt much of the afternoons ride, oh well, it's a good excuse to come back another time isn't it :-)

Tomorrow we're heading home :-(

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This is today's route, showing the Miradors found and the Sport Cafe.

Today's elevation graph, wow, look at all those peaks! It's just a pity we missed so much with the low cloud and mist :-(

Today's temperature graph, BIG temperature drop after the Sport Cafe when we rode up in to the clouds.

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