Day 6 Benavente (3 times!) to Palencia

And so it was that I was cycling back towards Portugal albeit under a clear blue sky. The hotel wouldn't go into my old room because the new occupant was out, so I had a frustrating wait of an hour in reception. Eventually some guy walked into reception with my jacket over his arm and I grabbed it letting out a juvenile whoop of relief!
I eventually arrived back at my hidden stash of gear at around 3pm having clocked up 106km.
I loaded up as quickly as possible. A westerly tailwind had built up and I decided to crack on and complete the 80km to Palencia even though it would mean another spell of night riding.
The road had more lorries than cars but there was a good hard shoulder and they always gave me a wide berth. At least half of the trucks were Portuguese and I spotted a 'João Pires' from Vila Nova de Cerveira, no far from home. Eventually the orange glow of Palencia could be seen on the horizon, it had turned bitterly cold and I was very happy to be shown my 15 euro room in my 'pension'. I'd covered an impressive 187km since breakfast at an average 21km/hr ........impossible without that tailwind and a pretty flat landscape.

Day 5 - What a Plonker!

It was a late start from the hotel, around mid-day so only managed 53km to a point on the A 525 some 20 km east of Benavente. So, having camped down a farm track well away from the main road I am snuggling into my sleeping bag for the night and looking for my pillow (aka down jacket). I realise that it is hanging in the wardrobe of the hotel. Bugger!
Now this jacket, apart from being pretty expensive, is on my list of essential items. So, the plan for tomorrow is to hide all my kit in a hedge and cycle 'unladen' the 53km back to the hotel and hope my jacket was still there. I guess you do make your own luck.......Mr Forgetful!

Day 4 103km!

It was a day of 2 halves with a sting in the tail. I’m writing this in the bar of a hotel at nearly closing time of 1am so will finish this tomorrow (Monday).

The day started off sunny with a bitter crosswind, labouring up into the mountains eventually reaching nearly 1300m. I had now left Galicia and was in the province of Zamora so it felt like I’d really left home at last. The N525 just stopped at one point and all traffic was forced to use the A52, except cyclists who had to use the old road. This was very pretty but wound around the contours of the hills so I was covering a lot of kilometers without actually getting much closer to my destination. In the afternoon the wind dropped, and I had a nice sunny descent out of the mountains and back on the N525. The road into Benavente is one of those that is straight all the way to the new well-maintained road is amazing, sometimes I don’t see a car for 20 minutes, they’ve all taken the motorway.

My arty photo

This could have been in the Welsh valleys, slate roofs and all.

I pulled up at dusk after 83 km and pitched the tent on some open no-man’s land about 300m from the road. A couple of hours later everything was set up under a clear starry night. The ice-melt on the tent from this morning had refrozen again but my hot-water bottle was already tucked inside my sleeping bag and my risotto supper was bubbling away. I saw a car headlights stop at the start of the track and I just knew it was the police. The Guarda Civil seemed to be everywhere, earlier today on a garage forecourt they had been searching a group of construction workers for ‘wacky baccy’.

Anyway, the lights just stayed there until re-enforcements arrived and then they set off towards me, eventually pinning me like a rabbit in their headlights. The conversation went something like this:

“Unintelligible Spanish”

            “I’m English” (This I believe, explains why I’m there and exonerates me from any blame).

“Passport”

“You can’t camp here”

“Sorry. I’ll be on my way in the morning”

“Go now. There is auberge 3km ahead. It’s free. Just go to the ‘Bar Central’ and ask for the key”

            “OK officer”.

Breaking camp after the eviction

Now you can’t just chuck everything on the bike and go……it takes time to pack everything away in it’s place. During my visit the risotto had managed to weld itself to the bottom of the pan as well. Also, and this is a winter camping point that I had not previously considered, when wet all the sliding joints in the alloy tent poles freeze up so you can’t get them apart without warming each joint.

I finally get going about 9pm and find the Bar Central. My glasses fog up as I walk into the warmth and I can’t see a thing. Another conversation:

“Good evening, I’m English and the police told me I could get the keys to the auberge here”.

“Are you a peregrine (pilgrim)” (I haven’t mentioned that I have been tracking in reverse the Caminho to Santiago, probably from Madrid)

“No” This was definitely the wrong answer.

“I’m sorry, it’s only for pilgrims. There is a hotel 17km down the road.”

I slug down a ‘café solo’ to perk me up and set off into the night.

I’m actually bowling along quite nicely in the inky blackness, listening to Eric Clapton’s ‘Unplugged’ album on my boogie box and considering doing the 36km to Benavente. However, it’s nearly midnight and common sense prevails.

At the check-in the receptionist says “It’s 25 euros for the night, are you a pilgrim?”

“Oh yes” I reply as emphatically as I can.

“In that case you get a 5 euro discount”

Bargain. So that’s how I ended up drinking San Miguel in a snug hotel at nearly 1am.

Qu. How many items can you charge off your USB ports before your  notepad power supply blows up?

The lesson learnt is – if you want to camp stealthily do not wander round with a 100 lumen lamp strapped to your head!

Day 3 Sat Feb 02 – Xinzo de Limia to Gudina

80km today 199km total 250km to Palencia

riding time

Elev 1095m

My version of  'scraping the ice off your windscreen'

Even later departure today. I'm in a very hilly area following the N525 through Verin and hoping to make Benavente in a couple of days. As soon as I see a sign for a crawler lane for lorries I know I'm in trouble. My road intertwines with the new A52 autoestrada which clearly takes most of the traffic as sometimes I don't see a car for 30 minutes. The A52's 6 lanes slice through mountains and soar across valleys on majestic viaducts while I labour above and below it like a yo-yo. The wind has shifted round to the north, not really helping me on my progress east, and it's noticeably colder. It's been sunshine and squally showers all day so I've had my waterproofs on and off more times than a whore's drawers (as my dad used to say). I'm above 1000m and there is snow on the hill tops. I get a few supportive toots from motorists which is nice  Anyway that's my excuse for only managing 60km today. At this rate I may have to rethink my schedule. After today, I'm dreaming of a flat boring plain with a tailwind. I'm writing this while finishing off my second San Miguel in front of a fantastic log fire not 100m from my sub-zero tent. This would be perfect except that I have just managed to lose a filling to a piece of homemade pork scratching that came with the beer. Oh well!

Day 2 Fri Feb 01 – Lindoso to Xinzo de Limia

80km today 139km total 310km to Palencia (my first hotel)

Sunshine and showers up the R Lima valley

Better put the tent up

I set the alarm for 7am but still didn’t get going until 9.20am. I hope to improve on this. The day started well with a brisk south-westerly giving me some much needed assistance up the Lima valley towards Bande. Unfortunately, by midday rain had set in for the day and my wet weather kit was given a good test. After topping up with food in Xinzo de Limia I was prepared to cycle on into the rainy night (not a lot else to do!) but I spotted another good camping spot in a town park around 5.30pm and pitched the tent in some very wet and windy weather.

Day 1 Thu Jan 31 - Home to near Lindoso

 59km today 59km total 390km to Palencia

4:26hr riding time

Elev 355

Just 10km short of making it into Spain today. It was a short day after having a nice send off around 11am by Sandra and Angie in Paredes de Coura. (we won't mention Sandra having to drive me back home because I'd left the satellite tracker thingy in the garage). It didn't really sink in that I'd actually started as all the roads were so familiar. It was up the hill above town into the drizzle and over the top and down into Arcos de Valdevez, a very wet and chilly descent. The ride up the Lima valley to Lindoso was very pleasant, good fresh air and the scent of jasmine blossom.

Farewell Paredes de Coura!

Either my bike is to heavy or I'm not fit, probably both. All I know was that most of that gradual climb up the valley was in a worryingly low gear. I'd planned to carry on and cross the border into Spain before camping for the night but around 4.30pm I started to climb into that grey wet drizzly low cloud and I pulled up short at a fantastic beauty spot next to a tumbling river where the locals have a bar open in the summer. My tent and bike and a personal picnic table were under cover next to the bar (unfortunately shut)  and there was a spring a few yards away - perfect! (apart from the roar of the river which was in full spate). I felt this is a good omen.

A perfect camping spot

Days to do - getting few

It's Monday night and I'm leaving Thursday morning. I don't feel ready. I've done a 'ppp' (preliminary pannier pack) and it all fits in but the total weight including the bike is a hefty 53kg. My knees are starting to ache at the thought of it.......and that's without water and food. I draw some comfort from the words of Alisdair at MSG Bikes when I commented on the weight of the bomb-proof factory-fitted bicycle lock. He breezily dismissed the addition of a 1kg+ lump of steel with "Why are you worried about weight, that's what gears are for".  Clearly he was unaware of Mr Easyjet's baggage allowance rules which I will have to negotiate on the flight back home.

The route - I might miss Cyprus out if the Turkey-Tripoli ferry starts operating again.

The beast - loaded up for a test run

I'd feel a bit more prepared if I'd actually ridden the bike anywhere. To be honest I did put the panniers on and pedaled down the lane and back, a useful exercise because the rear panniers were mounted to far forward and were catching on the heels of my boots. Down the lane I met a local farmer and his wife and chatted to them about my plans. They looked a bit bemused and I could see the question 'Why?' written across their faces. The dear lady mentioned that I might be suffering from 'um falta de parafuso' which roughly translates to 'I think you have a screw loose'.  I mustn't let all this encouragement go to my head!

Sandra said she would meet me in Paredes on Thursday to wave me off, I'll need a coffee after climbing that hill into town.............so that's it then, Thursday morning come rain or shine.....two days to go.