Cycling Through Rioja

Wednesday May 8th marked the last day of our first week of cycling. We were incredibly lucky to be spending that day in brilliant sunshine in the Rioja region of Spain.

We rode about 50’ before we realized that our devices were sync’d to different GPS routes, so we pulled over to the sidewalk and while we figured out which route was the most current route, a young mum walked past us with her seven year old daughter. They continued past and then came back because, as the mum asked, the sweet daughter had a question. Of course, all of this was in Spanish. John started to explain about the bikes/trikes as best he could until we figured out that the little girl’s question was about John’s hand. How did he… was there an accident… This mum and daughter were originally from Morocco. Kudos to the mum for persisting and advocating for her very shy daughter, so they had their questions answered. They asked for photos with us when they left us. I wish I had asked them to share them with us. Two beautiful young women.

Later in the day, for a number of segments on our route, we were joined by a (I’m guessing, seventy-two year old) Dutch woman who was cycling alone, on a battery-assisted bike, repeating a trip that she had done in 2005. Carrying all of her gear with her. Completely inspiring. We wish her well.

The day was long. Hot and dry. 73.3 km. We rode through stunningly beautiful Rioja vineyards and ended up in an architecturally daring hotel in Eskuernaga, Villabuena de Alava/Eskuernaga, Pais vasco/Euskadi, Rioja. Daring food for dinner. Gorgeous wine. And, obviously, early to bed.

I’m sure John will have juicy tidbits to add. John here. I’m amazed by the importance of agriculture and vineyards in this area. The fields are full of grapes, the towns are full of bodegas, the countryside has many workers bending over tending to various plantings and vines.

We always see the ridge of mountains to the north, separating Rioja from the sea, and the snow-capped ridge of mountains to the southwest. This area of Rioja is very hilly, and many hilltops are crowned with ancient towns and castles. We cycled through several towns today, never failing to lose direction at least once, and burning up our e-bike batteries on the steep inclines. Great fun!