Getting Across Central Spain

We’ve just finished our second day of biking after leaving Burgos and we’re combining two days’ worth of posts into one because, honestly, the past two days have really just been about getting through the miles.

The terrain is much flatter now, with distant hills that resemble the mesas of Arizona. The zone we’re traversing is an industrial and agricultural area. Not particularly charming or beautiful. Huge car factories (see the Michelin photo below) and large irrigated crop fields (of what, we’re not sure) dominate. The lovely old tiny villages seem to be fewer and farther apart. We’re just pushing through this section of Spain with our eyes on Portugal.

We’ve been cycling on an assortment of dirt roads between farm fields, along the old Castilla Canal road, between huge factories, through new residential neighbourhoods, and along a long bike path entering the prominent city of Vallodalid. Vallodalid was at one point the contender to be the capital of Spain against Madrid, but an invasion by the French a few hundred years ago destroyed much of the city. We’ll go out tonight and explore the Centro and munch on some more tapas.

The video here is a small taste of our rides the last couple of days. Nothing impressive – just getting across Spain. (Lots of miles, though, in very dry heat and intense sunshine.)

Here’s our ride from two days ago when we were leaving Burgos. We stayed in a lovely little B&B in a very small village. The best part was discussing our route for the following day with the bartender. He spoke no English, I spoke minimal Spanish, but luckily for us he set us straight and probably saved us about 15 kms of riding and a few ridiculous climbs. Our original route would have been a disaster. Muchas Gracias!!!! And the diminutive chef at that hotel – all 4’10” of her – presented spectacular meals that evening.

Today’s ride into Vallodalid. A long one at 80kms, but quite flat.

Here’s where we are now, in Vallodalid. We’re about three days from Portugal.

Here’s the view from our balcony in Vallodalid. Lots of street chatter and no car noise.