Road to Malaga

My map promised a scenic ride crossing the sierra south-west of Ronda along the biosphere reserve Sierra de las Nieves; this I got - spectacular views on the surrounding mountains - AND as a sidedish some nice headwind uphill. What a "great" way to start my day. No wonder the col near Ronda was called Puerto del Viento by some funny guy. Pray I never meet him...

Having reached the top; I cruised with top-speed through hairpin curves; overtaking caravans and the odd car towards El Burgo and followed the A-366 direction Malaga. The traffic intensified noticeably from Coin on and the combination of narrow road, big trucks and rush hour traffic made me use my helmet for the first time during my trip.

Entering Malaga I treated myself to a nice ice-cream (3,60 € for a rather small "mid"-sized portion) before meeting Borja near his flat. He invited me for chinese dinner and a couple of Heineken, just the right thing for a hungry cyclist.

Unfortunately; looking up the ferry schedule on the web I made a mistake and looked for the monday sailing schedule only. When I reached Malaga port on tuesday in order to buy my ticket, the ferry to Melilla was about to leave -only the monday and friday departure is at 19h whereas on the rest of days, the boat takes off at 14h. Bad Luck.
I had to stay another day in Malaga. I took to roam the city and read, eat and write e-mails to potential hosts en route in Morocco.

I think Borja was quite surprised finding me still in his flat the same day in the afternoon...

Ronda

Yesterday was very tiring cycling so I happily decided to give myself a break and stay for a couple of days in Ronda. The hostel Ronda Sol offered cheap and clean lodging only 200 meters from the Plaza de Toros (which is believed to be the cradle of spanish bullfighting) and spectacular Puente Nuevo.

Finished in 1793, being 98 meters in height, the bridge spans the gorge of the Tajo and allowed the city to expand beyond its boundary imposed by nature.

On friday afternoon I meet german touring-cyclist Till who is on his way from Morocco to Madrid and stays in the same hostel. He has got vast cycle-touring experience, mostly in eastern european and baltic countries, Turkey and the Caucasus. As you will understand I could not resist to pick his brain extensively over a couple of cañas. If you are interested in first hand info on his tours and want to see some great fotos, have a look at his website.

Saturday morning I got visit from Madrid and spent the weekend exploring Ronda with Nieves.

We enjoy the great scenic views onto the surrounding sierras, visit the Casa del Rey Moro and the adjoining mines that lead down narrow and slippery stairs to the level of river Tajo, we cross the ancient bridges and gasp at fortifications and of course had some nice tapas rondeñas.

A lot of businesses are carrying the name of the german poet Rainer Maria Rilke (who spent the winter of 1912 in Rondas Hotel Reina Victoria -his former room resembles now a small museum). Rilkes published despricptions of the dramatic clifftop-setting of Ronda must have helped to transform it into a must-see site for tourists visiting the Costa del Sol. Thus, from mid-morning to early afternoon, the city is plagued by tourists groups arriving mostly by bus.

So, after a three days rest and quite a dose of sightseeing and legstreching away from the bike, on monday morning I ll take the road towards Malaga, pay a short visit to Borja and then buy a ticket for the ferry to spanish enclave Melilla. From there I will cross into Morocco.

On the news

Last wednesday I appeared on the daily news on Canal 12 TV of El Viso del Alcor (Sevilla) talking about my trip. To see the program, click following link and forward to minute 13:00. Enjoy.

From El Viso to Ronda

On wednesday morning I left El Viso and headed direction Carmona and Ronda. I crossed the flat Vega of Guadalquivir having a slight tailwind. I made good progress and spun my wheels at nearly 20 kms/hour. As I reached Morón de la Frontera I was welcome by a member of a local fraternity preparing chandeliers and flower arrangements for the festivities of Semana Santa.

Leaving Morón I hit a very calm tarmac road where local cyclist like to train and met Miguel Alvarez on his road bike. We chatted about fitness levels, the Via Verde and my trip while we sped up the hills. Miguel told me he was in "quite" bad shape but he still had less effort with the climbs as I did with all the lugguage and as I struggled for breath I cursed him while he chatted happily away spinning lightly on his 9 kgs carbon road bike. Bless him !

In Coripe I loaded up with potatoes and galletas for dinner and hit the spectacular Via Verde de la Sierra. Once I saw the rock of Zafra Magon I pitched my tent right beside the Via and tried in vain to light my stove. Frustrated I gave in and had a sad cold dinner of cookies and bananas after 93 kms on the road.

The next day was very hard with a steady headwind and a fierce sun shining from the cloudless andalucian sky. Me knees hurt from the effort the day before and the terrain was little nasty hills with steep climbs and little downhills to recover. After tiring 53 kms I entered the spectacular town of Ronda and found a cheap hostel to rest my weary limbs. And of course a nice bar to feed and water....

Of saying goodbye, rain, wind & andalusian sun

After eight days of riding I reached El Viso del Alcor near Seville where I am staying with Coral, a friend of mine. A welcome refuge and time to repose from the first 500 plus kms. I still need some getting used to the heavy bike so a day or two off will do some good.

But lets beginn with the farewell in Madrid: After a last hearty and (for me) very emotional breakfast with a lot of friends, Nacho and Guillermo as well as avid cyclists Alicia & Alvaro (who also run the fantastic website dedicated to bicycle-touring www.rodadas.net/), took to give me company during the first kilometers on the "anillo verde ciclista" that surrounds Madrid.

A welcome help as I had absolutely NO clue about the right way out of Madrid.

The next days passed by quite fast, heading south I hit the quietest roads I could figure out on my map, had coffee in small villages, bought fruit and vegetables in tiny shops owned by old grandmas or friendly marrocans that willingly gave me tips for exploring Morroco.

Thanks to caravandrivers and sheppards, I set up my tent each night savely in quite spectacular surroundings, near to roman ruins, besides a medieval castle, in the Cijara national reserve park or simply in a wood nearby.

I also had the first minor problems with the equipment, e.g. a stove that would not light, a flagpole that snapped (repaired by now) and there was also the large cable including lock that for sure found a new owner by now because I left it at some fountain in a castillian village and did not notice until 30 kms and several hours later. I REALLY wasn´t in the mood to cycle back and look for it.

Weatherwise, I had "un poco de todo" these first days. In Extremadura I had cold nights, one day of slight but steady rain (which I withstood thanks to my raingear and a dose of music from my MP3 player), the next day should bring dry weather but a fierce wind that changed from side- to headwind at will and crossing into Andalucia the sun decided to shine brightly and the temperatures rose to over 20 degrees Celsius. Time for sunglasses, shorts and sunburnt face....

All in all, I would say I had a great start and am happy that I chose to cycle across Spain in this time of the year. So far I loved the countryside and enjoyed the great scenery of the Sierras in Extremadura and Andalucia (although, I suffered with the climbs and ups and downs with the laden bike).

Well, El Viso is a memorable stop-over because of the fact that I gave my first TV interview on (and about) this trip, for the local TV chanel Canal 12. I was quite surprised when they offered to interview me but have to admit I was really nervous during the whole affair. The program will be aired this friday (sorry, in El Viso only) and you will be able to see it someday soon on Youtube.

On Wednesday I´ll head for Carmona and then south towards the cycleroute "Via Verde de la Sierra" that runs from Coripe to Olvera, my destination being Ronda where I might spend some days.