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Camino del Cid, Prt. 2

Route: Molina de Aragon -Checa – Orihuela del Tremedal. – Teruel – Sagunto – Valencia

This trip will be remembered as a rainy and cloudy one, almost from the start weeks ago, till now towards the end. It wasn’t raining, entering Molina de Aragon, but can’t say it was nice, balmy weather either, which you would expect this time of year. I passed through this place once before in 2016, on my off-road trip from Hondarribia at the Atlantic in the north of Spain, to Cartegana at the Mediterranean in the south of the country. All about that trip here.

Looking back towards Molina de Aragon, as the rain resumes.

Upon leaving Molina de Aragon, it started raining again. Now to a point I start to get fed up by it. But, we can only continue.

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Camino del Cid, Prt. 1

Route: Vivar del Cid – Burgos – Covarrubias – Santo Domingo de Silos – Langa de Duero – El Burgo de Osma – Sigüenza

On my day of departure from Burgos, I first rode north out of town towards Vivar del Cid, a little village with nowadays abt 140 inhabitants. This is the place of birth of Rodrigo Díaz in ca 1043. El cid is one of Spains national hero’s, a knight who fought for the Spanish kings. In 1094, he conquered Valencia after a 2 year siege. He ruled there until his death on July 10, 1099.

Molino del Cid at Vivar del Cid, birthplace of the knight.

The official starting point of the Camino del Cid, km zero.

More about El Cid here.

In my whole cycling career, I have never seen a nicer or better documented website about a route as the one of El Cid, with plenty of possibilities, from routes by car, hiking routes, mountainbike routes, gravel options and road cycling options. You can combine as you wish. there are plenty of detours, shortcuts and the Continue reading “Camino del Cid, Prt. 1”

On the camino towards Burgos

Route: Embalse de Irabia – Aribe – Pamplona – Puente de la Reina – Logroño – Burgos

The weather was terrible, crossing the border in to Spain.
Rain.
Lots of it.

I was riding along the embalse (reservoir) de Irabia which I passed ten years ago in 2014 as well, riding the Transpirenaica. I hope I had better conditions back then. I stop for a while, climb a fence and try to shelter under a tiny awning of a deserted building. It’s so tiny that it’s uncomfortable and as it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop any time soon, I just ride on.
Drenched, I arrived in tiny Aribe. there’s a small Carrefour supermarket here, where I buy some stuff and eat it under the porch of the church. I eat slow, go back in the supermarket to buy a chocolate milk, go back to ‘my’ porch, look at my maps, at the sky, at the forecast….

This is no fun, and it’s not going to get any better anytime soon.

My first views of Spain again, the embalse de Irabia.

There seems to be no affordable paid accommodation in the vicinity so I decide to change my planned route, which was going via smaller roads towards Lumbier, Callahora and Soria towards Burgos into something completely Continue reading “On the camino towards Burgos”

France: East – west along the Pyrénéen foothills

Route: Col d’Ares – Céret – Thuir – Gorges de Galamus – Rennes-les-Bains – Saint-Girons – Tarbes – Pau – Orthez – Donapaleu – Lekunberri -‘Chalet de Pedro’ track

From the top of the Col d’Ares, I had marvelous views towards the Massif du Canigou. The downhill is a beautiful one, but as I’m descending into the valley, village after village there’s more traffic and immediately you’ll notice the different attitude of French drivers compared to the (much, much better) Spanish drivers. Luckily, there’s another greenway awaiting, the Ancienne Voie Verte D’Arles à Eine.

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Spain: From Valencia to the Pyrenees in Catalunya

Route: Valencia – Teruel – Alcañiz – Mora d’Ebre – L’Espluga de Francoli – Ripoli – Col d’Ares

A short report from a trip I made last year (2024). Part 1/4

I took a train from home to Valencia, the third largest city in Spain from where I cycled north through Valencia and Castellón provinces to Catalonia where I crossed the Pyrenees into France.

In France I cycled east to west along the Pyrenean foothills. From the French Basque Country I crossed again the Pyrenees back to Spain where I joined after a while the Camino de Santiago route until Burgos from where I followed the ‘Camino Del Cid’ route back to Valencia.

Total length of the route: 2.800 km with just over 30.000 meters of climbing.

Departing from Valencia’s estacion del norte I soon pass the ‘Estadio de Mestalla’, the second oldest stadium in Spain (opened in 1923) and home to Valencia Football Club. You will not believe it, but just after passing the stadium, I had a flat rear tire, not even five kilometer in my ride. This frustrated me so, that I refused to unload all the bags and start a repair in the Continue reading “Spain: From Valencia to the Pyrenees in Catalunya”