March 31, 2023
To Montellano
The fog rolled into Arcos de la Frontera, perhaps on little cat feet or maybe on a big tiger paw – I'm not sure, but it was thick as soup when I looked out the window this morning. Certainly too thick for cycling. I worked a bit on the journal, lingered over an excellent breakfast with a made-to-order fried egg, visited the roof-top terrace, and by 10:45 decided that it was clear enough for safe cycling.
While the fog had lifted from the city, it seemed not to have lifted from my brain – I couldn’t figure out how to get out of town. My route appeared to direct me down one-way streets – a not infrequent feature of RWGPS. I often don’t mind going the wrong way – in Paris most all one-way streets are marked “Except Bicycles” (but in French with a bicycle icon). I’ve been more adherent to traffic directions in Spain, but this morning I could not find the parallel street in the correct direction. After circling the block, I came to a particularly congested intersection full of morning deliveries and a walking tour group. I call out “Salida?” to a nearby shopkeeper and he directed me to take the first left. Ignoring the “off course” admonitions from RWGPS, I followed a line of cars down a series of steep, narrow streets until I found myself at the bottom of the hill. When I finally pulled over to look at my route, I realized I was on the wrong side of Arcos de la Frontera – I’d exited down the south side while my route was headed north! It took a couple of bridge crossings and several round-abouts, but in less than four miles I was headed north to Espera on A-393.
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Those of you familiar with some my musings might know that I am huge fan of big sky and open vistas, perhaps a consequence of having spent thirty years in Iowa. I love cycling through open landscapes, preferably on winding roads that roll gently up and down through a contoured terrain, my head on a swivel and my heart singing. This was one of those days – smaller roads, low to no traffic, long views and gently rolling hills - almost perfect, but not quite. The bike shop in Arcos seemed to have over-adjusted my front derailleur and there was now a rubbing-like noise when I was on the larger crank. I adjusted my gearing to minimize the noise when possible, but it’s hard to stay in the small crank when fundulating.
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I missed my turn when leaving Espera, but a quick look at my map indicated I could continue onward and rejoin my route a little farther down the road. I continued on A-393 until it joined A-371, a somewhat larger road with a bit more traffic. Four miles later, I turned east toward Montellano onto a delightful, traffic-free provincial road. I enjoyed a lunch of mixed nuts and a ginger cookie while sitting on a large stone in front of a farm gate, with only the sounds of a gentle breeze and birdsong. I continued on, growing a little concerned about running out of water when a roadside bar/restaurant appeared out of nowhere. It was that kind of magical day.
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And then suddenly the day wasn’t so magical. I was going up a modest hill and when I shifted onto my small crank, Vivien George emitted a very loud noise. I immediately stopped and jumped off the bike. I’m not sure what happened, but the chain had come off and the rear derailleur looked misplaced. I turned the bike over and tried to get the chain back and gears moving, but to no avail. About that time, Pedro came by – a local cyclist out for a day ride. He talked a lot and waved his arms in an effort to help me fix things, but I understood nothing. I finally gave him my multi-tool and encouraged him to have a go. He made an adjustment to the front derailleur (different from the Arcos bike shop) and got things working to some extent, but he could not get the chain to move off the smallest rear sprocket. He concluded that things were fixed enough to ride, but that I would need to be strong to make it to Montellano in the highest gear. He gave me a thumbs up, and headed down the hill in the opposite direction.
Somewhat optimistically, I loaded up Vivien George and started pedaling. Almost immediately the chain fell off and I was back to square none. I was eight miles from Montellano on a road used mainly by farmers and cyclists. I tried to call a taxi, but I had no cell service. So I started walking, about a half-mile uphill until I found a safe-pullout with enough of a cell signal to call my hotel in Montellano. Beltran, the hotel owner was magnificent. I asked if he could call me a taxi – but they were all busy for holiday weekend. I said I could maybe hitch a ride, but he said he would come get me, commenting that I would wait until next week before someone picked me up. I sent him my location on WhatsApp and he arrived in about 20 minutes, all the while sending me messages on his progress and his estimated time of arrival. We fit Vivien George into his small van and after dropping the bags at the hotel he took us to the local bike mechanic.
No one was in the shop, so I took a look around while waiting for the mechanic’s arrival. It seemed more of a motorcycle repair shop than a bicycle shop, though I did spot a few dusty ancient bikes stacked against each other, in between the motorbikes. Soon enough, the mechanic ambled in, a tall, friendly man who spoke no English. He took a brief look at things and while I lifted the rear wheel off the ground, he moved/readjusted the position of the rear derailleur and ran through all the gears. Smiling, he deemed everything was okay. When I pantomimed/mimicked the rubbing noise, he took pair of pliers to widen the opening of the chain guide. I was a bit flabbergasted, but said nothing. There was no charge, just big smiles and many “Gracias.” I pedaled back to the hotel, and everything seemed to work just fine!
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My brain was confused, my body tired, and my emotions drained. I got back to the hotel and crashed, dining on nuts and my last ginger cookie. I was too exhausted from the highs, the lows, and all the in-betweens of this day. In the end, it was a magical day – not just the cycling but the good hearted people who helped me along the way.
Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 478 miles (769 km)
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