September 30, 2004
Day 16: Granada
The original hand written journal ended at Montefrio. This entry and the subsequent ones were written years after the fact, from memory.
Well, it was bound to happen. We’ve finally come to a ride where I really can’t remember anything at all. Actually, that’s not quite true. I just can’t remember anything about the first two thirds of the ride, which is where all of the interest and scenic attraction must have been. Other than the photos of Montefrio itself I took on leaving town (which I included in yesterday’s post), there is only this single photograph to hint at what the day must have been like. Just more of the same, apparently: beautiful rolling hills blanketed in olive groves. Yawn. No wonder I only kept one photo.
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We do have one clear memory from the ride though that has stuck with us over the years. 25 miles into the day we came to A-92, a high speed, high volume controlled access divided highway. There is a frontage road and quiet alternative route to Granada, but it was too small to show on our paper map and we really weren’t sure what to do when we came to this point. We stood here by the side of the highway for several minutes, staring at the map, staring at the road, trying to divine the right course to take from here, when we were rescued by a bicyclist from Granada out on a day ride west to I think Loja. He spoke a limited amount of English - just enough to understand our predicament - but once he did he took us under his wings and changed his plan for the day. Rather than continuing on the ride he had planned he gave us an escorted tour back to Granada, roughly ten miles away. It’s one of the most memorable acts of kindness we’ve been blessed with in our travels.
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For the day: 42 miles, 2,500’; for the tour: 564 miles, 35,230’
Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 354 miles (570 km)
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