What a day, Mary Ellen has a bad fall and Seavo loses his brakes
We have been riding along beautiful cliffs, up and down, to the wee villages which are snugly built in to rocky walls, facing aquamarine bays. It is truly beautiful...and hard work. We see the occasional touring cyclist, but mostly road riders on sleek racing bikes out for a day ride. There is a cameraderie amongst us as we sweat our way up and down. Drivers of cars, trucks and motor homes have remained very considerate and patient. We can’t imagine at home that we would ever experience such consideration from drivers.
Last night when we rolled in to the small village of Cerbere, we were enchanted by this wee village and its medieval beauty. In terms of the architecture and terrain, time has stood still here. Families have lived here for generations. It suits us.
At the previous larger village, Banyuls sur mer, we had been feeling some concern about our brakes, particularly the front brake. Thank goodness for our 3rd drag brake. The Tourist Office told us that there were no bike shops until Llanca in Spain or back to Collioure. A dilemma as both directions are nothing but hills. So we chose to move on. We asked about the upcoming villages and he said “nothing of interest” until Llanca. Well, we disagree with his assessment as the small villages like Cerbere are full of charm and interest for us. All that it lacks are tourists.
Hotel Dorado has been in the family for some time. This 4 story building has 10 rooms and we stayed in a massive suite on the top floor with a commanding view of the village. We became like locals and kept an eye on the comings and goings. Who needs a tv? Such good value, prices are good here. And as a bonus, we found out this morning, that our host was born in our room -this explains the photos of him in his crib and on his bike as a young boy in our room!
The only problem was that Mary Ellen took a hard fall in the shower last night. It was scary but nothing was broken -just very painful. Riding will be a challenge. A tough night, but we will push on today and see how far we can get. Combined with extreme hills today, soft brakes and Mary Ellen’s sore bottom that goes into spasms whenever she moves, we may not get far.
Our “room with a view”. We love to self cater as it it keeps prices down, we eat like locals and we can eat in comfort.
Our room is on the top floor of the the third building on the left. The hotel is comprised of the three connected buildings, starting with the yellow on the right.
Approaching Portbou Spain. The photo shows the roads that we will be riding in and out of town. On the far side out of Portbou, we will eventually get to the very top...and it is very hot and humid.
When we arrived in Portbou, the rains started. It was so odd, locals (including this woman with her dog) earnestly told us in Spanish that we must turn around and go through the tunnel behind us. It didn’t make sense as our GPS and the sign showed the opposite. We tried it and it led us to the huge railyard. Something was lost in translation!
Steve Miller/GrampiesWe have found that often locals think they know where you are going based more on where most other cyclists tend to go, so they give directions that take you completely the wrong way. We tend to listen politely and nod a lot, wait until they are out of sight and go the way we want to anyway. Reply to this comment 6 years ago
We made it to Llanca and we were very lucky to find Diego, an excellent mechanic who knew exactly what the problem was and how to fix it. Google translate helped.
We have an extra pair of shimano pads for the front, but Diego needs to order new BB7 pads for the the rear brakes and they won’t won’t arrive until tomorrow morning. Maybe that is a big blessing in disguise as the twenty km today have been enough for Mary Ellen’s bottom. Time to find a place to stay with a tub so that she can rest and recover.
Llanca is a sweet town with lovely murals and mosaics throughout the town.
Barry discovered this amazing bakery and brought treats back to our room. It’s a small world as the man with the baguettes is buying them for our breakfast at the hotel tomorrow,
