February 26, 2022
Round two
Day 8 - Ponferrada to El Acebo de San Miguel
Due to the goings on of yesterday we were now starting from Ponferrada, which meant that today was going to be the second of the huge climbs of Spain - and the actual factual biggest. No day of nice long downhills for us to enjoy first.
We also still weren't sure if the climbs would mostly be on paved or gravel roads - we tried google but they didn't have actual visuals of most of the route(!).
Well, to break the suspense - it was paved! Wonderful smooth tarmac the whole day. Not that it wasn't difficult: we were climbing nonstop. We weren't sure how far we would get, but there were several small towns along the way that we presumed would have some sort of accommodation. Or there's always the tent...
Our patience for unrelenting climbs was just about running thin when we found a nice albergue. We are staying in a dorm but there's only one other person in it, a nice British man called Dave, and we had dinner with him and an Icelandic couple, which was genuinely a very enjoyable and wholesome experiencare. It's always a pleasure to meet people who you feel have the potential to become real friends, even if you don't see them again. One of the things that draws people to travel I think!
We are leaving a bit of climbing for tomorrow - up to 1650m! - then it'll be downhill all the way to Pamplona. Well, not really, but I think it'll feel a whole bunch easier from here.
Also: MY CRANK DID NOT FALL OFF. 🥳
Here is the ride on komoot if anyone wants to see exactly what constitutes steep for us:
https://www.komoot.com/tour/68...
Oh yeah, I also started the day by going several kilometres in the wrong direction!
Today's ride: 21 km (13 miles)
Total: 174 km (108 miles)
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