April 16, 2023 to April 18, 2023
Aliaga - Gratallops
Stage 8
I opted for a 70km road ride from Aliaga to Calanda and it was really enjoyable. Crossing the Puerto de Majalinos at 1450m marked the start of several hours of downhill and the steady peeling off of layers as the air warmed up. By the time I arrived in Calanda at 621m, it was almost hot again.
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The geology around Aliaga was very interesting, with layers of rock twisted and extruded to form stripes and channels, looking as though the rock had been kneaded like bread.
By taking the road option I dodged an almost certain 2 km bike push up a 16% probably rough and rocky track. I won't know what this section is really like, but I did get to enjoy similar scenery from a sealed ride-able road, so I'm happy with the choice.
Actually I did find out about the section of trail I didn't ride - I met Karolina as we were both checking out of the Calanda hostel the next morning, and she told me how challenging the 2 hour push was the day before!
We swapped whatsap details and arranged to met for dinner in Bot, then went about our separate day's ride.
The first part of the morning was though terraced fields - olives and fruit trees - and mostly easy riding until we reached the end of the valley and climbed to the ridge-line. In the next valley we joined a via Verde for around 50 km, so it was an easy day's 70 km to my cabin at Camping Terra Alta, about 500m before Bot.
On the Via Verde I stopped to use the selfie post - a cleverly positioned phone holder that could be pivoted to capture the desired background - no bananas needed to prop up the phone for this photo!
While I was admiring this tourist feature, Esther and Rolland, a Dutch couple now living in Spain arrived and we had a great chat about their relatives and friends living in NZ, their reasons for moving to Spain, and the wonderful emptiness and access to nature that they felt was not so accessible in Netherlands anymore. Rolland loaned me his binoculars to look at 5 eagles/ griffons that had just launched from the cliff behind us. A special trail moment, right there.
In Bot, Karolina and I had a great time discussing our various trail experiences over dinner. She had ridden the first 3 weeks with her partner Henning, and had been riding alone for about a week, with only 4 more days to go before her end point at Igualada and a train to Barcelona where she had arranged to meet her Mum for a few days exploring the city.
The last 57km of this stage took us to Gratallops, via Gandessa, Mora d'Ebre, Garcia, El Molar, and El Lloar. This was another varied day's ride though more terraced fields, briefly alongside Spain's second biggest river, the Ebre, and then into some more vertical terrain where "terracing" took on a while new dimension!
The trail took us across the Ebre via a rail bridge, and I was a little nervous about being "allowed" to do this. But apart from a steep scrabbly track to get up to the rail bed, there were no fences to climb, no trains came, and I didn't get arrested, so in Spain it seems its ok to walk across a railway bridge!
The hostel in Gratallops turned out to be a great find, with breakfast included, and Karolina and I both took full advantage of the bacon and eggs and bottomless espresso that was part of the deal. Our dinner had also been good hearty fare, so we were well set up for Stage 9 - just as well as things transpired.
EDT Stage 8 was 198 km and 3040m of climbing. My version was 191km and 2450m, so I skipped a lot of climbing between Aliaga and Calanda!
Today's ride: 191 km (119 miles)
Total: 1,635 km (1,015 miles)
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