Day 44 - Uncastillo to Murillo de Gállego - Gorging in France ...Then Basquing in the Pyrenees - 2023

May 31, 2023

Day 44 - Uncastillo to Murillo de Gállego

Going Off the Rails

We have to start today with another huge heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Val, Dany and Lucia for a such a wonderful stay. This felt like going to stay with good friends for a night, and not a hotel stay. After being here, we can count it as both.

Like the past few days, and the forecast, it was another perfect morning for biking … although we didn’t get a real early start. In part it was due to our reluctance to leave this beautiful and welcoming place and we also made a routing decision that changed our day from a circa 85 km day with 1400 m of climbing to a 54 km day with less than 1000 m of climbing. With this change, we figured we had lots of time to phaff about this morning, so we did.

The routing change was a bit of a risk. Today was the first day we were reconnecting to a Team Anderson breadcrumb trail from their 2017 Bilbao to Sete tour. We were playing around with the maps and saw that we could take a ~10 km ‘off road’ unpaved section from Fuencalderas to Agüero that would shave 30 km and ~400 m of climbing and bring us directly into Agüero from the north. It’s always a risk screwing around with a TA route, but when we saw that the unpaved section looked like a decent gravel road at both ends (courtesy of Google street view) and that that it was net down hill, the decision was made.

So today’s ride started out just like the last few. Beautiful blue sky, high teens temperature rising to mid 20’s, impossibly beautiful country side, and essentially our own private road. It almost doesn’t get any better than this.

However, just like the last few days, the forecast called for thunderstorms in the mid to late afternoon. No prob, only 55 km to go with no real big climbs, just lots of small up and down rollers, we should squeak this one in.

All was going splendidly, and after our picnic lunch in Biel, another of the Cinco Villages we started the final moderate climb to Fuencaldras where we’d deviate from the TA route and have a little off road gravel adventure.

It all started great, a fine gravel road with road signs to monasteries and towns a few km’s away. Within 5 minutes though the rain started. There were also several forks in the roads, and every fork on our route resulted in a deterioration from road to track to faint line through pastures. It didn’t help that the soil was largely clay that turned to grease once a little moisture got added. We reached the nadir of riding / pushing conditions at about the 5 km mark, halfway, and then things gradually improved … and the rain stopped, making for an amazing entry into Agüero. This small village is in one of the most dramatic settings imaginable, and we were able to see it from several different aspects. The only thing that could have made it better would have been clear blue sky rather than the dark thunder clouds we had.

After Agüero, it was a 10m km fun downhill cruise into Murillo. This place is also in a pretty dramatic setting as it looks straight across into the Mallos de Riglos. Check out the TA rendition of this for some amazing views of this place from the south with clear blue sky. I’m afraid my pics don’t compare.

Murillo itself is a pretty quiet place and we’re staying at another Posada where once again we are the only guests. Great location, friendly and helpful host, and we got fed as he ‘opened’ the restaurant for us. Good basic food, and lots of it, provided a wonderful finish to another great day of touring. We even got our off road mud experience checked off, every tour needs one of these days.

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SOTD - We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) by Tina Turner.

Tina’s always good for SOTD and this one works. We had thunder rolling around us for a good portion of today, just like the tympani in the song. We were also by ourselves the entire day, at times feeling like we were in some post apocalyptic world, but maybe not quite the same one that Mel and his crowd are living in ;) Ours was a little nicer, but still solitary.

Thank you Val, Dany and Lucia for a wonderful stay. You made us feel at home and we now feel like old friends.

A fine breakfast spread to start the day

Leaving Uncastillo under beautiful riding conditions

Beautiful countryside and our private road. Similar to the TA account of their day, there was essentially no traffic, cars or bikes, on the A1202

Shepard with his freshly shorn flock as we are climbing into Biel

Blending in with the Poppies. Note that this is K’s rain jacket, we were getting intermittent sprinkles from Biel onwards

Terraced poppies and grain fields - beautiful

Still on our private road with lots of fun swooping 3-5% downhills!

Wow, our first real view of the Pyrenees … and the amazing riding right in front of us

Approaching Fuencalderas and the clouds are building. We’re getting continuous rolls of thunder now too

This doesn’t look to bad. 10 km’s of this to Agüero, no problem!

Two minutes after the last photo we’re looking down the valley we are going to ride …. And the rain started!

Away we go, starting off with a nice little downhill

A few rolling hills, but still net down. All good

After a few forks in the road, the GPS track has become more of a suggestion than a road or trail.

Well at least there’s a few old tire tracks

After this the conditions got better as we approached Agüero

Wow, our first view of Agüero from the north approach

Super fun gentle downhill through beautiful countryside to Murillo

First views of Murilllo and the Mallos de Riglos. Not the greatest lighting conditions for spectacular photos though

Mallos de Riglos from our hotel room window

That’s a wrap for another great day of touring.

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,825 km (1,133 miles)

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Scott AndersonIsn’t this the most astonishing country though? Thanks for the reminder. You’ve got me relooking at our planned route through Spain for this fall, wondering.
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