June 24, 2015
Day 13: Staying alive one decision at a time
I don't know how the rest of you feel but my mom wants me to come home in one piece. She was very clear on that.
And it was really all my fault. I didn't put a lot of thought into this part of the trip. I was too busy figuring out how to get to Morroco and Madrid and all sorts of other places. So when I got out the map, that was not the right scale, and my Garmin, I thought I had a kind of route from from Haro to Bilbao.
I set off on said route and all was more or less okay. I had to go about 10 miles on a road that was busy with semi's, or as they call them here, lorries. It was busy but I've been on worse roads. Except about 6 miles in I got to a tunnel and that gave me pause. What I saw was giant trucks going into a hole with very little room for a cyclist, let alone one on a loaded bike.
I watched the trucks barreling in the dark opening and weighed my options. Go in and take a chance or play it safe.
It seemed like the only sane thing was to play it safe and turn around. It might have been fine to go forward, it might have been a bikers paradise just on the other side, with handsome men handing out ice cream and cold water and huge fans to create tail winds the whole way, but how could I know that?
In reality it seemed absurd to take a chance when I didn't have to. There is plenty more riding and trip left. Why be stupid. There are times when safety trumps riding.
So I turned The Trucker around and headed for the train station. I like trains anyway so who cares.
Except the train wouldn't take my bike. Well, it would if I packed it in a bike box which is ridiculous. It seemed worse than Amtrak and I long for the days of hoping on most any train in France without issues...
So I bought a bus ticket, threw The Trucker below in the baggage hold and off we went.
But we arrived in Bilbao in early afternoon and I still felt like riding. Bilbao is a big city and I had no plan and no idea what to do. But then I saw the familiar yellow arrows of The Camino de Santiago. There are many Camino's de Santiago and apparently one runs through Bilbao.
I had no idea where it would take me but with my Garmin I am never really lost. So, what the hell? I followed the arrows. Maybe I would even stumble across an inexpensive alberge to stay the night?
So off I went following this road and that road until it led me to a bike path that was awesome! It lead past the water front and out of the city. I rode until I got tired and then found a cheap hotel.
I can't say it was the most exciting day I have had on a bike, but it wasn't bad for improvisation. All in all it wasn't a bad day. And the main thing is I am still alive. I cant complain about that and I've made my mom very happy because of it.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 463 miles (745 km)
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