September 14, 1997
To Port Bou
After raining hard throughout the night the skies cleared in the morning, leaveing us dry roads and favorable winds for our ride to the beautiful fortified port town of Collioure. After wandering around the waterfront, enjoying the ambiance and browsing throug hteh market, we climbed out and up a long steep ascent to the Spanish border. This is a splendid stretch of coastline, with a feeling reminiscent of northern California. Great views to the north and south rewarded our efforts and justified our periodic respites from the climb.
Eventually we dropped through a series of sharp switchbacks to Port Bou, a pretty, small harbor town wedged into the head of a tight bay. We planned to enjoy a long stop here for lunch and relaxation on the beach before pressing on to the west. In the end, we more than fulfilled that plan.
For our first Spanish meal we ordered paella at a shoreside resort restaurant, notreally knowing what was in store for us. Our meal arrived in a huge cast iron skillet, brimming with saffron rice, garnished and laced throughout with all manner of crustaceans and tentacled creatures. We barely made a dent in the mountain before us, and setted up with some embarrassment over the wasted loss of life we left behind. Afterwards, we strolled down to the beach to lie on the sand for awhile and to dip our toes in the sea, enjoying the colorful yellow striped fish exploring our feet in the shallows.
Eventually we prepared to return to our bikes and resume the day's ride - at which point I discovered that I had lost the key to our kryptonite lock. With a growing sense of alarm which slid into depression we scoured the sands and the restaurant with no success. Since this was Sunday, we had no hope of finding assistance until the next day at the earliest; and so we resigned ourselves to the situation, found a room, and spent the remainder of the afternoon on the beach, searching with futility from time to time. The only saving grace to our situation was the fact that our bicycles were locked only to each other, so we were able to lug them awkwardly to the hotel for safekeeping for the evening, our pedals constantly jamming into each other's wheels as we went.
Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 621 miles (999 km)
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