8 April Bilbao to Lastur

April 8, 2023

Not so much to say about today. It's been a day of 2 halves.

The Bilbao area is quite industrial. To the west is a small town with what looks like 3 refineries and the air smelled of hydro carbon. To the east is a series of industrial estates and towns. Certainly at one point all I could smell was some sort of resin type chemical. It actually was quite nice!!

On the way out of the city I took a couple of pictures of apartments overlooking the river. I like the way they do this. Looks cool?

As I got further from the city the roads got busier and busier with no real sign that I was routed in anything but a mix of dual carriageway, wide arterial routes and busy suburban roads. It seemed to go on for miles so it was a case of head down and push on. There was nothing to look at and nothing to see.

At one point I was on a main route and approaching a large junction with flyovers, slip roads, roundabouts and lots of traffic. I checked my bike computer to find out I was off-route. A quick check showed I should have been in the wee town to my right. Thankfully I was able to negotiate the various lanes and roundabouts to get into the town and back on track. Time for a coffee!! and a chat with Lewis.

Then I headed off again on quieter urban roads however they, again, changed to more significant highways which were not particularly interesting.

That said,I have to be positive about the drivers. At no point did I feel threatened or unsafe. They all, and I mean ALL, gave me space.

Suddenly I was routed left of the main road onto what was a residential side street. The route then had me some how, magically climbing up onto what I realised was a brand new cycle path. Clearly lots of other people had been routed in a similar fashion - I could see foot and tyre prints in the dried out mud. I had a scout around and couldn't see any other way of gettin onto the cycle path but the path looked great. It was wide and well away from the traffic which had been plaguing me all morning. So it was bags off the bike and climb up the mud bank and leave them near the path. Then back for the bike and again climb the mud bank. The photos don't tell the whole story. It was very steep.

It was worth it. The path was smooth, quiet and easy to cycle. There were plenty of people on it - cycling and walking but because of the width I could easily keep up my progress. I did not have to slow at all. Unfortunately all good things came to an end and I had to leave the path and continue through a commercial/industrial/retail park.

I passed a couple of supermarkets and decided it was time I bought some provisions to use if I got caught in a hostel with no access to a supermarket or a restaurant. Two bananas, a bag of pasta and a jar of pesto. Job done. I wish shopping at home was a easy!

Thereafter the roads got gradually smaller and quieter and eventually I was rewarded with a view comparative to those earlier in the week. The downside was the the roads also got steeper meaning my legs were working hard and eventually needed more effort than I could manage on the pedals. As a result for the last 15% of the ride I was riding the flat and downhill sections and pushing the uphills. It made that last section a bit of a slog meaning my head was down a bit and I was missing the improving countryside.

Eventually I found my hostel which is, in effect, in a hidden valley of great beauty. An old building in the middle of nowhere although it does have an adjacent Taberna where I now sit having scoffed a steak (with loads of bread) and chips and a creme caramel. I more or less inhaled the steak, I was so hungry!!

Today's ride: 116 km (72 miles)
Total: 280 km (174 miles)

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