After two days of only walking, we hoped that our legs would be ready to tackle the hills of northern Spain`s rugged coastline! We found it a bit tricky navigating the streets of a busy Monday morning in Bilboa but eventually found our way out of town. We rode along the banks of the Nervion River to its mouth near the Altlantic Ocean. It was a mix of port operations, industrial plants, and suburbia for the 12 kms to the very unusual Viscaya bridge. The Vizcaya Bridge was built to connect the two banks at the mouth of the Nervion River. It is the world's oldest transporter bridge and was built in 1893. It is really something to see.
A very interesting man that we met as we were leaving the hotel. He is from Switzerland and just finishing an around the word ride and has been on the road for about 6 months. He plans to be home in ten days. Today he is heading to France. We will be taking five days to do the same distance!
Its gondola can transport six cars and several dozen passengers in one and a half minutes. It operates every 8 minutes during the day. An estimated four million passengers and half a million vehicles use the bridge annually.
We turned inland from the bridge and rode through the town of Las Arenas on a very well marked cycle path for 10km to the next town of Sopela. Here we got our first glimpses of the Atlantic ocean and a well deserved coffee. We left well caffeinated as Scott had two double espressos! He said that without the hotel breakfasts, his system has been operating on a deficit lately. After a very brief ride on the highway we turned off on to a small, narrow, back country road. Leaving this area, we crossed a bridge into the small town of Plentzia. The ride today was really quite nice on largely car free roads. We had a few climbs during the day but the big one was saved until the end of the day, a 300 vertical metre gain on a nicely graded road. It was great as the road was dead quiet - we were all alone in a forested area and from time to time would get great views of the coast.
We are now officially arriving on the Atlantic coast in Northern Spain.
At the top of the climb out of Pelenzia. We are not really sure of all the information provided here but there are a number of these detailed signs at the top of hills. Too much data for Dataman!! The noted 1.5 metre passing distance is almost always respected.
Reaching the top of the hill and near our destination of Bakio, Gaztelugatxe islet on the coast came into view. Game of Thrones has used this for some of their filming.
Another view. The light kept changing but the sun really never came out while we were there. The small island behind is Aketx island, a sanctuary for marine birds.
Downhill rides are almost always fun when the pavement is good. The ride into Bakio was no exception. We descended through farmland into the very very quiet town, past many apartments that appeared unoccupied now that the summer has passed. Bakio has a beautiful waterfront where a handfull of surfers were trying to catch the waves. Our hotel was right on the beach with a great view of the ocean. We enjoyed our hard earned, end of the day beer sitting on the patio listening to the waves crashing. We have arrived!
Back on the road there are warning signs for cyclist. It's 5km down but the pavement will be bumpy and the speed limit for cyclists is 20 kph! Not likely!
