Estella-Lizarra to Maeztu / Maestu

October 10, 2023

Another great day on the road.

While Scott attacked the stash of coffee pods in our apartment, Pat headed down to the corner of our street to buy some stuff for breakfast. She returned with muslii, yogurt and bananas. A great breakfast to start off the day. We have been notified by our hotel in Maestu that our check in will need to be before 4 pm as they close the bar until 7 pm. So, we have a dreaded deadline today! We must get to our destination today before 4 pm. This should not be a problem but we will need to keep an eye on the clock.

Today`s ride was broken down into three separate sections. The first took us in a northwest direction and away from the main highway that lead in and out of Estella. On the second section we turned west and began to climb up between a band of rocks before riding through a narrow valley. On the last part of the ride we changed directions again and began to head back southwest to reach our destination of Maetsu. The routing worked out very well as we travelled on great roads with hardly any traffic and really interesting scenery.

We began the first 17km of our ride to the small town of Zudaire on a nicely paved road with a slight uphill. It was a nice gentle grade that was a good way to start the day. Leaving Estella, the NA718 was the busiest road of the ride but there were very few cars and the drivers in Spain are incredibly respectful. The sun was shining directly on the bands of steep rock ahead as we followed a road that found a way to go around them. In Zudaire we stopped at the only hotel / restaurant in the town for a morning coffee.

Leaving Estella, we were on a dramatic piece of road. We were sharing it with a number of cars but it was not bad at all.

The morning sun shining on the cliffs above. Our route took us to the right of these rocks.

They jut straight up in very sharp relief.

The road to Zudaire was a nice mix of rolling hills with a slight grade heading northwest.

Nice riding but Pat`s jacket is still on so it must still be cool.

Reaching Zudaire, there were three villages in the small valley to the east. It is a very pretty area.

Bashful goats turned before I could get my camera ready. All I got were their butts!

After our coffee and on our way out the door from Restaurant Ibaisek in Zudaire, we picked up a couple of fried egg sandwiches. Premade sandwiches are not often a readily available item in these parts and are usually found in bars rather than bakeries. We now began to ride the NA7130, an even quieter road. It almost immediately started heading uphill for about 200 vertical metres, leading us into a valley with cliffs on our right and farm land on our left. Reaching the top, we began to pass through a number of pretty towns including San Martin, Eulate, Aranarch and finally Larrona. Initially when planning the ride, we thought that we might overnight in Larrona but it is a small town with no accommodation. It was just as well, as the best riding was still to come.

Looking over the valley as we start the climb leaving Zudaire.

Looking back, we were leaving one valley and entering another.

Hazelnut tree has left nuts all over the side of the road!

A fellow rider at the local fountain and an old communal wash station in Saint Martin. We had a few roadies pass us by, probably more bikes than cars!

Nearing the top of another short hill. There is not much flat here - it is either up or down. Jacket is off now - it's getting warm!

Rock wall on the right. Really a very pretty area.

I think that this is the church in Aranarch.

A closer look at the massive, heavy bell held in place with very old timbers.

Great scenic riding! I believe that we went through the valley between the mountains here.

What a great looking downhill ride! Unfortunately, it was not ours. We had our second long climb of the day ahead to the right.

Reaching the top, we took a selfie to remember the ride. Overall, we had gained almost 600 metres from our start. Such great weather to enjoy this area!

On the second and last climb of the day we had turned onto A3114 - a very small, very quiet, really in the middle of no where, single lane road. We rode along a high plateau between farms and animals, enjoying the scenery. At one point, we could see that some cows had taken over the road but thankfully they let us pass. Soon, an 8km non stop downhill took us almost all the way to our destination of Maestu. It was fast and a very fun way to finish the ride!

They did not even flinch! We were not their first visitors.

Looking around the high plateau before the road headed downhill.

Braking was required but steering not so much!

Church we passed on the way down. Striking colours of the golden rock used in the construction.

Near the bottom, the road met up with a small river that ran along beside it. The water looked very clear.

On this hot day the pool looked very tempting, but the 4pm checkin kept us on schedule!

We reached the small town of Maestu at 3:30, beating the check in deadline by 30 minutes and in time to get our post ride refreshments! Our hotel was one of only two in the area and offered a restaurant and a bar. It really was great that we could check into our room, store our bikes and get a beer all at the same time! After cleaning up we spent an hour exploring the very pretty town and then had a wonderful dinner in the restaurant. It was another great day on the road.