Riano to Oviedo

July 15, 2019

An encounter with the police.

Leaving the high plateau, a small climb over the Puerto de Tarna, then a gradual descent into Oviedo.

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Last night we walked into town for some dinner. It was so nice to use the old legs, other than moving them in circles. Riano is situated on the shore de Riano reservoir and beneath a truly unique mountain panorama. It has to be seen. Photos do no justice at all. So, we’ll do our best with the photos we took.

View from our campground last night. Wow.

On our way into town for some excellent hamburgers. Think burger, ham, egg, cheese, tomato.....and deliciously juicy. It was exactly what we needed.

We were curious about the most beautiful bench in Lyon sign. Must be a really nice bench to have a sign dedicated to it.

There was nothing special about the bench at all. All we got was this view. I was so looking forward to adding a photo of the bench to my beautiful bench scrapbook. So disappointing.

Still getting over not getting a shot of the beautiful bench.

We left Riano and headed out along the north shore of the reservoir on CL 625 and CL 635 towards the Puerto de Tarna. The roads were quiet and it was hard to believe we almost had it all to ourselves. The cycling gods bestowed another fantastic day upon us. Great weather. Quiet roads. And, the best company one could ever hope for.

Sue climbing the Puerto de Tarna. Looking strong, buddy.

A strong Sus climbing towards the Puerto de Tarna. The road was virtually like this all the way to the top and beyond.

This beauty posed for us for sometime. I think I got her good side, don’t you think?

Might as well throw one of me in there too.

Really enjoying touring on my new Salsa Vaya frame and fork. I took all the stickers off of my Salsa Fargo and transfered them to my new ride.

We took about 7 takes of this shot, but I was unable to get the altitude sign in. My big head kept getting in they way.

These guys roamed freely at the top. We have not seen as many bovines around this area. Must have something to do with rules around grazing near the national park.

We stopped at a gas station for some snacks. Sue was doing her best to avoid eye contact with these gentle dogs as she scarfed down her chorizo sausage. There were five of them in total. All very nice.

As we continued to travel towards Oviedo, the roads became increasingly busy. We rode along the AS 117 towards Langreo and were approaching 90 kms for the day. The gas station Coke and chorizo that we had earlier just didn’t cut it. We were both getting tired and a little hungry, and we still had another 20 or so kms to go until we arrived at Oviedo.

It is in those moments during cycle touring when you really just want the day to be over. But, no one is going to cycle your bike for you, and sometimes you have to press on.

Along the way, we passed through a tunnel. Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed a motorcycle cop traveling to my left turn to look at me and slow down a little. His little blue flashing light went on, and I naively thought, ‘He’s escorting us through the tunnel to keep us safe .’ I looked behind me and realized there were two officers. ‘Wow, we’re getting the royal treatment here’.

He used his leather-gloved index finger and gestured for us to get off at the next exit. Then, I knew. This was not a police escort. As I began to slow down, I thought that they were going to tell us that there was no cycling allowed on this road.

In a standard police maneuver, the police bookended us in. One in front of me, and one behind Sue. They dismounted and approached. My reflection cast into the mirrored Erik Estrada, CHiPs styled glasses; If you are old enough to get that reference.

“Hablas Englais?”, Sue politely asked.

The officer retorted in Spanish something like, “I am in Spain. We speak Spanish. Why would I speak English?.

He then questioned where our bike lights were, then proceeded to ask for our passports.

I told him in Spanish, “Mi luz es en mi bolsa.” Which loosely translates in very poor Spanish.....My light is in my bag.

Of course our lights were buried in the black hole of our panniers, and I really had no idea where mine were. After some rummaging around and a bit of a gear garage sale on the side of the ramp, we found them, strapped them on, and were given back our passports.

Thier initial authoritative demeanor softened and they provided us with directions to a great cycle route. With a ‘Buen Viaje’, we were off.

After that. Getting into Oviedo became more demanding than our hungry brains could handle. With about 10kms to go, we hopped on a train that zipped us to the city center unscathed.

We are now sitting in the lovely Hotel Fruela under the cool breeze of an air conditioner, and I just had the pleasure of taking the beauty pageant sanitized ribbon off of the toilet. All is good.

Today's ride: 100 km (62 miles)
Total: 773 km (480 miles)

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Elizabeth MacDougallSo amazing! Take good care!oxo
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