Another reasonably early start. If I get to my hotel in Loiu early, that will low plenty of time to disassemble and pack my bike, dry my camping gear, and wash and dry a few clothes, leaving Monday clear to explore Bilbao. I've decided to visit the Guggenheim because... Just because.

I decided to take the most scenic route I could, so that meant finding BI 2122. A lot of guessing, mostly correct. There might have been a better route for bikes and pedestrians through Plentzia, but I didn't see it until I'd gone around on the highway, stopping and wondering at each roundabout. Yes, even in very small towns, there are multiple roundabouts!

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My plan was to take BI 2122 as far as Sopelana (as called on my map, it's Sopela on most signs), then BI 634 to its junction with BI 2704 which would take me all the way to Loiu. My error was in thinking that the turn near the arrow marked "BI 634" was the correct way. A roadie who had just passed me made the turn, and when I asked my Garmin to direct me to Urduliz, the next town on my planned route, it said "turn here." I started having doubts after a hundred metres or so. It sure didn't look like a big enough road and was getting narrower. But it did merit streetlights and speed bumps, so if not BI 634, maybe it was a quieter parallel route? Then it started climbing, of course, but not too steeply. That's okay, it's going in the right direction and it's nice and quiet. Then the pavement ended. Only another hundred metres or so to a turn, said Garmin. I continued since I'd come this far and uphill too. The turn was indeed onto a paved lane, steeply downhill. It popped out in a town which I assumed was Urduliz, but then Garmin wanted to send me onto another rough track. I could hear BI 634 not far away so I turned the navigation off and followed the sound.

BI 634 even had a café open this Sunday morning, the first one I'd seen so I stopped for coffee and a pastry. Sitting outside, I watched several groups of roadies go by, the most I've seen in a 15-minute interval on this trip. This must be a popular route.

The popular route seemed to continue on BI 634 since I saw only a couple more pass me after I turned off onto BI 2704. This road has loose zigzags on the map and indeed, it curves along the contours of a ridge rather than climbing and descending. The route was easy and the turn to Loiu and the airport was well marked. Loiu, however, wasn't and I rode right by. I noticed my error fairly quickly and Garmin led me back to my hotel.

Hotel Loiu has held my bike case since it arrived in the mail and provided me some space in the basement to work. The bike is now packed and tomorrow, Bilbao and the Guggenheim museum.

But first, lunch. It's Sunday and it seems there isn't much around here. I found a small place to "celebrate" reaching the end with a beer and tapas, then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening in my room. The hotel restaurant is not open on weekends (?) and there isn't really anywhere within walking distance that is open on Sunday, so I ordered room service for the first time in my life. It wasn't too extravagant, actually. A similar salad in a restaurant would have been a similar price and I enjoyed it with part of the bottle of wine the hotel had provided in my room. Complimentary! A nice touch.

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Distance 26 km; ascent 375 m; descent 374 m.