Ezcaray

September 20, 2023

We’re finding that Santo Domingo has a pretty thin set of attractions, but it’s not for the town itself that we’re here for two nights. It’s because it looked like a good base for a day ride, or even two of them. In fact, our original booking in our apartment here was for three nights - this is one of the spots where we ended up with a day overlap due to some billing sloppiness.

We’re facing another beautiful day today, so we’re off on the top priority ride I had in mind - an out and back up the Oja River to Ezcaray. It’s a ride I’m really looking forward to and in fact have wanted to take for several years. For awhile it was on the planning board for our ride from Bilbao to Sete six years ago, and probably would have made the final cut then if we’d been wise enough to retire a year or two sooner and had more time to work with.

And it was a candidate for a multi-night overnight stop on this autumn’s tour too. In planning it we weighed two completely different alternatives - this one, and one that biked west to Burgos and south through Extramadura and Andalucia. I went back and forth for a couple of months sketching out versions of the two alternatives and comparing them, with one of the main considerations being which looked like it would work best with my health situation: which one had the easiest terrain and stages overall, which had the best alternate transportation options in case they’re needed, and so on.

Anyway, here we are. We’re seeing it as an out and back day ride, and we’ve lucky enough to have a sterling day for it. So let’s ride.

It’s funny. I completely overlooked the colorful facade on our apartment until I stopped to take a photo of us leaving it.

It’s not far to Ezcaray really - it’s only nine miles to the south, and all of it on a good quality mostly asphalt via verde once we leave town here. It’s all uphill but at a nearly imperceptible grade that lifts us up only 500’ by the time we arrive there. It’s a fine ride, with the environment gradually morphing from open pastureland to scrubby forest by the time I reach the outskirts of Ezcaray and catch up with Rachael who’s been waiting there for me by the old train station.

Just outside of Santo Domingo, southward bound on the via verde. Ezcaray is just on the other side of that V-shaped gap, the same one we saw in the distance coming into town yesterday.

We’re up above and paralleling the provincial road LR-111 the whole way. The road’s quiet enough that it would be a fine ride too, but this is much nicer.

Nearing Ezcaray, we’re just about to pass through that gap we pointed out earlier. The trail has been very quiet the whole way, with only a few walkers and this one biker keeping us company.

It’s always a good day that includes a robin in it.

Ezcaray is the primary destination for the ride, but not the midpoint. I’ve mapped us to continue climbing beyond it, turning west on LR-111 toward Burgos and climbing toward the summit at the provincial boundary. The game plan for the day is that we’ll bike as far as we want before coasting back to Ezcaray and finding a restaurant as the main meal for the day.

Rachael’s waiting for me here so we can agree on the plan for the next stage before she climbs on ahead. The main concern is that we make it back to town in time for lunch, so before we split up we find a candidate eatery, learn that they’ll still serve until 3:30, and establish a cutoff time for Rachael to turn back and pick me up somewhere on the way down.

And she’s off. And I’ll be off too, as soon as I’ve looked around Ezcaray a bit. It’s a beautiful little place, an old textile village that’s preserved a heritage of beautiful buildings. It has a reputation as one of the top tourist destinations in La Rioja, but by this time of the year it’s already gotten pretty quiet. Now that we’re here I’m a bit sorry we didn’t stretch the itinerary to include an overnight here so we could explore it more thoroughly.

In Ezcaray. The parrish church is just ahead.

The Royal cloth factory, founded in 1752.

The Church of Santa María de Ezcaray, a fortress church from the 12th to 16th centuries.

The Garmin tells me that I’m already a mile behind Rachael when I leave town and start climbing west. The ride begins with a long, straight stretch up past parallel columns of horse chestnuts, and then continues climbing. It’s a little steeper for the next five miles - maybe 2-3% most of the way - but then it steepens a bit beyond that as it climbs up through a series of switchbacks to the provincial boundary before it starts dropping toward Burgos. It’s an excellent cycling road, and if I were biking west to Burgos and beyond this is definitely the way I’d come.

Looking back toward Ezcaray, whose outskirts are just beyond the end of these horse chestnuts.

I’m about a mile behind Rachael when I leave town, and her lead grows to nearly three times that by the time she turns back - which I can see has happened because suddenly her reported speed changes from about 6 mph to 17. I’ve lagged so far behind not because I’m biking all that much more slowly than her, but because I have to stop and check out everything interesting I see along the way - which includes birds and cows but above all a pair of small villages with more of the charming traditional architecture you’ll find in Ezcaray.

Entering Zorraquín, it won’t surprise you to hear.

New bird! #195: European pied flycatcher.

The next village up the line, Valgañón. It doesn’t look like much from the road, but is full of fascinating details once you pull off and look around.

Are you there, Susan? Who are these guys?

I’m just approaching the base of the switchbacks when I come to another roadside attraction, the Romanesque Church of Our Lady of the Three Fountains. I can see on the Garmin that Rachael has already turned around and is barreling down the road toward me, so this is the natural spot to wait for her. I poke around the church for a few minutes and then position myself to get an action shot of her coming my way. My arms are starting to ache from holding the camera at the ready by the time she finally shows up, but after that I join her coasting back toward Ezcaray where we stop in for lunch at the restaurant we’d scoped out earlier.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Tres Fuentes, Valgañón.

Something else to hold my attention while I wait.

Here she comes now. Let’s go find lunch!

Video sound track: Aeolian Tale, by Oregon

We take our time over lunch, letting our systems digest a bit before heading back to town. Rachael raises her eyebrows when I order a glass of wine for both of us (meaning both for myself, since she doesn’t indulge) since we’ve got a ride ahead of us still, but I remind her that it’s all downhill and I’ll just be coasting and enjoying the view anyway. And I’m right. I think we net maybe another twenty feet of elevation gain in the last nine miles, plus my second new bird for the day.

The excitement builds! I’m starting to wonder what bird is going to claim position number 200 for the year, which is looking like it could come pretty soon now.

Starting the drop back to Santo Domingo.

#196: Carrion crow. I was surprised to realize I haven’t seen this bird yet this year.

Santo Domingo ahead. Looks like Rocky’s going to get there first.

We’re back at the room around four and then spend most of the rest of the afternoon loafing around. Near sunset though I decide to go out again and walk toward the bridge, thinking with luck I might spot a third new bird for the day. I’m remembering the Eurasian jay I saw there yesterday, but of course it’s not to be found. Surprisingly though I get a good shot in the fading light of what does look like a new bird; but when I get back to the room I spend about a half hour looking through the list of birds of Spain without success. It looks likely to be a warbler or flycatcher, but doesn’t match the descriptions and photos of any bird I pull up.

I finally give up and decide to forward a question to the best birder I know, Lyle and Kirsten’s son Callum. I find a response in the morning that surprises me: a pied flycatcher, the same bird I saw for the first time earlier in the day. And he’s right, I see when I review the catalog of images. Silly of me not to have figured this out myself, but I hadn’t even bothered looking at that bird since I already knew what it looked like.

Hey, Levi! You’ve changed a bit since we saw you up in Canmore.

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Ride stats today: 35 miles, 2,000’; for the tour: 151 miles, 8,400’

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2023 Bird List

195. European Pied flycatcher

196. Carrion crow

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 473 miles (761 km)

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