Day 65: Benicarlo to Torrenostra

October 30, 2023

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This was a day that could have been glorious for us, and if repeated by other riders still has that glorious potential. But for us there were several flies in the ointment that turned it into something of a mess. Surprisingly, some of the flies in that ointment were actual flies, pesky little guys that land on you if ever you stop pedaling, making it hard to rest. But we'll get to them.

To start off, both of us caught something of a cold. Not Covid, but a cold. We have a supply of Tylenol cold tablets, and they are working to control symptoms, but it still leaves you weaker than normal. I guess that is fly #1. Fly #2 is that Dodie's tire was flat again this morning. Probably that is a slow leak in the first patch we put in, two days ago now? My plan would have been to pump up and see how it goes, and then to put in our double sided, new tube. But Dodie is more cautious, and wanted to find a bike shop. So if you look at our track spinning in circles before ever leaving Benicarlo, that's partly looking for an open bike shop. And if you look at the track spinning in circle in its circles, that's us looking for a place to mail post cards. (And oh, we did find a post office, and they hated the stamps we already had on there, something about them being for domestic destinations only. )

We passed this building several times. I like the metaphor, if I have it right, of the girl painting a self portrait that is painting the girl.

We also got a number of looks at downtown Benicarlo. It is quite normal, even the central square.

We found the open bike shop, and while helpful, they said they could only swap out the tube in two hours. So we bought one regular style spare tube, and also tried to buy more patches and glue. Seemingly glue, like the iPhone headphone jack, is now obsolete, and all they have are self-adhesive patches. In the photo, the mechanic is showing Dodie how they are great.

My brother wrote, musing on how great it is to be where there are fresh fruits. True! And today we did pass many orange groves. Here too is a fruit store, in case we would actually buy some!

Finally leaving Benicarlo, we have that ideal bike lane for the moment. (Something strange about this lane, is was copiously marked no bikes, but it was also marked with a 10 kph speed limit. Is it reserved for runners doing one hour 10 k's?)

There were large hotels all along the stretch.

Soon we approached the island (peninsula, really) castle of Peniscola. To us it looks a lot like Mont St Michel, but it is also called the "Gibraltar of Valencia". The castle was built by the Knights Templar between 1294 and 1307, and later run by the Knights of Montesa. In 1420 it was taken over by the crown of Aragon, and from 1415 to 1423 it was the home of Avignon Pope Benedict XIII. (I wonder how did Benedict move in under the Knights and hang on with the crown of Aragon? Also, why was Benedict not in Avignon?). The film El Cid was partly done there as well, where it stood in for Valencia.

Our route took us around the castle, as we proceeded down the coast. Consequently the following photos are views from different angles as we swung past. Another time, without a flat tire and such, we would actually go to the castle.

With Peniscola behind us, we could sweep along the coast on our way to Torrenostra, all under the benign tutelage of EV8, which had brought us so nicely here.

But wait, our road seems to be climbing. Oh, well, we can do that!

Well, except when it gets really steep!

Starting to get views back to Peniscola.

The road carries on, but it has turned to gravel.

That is all of Peniscola visible back there.

Even the hillside, beside us, was quite stunning.

Like how cool is this! except that that road is gravel.

Looking back up to a tower, I forgot to note its name or story.

The rough, rocky gravel carried on for a long time - basically unrideable for loaded touring bikes, for about 12 km. It was up hill, down hill, all over the map, and if you stopped you got swarmed by flies. Dodie walked at least half of it, all while feeling really ill. Sometimes I would ride ahead, park my bike, and walk back to give her a hand. I decided it would be good to get some food into her, and tried to hand feed her some yogurt. But by then she was quite bonked and did not want to open her mouth. I must say that after about three hours of being battered by the rocky road, I had pretty much had it as well. Interestingly, quite a few other riders came floating by, on strong unloaded electric mountain bikes with fat tires. They were having no trouble!

Thanks EV 8. You are supposed to be about long distance touring, remember?

When we did reach Alcossebre, and the end of the gravel, we could see that the regional administration understands the routes here to be for BTT - that is , mountain bikes. A touring bike is not a mountain bike!

Once we found our way out of Alcossebre, we again had a nice paved road by the sea. The glorious road from hell had been about half our distance, but had cost all our strength.

Our place in Torrenostra is an apartment, for which we seemed to have never collected any instructions about how to get in. But the very sweet owner lives across the street and came immediately when we phoned. The place is large and has everything, including the balcony with great view of the sea. It is giving Dodie a nice spot to collapse in, and making it likely that by tomorrow she will be ready to carry on. The map is showing some sort of coastal marsh coming, but EV 8 says don't worry, we'll go around it. And then it promises a further joy ride along the coast. Oh yeah? I do also see N-340 doing its thing inland. I wonder what we will ultimately choose?

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 3,253 km (2,020 miles)

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Keith ClassenThat’s a rough day. Poor Dodie … hopes she feels better. Perhaps a day to rest !
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Keith ClassenDodie poured herself into bed and after a 13 hour sleep felt ready to carry on. She is a tough lady.
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1 year ago

Keith ClassenThat she is !
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1 year ago