Unfair fares: A warning about Iberia Airlines

A word of warning for those of you who are planning to bring your bikes to Spain this summer.

Iberia Airlines has started charging travellers €150 (each way) to check bikes in as luggage, even if the bicycle falls within the traveller's luggage allowance. They started charging the fee at the end of April, and from what I hear, it's not being applied to everyone who tries to check a bike in - people who travel on domestic Iberia flights don't seem to be getting hit for the extra money. But if you're coming over for whatever reason - Camino de Santiago, cycling holiday, the Trans-Iberian - be sure to check with Iberia that you're NOT going to get nailed for the fee, especially if you bought your ticket before the end of April and you wouldn't have known about the fee.

In the meantime, I'm going to find out how to get ahold of Iberia so that we either can have the fee eliminated or have Iberia's ISO 14001 rating put under revision....

UPDATE: Bingo, here it is.

Iberia Airlines of Spain
c/ Velázquez, 130
28006 Madrid
SPAIN
Phone: (34) 91 587 8787
e-mail: prensa@iberia.es

Riding or writing

Let this be a lesson for everyone who doesn't believe that you should backup your work: I'm still (yeah........STILL........) working on the Daily Route Sheets. Given that I'm also back at work (and having to make up for six weeks of not working), it's a slow process, and it's kind of embarrassing to admit that it's taking so long. Like my buddy César says - You rode it. Just write down what you rode! Ah, were it so, but for an agonizingly slow laptop which starts smoking every time I start up Google Earth....

Anyway, the first week is almost done, and for those of you who want a specific section of the route for your summer hols - feel free to write me and let me know. I'm just doing these in chronological order for the logic of going from start to finish, but if you need a specific part, write me and let me know, and I'll tackle that part next.

Here come the Route Sheets!

As much fun as it was to ride the route, it'd be a mistake to say that the work's all done. In fact, it's only begun: After the writing comes the riding.

One of the key parts of the Trans-Iberian Express is the creation of a series of maps and route sheets, in both Spanish and English, that gives cyclists the chance to do the route for themselves. This is actually a LOT more work than actually riding the route, since I've got to go back and double-check information like the names and numbers of towns and highways, phone numbers and the like, so please bear with me as I get everything up and going.

I'm aiming to have all of the days written up and posted by the end of May. If things go well (and the weather still sucks this week), I'll probably have the first week's worth of sheets done today and the first three weeks done and up by Saturday.

You can see the entire list of sheets online at: http://trans-iberian.angelfire.com/sheetindex-e.html.

The first week is almost done. Here's what we have so far:
Day One: Hondarribia to Errenteria-Lezo: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2925029/DAY-ONE-Final-doc
Day Two: Andoain to Lekunberri: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2928977/Day-Two-Andoain-to-Lekunberri
Day Three: Lekunberri to Pamplona: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2928961/Day-Three-Lekunberri-to-Pamplona
Day Four: Pamplona to Estella: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2928914/Day-Four-Pamplona-to-Estella
Day Five: Estella to Logroño: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3013992/Day-Five-Estella-to-Logrono
Day Six: Logroño to Haro: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3015364/Day-Six-Logrono-to-Haro

(I'm still working on Day 7, trying to nail the measurements and get them right.)

Once the sheets have been done and translated, I'll then expand this website so that each page of the website has all the information that you need to do the route.

And, as always, please let me know if you find any mistakes or problems with the sheets!

More on the Rain: I wasn't imagining things

AEMET, the state weather agency, just released data on April's weather. I wasn't imagining things: the weather in Spain was, compared to normal, far more rainy and humid. The monthly precipitation map is on the bottom of this page (the map with green tones.)

Looking at the scale ("H" is humid, "MH" is very humid and "EH" is extremely humid), it's wild to see how those lovely dark green tones happened to coincide with where we were. April 8th and 9th, in particular, were the rainiest days of the month - the days when we happened to be going from Aranjuez to Alcázar de San Juan.....

http://www.aemet.es/es/noticias/2008/05/caracter_abril08

Back in the saddle, and it feels GOOD!

Just got back from being at my second day at work. One of my classes had no intention of working, so we took a look at the photos from the trip (thought: whoops! Hope I remembered to bring the pen drive home) and I think that there might be a chance of recruiting both César and Álvaro to come along for a weekend or two in July. Which would be cool: César's just bought a new bike, and Álvaro's always shown a bit of curiosity about cycle tourism, so one never knows.

Riding up to the north end of town today was GREAT! I never thought that I would describe riding in Madrid traffic as great, but I felt more sure and solid on the bike than I ever have in my life. It was brilliant. Nothing stressed me out, nothing made me angry, nothing freaked me out and I only had to mutter something to one pedestrian. Even got a cute traffic cop to say hello to me....The trip just whizzed by.

I wish I had the guts to try to ride out to the airport tomorrow, but I'm not sure it's such a hot idea, given that they're calling for more (insert your favourite expletive here) rain and hail tomorrow.

1,760!!!! WE MADE IT!!!

...and for what it's worth, you actually can't go to the very, very, very southermost point in Europe because, as it turns out, the the very, very, very southermost point in Europe is actually military territory and they don't take it very well if you leave your bike there and take photos. I'm just sayin'.

So that's it: it's taken care of. It's not entirely finished yet, because I need to go back and re-sticker certain sections and take a look at other alternatives. But the ride is over, we made it safe and sound, and with the weather forecast looking good for the next couple of days, I think I'm gonna do some Tarifa-ing (i.e. park my carcass on the beach and do as little as humanly possible until it either rains or I have to go to Madrid.)

I'm not sure of what it should feel like to have done something like this. I'm not physically tired, really (although I'm glad to have a couple of days off the bike so that my hands can recuperate) but I'm not ready to go back to Madrid just yet. Mom asked me the other night if I was planning to ride back to Madrid; I said "no way", but it would be great to have the chance to try to make it back a different way. I just don't want to go back to my "normal" life yet. I don't want to have to deal with whiny students, traffic, the Metro, having to move in June, the bank, the internet provider....I just want to keep on riding, numb hands and headwinds notwithstanding....

Almost there

The fabulous and quick Roman M., a native of New Jersey who's been in Spain for over eighteen years, came to join us today, and it was a good thing that he did, because I think that the three of us would have gotten a lot more disheartened a lot more quickly had it not been for the sight of someone quicker than us going uphill out of Bolonia. There's a Force 9 wind blowing through the Straights of Gibraltar today, and while it's invaluable for keeping the sky blue, it's a right royal pain in the ass, because, as usual, we're catching it full in the face. Aggravating.

But at the same time, it was a thrill to get over the hill at San Bartolomé and see the sandy curve of the Playa de los Lances lying in front of us, along with the distant blue peaks of the Rif Mountains on the Moroccan side. Even if we were all getting blown into the guard rails....

But it's Tarifa, and if there's one thing that the Campo de Gibraltar region is known for, it's for the incessant winds which blast the living hell out of the area almost daily. Years ago, Tarifa's claim to fame was its abnormally high suicide rate, which was blamed by many people on the relentlessness of the winds which assault the region. Luckily, the tarifeños have been able to make those winds work for them, attracting windsurfers, kite surfers and electricity companies in equal measure, giving the area a measure of economic stability. And at least we're not getting rained on with the weather....but it looks like the triumphant ride to the Punta de Europa might need to wait for a day, just to be safe....

UPDATE, 13 MAY 08:
I just checked the Weather Office stats for Tarifa on the 25th of April, and it turns out that it was a Force 7 wind, not a Force 9 wind. Still, that ranks as a Near-Gale wind on the Beaufort Scale. Scary!