Sunday, April 13, 2008

UGH.

Bad, bad day in a way. Tough. One hundred and six kilometres of constant uphills and downhills. We're in Úbeda now, a lovely Renaissance town on the northern end of one of the most beautiful areas of Andalusia, and all I want to do is collapse in the bathtub with a good glass of wine.

We started out from Torre de Juan Abad at 9AM. The ride into Andalusia proper wasn't all that bad (I saw a number of deer and Randy got chased by a wild boar, which he tried to photograph with his BlackBerry) and then the first 20 kilometres of Andalusia weren't that bad. The two groups ended up splitting up after Santiesteban del Puerto; Randy and Andrew tried the route through Sabiote and we came through Navas de San Juan. And no matter how you try to get to Úbeda, there is no way of getting around the climb. Either way, you end up having to climb some 400 metres from the reservoir and the river to the top of the hills of Úbeda. And it's rough.

I can definitely say that the A301 is not the way to go. No way. And certainly not on a Sunday afternoon, when a Spaniard has won the Motorcycle GP race in Estoril, Portugal, which ends up bringing out every guy with a two-wheeled motorized vehicle, ranging from a two-cylinder Honda chugger to a high-end BMW performance machine. And what is up with the BMW drivers? Does one have to hold a certification for idiotic, snotty behaviour to drive one of those cars in this country? Does BMW refuse to sell you a car if you're unable to show that you have no regard for other users of the roads whatsoever? Aggravating.

Randy and Andrew ended up pitching their tents in an olive grove by 7PM, and Moncho and I stayed in a small pensión in the centre of the town. Úbeda was lovely, and will definitely merit a return visit. Tonight, however, I don't really want to move anywhere that doesn't involve sitting quietly and drinking wine....

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Dawn, what a ride up to Ubeda! but really i enjoyed cycling with you, please send regadards to de boys and the best wishes for the rest of the trip!!