Wednesday 17th
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| well signed |
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| the first 11 kms |
During the night I was seriously wondering if I could continue. I had several bouts of calf cramps and my hamstings were screaming "no more". However the good news is I have forgotten that I had an achilles problem and haven't felt it at all. But by the time I had finished my ablutions and had packed up all of my gear the sun was shining and my legs were at least moving.
As it turned out today has been a MUCH better day. I am writing this in Zafra having had a menu del dia a shower and a rest and it is only16.30.
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| Dave from Wyoming |
The first decision was road or off road. The road route involved retracing last evening back to Santa Olilio and then onwards, whereas the off road headed straightish to the junction with the N630. 11kms of C. Jose Maria Pedrero instead of 24kms. How rough could the road be? Quite rough actually but endlessly interesting. I met Dave from Wyoming, a Swiss guy who spoke only German (that made for a short conversation) a couple from Holland who spoke good English (what a surprise) and a guy from Singapore
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| mad guy from Singapore |
who flagged me down and offered me a beer (09.00 he was going to take a while to finish the Camino) The one thing they all had in common apart from being pellegrinos was nobody spoke any Spanish. Still I was glad I had chosen off road for the first 11 kms but I wasn't sorry that I was back on the empty N630. Except it was much busier now maybe 20 cars per hour?
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| nice couple from Holland |
Between where I rejoined and Monasterio was 10 kms and 250metres of climbing which was quite challenging. Half way up I couldn't understand why I couldn't put down any power. Then I thought about it and put my seat up by about 40mm. I had marked the position with tape which must have slipped down. How did you not know I hear you ask? Well I hadn't been on a bike for a year and I had been unwell so I put yesterday's travails down to that. When I say that a climb is tough I am always aware that for my son for example and other climbers this is just a gentle warm up. However Monasterio was reached and coffee was required, There I met a Greek couple and a lady from Cyprus who all worked in Seville but had decided to have a day away from the Feria revellers.
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| is this Beziers? |
At this stage there was 57 kms to Zafra but it was to be fairly easy compared to yesterday. The temparature was a pefect 25 C a little hazy and (whisper it) no wind,
The terrain was rolling and at times I was bowling along. What a difference the seat adjustment made. Just after Monasterio the terrain changed dramatically and the oak trees disappeared to be replace by vast fields of cereal or grass and then later with vines.
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| obviously red wine |
Fuente de Cantos was reached by 1300 and I was sure to buy some water there while I could. After Fuente I had about 25 kms to go and so I felt sure I could reach in time to have a menu del dia as my main food for the day.
My "trustyish" Cicerone guide told me to turn off at kilometre marker 786 which turned out to be 686. This led 5kms later to Puebla de Sancho Perez where I decided to stop for my meny del dia which was even better than yesterday for 11euros. 4kms later I arrived at the Hotel Cervantes in the centre of Zafra.
Booking.com 8.2 €28.5
I have a fantasic room with AC and a decent sized bathroom and a safe space for my trusty steed. Perfect.
Distance: 77kms
Well done, young man. A leisurely day and time to relax. Recognise the cramp problem. Have them every Thursday night!!! All set with your high seat for another day of relaxed biking tomorrow. Now you can start to enjoy the trip.
ReplyDeleteBonsoir mon ami what an excellent day x
ReplyDeleteWe both get cramp here in france going up and down the,stairs!!
Pas de problem pour toi mais fairly flippin sore Onwards all good