Month: July 2016

Rail Trail on the Spanish-French Border

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I was told there are a number of ‘Green Way’ bike trails in the Tourist Office in Santander.  These are rail trails built on old railway tracks that go from the coast into the mountains in the Basque Country.

Busy Roads

One of the reason that I wanted to take the rail trail was that I was so over the trucks on the roads in Spain. The authorities try to make the secondary roads safe for cyclists with wide verges and signs reminding drivers of the law that requires that they keep at least 1.5 metres away from riders.  However, there are just so many trucks of the roads, it is not a pleasant place to ride.

Around the Bay

I was staying in a campsite between Hendaye and Saint Jean de Lux.

After packing up, I headed back into Hendaye and picked up the Eruo Velo Route 1.  It took me around the bay towards Irun.

Along the River

Outside of Irun, the cycle route becomes the Rail Trail that follows the Bisasoa River that is the border between Spain and Italy.

The old railway track follows the river.

Tunnels

There are a number of tunnels on the trail.  Some are short and the path is sealed.  Other are long and not little.  The surface of the path is rough and wet.  These where a bit of a challenge.  I took some videos (not on Flickr yet).

Other Cyclists

Most of the trail passes through some very spectacular countryside, with steep mountains either side and the river close to the trail.

There were a lot of cyclists on the path.  Some were clearly only doing part of the route.  Other were serious mountain bike riders who were using the trail to get to and from ‘single track’ trails that lead up into the mountains.

Hotel for Cyclists

I stopped in a town called Doneztebe.  The Tourist Office told me about a hotel that catered for cyclists.  The bloke in the Tourist Office told me that that train line only ran for 40 years before being closed by Franco in the late 1930’s.

The hotel turned out to be great.

It had a bar and also had a bike hire business.

The barman was very keen to tell me about the MTB trails in the area and describe his recent falls.  He proved that they had happen with a number of scars and bruises.

Park

The hotel was about 6 kilometres short of the end of the trail.

In the morning I completed the final leg that end in a rather good park.

Heading back to the Coast

I then headed back down the trail to Hendaye and along the coast to the campsite where I had stayed previously.

Flickr Link

https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/9h44G3

Garmin Links

Up the Trail

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1279460523

Down the Trail

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1279460612

Hondarriba

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It was very wet when I awoke in the camp site outside of San Sebastian. The weather report on the app on my smartphone said that it was cloudy.  This was one of those clouds that delvers rain.

Good Cycle Path

I headed down the hill into San Sebastian and followed the cycle path around the bay and along the surf beach and out of the city.  This part of the ride was good.  A lot of money and effort has been put into building cycling paths in the city, particularly to and from the beaches and the old town.

Things get Ordinary

Not long out of the city, the cycle paths cease and you are back on the roads.  Fortunately, they were not as busy as the N 634 further west, but they were still not the best to ride on.

To Hondarriba

The signs led me to Irun.  My final destination was Hondarriba, but there was no mention of it until I passed Irun.

I had looked up a campsite in Hondarriba. It took a bit of finding. As it turned out it was really good and only and couple of kilometres from the centre of town.

I pitched my tent in the area that was set aside for travellers, mainly cyclists, without vehicles.  This is good to see. There were a number of walkers, they are a tough lot.

Happening Place

Hondarriba is great place.  It has a small ‘walled town’, which as you would expect is very old.

It also was as wide waterfront area that looks over the bay that it shares with Handaye on the other side.  Hendaye is France.

I had decided to spend a couple of days in the place. The next day involved a lot of walking and really good lunch in a restaurant on the waterside.

In the evening the street behind that the waterside really came to life.  There are lots of small bars selling Pintxos.  People just wander around all over the place.  It shows that ‘outside drinking’ can be civilised.

Trip to France

Next day I caught a small ferry a cross to Hendaye in France.  It has a good beach.

I had lunch in restaurant on the beach.  I had Moules as you do in France when on the coast.

Bike Problem

Next day I packed up with the intention of taking the EuroVelo 1 Cycle Route from Hendaye past Irun and on to a Green Way Rail Trail into the mountain to the east.

This involved taking the small ferry across the bay to Hendaye again.

The trip across was okay.

As I load the panniers on the bike there was loud ‘BANG’.  My front tyre was flat. Not only that it was split.

I repaired the puncture and rode off very slowly looking for a bike shop.

I ask a number of people if they knew where a bike shop could be found.  I was told that there wasn’t one in town.

Stopping Short of Saint de Lux

I hadn’t gone all the far when the inevitable happened, the inner tube blew again at the point where the tyre had split.

I walked along the path until I came to campsite.

I checked in and asked if they knew where I could find a bike shop.  They told me that there was one “just before the bridge as you approach Saint de Lux”.

I took the bus into the town and after a bit of confusion I found the bike shop.  The mechanic pointed out that that as well and the tyre issue, the wheel was not true.  Anyway it was all fixed and I purchased a new shock absorber pump from them.

Long Walk

I had missed that last bus heading back to the campsite.

The walk back assisted in me achieving my FitBit target and more for the day.

Flickr Link

https://www.flickr.com/photos/twwilko_photos/albums/72157670768412371

Garmin Link

Leaving Sebastian

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1269977938

Very Short Ride Due to Puncture

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1279460466

 

San Sebastian

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The ride from Itxaspe to San Sebastian was mainly on the N634 main road.  It wasn’t too busy, but is not the best road to ride on.

As I approached the outskirts of the town, the Garmin got seriously lost.  There is a lot of road work going on.  Clearly the Garmin maps have not been updated.

Local Cyclist shows the Way

As I was riding along, a bloke on the bike came up beside me.  He asked me where I was headed.  I told him the I was heading to the beach.  He told me to follow him.

It wasn’t long before I arrived at the main beach.  It was a bit familiar.  I was last there in 1977.

Surfing Extea Hostel

I had booked into the ‘Surfing Extea Hostel’.  It has a very high rating on the booking site.  It is located in a residential building two streets back from the surf beach.

One the reasons that I had selected this place was that its web site said that it had “bicycle parking”.

I pressed the bell button on the wall next to the door.  A voice said “push the door”.  I entered.  There was a lift in front of me.  A couple came out of the lift.  I said to them “where is the hostel”.  They told me that it was on the second floor.  I left the bike at took the lift to the second floor.

A young girl came out of a door and asked me if I “was looking for the hostel”.  It seemed a bit odd.

She took me through the door into a kitchen.  It was the hostel, but it looked more like a large apartment.

Anyway, I checked in and I was taken to my room.

I asked where my bike would be stored.  The girl told that “owner would show me a place”.  She made a phone call.

Within 5 minutes a bloke in his thirties arrived. He told me that he would show me where the bike would be stored.  As it turned out, the storage place was a basement in building in the next street.  It was full of surfboards.

Over the next couple of days. I found out a bit more about the hostel.  It was an apartment that is owned by the parents of the “owner”.  He told me that he had “wanted to start a hotel, but it was not possible to get a property in San Sebastian”.  The next option was to open a hostel.  He had spent nearly two years getting planning permission to be able to convert the apartment into a hostel.  It is now finally operating.

He said that he also taken a lease on shop at street level.  This was being converted into an office and a bar with a restricted licence.

It all seems to be working out.  It is a very expensive hostel.  However, accommodation in San Sebastian is tight.  It seems that you can charge a lot and still have full occupancy.

Guests for Everywhere

Most of the other guests were a lot younger than me.  They were from all over the place – Norway, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Switzerland, France, Holland the USA and the UK. Most were in San Sebastian for the surf.

Great Old Town

San Sebastian has a great ‘Old Town’.  There are lots of bars and restaurants selling many types of pintxos.

It is great to wander from bar to bar, sampling one or two pintxos from each place.

Henry Moore Sculptures

One of the surprises was to see some Henry Moore sculptures on the beach. Moore is famous for his large bronze works – in particular, ‘reclining’  figures.

The sculptures look great in this location. The colours of the pieces change through the day.  Check out the Flickr photos.

Before I left England at the end of June, I met an artisan who  forges bronze for sculptors.  He told me that Moore asked him to work for him”.  He refused.

Up the hill

A must do is to take the funicular that takes you onto the hill that overlooks the town and the bay.

Tennis Club

I came across a  tennis club with the ‘Wimbledon Pub’.  I guess that is an appropriate name for a drinking hole in a tennis club.

Moving to Campsite

I decided to stay a couple of more days in San Sebastian.  The hostel was full.  I had to move to a camp site about 4 kilometres west of the town.

As it turned out, it rained for the next two days.

It was really wet the day that I left.

 

Flick Links

Moore Sculptures

https://flic.kr/s/aHskAcKwjk

San Sebastian Other

https://flic.kr/s/aHskEDg1v2

Garmin Link

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1261701378

Wikipedia Link on San Sebastian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Sebasti%C3%A1n

Henry Moore Link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moore

 

 

Bilbao to Beba and Itxaspe

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It was time to leave Bilbao and continue along the coast.

Difficult to leave the city

I have written about the difficult of leaving cities before.  This was no exception.  Typically there are good cycle paths within cities.  It is normal okay once you are well out of the out the cities.

It is the bit in between that seems to be a problem.

On the 634

Once out of Bilbao it was on the National Route 634. That was the only option.

There were a lot of cyclists on the road. There were also a lot of trucks.

Giving up

As I approached Beba I decided to give up.  Even though the run down to the coast was all downhill, I was over the trucks.

I caught the local train.  Check the video.  It was a really good train.

Long climb to camp site

I got off the train in Beba.  There was no option – it is the end of the line.

From Beba to the camp site at Itxaspe is less than 5 kilometres.  It is a long and steady climb.

Half way up the climb a cyclists passed me.  He slowed down and we started to chat.  It was a limited conversation as he was Spanish and I can only order a beer in Spanish.

He asked where I was going.  I told him that I was headed to the camp site. He told me to follow him as he was “living there”.  As it turned out that was a good idea. He took me on a short cut unknown to Garmin.

Spectacular View

The campsite at Itxaspe is very popular. Anyone with a vehicle needs to book weeks ahead, it not more.

Fortunately, they look after walkers (mostly of the Route of St James) and cyclist. No one on a   bicycle or on foot is turned away.

The view from the site is amazing.

Very Old Cyclist

After pitching my tent, I headed to the bar for a beer and meal.

An old bloke approached me at the bar.  He said that he “saw my Cannondale where the cyclists camp”.  He asked where I was headed.

He turned out to be a Pom from the Cumbria.  He told me that he was “cycling from Santander into France and would be going as far as he can in three weeks before he returned home”.  “Three weeks was his leave pass from his Missus”.

We chatted for a bit.

He told me that he started “long distance cycle rides when he was Sixty”.  That seemed to be a reasonable comment.  He then told that “he didn’t think that he would be still doing it twelve years later”.  I was shocked: “Are you 72”? I asked?  “Actually, I am 73, he replied”.

This bloke thinks 100 kilometres averaging 10 miles per hour on a fully laden bike is “ a soft day”.

Into the Next Town by Bus

In in the morning I had decided to stay in Itxaspe for a day.

I walked to the bus stop and caught the bus into Zumaia for a late lunch.  It is a nice place.

It was late when I got back to the camp site.

 

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHskDuPdPf

Garmin

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1259245103

Bilbao

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I ended up staying in Bilbao for a few days.

The hostel where I was staying was not far from the river and about 800 metres from the Guggenheim Museum. It was quite good.

Walks through the City

I went on a number of walks through the city.  It is quite compact and has a vibrant old town which comes to life after 7.00 p.m.

There are plenty of restaurants and small bars.

Guggenheim Museum

Of course the main attraction in the city is the Guggenheim Museum. It is one of the best known buildings that have been designed by the architect Frank Gehry.

I have seen his Disney Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles,  the Jay Pritzker Pavilion  in Chicago and the Dancing House in Prague.  He has recently designed a Building for the UTS University in Sydney.

The Bilbao building is spectacular.

One of the features of the building is the titanium cladding and the way it changes colour during the day.

The exhibition areas are very big.  Some of the pieces are an ‘acquired taste’.  The work of a French artist, Louise Bourgeois, reminded me of the Damien Hirst’s stuff – a bit weird.

There is currently an Andy Warhol exhibition on show.  It is the only are where you can take photos of the paintings.

Problem with the Bike

Some readers of this blog will know that I have a rather interesting bike with a single shock absorber on the front. It is ‘air filled’.  It occasionally requires charging.  I have a special pump to do that.  When I tried to charge it in Bilbao I managed to ‘cross the thread’ on the connection between the pump and the shock absorber.

I took the bike to a bike shop near to the hostel.

The mechanic only spoke Spanish.  When he looked at problem, he said something in Spanish.  I took what he said to mean: “what the fu&$k have you done”.  He managed to charge the shock absorber. I hope I have not done irreparable damage.  I have had to replace it once before.  It isn’t cheap.

Haircut

I had a haircut in Bilbao.  I won’t need another for a while.  I tried to indicate I wanted one centimetre taken off.  The barber seemed to assume that I wanted only one centimetre, or less left.

Flick Links

Guggenheim

https://flic.kr/s/aHskE8XrJu

Other

https://flic.kr/s/aHskEbE1eg

Links to Guggenheim Museum

Collection

http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/en/the-collection/

Building

http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/en/the-building/

Santona to Castro Urdiales

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I managed to very lost leaving Santona.  You would think this would be impossible given that I had arrived on a series of bridges.

As it turned out there are two series of bridges going in different directions.  I finally got on to the correct bridge and headed east.

Big  climbs

I had plotted a route to my next destination, Casto Urdiales using Google Maps.  The route took me inland on small rural roads.

The first part of the route was fine as rode along the banks of river.

The route then took me a very steep hill that seemed to just go on and on.

At one point I was passed by two young English blokes who told me that they were heading along the coast into France.  They were riding a bit faster than me.  There was a bit of the ‘tortoise and the hare’, as they passed me and I would plod along and find them stopped by the side of the road.  A while later they would pass me.  After a while they disappeared.

The top of the climb was 395 metres.  That doesn’t sound too much, but the road was steep.

There was a long decent into a valley another river.

The route then took me up another hill.

Finally, there was long decent towards. Castro Urdiales.

There are some videos on Flickr.  I am not going as fast as the descents in the Swiss Alps last year.  I am over 60.

Tricky Place to Find

I was relieved to be at my destination.  The next thing was to find the campsite.  I had checked it out on the internet and it looked very substantial with a large pool and restaurant.  I assumed that it would be easy to find.

I didn’t believe the Garmin when it told me to take a really narrow road through a tunnel under a main road.  As it turned out it was correct.

Campsite was high on a hill overlooking the city.

I checked in and was directed to my pitch.  The English blokes I had met on the road were my neighbours. They had also found the place hard to find.

Nice Town

I decided to stay in Castro Urdiales a couple of days.  It has a great little harbour and two good beaches.

The old part of the town has some good bars.

Bull Fighting

One of them has really good Tapas. It also had a large screen TV showing Bull Fighting.  I noticed that the only people watching were at least 10 years older than me.

I recalled going to a bull flight in Madrid October 1985 when I was visiting the city on a Department of Foreign Affairs trip.  The Ambassador said, “seeing a bull fight was a must do”. I did it.

I found the experience both thrilling and troubling.  It was certainly a spectacle and the speed of the bull skill of the Matador was impressive      . The crowd were right into it.

I do recall, however, being shocked and troubled by the obvious cruelty to the bulls – after all they were all killed.

I remember the smell of the blood of the bulls. That was really shocking.

Matador Killed

As it turned out, when I was in Castro Urdiales    a Matador was killed. The fight, in the eastern town of Teruel, was being broadcast live on TV. It was the first death in the ring for 30 years.

 

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHskDBJy94

Garmin Link

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1245761904

BBC Coverage of Matador being Killed

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36756723

Santander to Santona

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It was finally time to leave Santander.

The city was not the easiest place to navigate out of.  The old Garmin got very confused.  I knew that I had travel on a ‘National’ road, but the Garmin kept on wanting to take me on to a Freeway.

I had a paper map, and ended up using it exclusively.  I was later to meet some English cyclist who would had found it difficult navigate out of the city.

Into Santona

My planned destination was the seaside town of Santona.

The combination of hills and traffic made it a fairly tough ride.

It was late when I made my way across a series of bridges into the town.  The camp site was quite a way out of the town.  It turnout out to be next to a prison.  This a fishing seemed to the main industries in the town.

Wales Beaten  

After setting up my tent I headed along the beach looking for a place to eat. The restaurant I found was large, but had only a couple of customers.  There seemed to be a lot of people in the campsite and the street, but no one seemed to need, or want, to eat in the restaurant.

As I ate I watched Wales being beaten by Portugal in the football.

Flickr

https://flic.kr/s/aHskEJ23Ln

Garmin

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1245761644

 

Santander

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I ended up staying in Santander for a few days.  The camping ground was bit out of the town, above a cliff and a rather spectacular beach that looked a bit like Tamarama in Sydney.

Spectacular Walk

The path into the main part of the town passed a public golf course.  I took the path into town over the days of my stay.  There were always I lot of people on the path and there were always people playing golf.  It seems that people in Santander have a lot of time on their hands.  I suspect many are retired.

Belgium Cyclist

One the other people at the camp site was a Belgium cyclist.  His plan was to head into the mountains and find a small village in which to base himself and do day rides through the mountains. I thought that was a bit odd, but I guess there aren’t too many hills in Belgium.

Restaurant

I found a really good restaurant on the main beach.  I ended up having some long lunches there, using the internet and reading.  The place was always full.

Walk in the city

I look a couple of longer walks through the city.  It seemed reasonably prosperous, albeit I did wander into some shabby parts.

Cool Water

When I did go for a swim. I found that water a bit cool.  I guess I am showing my age.

European Football

The European Football Championships were being telecast during my stay.  The locals didn’t seem to be too interested in the games involving Germany, France, Portugal, Wales etc.

Spain had been knocked out in the Round of 16 in the week before.

The only time they seemed to take any interest in a game  was when there a penalty shootout as was the case in game between France and Germany.

Three Wheeled Morgan

On the day I was leaving, a bloke driving Three Wheel Morgan sports ‘car’ also left the camping site.  He had his wife in campervan and three other blokes on Adventure bikes in his party.  Riding around Europe on that machine looked to be a hoot.

Flick Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHskDnZHYc

Garmin Link

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1236599668