Musings on May 2018

[pistonbroke]

As Dave Barter pointed out, November is the month that thoughts turn to plans for riding activities in sunny climes.
I can confirm that I'm planning to repeat the Spanish C2C ride that 9 of us enjoyed this May. Report here http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... 10&t=10944 pics http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... 10&t=10024
The basic outline will be the same, we start on the shore of the Mediterranean at Tarragona and finish a week or so later at the Atlantic near Bilbao. This allows participants to fly into Reus or Barcelona and depart from Bilbao, having their bike packaging transferred from start to finish by my long suffering wife.
I have tweaked the route a bit but will clarify that in due course, the aim being to balance the daily mileage/difficulty.
The question of the moment is when?
Easter is quite early this year so the budget holiday carriers will be in full swing throughout April and May, however Mayday holiday in the UK is as late as it can be on the 7th. I try to avoid the WRT weekend and my thoughts are to run the last week of April or 12th-20th of May. Given that the weather here is generally perfect for this type of trip anytime between March and July, if anyone considering joining us could comment on their availability, I can start formulating a plan.
Cheers Duncan

[Chew]

I'm interested Duncan.
Would depend on daily mileages as i'd like it to be a 'holiday' rather than having to push the distance everyday.

Fairly open about dates as long as it doesnt clash with the WRT/Tour d Yorkshire weekend (thats another potential headache...)

Keep us posted

[HUX]

Definitely up for another trip Duncan. I'm easy on dates will just have to do some leave juggling like last year when I booked the flights but hadn't actually got the time off!

[pistonbroke]

Chew, yes I'll avoid the WRT, assuming it's on the normal date Mayday weekend. The TdY is on the 5th-6th as well n'est pas?
Re distance, difficulty, it's 90+% the same as this year so 1,000km, the terrain is nowhere near as challenging as the Easter trip we did last year. This year's trip was quite front loaded as I'd arranged a meal on Sunday evening as I wasn't sure that we could get food where we were due to stop. I'd still recommend doing some pre ride training though! An ability to get up and away within 2 hours would be a definite plus

[Dave Barter]

BRING EAR PLUGS

[pistonbroke]

I've no idea what you're talking about Dave, I slept like a log

[pistonbroke]

Dave B has kindly sent me the stats for climbing and the total uphill over the 1,000km is 13,500m. The route basically climbs from the Med to 1,500 m in the first 3 days then stays on a plateau at 1,000m for 3-4 days before crossing the Cordillera Cantabria and dropping into Bilbao. The plan for next year is to do in the first 3 days what we did in 21/2 this year, I wasn't 100% sure what the going was like around Burgos but it turned out to be fast gravel tracks and had it not been for Andy N's tyre woes, we'd have had a short day. I've genuinely no strong feelings about whether it will be run in April of May so if there's anyone with views or a preference please let me know.

[Borderer]

You could of course go back on the ferry from Bilbao. That's a lovely journey - 24 hours to relax and watch the dolphins out the porthole.

[Mbnut]

It is a great trip.

One I may revisit one day but a March trip to slightly less sunny climes means it won't be next year.

[pistonbroke]

Never mind Nigel, the route will still be there in the future. What am I going to do without the sound of your electric mat inflater to lull me to sleep? Baggage handlers all over Spain are heaving a collective sigh of relief though.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Definitely interested, but too early to know if I will have the time off.

[jamiep]

I am giving this serious consideration. Easy on dates. Although I do have one real concern, I hate eggs (and I am a veggie too)

[PaulB2]

I am giving this serious consideration. Easy on dates. Although I do have one real concern, I hate eggs (and I am a veggie too)

My missus is veggie and and she had quite a few issues a few years back when she did part of the Camino:

Most things are not marked veggie and when buying cooked food you have to be super careful because there tends to be pork fat or chorizo in everything.
No cheese is marked as veggie, but I'm ok with that. Prepackaged food isn't as common, so I survived on lots of sandwiches. If he has a cook set , he should be able to get couscous, cook pasta and rice

[pistonbroke]

I hate eggs (and I am a veggie too)

Dave's excellent write up made it sound as if we lived on omelette sandwiches and shandy, I can confirm that this was for comedic effect. The route passes through several largish towns and although we didn't visit every eating establishment despite Mike's best efforts, I'm sure there are loads of veggie options. We also found enough supermarkets and local shops to keep us happy. The issue that can confuse matters is that shops of all description take an extended lunch break from about 1pm until 4 or 5pm, they then reopen until about 8 so working around this is required. Does your vegetarianism extend to fish and dairy as well? Most bars will offer a range of seafood and cheese as Tapas dishes.

[jamiep]

Does your vegetarianism extend to fish and dairy as well? Most bars will offer a range of seafood and cheese as Tapas dishes.

Proper veggie, no fish, but dairy fine notwithstanding a hatred for eggs.

I was cycling (roadie) in Cambrils earlier this year, which certainly increased my interest in this trip. But it would be miserable spending over a week in remote locations without access to enough food. I am built of the roadie climber ilk so don't have much fat reserves as it is, hence the hesitation

[pistonbroke]

Cambrils is a nice spot, bit more upmarket than Salou and decent network of road riding up towards the Priorat.
Apart from the famous abandoned campsite where the guy brought us a meal in the boot of his car, on this year's trip we ate in decent cafes every day. Even the car boot meal included a chick pea dish as well as delicious potatoes cooked in olive oil. If you prefer to cook yourself, there's a large Mercadona in Mora d'Ebre which is the start of the second day and the route is designed to pass through towns at the end of virtually every day. In May there's loads of fresh fruit around, goat's cheese etc etc. I'm sure you won't go hungry!

[Mike]

I must add at this point I was super miserable at certain times on this trip...I think it was purely down to my diet ( or not ) the food wasn't hitting the spots for me. However one night stood out for me and apart from the amazing food was one of the highlights of the trip and I'm sure the others will vouch for this. The guy at the campsite ( it was closed!! ) was our saviour! He went above and beyond to feed us some outstanding grub ( and loads of beers ). That nights feast and Andys sexy one piece prop picked me up! I can highly recommend this trip if you are contemplating it next year. The scenery is outstanding, the weather for us was amazing. Company was excellent.... Cheers all.
You may need epo for the first day when Duncan sprints off down the coast but he slows towards the mid week ;0) either that or we ground him down with all our stopping and faffing. This trip has crossed my mind again and if not next yr I will return at some point.... I may try and learn a bit of Spanish though next time, especially " can I have that again please "

[pistonbroke]

by Borderer » Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:56 pm
You could of course go back on the ferry from Bilbao. That's a lovely journey - 24 hours to relax and watch the dolphins out the porthole.

The ferry is worth exploring, it leaves right by the finish at Santurzi. It's operated by Brittany Ferries and runs on Tuesdays, leaving at 10am and arriving in Portsmouth the following morning. Lots of time for a good clean up, sleep and whale watching. Cost is about £120 depending on whether you book a cabin or couchette, you have to ring BF to book as there's not a foot passenger option on the website. It also means that the hassle of repacking your bike is avoided. I'd definitely look at it if I was based in southern England. There's also an option to sail to Plymouth for those in the west country.

[BreninBeener]

Very keen on this. I have followed the original trip with interest.

When will dates be finalised so incan explore the chances of annual leave at work?

[pistonbroke]

Re dates Brenin, no-one has declared a firm preference as yet. Personally I'd favour the mid May option as we'll get more daylight hours and probably less rain. It may also be worth asking for the friday off as well as this year we did a few km on friday afternoon. Friday flights to Reus/Tarragona can be secured from Manchester and Stansted whereas some flew to Barcelona on thursday evening from Bristol and Birmingham. If you need to make firm arrangements, I'm happy to go with that.