Spanish C2C Final Recce

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pistonbroke
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Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

Next year's ride includes several new sections, we had a rare weekend with no plans so headed off to Burgos to have a look at some new bits. A 5 hour drive landed us at a picnic area deep in the woods which I have earmarked as a bivvy spot for next May. Bright and early on Saturday morning we plunged straight into a section of forest singletrack which forms a section of the Camino del Cid. As we emerged we bumped into a hunting party coming out of a village cafe, their quarry being wild boar. There followed a section of gravel trail, taking us to Santa Domingo de Silos and a cafe stop.
Gravel road to Santa Domingo de Silos h ... ry/rojet5C
The track out of the village was steep but lead to the place where the gunfight in the Good, Bad and Ugly was filmed.
Santa Domingo de Silos https://imgur.co ... ry/hQyOB8F
https://i.imgur.com/PvC3ZJ1.jpg
The cemetery has been fully restored by local volunteers to the condition it was in 50 years ago Sad Hill Cemetery https://imgur.com/gallery/bcoPX07
Sad Hill Sign https://imgur.com/gallery/exM1bZgClint casts a long shadow https://imgur ... ry/rhf2Lur
Then it was back to the van for a clean up and into Burgos for food
Sunday morning we set off for the Canon de Rio Lobos. The previous C2C route had taken in half of this spectacular canyon but I'd not been sure that the upper section was ridable. It was actually better riding than the lower bit and certainly drier. The trail is 20km from the Ermita to the village where the road meets it and is windy singletrack for virtually the whole length, a cracking ride. We counted at least 30 eagles and vultures nesting on the cliffs.
Cañon de Rio Lobos https://imgur.com/gallery/1ijciem
Ever feel you're being watched https:// ... ry/qv8tO2V
We set off home as darkness fell, getting as far as Zaragoza before stopping in a secluded carpark then did the final stretch this morning.
HUX
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by HUX »

:-bd looks good Duncan. Similar mileage as last year? How did this year's trip go?
pistonbroke
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

Thanks Leigh, the total distance is the same as last year as the increased off road sections are more direct and we finish very close to the beach where you and Mike bivvied. Pretty well every day has some changes, I've avoided Salas de los Infantes (leaky disused station) as the route via the Sad Hill Cemetery is much nicer. The route into Bilbao is on an old railway line and after visiting the Guggenheim, we cross the river on a transporter bridge.
Bilbao transporter bridge https://imgur ... ry/mDvUXKf
We started a bit earlier on Friday this year so managed to get to the village with the train/cafe to camp on day 1. This avoided Sunday being such an epic and balanced the distance at just over 100km per day. The place where we bivvied under a large canopy was actually open as a bunkhouse, we paid under €10 for b&b and the guardian even washed our gear while we got food. We had an afternoon of r&r in Burgos as tyre issues didn't hit until the following day.
Learnings from the trip were 1) Don't come if you don't want to ride off road 2) Bring a gps device with multi day power supply and the route pre-loaded 3) There is no vegetarian option, a bocadillo vegetal contains tuna 4)Human kindness is alive and well as evidenced by the campsite owner who drove 80km to buy a replacement 700c tyre and would only accept payment for the tyre. 5) Fit durable tyres 6)Nights bivvying at over 1,000m in May are chilly 7) Don't disregard 2) and bring a 1:250k scale paper map instead :|
Otherwise it was a great trip.
Castellote on C2C https://imgur.com/gallery/40jHdDk
Burgos C2C 2018 https://imgur.com/gallery/yOc08aF
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ZeroDarkBivi
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by ZeroDarkBivi »

This trip sounds better with every iteration; very keen to do it next year, if I am not on the ‘standby’ team at work. Won’t know for sure until late February...
pistonbroke
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

Yes Craig, I'm really pleased with the new section which avoids Salas, we had a difficult time there this year trying to find veggie food, in fact food of any sort. The recce trip turned up a nice little restaurant in a village about 10km from the bivvy spot and a cafe for breakfast 5km further on. If the weather's kind, it should be perfect.
Hope your work rotas allow you to come, I'm sure you'd enjoy it.
pistonbroke
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

Just for info, Ryanair flying to Reus/Tarragona on 9th of May from Stanstead, Liverpool etc for under £30. Not much more to Return from Bilbao on the 19th with Easyjet. Plus bike obvs.
postierich
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by postierich »

Is this a guided ride that costs $£$£ if so what are the costs is drinking allowed i.e. Beer/Larger.

Rich
pistonbroke
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

is drinking allowed i.e. Beer/Larger.

Rich
Nearly spat my morning cuppa over my screen at the thought that drinking was banned, it's virtually compulsory!
We spend the first day riding through the wine regions of the Priorat and Terra Alta and later on in the Duero valley which produces some of the finest wines that Spain keeps for it's own consumption.
Dave Barter's report refers to one campsite owner presenting us with a crate of Estrella to keep the group from lynching me until the food arrived. Each day finishes at or close to a cafe or cheap restaurant and breakfast is usually found within half an hour of getting going the following day.
Andy B evening wear https://imgur.com/gallery/4dbR28G
With regard to cost, I don't charge for "guiding" the trip, each rider has the day's route downloaded to their gps and is welcome to ride at their own pace or stop at sights along the way. The group tends to reconvene at lunch and at the end of the day but even that can be fluid. Flights to Reus from Liverpool can be had for under £40 plus bike and return from Bilbao is similarly priced so total travel cost is under £200. We transport bike bags from the start to the finish or source cardboard boxes for your flight back.
There is a bunk house with showers roughly at the half way point which charged us €10 for b&b. Other places charge a small amount for camping and showers if we stop there or have bungalows to rent if the weather is bad, which it usually isn't. We wild camp at least 3 nights or more if desired.
I'd say that the total budget for the trip,depending on your appetite, would be about £500 inc flights so it's not a dear do.
ton
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by ton »

is there a date set for this?
if so, when would it be.
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psling
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by psling »

ton wrote:is there a date set for this?
if so, when would it be.
Have a look-see here Tony > http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... =7&t=13641
We go out into the hills to lose ourselves, not to get lost. You are only lost if you need to be somewhere else and if you really need to be somewhere else then you're probably in the wrong place to begin with.
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Mike
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by Mike »

:-bd would we be setting off at 23mph again for 5hrs solid ;0) I'd live this trip again at somepoint but I need to learn spanish so I know what I can eat... can't do bread and cheese for 6 days I'm not jesus
pistonbroke
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

23mph for 5 hours :grin:
I have to admit that I was a bit hyper last year, the reason being that due to it being the first time I'd ridden the whole route on consecutive days, I was worried that the slightest issue would delay us getting to Bilbao in time for your flights back.
Given we coped fine when Rufus's tyre disintegrated, I was wrong to fret so much.
Also I didn't want to let the guy down who was providing food at the closed campsite on Sunday night, he drove 100km to meet us and it turned out fine in the end.
This year we started earlier on the Friday which made for a much more relaxed start and meant that we arrived at bigger towns and villages at the right time to get a substantial meal, both at lunch and dinner. I have been able to do more research on places to eat and can confidently say that no-one will go hungry. A few weeks ago we went on a night ride with our club which involved a meal at the village with the train cafe (Wotsits eye socket bottle opener incident), this is our first night destination.The steaks were some of the biggest I've ever seen and should satisfy even Mike :shock:
I realise an army marches on it's stomach and have modified the itinerary to deal with this, the only thing I haven't solved is catering for non meat eaters.
middleagedmadness
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by middleagedmadness »

Mike wrote::-bd would we be setting off at 23mph again for 5hrs solid ;0) I'd live this trip again at somepoint but I need to learn spanish so I know what I can eat... can't do bread and cheese for 6 days I'm not jesus
Se quiries aprendar para la comida ,habla con migo la proxima vez nosotros vas por Una vuelta :-bd haven't got a Spanish keyboard to add the accents and my spelling has always been sh#te in English ,Irish ,or Spanish ,but I can teach you how to ask for your food (& everything else you may want) you may get funny looks mind because it'll be with a Murcian accent /phrases
pistonbroke
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by pistonbroke »

Methinks Mike's recall is different to mine.
From memory, day 1, fry up in Tarragona then Paella with pizza for pudding. Day 2 bacon and egg sandwich in Bot then plats combinados in Monroyo, Day 3 5 course meal inc steak, potato, chick peas, stew, followed by vienetta. Day 4 omlette for breakfast, hot pork or sausage sarnies for lunch and another fry up for dinner. Day 5 pasta for lunch and plats combinados for dinner Day 6 3 course set menu dinner in Salas with New Zealand kids. Day 7 lunch in Burgos with doughnuts, another fry up and pizza in truckstop. Day 8 full cooked meal in campsite restaurant in basque country.
I must say I didn't see many cheese sandwiches being consumed but I didn't spend every km monitoring the group's food consumption.
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Mike
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by Mike »

:lol: I'd forgotten all about those meals
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Scattamah
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by Scattamah »

Those meals will never be forgotten by those who were present.

"I want pizza!"
"Well feck off to Italy then!"

Priceless.

Greetz

S.
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Dave Barter
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by Dave Barter »

Scattamah wrote:Those meals will never be forgotten by those who were present.

"I want pizza!"
"Well feck off to Italy then!"

Priceless.

Greetz

S.
I'm surprised you could remember any of the restaurant dialogue?


Image

It's a great trip I'd recommend it to anyone on here. Just remember to pitch your tent 1,000,000 miles away from Duncan.
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Scattamah
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Re: Spanish C2C Final Recce

Post by Scattamah »

That picture was from night #2 IIRC...that draggy bastard road climb took me down. The pizza incident was the evening that Hux's bag strap was dissolved by ants and you slept on the edge of your mat waiting for the boars to come for you. ;)

Greetz

S.
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