High Spain Drifter

Mark Krieger

Description

Cyclist, Mark Krieger and his wife Roz set off on another of their many fascinating journeys throughout Europe, this time around Spain and Portugal's Iberian Peninsula. Following the footsteps of the Tour de France and Spain's Vuelta a Espaa through the Pyrnes, Mark recalls many of cycling's memorable moments; some inspirational, and some that the sport would rather forget. Across the border into Spain, summer is approaching, a time when Catalonians are in festival mode. Travelling west, there is a treacherous 'goat track', near Oviedo, that Mark's determined to conquer after two failed attempts. Arriving in Portugal, the pair are enthralled by the country's history; events like the 'Age of Discoveries', the 1755 earthquake, the Carnation Revolution and the humble beginnings of Fado. As for the present, there's nothing better than the food and the distinctive way it's presented. Large cities are not normally on Mark's 'to do' list, especially when cycling is involved, but, drenched in history and abundantly alive in the present, Lisbon proves an awesome exception. Just as evocative in its own way is the small Spanish town of Trigueros. Once the sun goes down, its previously near-deserted streets come alive. Continuing through the south of Spain, the travelers visit the Sierra Nevada range. It's here where Mark tries to fulfill another obsession; to cycle up its highest peak, Pico de Veleta. Much higher and harder than any mountain he's ever dreamed of tackling, its final kilometres of treacherous road make the thought of continuing seem foolish. Fast approaching the town of Solsona, where his cycling trek began, Mark recalls some of the memories he and Roz have shared on their journey, while the thought of 'where to next' is never far away.

Sujets

• Southern Europe
• Cycling

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781506904214
• Langue: English

Extrait

HighSpain Drifter

MarkKrieger

First Edition Design Publishing
Sarasota, Florida USA
High Spain Drifter
Copyright ©2017 Mark Krieger

ISBN 978-1506-904-20-7 PRINT
ISBN 978-1506-904-21-4 EBOOK

LCCN 2017940455

April 2017

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this bookpublication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted inany form or by any means ─ electronic, mechanical, photo-copy, recording, orany other ─ except brief quotation in reviews, without the prior permission ofthe author or publisher.
Thanks Amy,and of course Roz.

Thanks alsoto a dependable mechanic,
a villainand a good friend.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 You Belter España . 1
Chapter 2 First Stop Andorra . 5
Chapter 3 No Fences Can Make Good Neighbours . 14
Chapter 4 Basque Country . 39
Chapter 5 Climb It Change . 52
Chapter 6 To the End of the World . 59
Chapter 7 In the Shadows of the Vuelta . 66
Chapter 8 Finding Cinfães . 69
Chapter 9 Not Just Any Lemon . 95
Chapter 10 Further South . 102
Chapter 11 A New Frontier 123
Chapter 12 Help Me Ronda! 132
Chapter 13 Altitude Sickness . 139
Chapter 14 Once Upon a Time in Murcia . 147
Chapter 15 Trains, Buses and Valencia . 167
Chapter 16 Heading North . 170
Chapter 17 Approaching Independence? . 175
Chapter 1
You Belter España


“Travelling – it leaves you speechless,
then turns you into a storyteller”.

Ibn Battutah



I happened upon the idea of cyclingaround Spain after reading a book called The Man Who Cycled the World. Written by a Scottish adventurer named Mark Beaumont, it described hiswhirlwind circumnavigation of the globe on a bicycle in 2008.
Now 60, I’d hardly comparemyself to the Mark Beaumont I came to know from his book. For starters, heclearly knew how to put a bicycle back together. Luck and my good friend Lore’smechanical expertise are the only insurances I have when it comes to thedurability of my bike on long-distance journeys. Beaumont was alsoself-sufficient, carrying all of his provisions with him, and travelled quicklyenough to smash the previous record for the fastest cyclist to make it aroundthe world – by more than 80 days. He took just 175 days.
But it wasn’t the time hetook to complete his journey of nearly 30,000 kilometres that impressed me themost. It was more the places he visited along the way and the experiences thatcame with them; sometimes daunting, sometimes curious, and sometimes moving, butin all cases unforgettable.
Our ideas and inspiration oftencome from the most surprising events, not least learning about other people’sexperiences and adventures. So, inspired by Beaumont’s book and buoyed by arecent cycling journey around France, I couldn’t wait to compare paella withquiche and barra with baguettes, not to mention how Spanish and Portuguesesangria matches up against a full-bodied French red wine. Most of all, I wantedto compare the lush French Pyrenean mountains and valleys with their dryerSpanish counterparts. And not least, there was a rather difficult mountain tothe west, near Oviedo, that was beckoning for a third time.
Virtually from the moment it was introduced tothe Vuelta in 1999, Alto del Angliru, in the heart of the Asturias, becameSpain ’ s mythical equivalent ofFrance ’ s Mont Ventoux and Italy ’ s Mortirolo. It is 12.5kilometres in length and has an average gradient of above 10%. While aformidable enough challenge itself, it’s the climb’s last 5 kilometres, whichinclude lengthy stretches of grades above 21% and 23%, that make it so tough. Unequivocally,it’s the hardest mountain road I’ve ever climbed – and in all likelihood, it’s thehardest I ever will.
If you’re game enough to tryit, chances are that when you exhaustedly roll over its barren summit, there’llbe nothing to greet you save the shivering cold, the incessant mist and theclanking of cow bells. Your only reward might be the satisfaction of havingcycled up a mountain that is so damn difficult.
* * *
My first time ever across aborder into Spain was at the wheel of a sleek grey French Peugeot, albeit arented one. My wife Roz and I were travelling, rather cautiously, along the A63from Bayonne towards the pretty coastal town of Ribadesella. We were visitingSpain for a week. The aims were to give us both a break from my riding, toclimb a few mountains together and to give Roz a first-hand glimpse ofSegovia’s famous aqueduct, built skilfully by the Romans during the 1st centuryAD.
While having seen andlearned almost as much about France as about my own country, not to mention afervent interest in French history that had begun long before my first turn ofa pedal in Europe, I was something of an inexpert when it came to its Pyreneanneighbour. For me, even a Grand Cycling Tour like the Vuelta a España seemed topale into insignificance compared to its charismatic rival, the Tour de France.I guess it still does! Then again, doesn’t every other bicycle race?
Other than the captivatingbeauty of Penelope Cruz, a very lifeless Charlton Heston on the back of a horsein the movie El Cid , a few Year 8 student projects on Isabella of Spain,and above all, George Orwell’s fascinating novel Homage to Catalonia , Iwas pretty hopeless when it came to recalling information on Spanish history,politics, culture ... and even cycling.
Growing up in an Anglo-Saxonhousehold and on a diet of Hollywood movies, there never seemed to be too muchmade of the significance of Spain and the Spanish in world history. In fact,the Spanish seemed to be portrayed as either villains, or at least second-best.I remember a swashbuckling Errol Flynn making a mess of the Spanish Armada. TheMoors always seemed to be the bad guys when it came to fighting the Christians,Cortés virtually singlehandedly destroyed a race of people and its culture, andCatherine of Aragon was so unwanted by her English husband, King Henry VIII, thatan entire new religion was adopted by the whole country just so he coulddivorce her.
Today, historians seriouslyquestion whether Christopher Columbus was the first explorer to discover theAmericas. That honour has since been attributed to Viking sailor Leif Eriksson,who, it now appears, dropped anchor and set foot on North American soil 500years before Columbus was even born.
Suffice it to say, earlyhistorical records didn’t treat Spain too kindly, and the 20th century was notmuch better. At least Germany and Italy were freed from fascist dictatorshipfollowing the horrific events of World War II. The Spanish people, however, plaguedby civil war until 1939, were forced to suffer the cruel dictatorial rule ofFrancisco Franco for the next 36 years.
* * *
As with its history, Spainhas had a somewhat tarnished reputation with its Grand Tour, the Vuelta aEspaña. Especially when you compare it with its French and Italiancounterparts.
It was almost three decades afterthe French and Italian Tours’ wheels had been rolling that the Vuelta finallymade its inaugural appearance. In April 1935, virtually on the brink of war,its first-ever race began, with only 50 competitors, over 14 stages. Of the 50,only 29 completed the gruelling 342-kilometre marathon.
Interrupted by war and animpoverished Europe over the ensuing decades, the Vuelta struggled to stay onits feet. Indeed, it wasn’t until 1955 that it became an annual event. Heldearlier in the year than the other European Tours, it was still seen, byinternational audiences and competitors alike, as lacking the credibility andcharisma of its rivals. Often, the Spanish Tour ended just days before theItalian race, the Giro d’ Italia, was due to start, leaving the Vuelta devoidof household names – and with riders who treated the race as little more than awarm-up event.
Eventually, in 1995, the Vuelta wasmoved from April to August and September, to avoid conflict with the Italian Tour,which was traditionally held in May. Sadly, its shift to the other end of thecycling calendar saw the race continue to be ignored by many of the big-nameriders: they still planned to peak in the French Alps, rather than 4 weekslater in the blinding heat and desert of Spain.
Rather ironically, Spain’smost celebrated cyclist of the modern era, Miguel Indurain, never won a Vuelta.Despite his five consecutive Tour de France victories, from 1991 to 1995, theclosest he ever came to a podium finish in his own country’s biggest cyclingevent was a distant second to compatriot Melcior Mauri, in 1991. Signifyingthat the event was still a second-class citizen when it came to the leadingcyclists’ Tour priorities, his successor, Lance Armstrong, never won the raceeither.
* * *
Leaving from the historicold town of Solsona on a warm July morning, the challenge, just like the roadbefore me, didn’t feel second rate. As with Mark Beaumont’s journey, therewould be many memories to amass along my own tiny ‘circumnavigation’ – around theIberian Peninsula. Heading north towards Tuixen, en route to Andorra, themassive Pyrenean wall looked imposing. Considerably more dry and barren thanthe fertile hillsides of southern France, it was a subtle warning of the starkmountain roads in Andalucía and Murcia that I’d soon come to know all too well.
As for now, bursting withendorphins and with 5000 kilometres of fascinating landscape, people, cultureand history ahead of us, I found myself uttering the same Spanish words overand over again in my head: ‘Tú belleza, España’ (‘You beauty, Spain’)would be on the tip of my tongue many more times before we were done.
Chapter 2
First Stop Andorra


“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day.Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and hewill realise fishing is stupid and boring”.

Desmond Tutu



Time travels quickly whenyou’re riding a bike. While your desti