Days 6 to 8 September 2019

Posted by The Madbiker on Thu, Oct 31, 2019

Day 6

After lounging about in the sun and riding some forest dirt roads in Galicia to reacquaint myself with riding off road it was time to head back to Krakow in Poland where I planned to spend the Winter. After saying my goodbyes in Galicia I set off for the East coast of Spain. I took the N120 from Monforete De lemos to Ponferrada and although this is a fast main road it is quite pleasant to ride on with a bike as it twists and turns as it climbs up the valley of the river Sil.

I then turned South on to the NVI in the direction of Benavente. At this point the weather turned due to the elevation, bringing low cloud and an accompanying decline in the temperature. This stretch of the NVI road runs parallel to the N6 motorway which replaced it as the main road in this part of Spain. As I drove along it I passed countless abandoned hotels, restaurants and petrol stations, all victims to progress. Once I was a few miles South of Benavente I turned East and I took the N610 in the direction of Palencia. The weather did not improve much and although the road was empty of traffic there was little of interest to see on it except the odd abandoned village that sat slowly decaying at the side of the road.

I then tuned on to the CL-619 which I rode to Aranda De Duero, there I picked up the N122. I continued to ride East on this until I turned on to the CL-116. As evening was approaching I decided to stop in the town of Almazan for the night. Almazan was at one time a fortified town and remnants of the ancient fortifications remained giving the town a certain charm that is seldom found in more modern Spanish towns.

Day 7

The next morning I sipped a coffee in the town square and watched the glow of the rising sun reflect on the sand coloured buildings near to my hotel.

Leaving Almazan and heading East out of town on the Cl-116, after about 5 minutes of riding, I entered a fog bank that did not clear for some 30 miles. A combination of rising air temperatures and rising road elevation eventually pulled me clear of the fog and in to some very welcome warm sunshine. At some point South of this I encountered a junction with no road signs and not having a Sat Nav (nor wanting one) I took a wrong turning that eventually led me to the town of Nuevalos which sits at the South end of a reservoir. The road out of town snaked up a steep hillside and this provided for a spectacular view of the valley below.

One of the things I like about not having a Sat Nav is getting lost, as you often end up in places that are not featured in guide books or noted as places of interest, meaning that you get to see parts of the country that other tourists bypass. Leaving Nuevalos I then headed South on the CM-210 to the town of Molina De Aragon. Unfortunately when I arrived at this town I was unable to take photographs of the imposing castle that sits high above the town so an image taken from the internet will have to suffice.

Then heading East I got on to the N420 and a few hours later I eventually I arrived in Reus, a city I had lived in from April 2017 till December 2019. The heat and late afternoon sights and sounds brought back many forgotten memories of my time living there. After a night in the company of my friends and after saying my goodbyes, I retired for the night to my room in a large, anonymous, modern, but functional hotel.

Day 8

The next day I decided to ride in to France along the coastal route up to the border, joining it North of the city of Barcelona, this was another big mistake on my part. This is area is one of the most popular areas for foreign tourism in Spain however, the roads were choked, the scenery was non existent, and the riding was very slow going. By the time I reached the town of Figueres I had only ridden about 100 miles and it had taken me the best part of 4 hours so stopping at Figueres for petrol, I decided to take a break from riding and have some lunch in the shade.

After lunch I needed to press on to get some more miles under my belt, so out of necessity, I hit the motorways again. I crossed the border in to France and as soon as I could, I left the motorway which was just after Beziers and then on to the D6009. Continuing to ride generally North Eastwards I rode along the N9, and then headed in the general direction of Switzerland. As I rode on past Monpellier, and North on to the D6110 towards Ales, I saw dark clouds forming ahead of me and by the time I had reached Ales, the skies were black and lightning forked down to the ground all around me.

Taking shelter in a McDonalds just in time before the skies opened up, a thunderstorm of gigantic proportions sent a huge amount of rain pouring down in about 20 minuets, so much so that the nearby streets were temporally flooded to a depth of about 30 centimetres. I then took a quick look at the map, I noted the passing storm’s new direction and plan B was put in to effect. About an hour later, just as it was getting dark, I rolled in to the town of Montellimar. However as with all plans, they can go awry and at one hotel after another, I got the same story, No vacancies.

Eventually, using my very rusty French, I was able to ascertain that all of the hotels in about a 40 km radius were fully occupied due to some local event. According to a very helpful hotel clerk, the nearest vacancy was about 60 km away in the town of Orange which was about an hour to the South of where I currently was. On my way out of town heading for Orange, I saw an old truck stop that had lights illuminated so I popped in and yes they had a vacancy, but it was just a basic room, shared bathroom, breakfast extra, and that will be 50 Euros please! The only good thing about it was it was better than continuing to ride on to Orange (with no guarantee of a cheaper room) and as a bonus I got to park the bike in a secured garden behind the place.

Needless to say, that day I had no time to stop and admire or photograph the non existent scenery.