Distance: 76.5 km
Ride time: 5:40:19
Average: 13.5 km/h
Max speed: 48.2 km/h
Total: 54522 km
We left Gaudix early in the morning, trying to beat the heat which can be very intense in this part of Spain, often reaching 40 degrees. Luckily we haven’t experienced anything too extreme the lasts days.
Like yesterday we were in for quite a few navigational challenges. We are following the A92 highway towards Murcia – the problem being that it is not allowed to cycle on the highway itself. In the beginning of the day Google Maps provided some very interesting alternatives to the highway; we might be in Europe, but this felt like a proper adventure once again!
Later we were mostly having to ride a the service road which in most places runs parallel to the highway. Sometimes the service road was in a good state, other times it turned into a rough dirt path zig-zagging it’s way through the hilly and dry Andalusian landscape.
I don’t mind being on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere at all, but having to ride on dirt when a perfectly fine highway runs parallel makes less sense. Furthermore, Manon was having a hard time dealing with the road on her thinner tires – all resulting in some rather frustrating cycling. Oh well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…
This part of rural Andalusia is known for its caves. We passed several during the day, trying to imagine the tough living conditions in this part of Europe half a century ago. Today some of the caves are still inhabited, and we even saw a few fancy ones complete with a nice garden in front.
As the sun was setting we were first looking for a place to wild camp, but with today’s mental challenges we opted for another cheap guesthouse that luckily showed up just at the right time.
Tomorrow the maps show a nice alternative road through a natural park. We are hoping for a more comfortable ride.
You weren’t suddenly transported back to Africa, again, were you? 🙂