Day 21 Vizcainos to Najera

Day 21. Vizcainos to Najera. 83.40 kms cycled. 5.28 hours cycling. 42.16 km/h max speed. 15.20 km/h average speed. Weather - sunny but extremely cold.


Well, Spain really turned it on for me today. After an extremely cold start – early overnight rain had actually frozen the tent solid when I woke up – I hit the road for one of the most amazing day’s cycling I have ever enjoyed.
The first 20 or so kilometres were extremely tough and saw me continue the previous day’s climb interupted by a flat tyre up to about 1200 metres.
Snow covered peaks were everywhere and it felt like it!! But after finally peaking, the road started going down and basically continued to do so for the next 50 kilometres.
Often as I’m climbing yet another impossibly long and steep road I joke with myself that the next stretch of road to the nearest town or landmark must be “all downhill” – in my dreams!
Usually the reality is much less pleasing, but today I got my wish. After that “killer” first 20 km, I hardly saw a hill. Nearly the whole trip was a descent, aside from the odd flat stretch and the even rarer “bump in the road”.
But it wasn’t the armchair ride that had me in raptures, it was the amazing scenery. On many occasions I found myself going as slowly as I could so that I could take it all in.
There were huge gorges, the fast running rivers Urria and Najerilla that had carved out amazing passages through the countryside, dozens of eagles soaring overhead, snow covered peaks everywhere and basically another amazing sight at every turn of the road.
In fact, I don't think I have ever seen so many waterfalls, fast-flowing rivers, massive dams and amazing natural cliff formations.
The previous day I had worried that the Sierra de la Demanda National Park would be a killer ride with peaks as high as 2271 metres, but the reality was much, much more enjoyable.
The road through the natural wilderness followed the valleys and is truly a sight that anyone who visits Spain should make an effort to see. Without doubt the area was the highlight of my trip so far and that is a big statement because I saw some amazing sights in Portugal.
I couldn't but help wonder where everyone was. For hours on end just a handful of cars passed, the various picnic grounds were deserted as were the picturesque little villages. For quite a while I felt I had this incredible natural wilderness all to myself!!

But then I couldn't have asked for any more, it will certainly be a day that stays in my memory for a long, long time.
Due to the dream downhill ride, I ended up travelling much further for the day – 83 kilometres – than I had expected, so have decided to have a rest day tomorrow in Najera before making my way to Pamplona and then on to the Pyrenees and France.
I also need to urgently find a cycle shop so I can purchase some more tubes, as I no longer have any spares, so here’s to hoping that there is one in Najera.

captions: Pictures just don't seem to do the area's beauty justice.