May 3: Day 6, Las Infantas-Arroyo Frio
I wasn't expecting a long ride today. Komoot estimated it would take 7h44, and I'd checked through the route and there were only a few places where the road was gravel, so bad data there shouldn't affect things much. So I thought the estimate would be reliable, and got on the road a little late at 9am.
From left to right: Breakfast. Improved water bag. The estimate was 7h44, with a lot of climbing. Not kidding about that 1000m climb at the end! The bike, just before leaving.
Breakfast was toast and tomato and coffee.
I'm trying some changes to the waterbag today. I've flipped it inside out so the sun will hit higher-albedo white. I've also wrapped all the water bottles in the brown jersey, and wetted it, so there's insulation and evaporation. I think there’s about 8kg of water in there again today.
The big event for today is the climb at the end: the route goes up 1000m, and it's half a day wide. It's also unavoidable, so not being able to climb it will have consequences...
Not much to say about the first part of the day. Road went up, and down, the skies were blue, the surroundings were Spanish. There was some roadworks: I had to wait for the signal to go. I made some kilometers happen before the temperature went up.
I also stopped in at the first supermarket and picked up some more isotonic drinks: I'd had some yesterday and they were great so let’s do it again.
From left to right: Passed through a small town called "Torrequebradilla", they had flags up. The builder of this house must have been very pleased with the view; I hope they'd moved on before the water tank and power lines arrived. Blocked route across the dam wall. Back on the road and having a snack break.
At one point, the route was supposed to go along the wall of a small dam. Unfortunately it was surrounded by several layers of locked gates and warning signs. The map showed another exit road, so took that until it petered out in a plantation (I can't call it a forest) of those stubby trees. I scooted over a railway line to join a proper asphalt road, a big improvement over the gravel road I was previously on - may all route problems be resolved this well!
It was about 12 so I took a snack break - there was an unusually long gap between towns here, and it'd be a few hours before I got to the next town for lunch. My hamstring was aching; it wasn’t painful but injuries could be a trip-ender so I did some stretches and tried not to ask too much of it.
Here’s a panoramic view from a railway bridge, from somewhere along the line.
That next next town was Peal de Becerro, and I got in about 1530, and found a place for lunch. The waiter didn't speak English but that's OK, the menu is vaguely readable, and ordering at random is also a fine philosophy! I ordered large tortillas. Shortly afterwards the cook came out to ask a complicated question, but it was all in Spanish and I only understood the word "chorizo" so I expressed "yep sure!" because actually understanding would take a lot more time and effort and "yep sure" would probably end well anyway.
From left to right: the first appetizer. The main - in retrospect, these were probably the tortillas I ordered. More appetizers? I was starting to worry that there had been a misunderstanding.
The food paused for a bit so I tried paying and leaving and nobody seemed upset, so I guess that went well.
From left to right: The road is heading towards those mountains; they all look too rocky to be climbable but I think that’s where we’ll end up. Getting close to the mountains, change from asphalt to gravel … 27km to go. First good view of the town of Cazorla.
That middle gravel track image gave me flashbacks to yesterday, with hours of gravel roads horribly underestimated by Komoot. This wasn’t too bad though: the gravel track went up a hill that was steep but not too difficult to cycle, and then it ended beside … a big shiny supermarket! That doesn’t happen enough. I ducked in and picked up another round of isotonic drinks and water, for the last section.
After that Cazorla came into view. It’s built on the side of a steep mountain and looks spectacular.
From left to right: the path into Cazorla. In Cazorla: the direction is “turn right”, and that means get off and push. Parked for another drink refill when I got to the top.
The path into Cazorla wasn’t easy. First it went down an overgrown gravel track (that’s the first photo), which went down steeply. Like, sit back to put all weight on the back-wheel, nearly lock up the back wheel, and use the front brake as much as you dare. Oh, and try to remain at peace as you lose all that painfully gained height. It then dived down an even steeper loose earth slope, then between brambles and a wall. I got caught, had to disentangle myself, scratched my top, and got a thorn in my thumb for my trouble. (This part was so annoying I was not in the right headspace to take pictures.)
Then there was stairs … and when I finally got down to the street, I saw another downhill road arrive next to me: I guess I misread the map and took the wrong way. Ooops.
The street then started climbing, and I started to wonder if Komoot did route planning in 2D not 3D, because going uphill is hard, and doing it twice is both twice as hard and also annoying. Could have done without that downhill.
Carzorla’s hill is so steep that some streets are as steep as stairs. The street shown in the middle picture above was not uncommon, I had to push the bike several times. The route through town was OK though - all uphill, no down.
From left to right: Cazorla is built right up to that crag. The road runs right below it.
After that the road leaves Cazorla, there was a bit of a downhill run, and then the final climb began.
From left to right: Quite some distance from Cazorla by now. Even more, a bit later. Me doing the climbing. The sun was getting low.
From left to right: The peak, 1280m up! Another view from the top.
The final climb went really well, I felt good all the way up. The continuous supply of isotonic drinks were probably the reason! And maybe the temperature dropping also helped a bit. The slope was also quite moderate, Cazorla streets were much worse: I didn’t even need the lowest gear.
The lookout at/near the peak was rather spectacular, but also windy, it’s the first time I’ve felt cold this week.
After that I was able to freewheel all the way to the hotel in about 30min. The route app had suggested there was a faster alternative route “but it may not be appropriate for your sport” which probably means it’s a rock-climbing route or something; my mistrust meant I didn’t even check it out…
A bit of a mixed day. It was estimated to take 7h44, I was actually on the road for 11 hours. Putting aside an hour for lunch that’s 2 hours more than expected. It wasn’t gravel roads estimated like asphalt today; there wasn’t that much gravel. Until I figure it out I should only plan 7-8h days, so if it goes long I’m still arrive before nightfall…
And those isotonic drinks are definitely the solution for these hot days. I didn’t feel cravings for lemonade, or need to drink lots when I finished. (I got a 1.5L bottle of Schweppes lemonade when I was Cortegana; I would stop to drink from it every few meters and felt a lot like a wino...)
The water bag changes worked, even in the afternoon the drinks were still cold-ish. Previously they’ve been actually warm to the touch which isn’t nice.
It’s a rest day tomorrow! Going to plan out the next week, see if I can make it work with 7-8 hour days. Going to mean missing some sights but I’d rather do that than stretch too far.
Also rest that hamstring. If it stops working I’ll be sending dispatches from Arroyo Frio for the next eight weeks and nobody wants that.
What I’m listening to: Mein Herz Brennt, by Duo Jatekok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTbOIZ8V2kQ
This duo are two award-winning soloists, who started playing duets together, and also arrange music for two pianos. They’ve got arrangements of a classical pieces like “Carnival of the animals” - check their YouTube page. In 2017 they started opening for Rammstein, playing arrangements of their music for two pianos: this is one. It doesn’t work very well live at the concert, but I like it anyway.
