An Epic Bicycle Ride - La Sabine, November 25, 2020

 The morning started out cool enough for us to wear coats and gloves as we set out for what promised to be a long sunny day of bicycling. We planned to bike from the house to the nearby town of Chirivel and then take our mountain bikes up a hiking route about 9 km outside of Chirivel. The trail, La Sabine is normally a moderate climb and 10 km each way. We planned to bike/hike through the pass in a circular fashion as opposed to out and back. 

Yesterday, I finally located la panaderia (bakery) and it looked as if it would be open (I could see cookies through the bars of the door). So after a cup of tea, we bicycled into Chirivel via the dry sandy riverbed (hoping to get some baked goods for breakfast). We had sandwiches packed for the long ride. 9:28 am outside the bakery and there were no signs of life. The bars were still across the doorway. We decided to head to a nearby cafe in the center of Chirivel that has quiet outdoor seating. 

The two sandwiches we ordered were delicious, with tomato relish and melted cheese (ham). They were served with olive oil. It probably sounds silly, but it is still an exciting challenge for us to order and pay with our very basic Spanish language skills. A coffee, tea, and two sandwiches came to a whopping 5.50 euros (about $7)! While there, we noticed a couple of ladies walking by with bread, so we knew there was a bakery open somewhere nearby. On our way out of town, we circled back by the bakery and discovered it was open, but not until sometime after 9:30 am. It's surprising that a bakery would not post their hours and open that late in the morning...

                                     

It was a lot of food and we were both complaining a bit about our full stomachs as we headed uphill toward the trail head. With the way the rest of the day unfolded, we were lucky to have eaten a large breakfast....  

It turns out the uphill riding would be more than 3,000 feet climbing in all! We headed up through this beautiful valley to the pass, pedaling to the sound of bells from a large flock of sheep in the riverbed below. The trail smelled of thyme.

Shortly after we took this picture, we continued our climb. By this time, Herman was still riding ahead and I was starting to dismount and push my bike up some of the steeper slopes because the back wheel kept slipping. Somehow without our realizing it, we managed to lose each other! This is impressive, because there is only one road/trail and it is very clear. Because I was pushing my bike on foot, at one hairpin turn, there was a clear path which cut off that turn, saving me time. What I did not realize was Herman was waiting for me to catch up in the hairpin, he was reading a sign. He waited and waited while I continued to walk and ride my way up to the pass ahead. I was growing a bit frustrated that Herman didn't wait for me, but it was so steep, I figured he just wanted to get the climb out of the way. After waiting and calling out my name, Herman was confused and figured he had not heard me tell him that I was going to head home, so he decided the best course of action was to turn back and go after me in case I would have a fall. Meanwhile, I continued on trying to "catch up" to Herman who in my mind, was riding up ahead, already at the pass.  

This picture is looking back at the pass I rode over. What I could not understand is that Herman would ride ahead at this point. It is super unusual that he does not wait for me to catch up when I am behind and normally he would NEVER head on a downhill without me right behind him. At the pass I could see a bike tire track in the loose gravel and sand heading down and we were the only ones on the hiking trail and we were the only ones on bicycles, so I assumed Herman had decided to continue to ride ahead. At this point I was fighting the urge to be frustrated with my lovely husband for choosing such a challenging ride and then leaving me behind...

The downhill was very steep and there was a lot of loose gravel and ruts. I decided I had better be extra cautious after I slid out on a paved turn which had a layer of loose gravel. I continued down hill, but dismounted on those paved sections and used my breaks to help walk the bicycle through until the riding was less slippery. 

Once I reached the viewpoint I knew for sure that somehow Herman and I had gotten separated and that he could not be ahead of me. I began to worry he had fallen somewhere and I just had not seen him...I tried to reach him by cell phone, but had no reception.

I did not have the energy to try and back track, so I continued down the steep trail until I could finally try and call again. It was a beautiful ride, but I was more than ready to be home...Thanks to the huge breakfast, I did not miss the fact that my sandwich was in Herman's backpack (note to self, always carry your own lunch!). Finally, we were able to connect and I found out that Herman was back at the house. He was disappointed not to have completed the ride and headed out to try and meet me back in Chirivel. I was relying on google maps to help me navigate the way back to Chirivel, but kept ending up having to figure out alternative routes due to the numerous unleashed farm dogs on some of the back roads. It was a long ride back to Chirivel, but I made it and Herman was there to meet me and ride the last 5 km back to the house. 

This is the Strava recording from Herman's ride which shows that we climbed over 3,000 feet! I was on (and off) my bicycle for over 6 hours and we have no idea how far I rode, but we are guessing over 40 miles!