Author: Rob Ainsley

The longest, and best, day of the tour so far. It was Palm Sunday, start of Semana Santa, and the faithful were walking through Plasencia’s main square with fronds (pic). Our search for meaning in life was a little different at this point, but it was successful: we did indeed find a cafe open serving…

Another fabulous day of road cycling: sunny, virtually no wind, roads almost empty apart from other cyclists (pic), and even some scenery to look at en route. I think he said something like, ¿Tienes también el fregadero en esas alforjas? (‘Have you got the kitchen sink in those panniers as well?’) We were now firmly…

A glorious day of warm sunshine, quiet roads, little wind, and only one puncture, so we’ll take that. En route out of Mérida we looped past the ruins of the Roman aqueduct (pic). It dates from 1900 years ago, only slightly older than my back tyre, which is probably why I keep getting punctures. Now…

A longish day of N630 spadework in sun and headwind, with punctures featuring prominently. I got up early to fix yesterday’s flat before we left our hotel, but obviously didn’t do much of a job: an hour later , it was hissing like an audience of geese at a pantomime villain boiling kettles. Still, I…

Yesterday, Day 2, was a rest day in Seville, doing admin and sightseeing and experiencing the very relaxed pace of life here. Not quite ideal, actually, when you’re in a bank trying to make an urgent payment. Anyway, this morning we checked out of our lovely Airbnb apartment in characterful Triana, with its vibrant bars…

‘A journey of a thousand kilometres’, goes the old proverb, ‘begins with a chocolate con churros‘ (pic). OK, so the End to End properly started here, at the Old Fortress at the bottom end of Cádiz (pic). The city claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe at 3000 years old, and to…

An easy day today, just cycling 25 miles west to Jerez. Like many parts of Spain, the old main road from Arcos to Jerez has been bypassed by a motorway: it’s now virtually unvehicled, and used by dozens of cyclists, joggers and dog-walkers. Depending on your political stance, you may see this as an incredible…

With strong headwinds and heavy showers forecast for the afternoon, I was keen to get an early start on the Vía Verde de la Sierra – arguably Europe’s most spectacular railtrail, which begins here (pic) in Olvera. I prepared myself with a cafe con leche from the bus station cafe, but desisted from adding a…

A bus trip today to the small town of Olvera, in preparation for tomorrow’s ride along the Vía Verde de la Sierra railtrail. Many intercity and regional buses in Spain take bikes (pic). The driver made a token request to take the front wheel off and lower the saddle, but after yesterday’s shenanigans, I was…

Taking bikes on planes is not straightforward. It involves some very cumbersome and detailed disassembly (pic), and a similar amount of reassembly afterwards – far more than people generally think, and with the distinct possibility of serious loss and damage during the process. Once again, Brexit comes to mind. Anyway, to ensure plenty of bike-dismantling…