I found out last night that there’s a local bus for €3 from Poprad up to the Polish border (48km, 950m of climb) that takes bikes free, so a decision made itself. Eastern Europe seems pretty casual about bikes on things: there was no special area but nobody seemed concerned that a large amount of…
Category: End to Ends
Poland 0: Poprad (Slovakia)
A day off in pleasant Poprad today, before the bike ride starts tomorrow. I spent it doing an easy but very scenic hike in the Tatras in the fine company of Dewi, my hostel inmate. These are the High Tatras (pic): 2650m peaks in a compact range just a few miles across, and conveniently accessed…
Poland ≤-1: Tirana (Albania) to Poprad (Slovakia)
This post summarises the three weeks before starting the Polish End to End, making my way up from Albania by train and bike. I’d been planning the Polish E2E schedule when my friend Tim (who I cycled Taiwan with in 2017) proposed a get-together of friends in a villa in Montenegro to celebrate a special…
Spain 14: Bilbao
Yesterday we were on a coach from Gijón to Bilbao, from where Nigel flew home this morning, and I’ll fly home on Wednesday. The look and feel of the Basque Country capital is rather different to that of a Spanish town, and it’s exciting to see all the signs (such as this cycle counter) in…
Spain 12: Oviedo to Gijón
The final day of the trip was a short, sunny, easy hop up to Gijón. Just as well we had all day to do it: just north of Oviedo our intended back-roads route was closed (pic). It was a rally – not one by Extinction Rebellion, but a car and motorcycle one. Somehow the spectators…
Spain 11: León to Oviedo
A tough day in prospect today, with plenty of climbing, and rain forecast. But, to compensate, we had the most spectacular scenery of the trip, and a unique Asturian experience at the end. And perhaps most importantly, a fine breakfast where we discovered yet again the delights of León’s custom of free tapas – in…
Spain 10: Benavente to León
A fairly low-key day today, all on minor roads, almost all flat, through quiet villages. A notable feature of many of them was these hillside entrances that suggested a house in the cliffs, complete with chimneys on the bank top (pic). They’re bodegas: cavelike chambers used for smoking meat and making wine and, increasingly nowadays,…
Spain 9: Salamanca to Benavente
Yesterday, Day 8, was a rest day exploring Salamanca. We resumed cycling today, and we’re well into the groove now – Groove Armada, in the case of Nigel’s hub-dynamo-powered, bluetooth-speaker onboard sound system – and today was a full day of very enjoyable cycling on, yes, the almost untrafficked N630 on a warm sunny day…
Spain 7: Plasencia to Salamanca
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…
Spain 6: Cáceres to Plasencia
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…