Unos dos tres vamos!

The other side of the Sierra de Bejar, we're off to see our friends in the Sierra de Francia again...



Eurovelo 1 - dos tres vamos!
The old train line from Plasencia to Salamanca is being turned into a via verde!
Around Bejar it looks like you might already be able to cycle on it, ignoring one or two barriers...
On the left just outside Bejar in spring 2014.... on the right the same crossing in spring 2018


Around Hervas it will still take another while before any cyclists gets to enjoy the ride...
http://www.hoy.es/extremadura/primer-tramo-verde-20180115000420-ntvo.html
The first 20km just south of Salamanca are ready!  http://www.viasverdes.com/itinerarios/itinerario.asp?id=141


In the space of a few days we see ice, giant bees, swim in a river, plant potatoes ...



... and go to the Encuentro en Defensa de la Escuela Rural in San Miguel de Valero!
For a little moment in time we enter the world of home schooling, alternative schools, the struggle of schools in rural Spain...everybody seems to be revolving around the Escuela Wayra http://escuelalibrewayra.es/
At the Encuentro we also meet the Grupo Mayalde who inspire us to bash our pots and pans and bang the table with our hands whenever we sit down at one... Grupo Mayalde  http://www.mayalde.com/

We do a little kamishibai workshop wih the 13 children in the school of San Esteban de la Sierra and then cycle of into a sand storm....

.... to meet the fun people of Valladolid once more.
La Asociacion la Curva put us in the program of events they were organising for 30 Dias en Bici and we play to the sound of the cathedral bells at the Lateral de la Catedral in the centre of Valladolid. Our poor audience have to sit on cardboard boxes, cuddling in the little spot of sun to keep warm.... luckily they are in good spirits after the Bici Tapeo (spanish for pub crawl on bicycles) that same morning https://asociacionlacurva.wordpress.com/



P.S: Should you ever find yourself cycling around in circles in the town of Tordesillas trying to get out, go look for the river. Apparently there is a greenway along the river Douro... sure that's nicer than taking the autovia until the next exit.... Acipa Carrero!


Eurovelo 1 - dos tres vamos!
From La Overuela, just outside Valladolid we follow the Eurovelo 1 for a bit along the Canal de Castilla http://canaldecastilla.org/ it's very pretty in bits, very bumpy in others (more bumpy approaching Palenicia).

Palencia surprises us as a little funky town! We arrive with a weekend in hand and get promptly programmed in to do a show at the beautiful little waldorf school El Jardin de las Candelas. We meet some fellow cyclists from the local biketivists  Asociacion Pata de Cabra
Saturday morning, market day, local, organic produce an ambling band and an encouter with
Hasta aqui hemos llegado  grupo de decrecimiento en Palencia. 
It's small but it's good!

After Palencia we abandon the Eurovelo 1 to enjoy the small routes of rural Spain without getting lost or tangled up in motorways!








The last moments looking down onto Spain, before entering the Basque Country

Bikey Hut

In Barão São João we met Ben Edwards who is bringing a bit of bicycle culture to this far flung place, playing bike polo, restoring old portuguese bikes, running a bike repair shop and thinking about creating a little cyclists retreat, a place to stop on your way to Cabo de Vincente.

You can find him playing polo on the village playground/football pitch/fleamarket square or at his house. Just ask for the Bikey Hut, formerly known as the Reiki Hut.

Reiki Bikey Pudding and Pie

 kissed the girls and made them cry...

 

Does Reiki work on bicycles?

 

From Barao you can find your way to Lagos either following signs to Bensafrim which will take you on the main road which isn't too busy or signs to Monte Judeu which is a nice ride through the hills and then meets the Bensafrim road.

Only gods live in Sagres

It only took a few attempts to get through the ring of german hippies and we finally made it to Sagres!

Here is Kevin at the formidable fort lloking for giants and gods.

Being so close to the end of the world we thought we might as well go and have a look at it. 

And there we found the beginning of all beginnings of the Eurovelo 1. 

Next stop Trondheim!

The Ecovia, which forms the portuguese part of the Eurovelo 1 is a little worse for wear, the signs are rusty and illegable - not that there is much information on them though.

Kilometre zero. The other half of this bicycle we guess is at Trondheim. We shall go and find out.

The lighthouse at the end of the world on top of the giant cliffs.

And Kevin dared to sit in the giants chair! Luckily the giant was nowhere to be seen. 

Huuuuui! The big waves are coming and a storm is on it's way which will carry us back to Barão São João.

The cycle route from Cabo de Vincente is nice. It's quite well sign posted all the way to Lagos.

It goes on the quiet road to Sagres, then on the old road, next to the new road to Vila do Bispo (here it's a bit tricky if your coming the other way. Going to Sagres find the Lidl, cycle straight past it and carry on on that road). From Vila do Bispo it takes you round the back, through the industrial estate and then little tracks to Raposeira where you cross the main road and then cycle through pretty country side all the way to Figuera. There is only one point where we weren't sure wether to go left or right. We went right, but looking on the map later it looks like it doesn't really matter.

In Figuera you can either go to Salima over some pretty steep hills or go on the main road to Budens and then find it there again following the signs to Salima. 

The rest to Lagos we don't really know as we got lost in Praia de Luz, where the developers have caused havoc, digging up plots for houses all over the place, destroying the road markings. We went the up and downy way past the Forte de Almadena. In Luz you can look for the campsite and then a little after that there is a back road/track going to Lagos through the golf course.

If you need a bike shop you could go another way and go through Barão São João and pay a visit to the Ben Edwards at the Bikey Hut (also known as the Reiki Hut) and then go to Lagos via Bensafrim or Monte Judeu.

See the post above for more details of the Bikey Hut.