Wednesday and we are five again setting out on a mad adventure to the coast. It is going to be hard to top yesterdays ride through the Picos. Yet again the wether report is doom and gloom but to make things easier we agree to a new approach, 10am click in and a shorter less elevation route.
Leaving Cangas Di Onis we cross the northern bridge and and make a quick right left and climb away from the traffic. Back into farmland within five minutes of depart.
Warm clear skies and the open road
The route takes us through some quiet villages where the loudest noise is the electric fence ticking
Soon we drop down into Arriondas, the larger less obviously pretty town compared to Cangas 8km away.
Arriondas has many canoe hire places, schools and and rail line and hospital, so its clearly an urban centre of note.
Here we are just south of Arriondas entering swooping down the slope en mas, a magnificent equipe.
Here we are lost just to the north of Arriondas trying to find our route.
Which we find by climbing a steep periurban road and avoiding the massive road whipper snippering operation that goes on here every summer. We find ourselves surrounded by eucalypt sights and smells, blue gum leaves on the road slowly decaying, bark stripping off and clean air
LM informs us the blue gums are ideal for this sort of climate and have provided additional income streams for farmers. I dont think the managed investment funds came with them but you cant be sure. We keep climbing, we are on a route that will take us directly to the coast, yet we climb, and climb. This dog owned this piece of road and made sure we all knew, loud but harmless.
Soon enough we were misplaced lycra clad MAMILs staring at the wave forms as Atlantic swells pushe between the narrow headlands. I brought bathers and even a pair of things for my feet but the urge to bathe didnt appear.
Its like Rockingham south of Perth, except with more chips.
I had Sangria for morning tea
Wandering over the river Sella we found the old town in the middle of a street market, with the usual tat and trinkets for sale but we were led by our stomachs and found a joint offering a three course menu and wine for 14 euro. AND THIS TIME THEY HAD RICE!!
So of course we said yes to the second bottle of wine.
Perhaps we lingered too long over lunch, we were aall a bit tired and during that time the clouds from the coast has moved in onot the adjacent range of hills.
We left and headed east looking for the famed AS-340 route back to Cangas. Saw hundreds of pilgrims all following the Camino di Santiago route. Didnt have my camera to take their picture but got one of the signs they follow
I have since found out this route is a part of the Vuelta d'Espana. Its certainly a beautiful ribbon of tarmas through the hills. I had no idea of the height it would take us too
I might buy this house if I win Lotto
More eucalypts and more climbing. The road turns up and we near the clouds
And soon we are in them. Visibility to the left and right is restricted to less than forty metres. Its not raining but its moist.
Finally after many false positives we reach the obvious peak. LM is facetiming on his phone back to Perth. Its cool and the wind is working on my sweated up clothing, not shivering but a bit concerned forr how cold I will get as I didnt bring a rainjacket today. As we descend through some lovely bends and even yet more uphill I notice some squishyness coming from the rear tyre. A slow flat dammit. Nothing to do but replace the tube, sorry guys. Ten minutes of getting colder.
A nice easy flowing descent, nothing too stupid, I follow then overtake LM and through the next corner to see this...
BB has taken a tumble. He's shaken up. On viewing SM's rear camera footage we see BBs front tyre lost traction and his shoulder has slammed into the tarmac. We are all concerned for him, possibly a break, we dont know. He unzips his jersey and his shoulder looks wrong. A graze but a bulge where it shouldnt be. In the next fifteen minjutes a couple of locals come past. We have already called for an ambulance, contacted OGF who barrelled off the front half and hour ago, and then an orthopaedic surgeon who happened to drive along this very remote road, stops and makes a clinical assessment!!
I have paracetamol and ibuprofen. This will help BB so he takes them. Some time later the ambo arrives and with google translate we communicate his health condition, his marital status, and willingness to engage in dance moves and they strap him up with a sling and seatbelt him into the ambo and they are off. We are all concerned for him as a bone break will end this trip for him
Not long later OGF arrives with car and takes BBs bike and LM back down the road to the digs.
SM and I roll down the road with quite a new respect for dark shady corners.
Its a roll back into Cangas and back to the digs, wash change and gather a few essentials for BB back at the hospital in Arriondas.
On the way he messages he's been discharged after xrays, seem a collarbone dislocation will sort itself out with ice, NSAIDS and a small amount of therapy. He's lucky but very sore.
Its late now, the weather appears to be more wet and threatening and quite frankly we each are carrying a few aches and pains.
Beunos Noches.
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