Never a dull moment

          It's been one little adventure after another since leaving the comfortable surroundings of Ariel and Steve's home.  Bike travel seems to create "adventures" when you're not expecting them. That's part of what makes cycling trips fun and exciting; and also what can make them more stressful than other forms of travel.              First there was the trip to the coast from Ariel's home in the hills. What to her and Steve in a car was a peaceful downhill ride of 15 miles, turned out to be more than half challenging uphills, followed by a descent so steep and congested with cars and large truck traffic into Marbella that it kept us on our brakes and on our toes the whole way. We had to stop three times on the descent to cool our wheels which overheated from braking and rest our hands which cramped from squeezing the brake levers.  But, we made it!  That was our refrain for the week –- we made it. 

          Next came our time on the "Autovia de Muerte". We'd been dreading this day since we started planning our trip. There is 30 mile section of travel where there is no alternative to the major highway, so bikes are forced on. On a narrow shoulder we rode beside cars and trucks traveling in excess of 70 mph. The drivers were good, but the constant whoosh of vehicles flying by wears on the nerves. Toughest sections were navigating the on and off ramps. We made it!

          Just when we thought the excitement was behind us for awhile, the Levantes began to howl!  These are easterly winds that kick up often in this corner of Spain and can blow for days. They first kicked in on our first rest day in 11 days. We had planned to take a short ride into the town of Tarifa for some sightseeing, but were literally blown off the road and had to retreat to our campsite just out of town. Oh well, a walk on the beach would be nice. 

 

 

 The next day, however, we had to travel (time is getting a bit short), so we set out on a 45 mile trip that was physically and psychologically draining. Leaning 30 degrees toward a roadside ditch into a 40 mph crosswind while repeated being blown into the travel lane and sometimes nearly off our bikes required unrelenting concentration, and was just plain scary at times.  It was more of the same yesterday and today, and the forecast says the winds will last two to three more days.  Oh well, we're making it!               Despite some stress we've had some great experiences. We had a full day of viewing the Rock of Gilbralter. 

A few days of viewing the Atlas Mountains in Africa's, Morrocco. We've had great campsites, beautiful beaches, Roman ruins, spectacular sunsets, windblown surf, and one of the best rides of the trip through a national park above Cape Trafalga. Tonight we are on the rooftop deck of our pension in Cadiz, having been escorted 32 miles by a Warmshowers host who knew a quiet bike route all the way into this lovely, but bustling city. Cadiz is said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe. We may take a day off here to wait out the winds and take in the Palm Sunday processions, which kick off a week of elaborate Holy Week events for which all of Spain is famous.