Bikepacking - León to Cistierna

Day #

54

State of Legs

:-)

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	Distance (miles)	Distance (km)	Ascent (feet)	Ascent (metres)	Punctures
Today	44 miles	km	1929 feet	metres	0
Trip Totals	2432 miles	km	104115 feet	metres	0

Today's Route

Route So Far

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Travelogue

Today's ride was thoroughly enjoyable. I left León as it was just beginning to get light and within 15 minutes was climbing up and beyond the city limits into the countryside. The landscape changed quite quickly. It's been fairly arid looking since I got to Spain, made more so because there's so much arable farming and the crops have just been harvested, leaving the fields covered in golden stubble.

But as I headed first east and then north, the countryside soon became greener and there were many more trees. There's no apparent shortage of water either. Streams and rivers seem to be in full flow.

I passed through a few small villages and eventually a small town, large enough to have a bar I could buy coffee at. I had a slice of tortilla with my coffee today as well. When in Spain.....

There were quite a few of those enormous stork's nests to be seen. Pretty much every church seemed to have one or more and some of the trees too.

The road was what we'd call a "B road" in the UK. A minor, country road. I saw hardly any cars in several hours of cycling. There were some hills but nothing arduous. The weather was perfect. Sunny but not too hot. Delightful cycling. 

On arrival at the final roundabout that should have taken me into Cistierna, I found to my dismay that the road I should have taken was closed for roadworks! A worker explained to me the reasons and my options. In Spanish so I'm kind of guessing! I looked at the map and saw I could get to the town by crossing the river, cycling a mile further on and then crossing back again by another bridge. No problem.

I bought ingredients for lunch and dinner from the first supermarket I passed and proceeded to the campsite. It's not the nicest but they had a space for me and I'm only here for one night. All good.

Today's profile and photos:

 

The outskirts of León in the background

Quiet country roads

The first of several small villages

Climbing for a while

Much greener and so many more trees!

Breakfast #2 - coffee, tortilla and toast

Irrigation channels, streams and rivers looked healthy

Public fountain with cool eagle

Higher ground in the distance, getting ever-closer

Today's destination

Half-camped

Washing done

As you may have noticed, I used the term "half-camped" in one of the captions! Don't worry if you are not familiar with the term. I just made it up. 

Shade was limited at the pitch I was allocated and I knew that the spot I'd placed the tent in initially would not be in shade for long and that as the sun moved, the shade would move further away from and around the tree. So, I pitched only the inner part of the tent to begin with. It's free standing and doesn't need any tent pegs although you can anchor each corner if you want to (and I normally do). I made the most of the shade I had to begin with and enjoyed a short nap. Or siesta as they say in these parts. See? I'm like a native already! But later that afternoon, I slid the whole tent into a new position so that it sat within the shady area as it was in the late afternoon and evening. I then put on the fly sheet and pegged everything down. So there you go. "Half-camped". It could just catch on!