| Day # | 47 | State of Legs | :-) |
| Distance (miles) | Distance (km) | Ascent (feet) | Ascent (metres) | Punctures | |
| Today | 0 miles | km | 0 feet | metres | 0 |
| Trip Totals | 2116 miles | km | 91254 feet | metres | 0 |
| Today's Route |
| No cycling today |
| Route So Far |
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Travelogue
The last few days have cycling have been the toughest of the trip so far in terms of the ascent done in one day and the cumulative ascent over three consecutive days. Here's the evidence:
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| Yesterday's ride from Gavin to Undués de Lerda was a record breaker |
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| Gavin to Undués de Lerda involved the most climbing in one day |
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| The last few days have had a cumulative affect on my legs |
Three days ago, I crossed the Pyrenees mountains from France into Spain, cycling up a lengthy ascent called Col du Pourtalet. This went very well, but even though I felt good at the end of the ride, it took a lot out of my legs.
Two days ago, I cycled 80 miles and clocked more ascent in one day than on any other day in this trip so far. In fact the record for ascent in one day was broken by over 800 feet. Now, that was a very tough day indeed and was the closest my legs have got to the red category. And in case you're wondering, red would mean I had to abandon the ride and detour to somewhere close I felt I could get to or just give up and wild camp where I was. That didn't happen, but it was a physical and mental challenge to get to my intended destination.
So, it was evident two days ago that I needed a rest day. But I didn't want to stay another day in the hostel at Undués de Lerda and instead, chose to push on to Tafalla where I had found a private room on Airbnb.
It turned out that there's a five day fiesta here in Tafalla. There was music yesterday and lots of people around, all dressed in white (apparently this is a tradition). Today though, something special was scheduled. Bull running. The city of Pamplona, 25 miles to the north east of Tafalla is famous for its annual bull running but it's not the only place in Spain that this happens. So, I was intrigued to see the spectacle at first hand.
I went down to the main street at about 7:30 a.m., knowing that the first "run" was to take place at 8:00. I encountered a large group of people all heading down to watch, all dressed in their traditional white.
Even so, there weren't that many people at the main street so I managed to get a good viewing spot, standing on a metal fence behind the big wooden barriers that had been erected for the bull run, with a number of Spanish people.
Someone explained to me in Spanish that the 8:00 a.m. run would just involve the bulls running from one end of the street to the other, to be contained in a pen around the corner ready for the main event at 9:00 where members of the public would run with the bulls and generally try to avoid being gored. Yes, that was all explained in Spanish. And I understood. After everything had happened so I could reflect and deduce that this was what I'd been told!
To add to the suspense and sense of expectation, the medical services and police were out in force! Clearly there was going to be absolute carnage, blood everywhere, people and bulls rioting and fighting in the streets!
But the whole thing was over in a flash to be honest. It was more entertaining watching all the men psych themselves up. I saw one cross himself and kiss his rosary beads. It could be his last day on earth. Many were stretching and limbering up.
It all started with a loud bang as of a canon! This was the signal that the bulls were about to be released! Watch this short video.
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