Tour of
Consolation II
Day 10 -14

DAY 10

Light rain at 5:51.
Unhappy.
Cloudy. Pre-Pyrenees. Weather Prognose is bad.
Big gamble. Westward. Into the storm.
Strong head wind. Slow progress. Boring landscape.
Day’s highlight: I take selfies.
Rain. Lourdes.
More Rain. 13 degrees.
Anti-gen test. Check.
Hotel. Still can’t see the Pyrenees.
I need a miracle.

182Km | 1481m

DAY 11

5:00. Rain.
5:30. Fog.
6:00. Higher fog. Hope.
Big detour.
Less mountains = Lower risk.
50k light rain. So far so good.
Quebrantahuesos (Osprey) flyers over. Good omen?
Clouds open. Happy Pablo. Sun for a minute.
28km easy pass. Sheep. Lots of sheep going south.
Boom. Spain. Weird.
Second weather front coming. Waste time. Long way around lakes.
Visit 1 or 2 tapas bars. Clears up.
Two more passes. Hello Aragón!
Amazing sundown. Amazing downhill. Road high de luxe.
Añisco Canyon only doable up road. Ups! Change of plans. Tomorrow?.
Boutique hotel pop ups. Heeello beer. Not a bad day after all.
Thank you St. Marie of the Marginal Gains.

176Km | 3611m

DAY 12

Spanish beer hangover.
Amazing downhill in sunrise light.
First person up the Cañon de Añisclo.
Solitude. Impressive rocks. What a privilege!.
Down the valley again. Resupply.
Into the Sierra del Guara with only 1.5L of water. Big mistake.
First pass ok.
Looooooong afternoon. Suffering. Hot.
A town may not be a town. Only ruins.
Very hot. Dry. Very dry.
105km and three passes til next fountain. Rookie mistake.
Fountain appears. Back to life. Finally cools down.
Nice magic light.
Hippie camping. Nope.
Horrible hotel. Nope but yes.
Horrible village restaurant where the waiter questions my sanity right after I order 3 main courses.

186Km | 3150m

DAY 13

Cold morning. Colourful landscapes.
Strange solitude. Small villages.
Tired. Paying for yesterday.
Great late breakfast. Tomato tostada and bitter coffee. Two rounds.
Boom. Reborn.
Dry landscapes. Heat picking up. Midday. Quite hot.
Can you drive a car? Save old lady’s day.
Resupply 5min before closing. 5L of water. I am ready.
Sun at its highest. Into the desert of Las Bardenas Reales Natural Park. Good decision? -I pick the phone, start to film. Check the result-.
Surreal landscapes. Dusty. Even hotter. Sensorial overload. Solitude. Colors. Silence. Did I mention Landscapes?.
Amazing experience.
Step climb to finish the day. Perfect sunset view.
Cold beer. Confused kitchen lady.
Night in a Santuary.
A day to remember.

155Km | 1762m

DAY 14

Last day. Late start.
Short day ahead. Mentally i finished yesterday.
Hot. Weekend cyclists everywhere.
Nice town. Two rounds of pintxos.
Off into the heat. Komoot hates me.
Sharp gravel. Two flats and a broken camera.
A field full of vultures.
Super hot. Trippy.
Gas station. Drank 3L of fluid at once. Lady flips out.
Road side thermometers mark 45 degrees.
Last kilometres. Feeling nostalgic.
Babylon awaits.
Pastriz. My sister and family greet me. Smiles and hugs. Swimming pool. Beer.
I am back. Here we go.