The day I arrived in Spain, it rained steadily all day, and the second day was overcast and drizzly. I looked outside when I woke up this morning and saw this.
When I booked this ride, my research hadn’t extended much beyond reading the title “Rioja – the Descent of the River Ebro.” Now that I’m on the ride I realize that while the river might always be descending (laws of physics and so on), my ride has a lot of ascent too. For some reason I had to go over a mountain today to follow the descent of the river. The first thing I did this afternoon when I got to Polientes was to take a look at the plan for the rest of the ride to get a sense of what I signed up for. I’ll keep you posted.
From the top of the climb, I could see in the distance the reservoir that I’d ridden past earlier in the day.
This is the Ebro about 5 miles from where it starts.
This is the Ebro about 10 miles from its source. You may be shocked to know that at this spot I got off the bike, took off my helmet, turned off my phone and just sat in the grass doing nothing for a half hour or so. I’ve seen other people doing this sort of thing and always thought I would hate it, but to my surprise it was pretty enjoyable. I may try it again sometime. This rejuvenating moment of serenity came just before I got back on the bike and realized that I was about to ride over a mountain.
The town of Polientes claims a population of 100, but I think it is being modest. In sharp contrast to yesterday’s town, Polientes has a couple of restaurants, a bank branch, a general store where I bought a pen for 40 cents and a stoplight. So I’m heading out now to further explore.
One other question from earlier in the day – go or no go?
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