Vaucluse Dreamer

We had every intention of having a slower morning today, as we only had an 80km ride planned, so felt we could have a bit of a lie in.

We managed it, sleeping until 6.30, which is the latest we’ve slept all week, but even after a leisurely start, we were out of the door and on the bikes at 8.

But it paid dividends, as the sunrise was one of the most spectacular, so far. As we dropped out of Caspe, we stopped to look back at the village, which was bathed in a golden light. It was so colourful that it could have given Roussillon and its ochres , a run for the money.

Despite every effort I’d made with finding quiet roads, we knew that we had to start the day on the main route that we had ridden in along, yesterday. At least we knew what to expect, although the wind had totally dropped to a gentle breeze today, so I wasn’t worried about being blown sideways.

At 8am though, it was quiet, with just a few cars passing us as we rode out of the village and up, what turned out to be the first of many hills. Normally, I would expect a ride along the edge of a river valley to be pretty flat, but the Ebro valley had different ideas.

The sunrise was magical, the light accentuating every fold and crease in the landscape and giving everything a wonderfully warm glow

But it was the bright splash of a vivid blue from the Ebro River that caught our attention too. At Caspe the river has wide and elaborate meanders that have spread across the valley floor, forming what appear to be lakes, rather than a river channel.

As we climbed, we caught glimpses of it below us and it really was stunning.

We had planned to take the first possible turn away from the main road, to take a smaller road in a big loop, bringing us out again at Mequinenza. As we climbed, we looked forward to turning off and following a quieter route. At heart, we’re back-road cyclists, enjoying the peace and views, rather than feeling we have to be making ground on a main road.

Unfortunately, when we reached the turning, there was a sign indicating that the route was closed ahead. It may have been that the bit we were going to ride along would have been open, but we didn’t want to take the risk, so continued on along the main N-road.

It appears that relatively recently, the road has been significantly upgraded, which is great for the cars, but we glanced enviously at the remnants of the old road, with its gentle gradient, whenever we caught a glimpse of where the new road had been cut through it. The new route doesn’t have the luxury of old thinking and cut straight up hills, with the gradients reaching 10% in places.

But, we kept turning the pedals, distracted by the views across to the river and the light on the stone banks…

Then we crested the hill and the view opened up in front of us. When we had started climbing, we could see the barren ridge of the area we had ridden through yesterday, but this other side of the hill was green, filled with trees and colour. The countryside couldn’t have been more different.

We swooped down the hill and after another little bump, dropped down through a cutting to the bridge across the Ebro at Mequinenza. The view here was stunning, a cobalt blue expanse of water dotted with fishing boats, with Herons and Vultures circling above.

On the far side of the river was a hill topped by a ruined castle with a vast curtain wall. It was easy to see why it had been built there, with expansive views along the river valleys below.

We cycled across the bridge, amazed at the number of fishermen. This evidently wasn’t just any common or garden fishing spot. The sheer amount and quality of fishing kit was a level above a gentle morning trying to catch a little Perch or Roach. Then Andy remembered that he’d seen something about the area being known for its giant Catfish. Then it all made sense and I hope the fishermen we passed had a successful day.

We then crossed a second river and started cycling along a quieter road that quickly took us out of Aragon and into Catalonia. It was a lovely ride alongside the river and whereas yesterday, we cycled past vast open arable fields and animal food producers, today we found ourselves in the heart of a fruit-growing area.

We passed huge orchards, filled with regimented lines of trees that had all been pruned to grow to head-height. I suppose that this helps with harvest, but it looked odd. Some were so short that we thought they were vines.

We passed pomegranate orchards and trees still bearing the huge yellow globes of the local, autumn peaches that we’ve seen in market stalls. It was so different to yesterday.

Then we started the final ride into Lleida, and again we took to the main roads, as every back road option I’d explored ran into gravel tracks, which we just can’t use on our road bikes..

But once again, the route I’d planned and put on Komoot worked perfectly, bringing us through the city, which has a similar sized population to Exeter. At the start of this trip, I was terrified about riding in cities, as it’s something I haven’t had to do before, but today I led Andy in through the streets, feeling confident for the first time, even though there wasn’t the cycling infrastructure that we’d enjoyed in Zaragoza.

With the early start, we arrived at our apartment by 1, so took the opportunity to spend the afternoon exploring the old town.

We climbed to the cathedral and castle at the top of the hill (as if we hadn’t done enough exercise for the day). It was worth the climb, as the views were spectacular. A 360 degree view of the land around the city, with the bulk of the Pyrenees to the north and a view, beyond the bell tower to where we’ll be cycling tomorrow.

As we sat with our drinks in the sun, it almost felt as if we had just enjoyed another day off the bikes. It’s amazing how easily we forgot the morning ride and climbs!

Then finally, an amble back down the hill and supper in the apartment. We find that we’re ready to settle down for the evening just as everyone else in Spain is getting going.

But time to look forward to tomorrow now, and the next ride on towards Igualada. It almost feels as if we have Girona in our sights!