On a simply splendid day from Velez Blanco to Vera we stopped for Lunch in Taberno: what did we have? A shared Russian Salad, coffee and a 1.5 litre bottle of water each! It was hot in them thar hills today!
This was our best day to date on this trip. A exhilarating hurtle down to Velez Rubio, then a breath-taking climb up to 1160 meters, followed by a hot and lumpy stretch in glorious scenery to Taberno for lunch, before a final dash to Vera, including a track along by the motorway. We arrived in the last dregs of the sun, tired, but thrilled.
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Call that a cyclist’s lunch? I’d go for the menu del dia: three courses, with wine, water and bread, followed by coffee and usually €8 or €10! Added advantage? It keeps you out of the sun at the hottest part of the day!
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There is just one wee snag with this approach for us, Ian. At our pace, if we take that much time over lunch we’d arrive after dark and only just before midnight most nights. There’s slow, super slow and Coutts’s pace. 🙂
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My usual plan is to cycle for three hours in the morning; have lunch; ride three hours in the afternoon. On a fully loaded bike, that’s 60 miles for the day, and allows for photographs and other serendipity. Probably squeeze in elevenses and afternoon tea too!
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I doubt we would hold your wheel, Ian. :-). We were inspired by the Anne Mustoe books and the idea of 50 miles a day, 5 days a week, so 250 miles a week, 1000 miles a month. This worked well for us in France on our first trips, but in Spain towns tend to be further apart and the terrain makes 50 miles pretty demanding – for us. This time around we are riding ourselves bike fit so are going even slower than usual.
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I’m sure you would!
You’re right about Spain, though. It’s less populated than France and the villages are further apart, particularly so when you’re not cycling in the coastal areas – unless you’re on some defined walking and cycling route like the Camino to Santiago de Compostela.
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