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Travel StoriesSome Iberian Mountains
Feeling Lucky In Riano
Ride Date 18 September 2024
By Ren Withnell
It got cool last night, thankfully not bitterly cold and I appear to have slept tolerably well. As I stir in my sleeping bag I reach for my phone to get the time, I pull my arm back as the cool air chills my skin. The call of tea cannot be ignored though and I stagger into my pants and out to the toilet block in search of relief and water to boil.
Goodness me! It's misty and damp and cold and thick and dark. Luckily I can find the block and complete my tasks. Back in the tent as the night turns to day and the pan starts to boil there's a stirring from the other sleeping bag. She enquires as to the weather, disappointed with my reply she decides it's best to stay in bed for a while longer. With the application of tea and food Madam beings to stir.
This works for us. We've been "on the road" for 4 days but tonight we're staying here, staying put. This means we have nothing in particular to do and nowhere in particular to go. We call these "rest days", while we won't just sit around doing nothing we will be taking it easy. So what should we do today then?
The campsite is on the side of the hill and apparently there's a BIG swing atop the hill, we'll have a walk up there soon. After that we'll go for a little ride, maybe pick up some shopping and that'll do for the day. The views from atop the hill are supposed to be really nice, alas we may see nothing due to the mist. Ho well.
Just a gravel track leads up the side of the mountain.
As we get ready the sun is definitely out there as the air is warming slowly and the mist is bright. We don our walking boots and start trudging up the sand coloured gravel and dirt path. Oh my. Oh my goodness. Wow! This is a day I shall remember for a long time.
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful scene.
We're not far from the site but our elevation is increasing quickly, we appear to be walking up out of the mist and into the sunshine. As we turn around we can see just the peaks of The Picos (Spanish for peaks) peeking out from the layer of mist. In this moment the vista is perfection itself. This is a very rare and special moment and we feel blessed with the purest of luck. We could never have planned this and yet here we are. Wow!
Sharon does take some fabulous images.
Of course we get our phones out and take a plethora of pictures. We also make sure we stop taking pictures and look with our own eyes, we take it in, we enjoy the sun on our faces, and gaze in admiration. I know we'll be thankful of the digital memories in the phones but we need to enjoy this moment right now too.
I don't know so don't ask. Art?
Our timing is spot on. As we walk a little further the level of clouds is dropping and the peaks are growing, the mountains are revealing themselves sensually like a burlesque dancer. Slowly but surely the the peaks become mountains and eventually the reservoir and Riano haze into view. Magnificent, absolutely magnificent.
Riano emerges from the mist.
By the time we reach the swing a good deal of mist is gone. The swing is big, I later learn it's 8 metres tall. I did not know but it is really REALLY hard to get a good high swing going on a big swing. I'm leaning into and out of each swoop with as much effort as I can muster and achieving just the merest of movement. I'm sure there's fitter and stronger swingers (no, don't) out there but I doubt anyone can get close to horizontal on this monster. Behave...
We wander across the mountain top to a metallic heart shaped lump of metal, art I'm guessing. As we do a couple of adventure bikes have ridden up the path - I'm not sure how legal that is but they're braver than I. We take countless more images as an blummin' modern Z900 arrives too, 2-up as well if you please. Fear not, I accepted I have very little talent on a motorcycle quite some time ago. OK I admit I'm a tad envious.
Sharon likes it, whatever it is.
Yes, we have been blessed. Even if the rest of the trip is a rain soaked washout and we only get to see grimy towns and dull grey roads it was still worth the effort and expense just for this morning's experience alone. Thank you Riano for this special experience.
Right! Enough of this emotional and gushing nonsense! Back to reality. We walk down the gravel track and back to the site. We muck around sorting the tent and paying for another night and then it's time to ride. The sun is out, the temperature is oh-so-slightly cool which is ideal for riding and I have a simple route in mind, around 60 or 70 miles I reckon. Sharon's coming on the back as is her will, giving her a chance to chill out and stare at the surroundings rather than the road ahead.
The N621 crosses the bridge we've seen from, well, everywhere we've been this morning. It leads us between steep valley walls and thick forest, along sinuous curves and fabulous corners. I notice Sharon's tiny teeny subtle body movements.
This is the difference between a pillion that never rides and one that rides their own motorcycle. She is definitely NOT pulling the bike around as a bad pillion can, but once I never knew she was there, now I feel her thinking "I'd have turned in a bit sooner there", "that's not the line I'd have chosen", "I'd be braking by now", and "nope nope NOPE!" She's not consciously moving, she knows better than that, it's her experience, her own riding style coming out subconsciously.
I'm having a blast, and feeling Sharon's opinions on my riding is making me laugh. Lean in, feel the grip, watch the vanishing point, prey the road surface is there, power, ease off, brake, and so on and so on mile after glorious mile. I'm sure to slow at times to take in the rocky tops, the harsh grasses, the gnarled tree and the omnipresent lakes, no wait, reservoirs, there's always a dam somewhere.
Occasionally there's a straight, maybe there's a small town with a 50kph limit, some peaks are tree covered, some rocky, some kinda gravelly. The odd valley floor is flat enough to warrant a farm, perhaps a few houses and even a church. Beautiful? Yes, in it's own way. It feels gnarly and hard at the moment, dry too. I wonder if it's softer and more lush in Spring and Autumn?
Cistierna returns us back to civilisation, the petrol station's price is almost civil too so I fill the 500. There's another thing, some stations are self service as all the UK ones are, but many here will come out and fill you up. This leaves you wondering... Do I fill up and snub the attendant, or do I stand there and look like some snob expecting the local peasants to do my bidding? I have the same issue in UK cafes - table service or go to the counter?
Cistierna's surroundings are rugged and rocky.
Within Cistierna I spy a cafe and find a place to park the bike. I arrange a cola for myself Sharon gets a coffee and a slice of something I'm not too sure of. We sit outside with me in the shade and Sharon in the sun and pretend we could be Spanish. This bit of town ain't exactly pretty although pleasant enough, we're happy just chatting, pondering what life here is really like. Anywhere seems better than home when the sun's out and you're not working.
I mean it's nice enough in Cistierna.
As we kit up to leave the lady on the next table engages us in conversation. In a mixture of Spanish, English, German and a hint of French I eventually calculate she's originally German, moved here to work and her or her husband rode all around Europe on a motorcycle. Or something like that.
The CL626 from Cistierna to Guardo is less mountainous and therefore less curvaceous. I'm cruising now, a steady 80 to 90kph, rolling around the bends and flowing easily along the straights. Open land, farm land, trees aplenty and the odd villages.
Guardo looks oddly familiar. Oh yeah, durgh, we came through this way yesterday. We stop at the Lupo supermarket and find tonight's meal before making our way back to Riano. As we get ever closer to Riano the hills become mountains once more and the road becomes thrilling. I've eased off a little now, it's been an excellent day so let's not spoil it by coming a-cropper eh.
Take it easy boyo, don't go spoiling it.
The evening is a slow affair. We make friends with "Daveeed", a tall slim youth riding a Honda cruiser, VT750 Shadow if I'm not mistaken. He's here touring around, enjoying the last of the good weather (apparently) and seeing this beautiful country he lives in. We make our tea and partake of just one glass of pop apiece in the bar before settling in early again for the night.
What a day! This morning's experience was pure luck. A few minutes later and we'd have missed the mist and watching it reveal the mountains as it cleared. The roads around here are great. The weather has been on our side. We're not always lucky, but then we're not always unlucky. Fear not dear readers, all this joviality and pleasure is still under threat from the weather forecast. We've been lucky... so far.
Don't worry, you'll not need to shade your eyes from the sun much longer.
A note regarding Embalses - Reservoirs.
Sharon read online that Riano's reservoir is not without controversy. There was once a community down there in the now murky depths and this community was ousted. This broke up families, livelihoods and a way of life for a number of villages. We know of similar tales in the UK and I'm sure we can all relate to the upheaval this must have caused.
The Iberian Peninsula seems to have gone all out on reservoirs and we shall encounter many both small and ginormous on this trip. As a tourist many of them create beautiful scenery and fascinating engineering. While impressive bear in mind these structures come at a great cost to both the nature of the land and the people and animals that once lived beneath their waterlines.
Here's an article that may bring this home to you - The Drowning Of Spanish Villages
Advertise here - contact ren@bikesandtravels.com
Prologue - Some Iberian Mountains
Organising a simple 2 week bike tour should be easy peasy. Watch Ren make this simple task as difficult as possible.
Easing Into The Trip
After plenty of flapping and fretting Ren can calm down and start to enjoy the ride. It's a simple journey today with no purpose other than getting closer to the forthcoming ferry.
Onto The Ferry
Ren takes a simple short trip and turns it into an unnecessarily arduous ride to the ferry. Then all the Dynamic Muppets have to do is get on the ferry. Should be easy - right?
Off The Ferry And Into The Affray
It's all waiting and chaos, confusion and queueing - and that's just getting off the ferry. Despite being in Spain the evening has a very English feel with an English friend.
The Wonder That Is Riano
What started out as a good day turns into a really good day. There is of course a mishap and some moaning, otherwise so far so good. What's the catch, there's gotta be a catch.
Feeling Lucky In Riano
Gird your loins dear readers - Sharon and Ren are accidentally having another "really good day". There's a glitch in The Matrix, buy a lottery ticket, this is a one time only special deal. Normal misery will return soon surely.
Same Peninsula Different Language
It's time to leave the beauty of Riano and head into the "Yellow Country". There's potholes and Ren making an ass of himself. Nothing new then.
Reader's Comments
ROD¹ said :-
Really nice pics Ren.
I am just thinking we should have been in this area at around the same time as yourselves if things had gone to plan.
I hope you gave Sharon a big push on that swing when you were not filming.
10/12/2024 20:04:25 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Thanks ROD. I was shoving Sharon from behind while she was swinging on that massive apparatus. Stop sniggering at the back! Oh the best laid plans of mice and men eh ROD, but think, you avoided meeting me which must be some sort of compensation.
10/12/2024 21:11:20 UTC
nab301 said :-
looks like so far in the trip your weather timing was spot on and the photos are great... in the second last photo looking at those "snow poles" I wonder how deep it gets in winter!
Nigel
12/12/2024 12:52:46 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
That crossed my mind quite a few times on this trip nab301. We were there all gleefully throwing bikes around but when you see those snow poles it's a hard reminder that it is surely not always that much fun on two wheels.
It's common for folks to say "ooooh I'd love to live here" when they're on their jollies. Sharon and I are prone to this kind of daydreaming too. I try to force myself to see the reality of life there, living and working and shopping and socialising as the locals do.
Those snow poles suggest getting into and out of Riano in winter for example may be "troublesome" at times. I often wonder if you live somewhere really pretty do you stop seeing the pretty when the bills come in and the boiler is on the blink and the boss is giving you grief. In summer do you get sick of Emmets being all happy and in the way? Do you find wherever you go it's not as pretty as it is at home?
That's the advantage of living in the gritty grimy streets of North West England. Wherever I go on my travels it's always nicer than where I started out from.
12/12/2024 14:53:13 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice words and pictures young Ed.
I read the article, I'm off now to collect my Prozac.
Thanks anyway. It's the thought that counts.
Is that tall fence to keep you in or something else out?
Upt.
13/12/2024 12:51:06 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
The fence is to keep posh executive folks like yourself out. We the common folk don't want you hotel and butler service types hanging around looking down your noses at us in our tents. We don't need constantly reminding we've failed at life and have to sleep on the floor under a sheet because we're lazy.
13/12/2024 14:34:19 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed you've got me all wrong!
I would certainly enter the establishment of sheet dwellers, if only to drink your tea and allow manual types to lube my chain....
You know it's Friday 13th when you're washing your motor and PING, the cap on the number plate screw flies across the road, never to be seen again. Pffffffftttttt.
Then you think, what's that twig doing in the tyre? Pssssssssssss, blummin, buggering, bugger, no spare of course and it's Friday afternoon.
Pffffffftttttt.
I'll let the staff see to it on Monday, in case you're wondering, yes that'll be me.
Pffffffftttttt Psssssssssss.
Upt.
13/12/2024 15:09:43 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
So you're feeling particularly unlucky today eh Upt'? You have my heartfelt sympathy regarding the puncture. We can send people to the moon (subject to finances), dive the deepest ocean (subject to not using homemade submarines), and split the atom (not necessarily the best thing mankind has done) - we still ride around on glorified balloons.
13/12/2024 20:55:33 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
That'll teach you to wash it.....
14/12/2024 12:07:25 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You're not wrong fella, you're not wrong.
Only did it because folks are visiting and getting in and out could have been a bit mucky for em.
New tyre fitted Saturday morning.
All good.
15/12/2024 15:50:39 UTC
KiwiJeff said :-
Upt', while Ren provides us with pictures of his minimalist camping approach to touring he is actually followed around by a support crew a la Ewan and Charley, I have the photographic evidence below! and that is just the morning cup of tea!
16/12/2024 04:52:37 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Don't spoil the illusion KiwiJeff!! Missy the Maid will not be at all pleased being caught out looking after Sharon and I - her parents think she's a student at an American Ivy League university. Then there's Dillon the Driver, he's supposed to be on an expedition through The Andes not driving a Winnibago through Spain. We do occasionally sleep in the tent mind, if the weather's nice.
Here's our regular transport and accommodation.
16/12/2024 08:09:39 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Saw this on FaceAche this morning. Taken from the path to the big swing. Lufferly, but probably not the best for motorcycling.
18/12/2024 08:15:33 UTC
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Travel StoriesSome Iberian Mountains