Spain Coast to Coast – Epilogue

  

  
It’s a chilly and uneventful ride from Comillas to Santander, except that Santander is very busy, which I expected, it being port town.

And so it is all over, and it feels slightly odd. I have a mixture of emotions. I have been so focused on this project since the middle of January, with training, planning routes and schedules and all the other stuff that goes with international travel that I have a feeling I will miss getting up in the morning, pulling on my gear and setting off on my next leg of the journey. I shall take a few moments to pause and relive it and look back on an amazing trip.

I found the Spanish people invariably charming,helpful and often amusing and fun. Tolerant of my broken Spanish,we communicated and when we both got the joke, laughed together too. I found some wonderful new places to revisit and discovered parts of Spain that I would have dismissed if I had been whipping by on the Autovia. 

 

 
For stat fans, I cycled 728 miles, burnt up 37,200 calories and ate the same in bread and pastry, climbed up (and rode down) 42,880 feet, and spent almost exactly 71 hours in the saddle.

I have never attempted anything like this before. Travelling alone with just a smattering of the language. Challenging myself to cycle so far. Being independent and yet dependant upon my ability to resolve problems as they occur. I know, Spain is a developed western country and all you really need is a toothbrush and a credit card, but why make it any harder ?

I am proud that I did it and I have a sense of achievement. Not bad for a 60 something. And I finish the ride with a sense of elation and expectation of the next challenge.

These experiences introduce you to yourself no matter how old you are and the older I get, the more I take on different tasks and experiences the more I learn about myself. And I thought I knew me. I should,after all.

To everyone who has followed my ride through my posts I thank you for your support and interacting with my adventure. Your “likes” and comments really were encouraging.

To everyone who sponsored my ride with their hard earned cash, and I know there are a thousand demands upon it, on behalf of myself, Fi and our co-Trustees,Emma-Jayne and Rachael, and of course, Saravan and Nirmala in B.Kothakota who are doing the real hard work – thank you,thank you,thank you. We raised an amazing £1200. I never dreamt we would reach anything like that. 

There has been a heatwave in India for the last couple of weeks with Andhra Pradesh taking the brunt of it. Temperatures have reached over 100 degrees and more than 200 people have died. This is where Saravan and Nirmala live with their “guests” . We all enjoy a bit of “scorchio” sometimes but spare a thought for those who have to stay indoors to survive where they have no option.

Racheal Woodhouse at David Lloyd Swindon gave me the weight training programme that got me up all the hills and mountains. Thanks, Rachael.

Andy at Performance Cycles, Poulton set up my bike perfectly. Between Rachael and Andy, no shoulder ache the whole way !!

 And lastly, particularly, Fi, my soul mate, who took on the task of doing her own washing and ironing for 3 weeks and allowed me to do this. Without you………

Until next time

Hasta Luego