Seaside Tour

Following our morning in la Vila-Joiosa, we took a scenic tour along the coast towards Moraira. Much of this was along the notorious A-332, known as either the road of death, or the road of tarts! Certainly, there have been many people killed along here over the years, and the number of prostitutes has certainly grown. Perhaps if they took the scantilly clad ladies off the street, there would be fewer accidents?

To be honest, the ride was very pretty. In between the buildings, it was possible to see the sea, and sometimes it was very near indeed. The bends on the road deserved full attention though, making it a slow and steady trip. At one point, another bike pulled up alongside me, egging me to go faster, but I just laughed. He simply shrugged his shoulders and passed us.

We went to the sea front at Moraira for food and drink and had a great time. At this point, Julian asked Victoria what was in her bag... her face was a picture as she pulled the crab out! Paco thought it was very funny. Better still, was her reaction when Ed asked about the second one. She carefully checked all of the pockets, but there wasn't another one to be found. No doubt the rucksack is currently on the washing line, airing out.

We had a nice stroll along the sea front too. It is hard to understand how over-developed Benidorm became, when there are such pretty places so close by. It is hard to compare it to Blackpool, as many of the buildings are quite new and prestigious looking, but so many of them are just so very tall. More than 30 of them, are 30 floors high, and the tallest is currently 52 floors high. A concrete jungle indeed.

As we rode along the coast, amongst the supermarkets, tourist bars and burger joints, I realised why we moved to l'Olleria. It may not be the prettiest town, but it is in a beautiful spot. Overlooking the valley, lots of greenery, just 30 miles or so from the beach and a €4 train ride to Valencia, this is certainly the spot for me.

Final Meeting

Theoretically, the last Sunday meeting took place yesterday, this was at la Vila-Joiosa, but I am certain that there will still be lots of smaller (non-affiliated) meetings still taking place.

We met at Paco's house at 8am, and set off over the mountains to the seaside... gosh, it was cold! As we rode through Muro de Alcoy, all of us felt it. The worry was, the we knew there were higher mountains still to go over. In the end, the cold eased quite quickly, but the rising sun caused its own problems. Many times, it was impossible to see when riding directly into the sun. A vauge shadow of the bike in front was about all that could be seen. Dangerous in principle, that was actually not too bad, as the 5 riders were all very safety concious, and had no intention of speeding around the bends. We took the 'scenic' route, which involved a trip along a road numbered CV-785. If you want to google it, it will make you laugh, especially around 'Penaguila'. What google doesn't show, is the incline on each of the hairpin bends, nor the terrible foundations to the road, (the tarmac was fine) riddled with tree roots - it was more like riding a horse.

On this road, we passed a Safari park, that I had no idea was there. (Safari Aitana) From the road, I saw a llama, and Ed saw some deer too. He also saw some red quirrels, but I don't think they were official attrations. Looking at their web-site, this is somewhere will will venture to soon. (Ed says we could take the dogs for a walk!)

We stopped for a coffee in Sella and were rather amused by the decor in the cafe. The whole place was decorated with tea towels from all over the place (most of them English). Very strange! On leaving the cafe, I was embarrased at not knowing one of the groups name. I asked Paco what Paco2's wife was called. He didn't know and muttered something to Vicoria. I thought he didn't understand me. Next, I asked Victoria for the name of Paco2's wife, she responded, "I don't remember". How terrible. To my horror, Paco shouted down the street, "hey, what's your wife's name". Then Julian pulled up, and he didn't know either. How funny - everyone just referred to her as 'Paco's wife'. Needless to say, this was soon put right, and now everyone knows that her name is Emy.

We set off to the sea front at la Vila-Joiosa, and soon found the hotel, the venue for the meeting. We paid our €10 but found that lunch wasn't being served until 12:00, as there was an official ride out around the area. Having covered more mailes than they were about to, we gave that a miss. We had a nice stroll around the beach front, and I can certainly recommend it. It was very pretty, considering it is the next town along from concrete Benidorm.

At 12, lunch was served. There was a selection of foods available, from the usual bocadillos, to a plateful of baby crabs. Julian took a crab, and hid it in Victorias rucksack! The usual draw took place, and the final prize was a jamon (a full leg of cured ham). To our delight, this was won by Victoria. Worth the trip out, just for that - they can cost €150 for a good one, which this was. Thankfully, I had a cargo net with me, so we were able to take it back without any problems at all.

Suprising Sunday

There was no matinal planned today, but we had agreed to go for a ride out anyway. Three of us met at Paco's house at 8:15 (ready to set off at 8:30, as usual), but there was no sign of Paco. Even his wife didn't know where he was. He had gone out on his bike, but no one knew where. We assumed he had gone for petrol, so waited for him... Xavi had passed us, and we thought he had gone for petrol too, as he returned a little later, but hadn't seen Paco.

After while, we gave up on Paco, and the 4 of us set off, for a ride towards Navalon. This was on the far side of some mountains we hadn't crossed yet. We set off merrily, enjoying the quiet roads and stunning scenery. The veiw was amazing, as we rode higher and higher. Leaving Enguera, I saw a sign saying 'Road xxx - OPEN', relating to 4 roads were were about to travel. Ah, right up into the moutains then, just like Snake Pass, or the Cat & Fiddle. Since it was only autumn, the roads were clear and fine. It was a little chilly, but not cold enough to put the heated grips on!

We finally arrived at Navalon (Abajo and Arriba ~ lower and upper) and stopped for breakfast in a lovely bar. We all ordered bocadillos and the waiter laughed at Ed and I, when we ordered our drinks. We both had coffee, which they all thought was odd (they are foreign said Xavi). After 3 years, we have now discovered that a normal drink with a meal is wine, beer, coke or water. Coffee is for after the meal. Xavi had 1/2 bottle of wine, and Julian a beer. After coffees, we set off again. This time, heading over the mountain tops towards Moixent, along with lots of groups of (very fit) cyclists. The views were stunning. I suspect that Ed was glad we were with the other 2. Had we been alone, I would have been stopping every 1/2 mile to take more pictures. I will return soon, with camera in hand, and do so! In the meantime - thank you to Google maps for the attached.

After Moixant, we returned home over another range, via Aielo del Malfereit. The twists and turns in the road were similar to to those leading to Moixant, but this time the road was busier, with both cars and bicycles. As we rounded one corner, the view into the valley was beautiful. As we dropped into the valley, Xavi, who had been leading the whole way, suddenly drifted onto the wrong side of the road. There were no curbs, and he simply fell off on the wrong side of the road, into the ditch, just missing a high bank. Goodness knows why. Has something locked up? A puncture? It happened so slowly, we all stopped almost before he fell. Unfortunately, as it was downhill, it was hard to park the bikes. Having had mine fall over so recently, I was struggling to feel safe enough to get off it. I decided to do a u-turn and park up-hill. Just as I had made my decision, I heard a crunch, and Ed's bike, behind me, lay on the floor.

Now we had 2 bikes down. Julian helped Xavi, and I parked to help Ed, but by the time I got to him, he had already got the bike upright, with help from Julian. Looking at Xavi, he was still struggling to hold his bike upright. 2 more attempts to get him safe and we all looked shell-shocked. What a nightmare.

Everyone happy, and we set off back home again. About a mile down the road, a little van in front of us was turning left (across the traffic) and had to wait for an on-coming car. Xavi didn't see the indicator and nearly went around him, into the path of the on-coming car. Hmm. Bottle of wine at play here me-thinks. We managed to get back to l'Olleria without any further mis-hap and went for a drink. Xavi made his excuses and went home. As the 3 of us chatted, we surmised that he must have fallen asleep. A late night out, a probable brandy or 2 to wake him up, coupled with the wine and we were lucky that nothing worse had befallen him. (If it turns out that we misjudged him I will be the first to apologise.)

As we were drinking our cokes, Paco turned up. "Where were you all?", he asked. "I waited until 8, then left on my own." "8? Every other week, it has been 8:30!" He was mortified. After a great deal of teasing, next week, he has agreed to see us all at 8:30!

Ed is now in terrible pain with his back. He can hardly move. It is not like recent problems, when it has been muscular. This time, it is in his spine itself. We have already ordered a replacement clutch leaver, but the bike now has some terrible scratches on it; fairing, engine casing, and seat unit.

Still, no-one was in need of an ambulance or police call out, hopefully Ed's back will be ok in a few days and we have learned to keep a careful eye out in the future.

Can't see the wood for the trees

I thought it would (wood?) be a good idea to put a picture in, showing the before and after, now that Ed has finished clearing the trees.

The wood is chopped up and stacked, ready for next years firewood. The brash has all been burnt / shredded , and now there are only the tree stumps left to sort out. (Until he takes the next ones down)

All Hallows E'en

For the first time, this year l'Olleria have organised a Hallowe'en Parade. There were lots of children lining the streets, dressed as witches, devils and ghouls (many of the parents were dressed up too).

The beating of drums announced the imminent arrival of the participants. The usual band, then a huge dragon, surrounded by lots of people dressed in red (as devils). Once they had converged, they pulled black hoods over their heads and then organised themselves into a wonderful noisy, flashy parade.

The parade was led by a (fake) bull, and then people holding sticks aloft, with catherine wheels spinning out above their heads. The dragon had fireworks coming from it's mouth as it was wheeled down the street. The people with the fireworks skipped down the street, showering sparks over everyone and as their fireworks ran out, they returned and got some more. The sounds reverberated down the street, as they worked their way towards the church.

The whole thing was wonderful. Noisy, fun and vibrant. I'm certainly looking forward to a repeat next year.

Cocentaina Matinal

This week, the bike matinal was held at Cocentaina, at the same time as the fair. We expected it to be the biggest one yet, but it was one of the smallest ones we have been to.

The usual €8 fee got us a good quality t-shirt, a magazine and a torch, all contained in a very useable rucksack. Excellent. The breakfast cob was yummy, and once again was washed down with a morning anise! This time, as there were so few people, the organisers soon launched into the raffle... this time one of the Paco's won. He got 2 bottles of olive oil, some lubricant (like WD40) and some metal cleaner. It soon became apparent that this is what every prize winner got!

Once the raffle had been drawn, we wondered off for another look around the market. It was really nice, as everyone waited for each other as we strolled around. The real suprise, was the journey back home; the traffic going into Cocentaina for the fair was horrific. Huge queues for several miles. Thank goodness we were going the other way.

Cocentaina Fair

Well, it's that time again already - the medieval fayre at Cocentaina. This is an annual fayre, that has taken place every year for some 600 years. I won't go into it all this time, as I have written plenty on previous posts!

This year, as we entered, I was disappointed to see that the children's corner was empty. The rides for children are all wooden, and powered by operators riding wooden bikes, (ie, operated by wooden gears) or by pulling ropes. Thankfully, as we walked around the market, I spotted the rides scattered around different parts of the town. This is probably a better idea, as it gives parent the chance to give the children rides at different times, rather than all at once.

We didn't get there until much later than normal, but we were still able to park fairly close. There were, however a lot more people around. Ed got a call from someone in the UK while we were there, and joked that there were about 1 million peole there! Whilst that was an exageration, it was certainly very busy. The nice thing is, as everyone is simply strolling around, there is no pushing or shoving, and people just move aside if you are trying to squeeze past. In all likelihood, whoever you have just passed, will probably come past you a few minutes later!

This year, we bought some artisan cheese, bread, and sweets. The cheese was rather expensive, but it was the strongest tasting cheese we've had for a long time. Yum.