Day 44: Almendricos (Drive/Cycle)

After completing some chores, including buying nearly 160 euros worth of food, which should keep well feed for a day or two, I arrived in Almendricos at about 2.30 pm.

The reason for stopping here is the Via Verde (Green Way) that connects Almendricos with Huércal-Overa. These cycle/walking routes are usually quite interesting: scenic, traffic free, have tunnels and viaducts and, because they are often using abandoned railway routes, have easy gradients.

So I designed myself a short cycle route that combined the off-road Via Verde with an on-road climb and descent.

I did pass through this pueblo on the climb (the climb does have a sting-in-the-tail!)

5/10 for effort!

It seemed to me that there was a component of headwind, which was slowing my progress, from the moment I set off until about kilometre 22: just after reaching the highest point of the ride.

From there, it was almost all downhill to Huércal-Overa (mainly crosswinds), where I joined the Via Verde, and had the pleasure of a tailwind to Almendricos.

On my return on the Via Verde I noticed that bridges were missing where I expected a bridge to be! It wasn't until I reached the second missing bridge ...

... that I discovered why they were missing ...


... still, they have had more than 13 years to put in replacement bridges!

• Distance driven: 23 miles
• Distance cycled: 50 kilometres
• Weather: Mostly sunny. Garmin (navigational aid) showed T = 23°C at about 3pm. Obviously it was windy! Probably the warmest to date this year.
• Location: Google Maps

Today's route