Day 52: Murcia (Cycle)

Today is the first day of the last half of my inaugural Spanish odyssey! It was a most excellent day.

What looked on paper to be a good ride turned out to be a very good one because I was joined by Jose Martin or, perhaps I joined him! It just so happened that we both started the Via Noroeste at the same time; lucky for me, because if we had not met I would not have visited the church at the route's end in the town of Caravaca.

Here is a photo of Jose Martin about to get his photo taken at the church:

The church is one of two Spanish churches recognised as significant by the Pope. It is called Basilica de la Vera Cruz de Caravaca. Apparently, there is a fragment of the crucifixion cross of Jesus Christ in the church.

So because I meet Jose Martin I visited the Church, if it had not been for him I would have arrived in the town; had a coffee and something to eat; turned around and cycled back to the start! Lucky me! I would have been disappointed if later I had discovered I'd cycled all that way there and back to the start again without visiting it (a 102.5 mile round trip, including the little extra few miles to the coffee shop in Murcia, at the ride's end).

• Distance driven: 6 miles
• Distance cycled: 165 km
• Weather: Overcast AM, brightened up in the PM; PM temperatures in the mid teens (°C).
• No new location tonight. Decided to return to IKEA car park: 1) it was getting late by the time I: got back to the van; stowed the bike; showered; and tidied up. 2) I can empty the cassette in the morning. 3) I prefer to arrive at a new site with a reasonable amount of time to move somewhere else if the "vibe" doesn't feel right. 4) (retrospectively, i.e. having moved, it came to my mind that) I could also treat myself to a good helping of ice cream! I did have to walk 20 minutes each way to get it; but it was worth it! And just what I needed after 165km on the bike!

Today's Route: