April 4, 2023

Day 97: Pinto (Arrival)

Clarifications and Corrections:
In my previous post I asserted that I cycled to Jean, what I should have written is Jaen. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Today's post:
Yesterday it was about 7.5 hours of cycling, today it was about 5.25 hours of driving, and a supermarket visit. Tomorrow, it will be a train (hopefully) into Madrid.

Also, whilst driving, I became aware that perhaps leaving all the driving until the very end was a mistake: A bit like going cold turkey rather than weaning oneself off of ones addiction of choice. So tonight I spent some time assessing the possibilities of injecting another ride into my UK return itinerary. It is possible, but it will mean some long driving days!

Meanwhile, here is a photo of my current park-up location:

What you cannot appreciate from the photo is that the park-up is adjacent to a motorway into Madrid. There is a bund between us and the motorway; but it is as much use as "tits on a bull"! Not only that, I'm paying for the privilege: €8 per 24 hours. However, €8 a day and a train or bus into the city is, I do believe, somewhat cheaper than a hotel in Madrid. So I can put up with constant road traffic noise for a night or two (which is way more preferable to intermittent noise (see, even I am able to put a positive spin on something that is clearly less than ideal!)). I'm not alone, there are about 30 to 40 motorhomes/campervans parked-up here.

  • Distance driven: 254 miles
  • Distance cycled: 0
  • Weather: AM some high cloud; PM Sunshine - Temperature on arrival in Pinta about 21°C: wind temperature feels cooler.
  • Location: Google Maps