Weekly Blog 2

This week we finished a large chapter of our project and began a new one. This first couple days this week consisted of banging through the rest of the Spanish mainland, stopping in small towns, and cleaning trash in appropriate areas. We found many locations that had cans and plastic all around with a dumpster right down the block which made for an efficient clean. While cycling on the small towns of the mainland, I feel like we made many more connections than we did in the bigger areas. Around the cities, people are in a hurry and are trying to keep their day moving along. In the small towns, people take the time to ask us where we are from and we get to learn more about them too. It seems like the travelers we meet in the small towns also are more open and willing to meet new people. Perhaps that is because there is more stress and people need to be more sharp around cities. Throughout the week, we have met many cool people on journeys similar to ours. Over time, we have collected good advice from these people for things like where to stay and helpful tools and sites to make traveling easier. I’d say one of the grandest most beautiful moments of the week was when Augie and I finally rolled up to the beach in Valencia and got to run through the ocean water. That moment felt like checking off a big empty box on the to-do list. Looking at a map of Spain and being able to see all the land we traveled through carrying our own weight is pretty neat.

After Valencia, we caught an overnight ferry to Mallorca where we were going to begin the next chapter of our project. I did a lot of research on cycling in Mallorca in the fall and knew we had some difficult rides ahead of us. Because the last days on the mainland were pretty intense, we had a light first day on Mallorca only riding for about two hours. After that, we immediately took to the mountains and were cycling up and down winding roads that were pretty populated with other cyclers. Although the quiet rides when it’s just Augie and I on a back road are really nice, there is a comfort knowing that there are other experienced cyclers that can help if something goes wrong. Our biggest goal on Mallorca was cycling up and down the Sa Calobra. The Sa Calobra is one of the most famous roads in Europe as it winds down the mountainside twisting all over the place even under itself. Cyclers rave over it and Augie and I had been waiting to experience it for months. The day before the Sa Calobra, we had a pretty hefty climb of about 15K of consistent uphill. We got support like never before from cyclers watching us lug all the weight we had up the mountain. Eventually that day ended with us at a decent altitude and in a great position to enter the Sa Calobra the following morning. We slept well that night and were woken just before our alarms from the unpleasant screams of wild sheep outside our tent. We packed up our stuff and headed toward the entrance. We knew that the way down in the morning would be way easier than the way up in the afternoon especially with all our luggage. We talked to a man who had a stand by the entrance and he agreed to hold our stuff for the day (another kind interaction with the locals). Augie and I took deep breaths and entered what we knew would be the craziest downhill ride of our lives. Sure enough the downhill was wild. It started with us going down a strip of road that was bare on both sides allowing us to look off the cliffs into the valley. That immediately gave me a huge rush of opium and I grew a little scared which ultimately made it more exciting. We zigged and zagged down toward sea level which seemed to never end. On one corner, Augie disappeared ahead of me and I heard a skidding. I turned the corner just in time to see Augie hit the little stone wall on the side and get flung over it. Luckily there was level ground on the other side so he didn’t have a big fall. He was fine, we laughed, and kept riding down this monster. At the bottom we realized that Augie’s crash did cause a problem for a he broke his bike again. Fortunately, other cyclers were able to identify what was broken and guided us to the ferry that could take us out to the nearest city. The day ended up with me taxiing back to the stand and getting our bags and Augie and I bussing back to Palma where we are to wait for his new piece to be delivered. This event reminded me that wrenches can always be thrown in our plans. Right when we were getting routine with the difficult cycling, we were faced with another twist. Part of this project of being in the real world is dealing with the problems we face and improvising when it’s needed. I am proud of how we have been dealing with the unexpected bumps in the road and I know there very well could be more. Another week I will remember for the rest of my life!