The Long Haul to Leon

We all agreed that Wednesday 20th June 2018 was one of the toughest days we’d had on a bike. A combination of factors made it so: The moderately long distance of 78 miles; the heat at around 30 degrees; the terrain; the absence of enough places to stop & refresh; legs that were already very tired; bicycles weighing around 30kg. Nevertheless, we had decided that we needed to get to Leon, rather than have an intermediate camp, so booked a couple of nights in the Hostal Alda Casco Antiguo in the centre of town, near the cathedral. 

So, we set off from Osejo de Sajambre at around 9.30 to complete the climb to the top of Puerto del Ponton, at 1280m. It was a glorious morning & a beautiful wooded climb into the heart of the Picos de Europa. Kevin did his usual thing & eventually rode off the front, not to be seen again for about 15 miles. Neil rode smoothly up in his own inimitable style, leaving Alex & I to ease up to the summit, stopping several times to breath in the spectacular views. 

500m & about an hour & forty minutes later, we linked up with Neil at the top of the Ponton. 

We then began descending through quite a different landscape (more open meadow & gradual slopes) to a refreshment stop at Riano. Riano sits beside a large reservoir & is a relatively new village, built to replace the original, which lies submerged beneath the reservoir. 

Even though we’d only covered about 20 miles, we were ready for food. The day was hotting up considerably, as I realised when I returned to my bike to find my Garmin computer melting! Ok, well part of the LCD had blown & I now had a black hole in part of the display. Great 🙄

Following a series of short, easy climbs out of Riano, we continued to descend to Cistierna, taking in a spectacular dam on the way. 

We stopped for a drink in Cistierno, but couldn’t find anywhere to buy food (we pay for the lack of calories later) then headed onto a bumpy little back road that ran down the west side of the Rio Esla for about 20 miles. Fields of wild flowers either side, several small hamlets. Idealic cycling country really, but we began to tire in the heat. Then came a short, but hard climb of around 100m near to Gardefes, before descending to eventually meet the main road into Leon. Another brief water stop followed & then the final 7 mile slog into the city. 

We headed straight to the cathedral square & almost fell off our bikes into the ice cream parlour 😜. 6.15pm & we were VERY tired. 

The Hostal (small hotel in Spain) was very welcoming & very good. A clean room, laundry service & bike storage. 

A splash & groan, then into the city to eat. 

A lovely city. Hope to see a bit more of it tomorrow when we’re having a rest day. Yippee!!🤪