11/01/2023 Bikepacking Spain Day 85 : First day solo

I have decided that I am going to use this space for stories more often, and captions a little less frequently. This was partly inspired because Strava has changed the way captions appear, and I’m finding it too hard to read/write. Especially if the bottom of the photo has a light color. Today was a great day solo, and while I missed Janet, I am pretty sure she didn’t miss some of this terrain (the hiking of it, not the seeing of it). I came to a quiet intersection where the trail departed from the dirt road I was on. At that moment, two young bikepackers appeared coming from the trail. I asked them how it was. They rolled their eyes and said it took them 1 hour to do the last 3 kilometers. Full of loose rocks and 30 percent grade. Except, here is the rub: they were going in the downhill direction. I labored my bike up that hill, and I realize that a successful strategy moving forward will be to avoid this type of terrain when possible! It is not only hard on the body, but also the mind. Luckily, scenery got good after that and there was some payback. Downhill. Rotunda was a hyper touristic town; I went to buy some snacks at the gas station and the lady was saying something to me. I was really embarrassed because I usually understand Spanish so well, but what were these words? I do this all the time: I “listen in Spanish”… and it causes me some roadblocks. She had been saying, “do you want a bag” in English. With her accent, I had to ask 3 times (in Spanish) and she kept repeating her answer in English which I didn’t understand 🙄.