July 20, 2024
After asking to see my route this morning, my hosts staged an intervention and gave me a better one, featuring the N15 and the historic towns it unfurls through. Much like Route 66, N15 is the national road (formerly the royal road) people used before freeways were built. "Now we use this road when we are feeling romantic or nostalgic," explained the family's dad, who turned out to be a former mayor of an adjacent city and apparently the patron saint of other wandering cyclists.
Indeed, the N15 features less climbing (though still plenty!), more towns, more vineyards and olive groves, and more cyclists. I crossed paths with an environmental activist named Roberto and talked about interdependence and vegan diets for about 30 minutes. He made the day feel even friendlier.
With no clear goal, I found myself approaching the town of Podence around nightfall and decided to stay there. A UNESCO world heritage site, Podence is famous for its Caretos coming-of-age rituals, in which young men dress up in fuzzy costumes and scary masks before raiding the town's cellars and harassing its young women. Sounds like a good time, but I am too late for it, in more ways than one.
Distance: 52.55 miles
Climbing: 4,085 feet
Total: 4,299 miles
Congrats on this 100th blog! I always look forward to reading about and seeing a glimpse of what you are experiencing! Thanks for taking us on their journey!