TRAVERSE 66
in Espinama— part of the Spanish TET— so that became the next day’ s plan. Jacuzzi, wine o’ clock, then bed. Happy days.
The following morning we set off up the track and it was spectacular. A chance conversation had delivered an absolute gem of a route. We climbed to Hotel Áliva, detoured up to the highest point, then dropped down the far side towards Sotres— roughly 13km of dirt, plus our extra loops. Kelvin managed a small tipover on loose gravel, but no harm done. After a cold drink in Espinama and a bottle of coffee liqueur purchased for later, we returned to the apartment blissfully tired.
The next day we were up early for a 220km scenic route stitched together from paper maps— as wiggly as possible. Roads felt completely different in reverse directions, especially under blue skies. Another stop at 1600m, then on to the jaw-dropping Mirador de Llesba. After that it was quiet roads, lakes, miradors and tiny villages.
Lunch was a menú del día in a roadside place at 2pm— huge, delicious and absurdly cheap. So much food I could hardly get back on the bike. With only 60km of supertwisties left, the concentration kept me in the moment.
In Potes we fuelled up, then visited the Sierra de Oso distillery to learn about their wine and aguardiente. Fascinating stuff, even with my basic Spanish. Another jacuzzi bath back at the apartment and final packing for Friday’ s last big ride to Bilbao.
Our final day of riding was fabulous. Roadworks delayed us, but mountain goats provided entertainment as they scrambled up a terrifyingly steep slope. Later, another long delay, but being on bikes allowed us to filter past the queue. The stop-sign attendant flapped his arms wildly, worried we’ d blast through, but calmed once we stopped in front of the trucks.
The roads were, once again, beautiful. I’ d plotted the day using the Michelin orange maps, deliberately non-direct to soak in every scenic detour. Kelvin was very patient. It definitely beat Google’ s dull“ straight to the coast” suggestion.
After a menú del día beside Embalse de Ebro, we stumbled upon a mountain full of wind turbines and open-access dirt roads. We explored both sides— incredible views— and even passed horses grazing beneath silent turbines.
We left at 9.30am and arrived at our final accommodation around 6.30pm after just 230km. A big day, and a brilliant one.
The owner told us the house’ s history— a family who’ d made their fortune in the USA, returned and built the place, then later moved to Madrid. With no children, ownership eventually passed to the church.
Our room was huge, and oddly included a block of nougat, which we demolished alongside leftover biscuits, wine and coffee liqueur. A perfect last night … until Kelvin discovered an ant infestation. They were all over our gear, so we spent the early hours de-anting everything and trying to secure it in an insectfree zone. Not ideal. Luckily we only had a short ride the next day.
We departed in rain, navigating a long stretch of diesel-slicked road at a crawl. Reaching Bilbao around 10.25am, we stopped for coffee, then rolled into the ferry terminal at 11am. Passport control flew by, we chatted with a few other travellers in the queue, and soon enough we were aboard and in our cabin.
Aaaaaaand relax. SP
TRAVERSE 66