72km – 9H05’
The temperature is 26°C! No, it’s not April Fools’ Day. We could almost think it is summer, except that the trees have no leaves, which reminds us that autumn is here.
Serge is amazed, just like a kid, and doesn’t have enough superlatives to describe the scenery: splendid, magnificent, « savoie » at the seaside. Our runner has quite an imagination. Serge has always been motivated by the discovery of new scenery as a race progresses, and today more than ever.
Before Ondarroa we enter the province of Bizkaia, which is still in the Spanish Basque country. After 17.5km Serge turns onto a small mountain road. The first village he comes to is Bolibar, supposedly the home of the ancestors of the famous Simon Bolivar. At this point things become serious: steep, narrow and sinuous are the adjectives used to describe this small road which will take the team to Gernika-Lumo.
This sadly famous city was portrayed by Picasso in a painting which hangs in a museum in Madrid. In 1937 bombing of the city caused some 1,500 deaths, all civilian.
We take a short break before turning toward Morga and a climb through forest and mountain, with two encounters: the first a local TV station and the second with the brother of Sergio Fernandez, who finished second in the world championships for mountain races. He is currently in Morocco for the Trans 333 Footrace. The past two days have helped me to understand why the Basques are such good bike “climbers,” and we see lots of them on our route. This region is a real sports field for all runners who want to train in the hills where the scenery is gorgeous.
In Andra Mara, it’s like being in the middle of the mountains of « Savoie » but with fruit trees, farm land and a forest of eucalyptus.
The end of the day will be drab as we descend to the industrialized valley of Bilbao, with its noise and a succession of urban areas. Once again we have to get used to the tough realities of the road. After a complicated reconnaissance today, we must make the adjustment. Goodbye to pleasant smells, the songs of birds and magnificent rural scenery. Crossing Bilbao and its suburbs is still ahead of us and the distance seems to get longer and longer. But tomorrow is another day. It will start at Sondika at Bilbao and then we will follow the N634, going by way of Castro-Urdiales. The stage will finish near Laredo.
Town : Sondika (Bizkaia)