July 19, 2011

This morning feels slightly cooler, even though the sky is bright and blue as usual.

We have decided to make a bid for home even though it will be a really long day.  We are starting out just north of the city of Granada – more than 130 km from home.  Again we choose main roads to try to make our progress as speedy as possible.  It definitely is a bit cooler, the wind is very light and we are able to make a quick getaway from the motorway service station.

The day is all about getting our heads down and getting on – which we do.   We arrive in Loja – the town in which we stayed on our first overnight stop on Day 1 of our trip nearly 4 months ago.  We are now retracing our steps.  It is only as we haul our way up to the Puerto de Los Alazores that we realise that some of the toughest cycling to be found is right on own doorstep.  No wonder it seemed so hard when we set off all those weeks ago.

We arrive home, in the dark, at 10.30 pm after cycling exactly 6684 km or 4153 miles, definitely fitter, definitely lighter and, most definitely, ready for our own nice comfortable bed.

And finally, very many thanks to all of you that have followed the trip and sent encouraging emails.  For anyone interested, I will be adding a post-trip section to the overview giving some of the facts and figures, highlights, equipment list etc. just in case any of you decide to do something similar. 

As for us, well, I’m in the ‘planning’ phase – Ken’s in the ‘worrying’ phase. Situation normal.