22 October 2019: Puerto de Santa Maria to Lebrija (54 miles-665 total)

Today was about the riding, not touring. After setting Lebrija at the end city, John and Robin judged the 34 mile route, likely flat, too short, preferring a 48 mile route west to the coast, then north to Lebrija. Lebrija is a city in the province of Seville, Andalusia, near the left bank of the Guadalquivir river, and on the eastern edge of the marshes known as Las Marismas.

The day was cloudy and with a forecast high of 68, we agreed to the longer route.

John brought up the longer route, and we started off about 10:00 am. However, Robin preferred the bike path along the bay, insisting that it linked up with the maps.me route through an extensive network of roads. Robin and I had explored the first 2.5 miles yesterday morning, but I only saw local traffic, joggers, dog walkers, and a few local cyclists. Long story short, we found no connections, and about 45 minutes later, we had ridden 9 miles and were 1 mile from our starting point. 

Our route shifted to the "A-" roads, mostly flat, excellent road surface, good shoulder for riding, but extensive vehicle traffic as the only road in the area. We made it to Chipionia about 1:30pm, dined at the Dia supermarket, then rode north with a good tail wind to our destination.

For tomorrow, John and Robin have targeted La Ribita, a suburb of Huevela, booked a hotel, but might not have a ridable route. Maps.me shows a route, but the roads are not shown on google maps. If the maps.me route is ridable, it's 62 miles. Right now, we are hoping for local advice or we will be paying for another hotel.

Update. The area along the Atlantic coast that we hoped to ride through was upgraded to national park-like status and vehicles are banned. The roads have been closed so we must circle the area to the north, to the outskirts of Seville. John called the La Ribita hotel and persuaded them to move it to the next night. Robin then found a hotel nicely place about half-way on the shortest route. So, tomorrow's ride will be about 57 miles, then 54 miles the next day. Long but doable.

Christopher Columbus Castle. The front gate was open, but Robin was already down the road, Michael and I stopped briefly while John chased down Robin. 

The castle looked bigger on the inside than the outside, but having just started, no one was in the mood for a paid admission, especially with a long day ahead and somewhat late start.

Huge Olive Selection. On the way out of Santa Maria, we encountered one of the largest village markets yet, all along the bay. Again, mostly cheap clothing, probably imported.

Should get the award for most colorful display.

What? After the bike trail ended in an upscale, bay-side housing division, we saw more homes to the north, with a bit of sand in between. 

So a bike-push later, we were back in this suburban retirement community.

Robin and John consulting maps.me to determine how to get back to our planned route.

Pro tour riders take natural breaks, so why not us?

Why not in the USA? Last year, a Montana legislator tried to ban cyclists from all roads that lacked a ridable shoulder. He pulled the bill after much protest. Another legislator proposed a bill requiring vehicles to give cyclists 3-feet of clearance when passing. That bill failed.

Late Morning, Early-Afternoon Stop. This was a quiet roadside restaurant, just setting up for lunch in another hour. Excellent coffee. Robin had another bocadillo, excellent quality.