23 October 2019: Lebrija to Sanlucar (59 miles-724 total)

We cycled past cotton fields, mostly picked, and saw several cotton harvesters on the roads but not actually in the fields. The initial 30 miles were through flat terrain, and our roads were often along irrigation channels. 

We finally saw olives being harvested. They had spread a large tarp under the tree and were shaking the olives loose with a long, vibrating rake. 

Today the plan was to get half-way to Huelva. Robin found a hotel in Sanlucar that worked. The only drawback was that it skirted Seville, a city of 2 million. However, Seville has an outstanding network of bike paths leading into, through, and out of the City. John did an amazing job guiding all four of us as the lanes often shifted to opposite sides of the road and in strange ways around traffic circles. That noted, Seville has done an amazing job creating a cycling network that works in a large city with an old road network. In general, American traffic planners and elected officials think that a similar approach is impractical, to expensive, or would not be used. 

Somehow I lost nearly all of today's photos, so this will be a short post. Operator error. The day started out cool, mid-50s F, mostly overcast, with winds out of the southwest. The winds helped initially, but not for the last one-third of the route. As can be seen from the profile, we had a steep 2-mile climb on the outskirts of Seville, a combination of bike lane and busy road shoulder. At 59 miles, this was our longest day.

Traffic Circle Exiting Le Brija

Upon arrival in Sanlucar, John found that his booking in Huelva had been cancelled, and he obtained full credit. The implication is that we no longer have to get there. 

As our trip enters the final week, we met to plan our last few days. We agreed to continue to Huelva, focusing on a suburb, La Rabita, the location of the Columbus ship replicas, a particular interest of John. The ride will be under 50 miles, then the others will take 2 days to return to Seville for their 26-28 October hotel booking. They tried to get a Seville room for 26 October but could not, so they will stop on the outskirts.

I have a room booked in Seville for 28-30 October, conveniently near the rail station for my trip to Madrid on 30 October. My flight from Madrid is 1 November. I have also reserved an English-language tour of the Seville Alcazar on 29 October, since I could not get in on arrival at the beginning of this trip.

Thus, I will cycle on my own from Huelva for 4 more days, either cycling into Seville or taking a train. 

Since I have few photos, I thought you might enjoy a shot of Robin's free-riding fly. This fly joined us on the ferry from Cadiz back to Santa Maria.

The little guy would not move.