Day 4 - Wednesday 29th August

Bilbao – Potes

Distance – 290km

Overview.  This is what we came for – riding off towards the Picos de Europe and starting to enjoy some of the twisty roads and stunning scenery.  The ride to Potes gave us plenty of variety . . . the plains of Spain, misty slopes, high mountain passes and a little ‘incident’!

Potes Snapshot

History – Potes is located in a strategic location where the Deva and Quiviesa Rivers meet.  The Romans knew the power of a strategic site and named it Pontes.  The name Potes appeared for the first time in 847 and it was considered a city from the 13th century and received royal favour.  During the late Middle Age the entire area was involved in bloody war and the upshot was that Potes became the capital of Liebana.  In the modern age, Potes remained a place of manorialism and many of the villagers emigrated to America – with some of the wealth allowing the construction of notable buildings in the village.  During the Spanish Civil War Potes was destroyed by fire and was later rebuilt.

Elevation – 291m

Population – 1,500

Getting Under Way . . .  

It was a bit of a slow start today, but we eventually got the show on the road by about 10:00am.  The weather was a little threatening, but rain never eventuated anywhere along the route.

Getting out of Bilbao proved a challenge and would have involved a lot of frustration if it was not for Chris' GPS.  Once out of the city we fundamentally headed south-west along the CL-620 through places like Sodupe, Balmaseda and Espinosa de los Monteros before getting on some lower level roads across to Soncillo.  The riding was pretty good for the first part of the trip once we got onto to lower classification roads.

Portend of Things to Come . . .   

At various times we could see lots of angled cut-off pieces of land going into the distance and the Picos made a stunning picture when they finally came into view.

The plan was to have a coffee in Soncillo, but unfortunately it was market day and parking was pretty much impossible to find.  So instead we headed a few kilomotres to the west to Valle de Valdebezana and stopped at a little cafe/bar on the side of the road.

In Valle de Valdebezana on the way to Potes

Parked up at Valle de Valdebezana

From there it was due west along the southern edge of Embaise del Ebro (reservoir) - which was rather beautiful AND interesting because we were riding in what seemed to be a micro-climate of cloud caused by the moisture coming from the lake.  At times the lake seemed quite sinister - a cauldron of froth, bubble and mist!

Getting Higher . . .  

Once we arrived near Reinosa we headed south on the A-67 motor way to Aquilar de Campoo - then north-east on the CL-628 to Cervera de Pisuerga.  From here it was a long climb on the CL-627 through many small places, including Piedras Luengas to the top of the mountain for a panoramic view of the entire Pecos National Park.

The lookout near La Pernia

Looking down towards Potes

Hope No-one Was Looking!  

It was meant to be an easy downhill ride for the last 40km to Potes along the CA-124, but unfortunately Chris had a bit of a 'whoopsie' not long after we left the lookout.  He was leading and lost concentration in a left-hander and sort of fell off the right hand side of the road.   

The bike toppled at very low speed tossing him off and falling on its left hand side while Chris made an elegant half pike with a twist and sprung up onto his feet!  It was a most graceful manoeuvre and luckily he was OK and there was minimal damage to the bike - the left hand crash bar lost some paint.

We of course all stopped and helped him get the bike vertical and off the road - and of course to make doubly sure he was OK.

Potes Bound . . .  

From there it was a very slow ride downhill continuing on the CA-124 all the way down to Potes where we quickly found the Hotel Valdecoro.

The hotel is very nice, clean and the people very friendly.  We quickly got ourselves checked in and the bikes around the back before heading for a walk to find some food.  It was 5:00pm before we had 'lunch' - meatballs/sausages, chips and eggs and we all think the fact that we had not eaten since breakfast contributed to Chris' 'incident'.  We made a note to ourselves to have food BEFORE 2:00pm.

Potes is a beautiful little town nestled in a valley.  The old town was focussed right on the river and there were at least half a dozen very old stone bridges that we could see.  Tourism seems very much oriented to the outdoor life in summer and winter.  There seemed to be lots of tours, expeditions, walks, rafting and so on - and it also looks to be a skiing meca in the winter.  We wandered down one side of the street and back along the other taking it all in.

Hotel Valdecora in Potes

Downtown Potes

Just who are these idiots?

Even More Riding . . .  

At about 6:30pm we decided to take a 'blast' up 22km to the Parador de Fuente (except Chris who sensibly decided to have a sleep) to see if we could get up the chair lift to the viewing platform.  We could, but it was enveloped in cloud!  But the road to and from Parador de Fuente was just sensational.  The surface is in perfect condition and the many corners beautifully laid out.  The only drama was the maximum speed limit which is 80kph and it is being constantly interrupted by 50kph town zones!

Once back at around 8:00pm we all met in the bar and did some planning for tomorrow - the end-result is that we will be staying in Pamplona.  We were initially going to try and stay in Haro but had some difficulty in getting suitable, reasonable accommodation.

At the Parador de Fuente cable car

Even More Food . . .  

And then it was dinner - not that any of us was really hungry!  We found a 'cheap' joint where most of us had a fixed menu for €11 - except the sensible Lorraine who just had a salad and shared my crème caramel.

It was nearly 11:00pm by the time we arrived back at the hotel and crashed out for the night.