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The novices guide to cycling in Galicia


About Galicia
So where is Galicia exactly? Galicia is in North West Spain and its not
exactly the picture postcard image of Spain that comes to mind. There are
no Sticky Vickys (who incidentally has just announced her overdue
retirement), very few balconies and despite the copious amounts of
alcohol flowing the people are relaxed, controlled and jovial. There is no
need to take your towel to the beach or poolside at the crack of dawn to
make sure you have a space to place it down. Galicia is very different and
the only way to really get to know it is to take yourself there.

What this blog is for


The intention of writing this blog is to document my cycling in North West
Spain and to allow other cycle-users to either choose similar routes or
avoid them.

My history of cycling
I have some experience of cycling in the UK but that ended abruptly in
2008 in Edinburgh with a junction and the side of a car . My British bike
had some trouble going as the handle bars and breaks had shifted due to
that mishap. I did do some rides but they were short and it was fair to say
it was wearing out its last legs when I arrived in Galicia in September
2009.

The new bike


Six years on and a lot of bike free experiences later I made the splurge.
Its a 250 euro model mountain bike with front axle suspension. The
wheels have a diameter of 26 inches and they are controlled with disc
brakes on both the front and back. Its grey and weighs 14kg without the
pedals. The seat is fully adjustable. It also came fitted with front and rear
lights and after a recommendation from another friend I opted for a fifty
euro full sized U shaped Kryptonite bright orange bike lock which came
with three sets of keys. On writing this blog I prefer to carry the lock in a
rucksack but may fit it to the main frame of the bike in the future for ease
of transport.
Now. Lets get on with the interesting bit.

The novices guide to cycling in Galicia

Ride 1

Ride 1

FARO DE PUNTA CABALO Horse Point Lighthouse

Location
Vilagarcia de Arousa
Arousa

Supplies
to

La Isla de

Distance
44 kilometres (including return
leg)

Date and Time


Sunday 30th January 2016
Sunrise Time: 8:52
Meridian at 13:47
Sunset Time: 18:42
Day Length = 9h41mins

Pump, spare inner tube, pump


and bike lock*, 500 ml water*,
helmet*.
*used

Weather

Temperature low of 6 degrees


Celsius with a high of 9.
Cloudy with some strong
intermittent showers and
strong headwinds.

The novices guide to cycling in Galicia

Ride 1

Details on the legs


Leg 1
Vilagarca Train Station to Breakfast
Approx 500m 1 minute
A short traffic free jaunt from the train station through the bus station and
along the road to a caf. Cue toast, butter, peach jam, freshly squeezed
orange juice and a large coffee by Spanish standards: 3.80euros.

Leg 2
Breakfast to Vilaxoan
Approx. 3.3 km 11 minutes
One of my favourite things about
this part of the journey is the
cycle lane leaving Vilagarcia town.
It runs tight alongside the harbour
offering views of the rolling
hillsides and towns across the
magnificent
Ria
De
Arousa1
through the sails and masts of the
moored yachts. After a few
hundred metres it takes you away
from the harbour and we start on
the route properly. As you breeze
along the smooth cycle lane youll
notice more sails and masts
moored in a modern, impressive
glass walled building; the Galician
Sailing School. Galicia is a region
with strong connections to the
ocean and a history of emigration
from this formerly and somewhat
1 Ria De Arousa. The Rias are
submerged river valleys in Galicia
which would have resulted from
eustatic Sea Level change. As the
local legend goes God himself
placed his hand over Galicia and
in doing so created the rias from
the gaps between his fingers and
thumb. The Ria De Arousa is the
largest.

still impoverished region has left


its mark all over the land.
Youll want to continue briskly
past the factories and hold your
breath. You may even be tempted
to turn back due to the smell (if at
all noticeable): Do not. The End
small
of leg 2: Vilaxoan
sacrifice you make to get past theharbour
250 metres of factories along the
cycle lane is worth it. When you
pass
them
follow
the
curve of the
road
round
and start on
the
road.
Keep
your
hands on the
brakes
but
ride
confidently;
the cars here
dont go very
fast.
Another delight about this stretch
is just how flat it is. You can easily
go in top gear and so you should.
Make this change quickly and
enjoy it. Follow the road past the
cars parked alongside the road.

The novices guide to cycling in Galicia


The eager cyclist always keeps an
eye peeled for any opening doors.
From a British standpoint the
Spanish are infamous for their

Head on up over to the boats,


dismount and take in the views.
You deserve it.

Leg 3
Vilaxoan to Vilanova
Approx 6km 20 minutes

Ride 1

seemingly innate ability to lack


almost any spatial awareness.
The pedestrianised harbour area
signals that you have arrived in
Vilaxoan.

Vila. This tiny little word in


Galician translates into Spanish as
Villa, which means town. This
stretch runs from Johns town, to
New Town and it strikes as ironic
that I did this first cycle ride with
a good friend of mine who is
called John.
We leave the octopus and lobster
pots behind us and carry on out of
the town of Vilaxoan. In Galicia
you can never be too far away
from seafood catching
contraptions so do not worry that
you wont see any for a while. In
no time we shall be entering
Vilanova; an Aladdins cave for
the avid seafood and shellfish
lover.
Follow the road alongside the
beach and youll pass a
picturesque wall made of white
pillars which makes for a nice
promenade. The road here turns a
sharp left and this is where the
real trail starts. Go off road
alongside the mussel factory and
avoid the puddles in the gravel
track. Bear left again and follow
the small track which will bring
you past a small estuary. A few
hundred metres further on brings
you onto the road.
Take the road uphill past a
glorious fortified house which in
this area are called Pazos or
country homes and
would have once been the home
of the aristocrats. A number of
these country homes were
snapped up in an extensive
money laundering operation in
the late eighties and early
nineties. See The Dark Side of
Vilanova. This part of the road
goes uphill and youll be glad to

know once up, the only way back


is down. Stay on the hard
shoulder avoiding any trucks or
buses, and remember that
wearing your helmet is a legal
requirement in this neck of the
woods. Not obeying this law will
lead you to be spotted by the
Guardia Civil (The Spanish police
force). These big boys can land
you with a two hundred euro fine
which could be up to one hundred
on the spot so unless you want to
lunch on bread rolls for the next
few weeks you had better abide
by the law.
Turn right and downhill. The
beach stretches out in front of you
and this route opens up views
which stretch right across the bay.
It is truly wonderful. Feel the
freedom and hit some speed.
Passing by an unusual wooden
structure perched in the bay by
the pier you might be lucky
enough to spot some workers
fixing it up See As Bateas: The
Mussel Farms. Keep going.
When you reach the bottom of the
hill you come onto the flat. Here
you let your wheels roll. The
speed you picked up from coming
down hill, providing you didnt
make a stop to see the the batea,
will take you half way along this
road. Passing by a large bright
yellow sign indicating the start of
the beaches youll come by one of
the quietest beaches in the
region: As Sinas. The name
derives from a species of flat fish
that is common in this part of
Galicia and is served up on plates
in its restaurants just waiting to
be devoured.
When you reach the end of this
stretch the road turns left and

here the road leads us into


VilaNova.
Follow the road past the cars
parked up your right hand side
and when you come to a T
junction bear right. Follow this
short road on into Vilanova and
the harbour and fish market will
open out in front of you.
The Dark Side of Vilanova Part
1
The late eighties and early
nineties were boom times for the
little fishing villages along the
coasts of the Ria de Arousa. Not
only were the mussels fetching
high prices abroad and bringing in
much needed income but the
calm waters were sought after
much further afield.
Drawn to quiet, unguarded,
sheltered little coves on the
unspoilt coastline, drug lords from
the other side of the pond had
their beady eyes fixed on one
thing that would change Galicia
for ever. Former routes for
smuggling tobacco would
lubricate the transition,
transforming Galicia into the Class
A port for cocaine and heroin in
Europe.
In exchange for bundles of cash
illegal drugs in the form of duty
free cigarettes had been flooding
onto Galician beaches for
decades; the seeds had already
been sewn for harder corruption.
The foreigners were only upping
the game.
Unfortunately the wounds for
Galicia would transcend the
physical marks on the landscape.
As well as abandoned
constructions dotted along the

coastline (up for auctions nobody


bid for out of fear of reprisals from
their former owners) and
unfinished ambitious leisure
projects fed on black money were
the human impacts. The direct
drug trade in the Rias would
inevitably end in the hands of the
youth and as a result led to entire
swathes of young people to
become hooked on what was
offered on the street. The small
fishing villages would never forget
the lost generation and families
would be torn apart. The real face
of heroin was for all to see.
The leaders of the operation grew
in wealth and bought up property
around the area. Extensions were
built on old country halls and
mansions with the highest
security systems popped up all
over the countryside. Top of the
range cars pulled up on
driveways, motorbikes cruised the
highways, and most importantly
speedboats to transport the
goods came into view, appearing
overnight. On a subtler, more
local, level the local populations
role in the scandal became
increasingly more blurred; for
your blind eye, your neighbour
would pay your gas and electric
bills for a few months, which your
traditional lifestyle struggled to
provide for. Could you really say
no? To be continued
Leg 4
Vilanova to the Bridge
Approx 2.3 km 8 minutes
Vilanova de Arousa is home to a
museum of a famous Galician
writer called Valle Incln. A visit to
this autonomous communitys
capital, Santiago de Compostela,

is home to a very famous statue


in the park. Youll find him
comfortably sitting gazing at the
old town from the tranquillity of a
park bench.
However, there is no time like the
present if we are to make lunch.
The restaurants are open from
two until four, on an extended
weekend lunch sometimes five,
but the kitchen can close at three
thirty. Best get moving. We
continue over the pedestrian
bridge. Avoid the temptation to
pick up speed. There are nasty
anti-tank like barriers that will
slow you down with a bump at the
other side of the bridge.
From here we are going to follow
the trail right and follow the
headland all the way around.
Smell the eucalyptus fill the air.
This is the first time youll see a
close up of the destination. Across
the bay is the Isla de Arousa,
where Horse Point Lighthouse
awaits us. This is a good spot for
a photograph.
Continue along the coast. Doing
this ride in winter or spring might
lead you through some sand, so if
you can switch to low gear or
dismount completely remember
its only for 100 metres are so.
Continue past the abandoned
campsites until you come to a
tunnel under the bridge. Bear left,
up the ramp and onto the bridge.
Leg 5
The Bridge
Approx 2 km 6 minutes
The bridge which links the island
to the mainland, or colloquially
known as the continent, is a fairly

recent construction. Dating to


only 1985 it is one of the longest
bridges in Spain. It is still the
longest in Galicia.
There is a designated cycle lane
and you should stay to it. The
speed limit on this stretch of road
is 80km/h or 50mp/h. However,
youll soon realise that the cars
use that as a minimum, not
maximum and the numerous
indentations in the crash barrier
and leaning lampposts, having
been crashed into, will tell you the
full picture. Its a beautiful
crossing, but dont dawdle.
Leg 6
The Bridge to the Port
Approx 2 km 6 minutes
There are in fact five different
ports on the island. Today we shall
be visiting the main one and town
centre.
Huddled into the middle of the
island, the town has a population
of only five thousand.
The best restaurants are all
located on the main town street
which overlooks the boats moored
up in the harbour.
This is where you are
recommended to stop for lunch.
Leg 6
On to Horse Point Lighthouse
Approx 2 km 6 minutes
The route to the lighthouse wraps
around the island. Follow the road
along the harbour wall and up.
Youll pass by some houses but
keep your eyes sharp for a small

dirt track which goes down. Youll


come to a post which looks like it
may have or still hold a wooden
gate. Pass through it and head
down.
The path will take you along the
coast on the headland. Snaking
round the bend the path then
turns into gravel before coming
into wood. Head up onto the

wooden section which forms a


pathway up over the rocks and
right ahead of you, the small and
simply beautiful Horse Point
Lighthouse will come into view.
Circular Route
Round Trip

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