Our stop in Vitoria was only a one nighter so the plan was to get some brekkie and then head out. Upon getting dressed, Tims plan of drying his top over the halogen lamp backfired as it had burned a hole straight through. Could be worse though, he could have burned the place down.
We headed out for food where Mark had a disabled croissant and then went to InterSport so that Tim could get another top. Steve also shopped for shorts while we were there as he'd only brought one pair with him for some unknown reason. He tried a few pairs on but they didn't have anything bigger than extra gigantium so nothing would fit.
Back at the hotel we packed our gear and left the town, we never did see the lovely murals as we got distracted by beer once we were out last night.
A little bit of motorways with crazy side winds made it feel like we were on a speedway track which wasn't pleasant but we made it through alive and we were soon on the mountain roads again.
We went through a national park which was stunning roads, very twisty, challenging and good views. After a while it all seemed familiar and we realised that we'd done this route last year. We even visited the same cafe and was served by the same Greek, Irish, Spanish lady as last year.
We carried on and it got hotter, hitting the mid 30s and it wasn't long before we needed another break so we stopped again at somewhere from last year. Tim thinks that tommo just cut and paste the route from last year. The food was a lucky dip, you just order 'food' and whatever they're cooking came out. Mark remembered that cheesy moaned last year about how expensive it was here so we feared the bill. For 6 cokes, 3 steaks, chips, and a giant salad, it came to a whopping 8 euros each.
We pushed on in the heat, opening our visors to let some cool air in then realising that the outside air was hotter and then closing them again, it's like riding into a hair dryer. After another hour we arrived at our destination, Saint John de Luz, a nice town in the Basque region on the coast.
We followed the satnav which failed to find the hotel and we were dying in the now 39c sun. It turns out that there are 5 roads leading to the hotel, all of them 1 way, and all of them leading away from it. How you're meant to get there we don't know. We walked it (in leathers) but that didn't help so we took a trip across some car parks and made it work.
We have a family room in the hotel, so Tim took the double bed room so that his snoring might allow the others to sleep. The place has aircon too which apparently is the best invention ever.
We got changed and went exploring and it wasn't long before we all had nice sweat patches. Tommo went shopping again and brought a nice pair of shorts at last. We celebrated with an ice cream which Tommo then dropped all over his new shorts. Brilliant.
Down on the beach it was gorgeous so Tim and Tommo went for a dip and then it was time for a beer. When it was time to eat we sat on the front in a nice restaurant that was recommended to us. Just before we ordered the waiter told us that if it got too windy to go inside. We gave him a strange look as there wasn't even a slight breeze and it was still scorchio. Literally 2mins later there was a howling gale that knocked some peoples drinks over and people were running for cover. It turns out that it's some strange local phenomenon that happens on hot days creating a wave of wind from the mountains. Although we really think that the waiter was Gandalf and just messing with us.
Tim and Tommo had the most amazing seafood and Mark just avoided a bread only meal by having some pork.
After food we hit a few bars that closed bang on midnight, although it was busy out, no one wanted to serve anyone. That was until we found one bar that was heaving so we went there to find that it was rammed with 16 year olds getting smashed. Feeling old we just had the one then went home to put on our slippers and sit under a blanket.
Stats so far:
341 miles ridden, 7 hours 24 on the bike, average speed of 46mph, 1 pair of shorts ruined.
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