"Rocky Mountain Way"
(Joe Walsh)
I had dealings with this part of Spain in a previous life as a buyer of castings and forgings for Ford Tractor and have returned since on a few occasions. During my buying days I remember co-ordinating a visit to see England vs. France in the ’82 World Cup. Basque is writ large over everything on this rugged and mountainous coast line but more surprisingly is the preponderance of heavy industry. As I wove my way inland after a 200 metres drop to the coastal resort of Deba then I was struck by all this manufacturing, with a certain nostalgia for our British history of making things, and another thing was profound…..cyclists. Usually pencil thin men of all ages, riding fabulous road bikes in the best and smartest of kit. I saw more riders in an hour than I saw in three weeks in France. These are testing roads and by the end of the morning I had ascended 598 metres through wooded and windy roads. The green and wooded countryside gave way to something more of an open plain as I descended by 100 metres or so into Vitoria-Gasteiz. It seems so evident, to me, that Spanish cities have had such a profound input from town planners – cycle routes, pedestrian spaces, trees beside the road and smart civic facilities – that you will see in all the major cities. I had identified a camp site but due to Spanish aversion to signposts it took me an hour to find and I was able to put my sopping wet tent up with time for it to dry. After the usual chores I rode back into town to find a supermarket to stock up on supplies.
I had dealings with this part of Spain in a previous life as a buyer of castings and forgings for Ford Tractor and have returned since on a few occasions. During my buying days I remember co-ordinating a visit to see England vs. France in the ’82 World Cup. Basque is writ large over everything on this rugged and mountainous coast line but more surprisingly is the preponderance of heavy industry. As I wove my way inland after a 200 metres drop to the coastal resort of Deba then I was struck by all this manufacturing, with a certain nostalgia for our British history of making things, and another thing was profound…..cyclists. Usually pencil thin men of all ages, riding fabulous road bikes in the best and smartest of kit. I saw more riders in an hour than I saw in three weeks in France. These are testing roads and by the end of the morning I had ascended 598 metres through wooded and windy roads. The green and wooded countryside gave way to something more of an open plain as I descended by 100 metres or so into Vitoria-Gasteiz. It seems so evident, to me, that Spanish cities have had such a profound input from town planners – cycle routes, pedestrian spaces, trees beside the road and smart civic facilities – that you will see in all the major cities. I had identified a camp site but due to Spanish aversion to signposts it took me an hour to find and I was able to put my sopping wet tent up with time for it to dry. After the usual chores I rode back into town to find a supermarket to stock up on supplies.
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