We woke early just like any other morning, but unlike any other morning this was the 22nd birthday of our very own Freddie John. Unlike previous birthdays, there was no cake, candles or kisses for him, instead it was a six o'clock alarm, in a sweaty hostel, next to a bleary eyed, half naked Rob in the adjacent bed. This surreal situation making for an even more unique and unforgettable birthday!
We swiftly left our host for the night to chain smoke through another stick of cigarettes and hit the road to make our final move in our attack on Madrid. Mr Garmin had reportedly been spotted in a number of seedy Guadalajara late bars, resulting in a slow start to his days work as we tried to leave the industrial metropolis and head towards Spain's capital city. Once again the Battle Bus was to the rescue, guiding us onto our desired route for the day, further proving that Greg's reliance on old school navigational techniques should not be sniffed at!
Our perception of a "long days cycling" has been somewhat distorted by the trip, and our 75 km route into Madrid induced a coffee shop ride attitude and the peloton began to leisurely tick off the kilometres. The battle bus was in hot pursuit, with regular water and love box stops the city began to creep over the rolling horizon.
This major milestone was now within touching distance as Mr Garmin, dosed up on Aspirin and red bull, guided us smoothly into the city limits. At this point, to reach our campsite we had to leave the safety of our pre planned route and pedal into the suburbs. This is deceptively difficult on a bike, as all road signs around major cities point to motorways, and cyclist were definitely not at the forefront of the urban planners minds when constructing the labyrinth of junctions and slip roads. We did our best, and with the help of google maps, got going in the right direction. Following a short stint on one of Madrid's major ring roads, we arrived at our campsite and were guided to our pitch by Greg in his running gear and seemingly a pair of hot pants.
Reaching Madrid is a momentous achievement for the team, as it marks the start of the final leg of the trip. To put this into perspective, the 1000 mile cycle to Madrid is the equivalent to a 2 hour flight, 18 hours non stop driving or a 10 hour high speed train ride from London.
Today's distance: 43 miles
Average speed: 14.7 mph
Top speed: 32 mph
Time on bike: 3:35 hrs
Total Distance; 969 miles
Max heart rate: 87% (174 bpm)
Average heart rate: 60% (120 bpm)
Calories burnt: 1520
- @Access2a
- www.access2africa.co.uk
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