Monday March 17, 2014, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 724 miles (1,165 km)

March 15, 2014: 27 miles We had a short 27 mile ride to another warmshowers.com host in the small city of Aguilas. The weather was perfect with no wind at all. We arrived in town early afternoon and searched for Benno’s apartment along the waterfront. He soon found us on his bike as we had ridden past his apartment building. Benno from the Netherlands has a fabulous 6th floor apartment right on the waterfront. He is a PhD candidate working as an intern in biological/insect science. The trip up his elevator was interesting as we had to put our bikes on the rear and lift the front end.

We had mentioned looking for a light-weight tent and there was a huge sporting goods store nearby – a ten minute walk, Decathon. None of the tents were less than 5 pounds so we bought a tarp to lay our sleeping bags on. We also bought a spare 26” tube. Two days ago Jocelyn had a puncture and I must have installed the spare incorrectly as the tube blew when I was inflating it so it must have been pinched. So now we are back up to two spare tubes. Benno is quite an accomplished cycle tourist as he has travelled South America, The Balkans, Germany, and the Netherlands. We had our first real Spanish late dinner experience. We arrived at a restaurant after 8 and soon it was packed with families. We had an excellent dinner but too late for me. It was nice to see the streets crowded with families dining on a Saturday night. We had an excellent sleep in his apartment. It is amazing how one can sleep so well after cycling most of the day.

March 16, 2014: My 61st birthday and 28 miles half of which were off-road We slept in until 8. How sweet it was as I didn’t stir all night. Benno took our bikes down the elevator and helped us on our way. It was another great warmshowers.com experience. We soon climbed out of the valley with a super fun ride as I have finally found my climbing legs. Jocelyn just flies by me, in 2nd gear, along with all the Spanish roadies. They are so nice and always yell out, “Bueno, bueno!” After a cerveza break we met a cycle touring couple from Germany biking west. I can’t remember their names but they were a blast to talk with. They were living in Australia and moved back to Germany but could not find jobs so they did the next best thing – get on their bikes and tour! What a great idea! They told us about the route they had just ridden and it sounded great so we took their advice and rode off-road to the beach, went swimming in the Med, then rode off-road around a cape right on the coast back to civilization. What a fun ride! I really like our on-off road Schwalbe 26” x 2” Mondial tires. They hold up to rocks, dirt, sand, water and anything else. The scenery was beautiful with old ruins and eroded beach rock formations. We soon found ourselves in the town of Puerto de Mazarron and a campsite with rental bungalows right on the beach. At this point we agreed on a break after 7 days of riding. Two nights on the beach can’t be beat. So we visited the local Super Mercado (market) and moved in for two nights. We had dinner at an excellent “American” restaurant run by a fun Scottish couple with an excellent Spanish cook. I finished my 61st birthday with delicious piece of chocolate cake with all the fixings. After 5 weeks on the road Jocelyn and I were craving American food – and we found it! At this point we are looking to arrive in France earlier to accommodate family visiting Europe this summer. Cycling the entire way to France would take us another three weeks so we may take a bus trip to get closer and bypass some of the busier areas of Spain. So I had a great birthday (the last two were in Antarctica) several fun hill climbs, swimming in the Med, off-road cycling along the coast, cervazes in Spain and a great place on the beach.