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Contents:


Introduction

Chapter I
Costa Brava and Costa Dorada

Day 1.
from Figueras
to Fornells de Mar

Day 2.
from Fornells de Mar
to Barcelona

Day 3.
Barcelona

Day 4.
Barcelona

Day 5.
from Barcelona
to Tarragona

Day 6.
from Tarragona
to Zaragoza

Chapter II
Spanish Heritage

Day 7.
from Zaragoza
to Atienza

Day 8.
from Atienza
to Siguero

Day 9.
from Siguero
to Segovia

Day 10.
from Segovia
to San Rafael

Day 11.
from San Rafael
to El Escorial

Day 12.
from El Escorial
to Avila

Day 13.
from Avila
to Casasola

Day 14.
from Casasola
to Salamanca

Chapter III
The Mountains

Day 15.
from Salamanca
to San Domingo

Day 16.
from San Domingo
to Colmenar de Montemayor

Day 17.
from Colmenar de Montemayor
to Hoyos del Espino

Day 18.
from Hoyos del Espino
to Montesclaros

Chapter IV
The Capitals

Day 19.
from Montesclaros
to Toledo

Day 20.
from Toledo
to ...

Day 21.
from ...
to Madrid

Day 22.
from Madrid
to Barcelona

Day 23.
from Barcelona
to Figueras


Spain by bike

Next


Introduction

As it usually happens in our case the idea of this expedition came to our minds during the last years adventure. Soaking wet and almost frozen to death in Scotland we dreamt how nice would it be to ride in the sun, having sun bath and having no fear of catching ... To tell you the truth Spain turned out to be the most obvious aim of the trip. That was because of the fact some people in our group have some closer connections with this country and know quite a lot about it which made the preparation and journey itself much easier. However, as you have probably already realised two different expeditions took place this year. Simply, not all the members of our Association were willing to go to Iberian Peninsula choosing Balkans instead. As ARGO is a democrating organisation we did not force anyone to do anything and organised two treks to let everyone be satisfied.

The preparations lasted much shorter then usually. I do not know why but comparing to the trip to Scotland this expedition looked as it would be a piece of cake. Sure we did plans and a lot of shopping but everything seemed to be easy. Quickly, by trains through Europe, later on an excursion around the country much less wild than the northern part of Great Britain and finnaly a peaceful return to Poland. Nicely, easily etc. Well, as it usually happens in our case we were wrong...

The Crew

The ones who decided to burn their bodies under the spanish sun:
Pawel, Wioletta, Adam, Monika, Kasia, Pawel



Preparations

Although the idea of Tour de Pologne, as we started to call our trek, was known for quite a long time by all the potential participants, the real organisation did not start until the end of May, 1997.

The most important task was to create a route that would be attractive and at the same time optimal for everyone in terms of the time it took. We didn’t want it to be too hard for anybody and moreover nobody had free time for the whole holiday. We had planned that our group would be from 10 to 15 persons that was the number of people who were interested in our idea and was to last for 30 days (from June 30 to July 29). To make our preparations more efficient, we set up an organising committee which immediately started to work.

As a result the final route was established. The amazing average of 87 km per day and about 2600 km overall was waiting for us. We knew we could be proud of ourselves if we managed to go this distance. As we are only "poor students" we decided to send a letter to the president of the city of Szczecin with an offer of co-operation in promoting the region of Szczecin in exchange for help in organising our tour. Unfortunately, there was no answer. The authorities of our city talk a lot, but when they may be really helpful they don’t raise a finger to do anything.

Finally, seven people decided to take up the challenge and take part in this crazy race. Two of them, Dorota and Ewa, do not live in Szczecin and were to join us in Hel. We had to meet them on the fourth day, that’s why those four days looked just like a duel with time.
At the beginning of June we started to collect all the stuff needed. We had six mountain bikes (only Ewa had a trekking bicycle) and three "snowhouse" tents. Everyone bought one cartridge of Camping Gas®, a lot of spare parts, especially spokes, and a large amount of films for our cameras. We put all the baggage on our bikes and waited for the time to start, hoping the bad weather would pass by and the rain wouldn’t interrupt us. Our strong hope was based on the weather forecast we had seen the previous day. We would soon see how mistaken it was.

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Introduction Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV