Day 2: Picos to a Ruin!

I pack up and am moving by 7.30am, passing two rangers on their way up the valley. As I descend, I pass a fountain next to a high summer village. It looks like stock and people stay up there for the warm time and descend for the cold season. Although plenty of the buildings need some TLC unfortunately.

The rest of the day is a mix of a bit more tarmac split by loads of superb hill climbs, ridge traverses and long descents. Its warm, sunny and dry, riding through the mountains with no pressures and no need to be at any one place. This is my nirvana. 

There was a little bit more technicality to some of the lanes today, as I joined the main West-East TET route. The forestry section was just like the UK forests, steep, overgrown and route finding was interesting.

Two more falls, one on a short steep uphill, the front just slid out on the bend, the bike went down hard as I was accelerating up the hill, the second was due to tyre pressures being too high for the slippy soft muddy ruts. The bike slid out, leaving the wheels higher than the handle bars, which meant I had to take the top bag off to get it upright. I then promptly slid away from it in the mud and it fell into the thorn bushes! Plenty of swearing, some bush kicking and it was back on its wheels. 

As I was loading the bags back up, two hunting hounds appeared, next there was a shotgun blast and I got sorted super quick after that and rode away!! 

My camp for the night was next to an old ruin, across from a ridge where the moon had just risen and the glow of sunset was just beautiful.