Madrid to Caceres

to Aranjuez, 75km

May 14 - Up early, had breakfast, and left by 7am.  I followed a back route out of the airport area toward San Fernando de Heneres.  From San Fernando I followed regional roads M216 and M208 to La Poveda on the primary highway N III.  I have to say that this part of the journey was dreadful.  I had my first (and only) flat tire in Spain.  The roads were full of traffic, mostly large noisy trucks.  To complete the tragedy the road shoulder in places had a thick layer of sand, sometimes up to an inch thick, forcing me to ride out in the road. 

Finally, after crossing the N III, I joined the M311 to Chinchon.  This was a much nicer road with relatively little traffic.  I think getting away from Madrid was the key.  There was a stiff climb up to Chinchon that left me pretty tired and hot.  Just as I topped the climb and started down I met the first of only two other bicycle tourist.  He was an inspiration, almost 79 years old and finishing up a two week trip in Spain.  At Chinchon I took M305 toward Aranjuez.  This was a relatively nice road, up and down, mostly down to the River Tajo.  The road follows the river until it reaches Aranjuez.  After a couple of tries I found a comfortable and inexpensive hotel.

Summary: A dreadful start turned out OK but it was hot and dry, carry plenty of water.

to Toledo, 60 km

May 15 - I started pretty early on the way to Toledo to avoid the heat, I left Aranjuez about 6:45am and made it to Toledo by about 10:30am.  The road was pretty good all the way with a good shoulder and without much traffic.  I started out on M416 and continued on underneath the N IV expressway.  I was told that at the end of the M416 there was a ferry across the Tajo river that would connect me to the CM 4001.  But, I asked a couple of farmers I found along the way and with broken and unreliable Spanish and English it seemed that there was no ferry.  I suppose it could exist but I decided to backtrack and take the N IV across the Tajo and then to the CM 4001.  The CM 4001 follows the Tajo all the way to Toledo.  The road is quite flat with only gradual hills here and there.  The only town of any size is Mocejon. 

The picture shows Toledo as I approached it from the east and shows what most of the countryside looks like between Aranjuez and Toledo.

Toledo is a great city, my favorite in Spain.  For a nice evening go out to the walls on the east side of the city and enjoy the sunset colors on the green River Tajo far below.  You may also enjoy watching the local teenagers escaping from their parents.

Summary: A nice easy ride on a good road.  Hot and sunny but no major hills.

to Talavera, 80 km

May 17 - The road to Toledo had been hot so I decided to start at the very crack of dawn.  I was up and leaving the youth hostel before the sun was out, riding the dark hill down from the old monastery converted to a youth hostel and around the city walls to find CM 4000, the highway to Talavera de la Reina.  The CM 4000 follows the River Tajo all the way to Talavera.  The road mostly has a good shoulder but quite a bit of traffic.  The very worst part of the road is a narrow bridge over the Tajo about 10 km from Toledo.  The bridge is narrow with a stone wall on it's edge and a metal guard rail between a pedestrian walkway and the road.  I didn't want to bike the bridge with the heavy traffic since it was almost a kilometer long.  I was certain I would build up quite a long line of backup traffic.  So, I decided to walk my bike on the pedestrian walkway.  This was more difficult than it looked because every 20 meters a lamp post narrowed the walkway so that my bike couldn't pass thru.  Eventually, the walkway narrowed so much that I couldn't walk my bike at all but loaded with the panniers I couldn't lift it over the guard rail into the road.  I had to take off the panniers, carry them to the end of the bridge, then go back for the bike and carry it.  All in all it was the most frustrating and irritating kilometer of the whole trip.  Next time?  Maybe I'll build a raft and construct a sail of reeds and sail across the Tajo.

Until the end it was a hot clear day with rising humidity.  I consumed approximately 3.5 liters of water.  I finally arrived in Talavera about 2pm with a nasty thunderstorm.  By the time I found a room I was pretty wet.

Summary: A hot day on a shadeless road.  Good cycling but not so very interesting.

to Caceres, by train

May 18 - Well, I decided to take the train to Caceres. Looking ahead and considering my pace I don't think I'll have time to go to Avila on the way back if I cycle all the way to Merida. So, instead I'll take the train to Caceres. I was a little nervous taking the train, as I've never done that. Turns out I did it badly. The train system in Spain has a pretty good system to accommodate cycles but only on their local runs, not the express runs. My Spanish is not good enough for me to fully understand this so I got on an express train and to make matters worse put my bike in the space at the end of a car, where people have to enter and exit. When the conductor came he scolded me and took a small fee for having my bicycle. I did create sort of a nuisance for other passengers but people were quite friendly and tolerant. Now I know that the local trains have a special box car for freight and bicycles. Next time, I'll do better.