Eroica Hispania Overture

Jonny and I are heading south although in a slightly torturous fashion. The ferry booked ages ago connecting the towns folk of Portsmouth with those of Santander has temporarily given up the ghost (better in harbour than on the  Bay of Biscay ( Cpt Aubrey’s rule No 1 - “beware of the lee shore”  springs to mind. It may of course also be that the ferry was one of Mr Grayling’s imaginary ferries - flying Dutchmen - that was planned to rescue the nation in case of No Deal but actually never existed! But the bill did!!!!
Anyway a 700 mile detour via Caen and Le Mans should still allow us to arrive at our destination San Asensio bear Logrono  from where we will explore Rioja wine region (now why does that not surprise you!!) and do the Eroica ride. The ride is part of the rides all over the world where nutters dressed in period garments cycle on vintage bikes on gravel roads over a distance of 40-100 miles. Why? you may ask. Eh, because...  Last year I did a similar ride in Holland with my Belgian friend Tom. I used my Mercian Fixie and if the locals suspected that Brexit was a sign of madness they had it confirmed when I scaled and descaled hills in my one and only gear. I did manage to fracture my elbow 5 km before the finish line but as Tom prescribed large doses of Belgian beet I was able to carry on through 🇧🇪 To Calais and on  to Canterbury.
This year the Mercian (1962) is still with me and Jonathan is using a 1950’s Raleigh Clubman - with 4 (!!!) gears!! Anyway that is not until Sunday and before that we plan to explore the secrets (?) of Rioja i.e. taste all the local beverages.! More to follow!!