400km, +6500m, 19.5 hours moving time

An epic Brevet on the coastal roads near what was believed to be the end of the known world in ancient times. The "costa da morte" (death coast) with its high cliffs over the sea, awesome views and a roller-coaster-like route with lots of ups and downs. Tough but unforgettable.

My first all-night-long ride from dusk till dawn, an accident that sent me to the hospital and lots of hours under constant, steady, rain followed by a brief visit by our friends Sun and Wind to dry us a bit.

Excitement, fear, rage, tiredness... but also freedom, self reassurance and that feeling that you can do whatever you want to do if you try it hard.

We are 16 randonneurs, the night awaits us. One by one we do arrive in the starting point in Bastiagueiro. Bikes and randonneurs ready once more.

We start together, as a group, easy pace and lots of talking. I do catch up with old mates and I meet new ones. Someone tells me that it is nice to see "new blood" in the 400s.

Slowing we start to go up, it is warm, we feel like we don't need the gillets/vests or the jackets anymore... but the longer we keep riding, the sooner temperatures drop more and more, we can feel the cold of the night.

The sensations, the feeling of riding at night, through the darkness. To think about all what is yet to come... it feels incredible, hard to believe we are doing this.

The randonneurs take their positions, the group stretches and finally we do split into smaller groups. Some start to push it a bit, I follow them and so does Álvaro.

First control point, Santa Comba (Km 65), stop for a quick coffee. Primer control, Santa Comba (Km 65), parada con café rápido. First one that gives up, Victor calls home so someone would come and pick him up.

We get out of the bar and we find Iago looking at his front tire (he got a puncture just before the stop). We help him and when we finish the bigger/faster group is gone. It seems from now on it will be the four of us alone.

A pitch-black night envelopes us. No sight of the moon, we can't see even a single star on the sky. There is no light around us, no street lamps, no cars. We don't talk anymore, silent we keep on and I'm able to hear that sound I love so much, of our tires rolling on the tarmac.

Second control point, Serra de Outes (Km 95). Iago had another puncture. Carlos helped him double checking the tire, we take turns pumping some air into the tube and then we take the road again.

Cycling during night, from dusk til dawn. No cars, no rain, no wind... what a joy.

Iago starts to stay behind, he asks us to keep on our pace, he does not want to push it too far to keep on with us. Álvaro, Carlos and me get to a very nice pace. We talk, we take turns, we enjoy this peaceful night on the bikes.

We pass by areas in total darkness, but we also pass by smaller villages and bigger towns, like Muros. All of them quiet, nobody to be seen on the streets.

The cat, the CAT! DAMN THE CA... ZAAAS... PAF! I don't see it in time to do anything, front wheel trips over it and I literally fly... landing hard on my left side :-(

The bike is ok, THE BIKE IS OK! Me, different story. I feel a very intense pain on my left arm, I can't move my hand at all. I feel fear, rage, a strong rage growing in me while I consider it may be that I can't continue.

But after waiting for a while, the pain gets more bearable and we decided to keep on. We have 15 kms between us and Cee, and the hospital there.

We do stop at the hospital, in ER. Álvaro and Carlos rest a bit and eat something while the doctors take a look at my arm. Nothing is broken, but I've a big and strong bruise/contusion. It may be I damaged some more stuff in my wrist. I tell them about the Brevet and what is yet to be done. I get my wrist firmly bandaged and I take some anti-inflamatories.

A bit later we get out of the hospital. Shit, it is raining already. And it rains non-stop, we get soaked pretty soon.

Fisterra, third control (Km 175), we arrive one hour later than expected. Because of my accident, because of THE CAT.

It keeps raining. Going down from the lighthouse in Fisterra we almost froze. We decided to stop at the first bar we can find open (and that was not easy). Coffee, toasts, sobaos, everything we can get. We try to warm up and put the cold aside, but it is impossible, we are completely wet and cold inside. Once we get out of the cafe I start trembling, a lot, and I can't stop. I can't barely keep my bike straight and my left wrist and hand hurt a lot.

During the next few hours things repeat: more rain, we get even more soaked, we go up on a steep ramp, then down, then up on an even steeper ramp, then down, then we stop at the next lighthouse (just to take the pic and keep on pedaling, otherwise we would froze completely) and then leave for the next one.

I would have never imagined that I'd like steep ramps so much. They helped a lot keeping myself a bit warmer. The descents on the other side though... horrible.

I've never visited so many lighthouses in a single day: Faro Fisterra, Faro Touriñán, Faro Muxía, Faro Cabo Vilán...

At one point my phone stopped working. The screen does not react when touching it. A bit later, Álvaro's phone stopped working also... coincidence? :-O

A bit after leaving Faro Touriñán (fourth control point, Km 202) I start to hear a strange noise, something is not right on my bike, but I can't tell exactly what it is... oh! there it is, a screw from the rear mudguard got loose. Luckily I found about it before it got totally out!

It should be easy to just put it back in place, if it wasn't for all the water on my gloves and hands and the fogged glasses...

The sea is going strong, like in a tempest, so beautiful. Even without strong winds, we can see big waves hitting the rocks all along the coast, and the white foam moving forward and backward. Man, this route is really worth it.

In Muxía (fifth control point, Km 220) we take the wrong turn and instead of going to the lighthouse on the main road, we go up towards a small old stone church...

... and we end in a stony path, with big wet and slippery stones. Way way too dangerous with this weather, but what the view we have from up here!

After Cabo Vilán (sixth control point, Km 250) we do a longer stop to have lunch. We find a very nice "parrillada" by the road. Small family business, lovely people. They open their garage so we can put the bikes inside (it is still raining). They let us drain our clothes a bit, put some of the stuff to dry and they even bring some slippers for Carlos. Total luxury. Oh, and what can I say about the churrasco we get for lunch... ;-)

After lunch things start to get better, much better. The sun comes out, shyly, it seems the weather is going to improve finally. The bandage on my left hand endures, even after all the rain. So many things have passed already that I've almost forgot about the accident, about the pain.

The arrival in Faro Roncudo (seventh control point, Km 303) cheers us up a lot. There is laughing, chatting, jokes. We are fine, we are happy. On our way here we have crossed the bigger/main group of veteran randonneurs. I bet they were not counting on seeing us again today.

Who would have said we had been suffering under the rain for 6 or 7 hours, non stop!

On our way to Punta Nariga (eighth control point, Km 323) we get lost. We have the track loaded in our Garmin devices, but they get confused and we get confused, everything is sooo confusing that we don't know for sure where to go.

So we ask the locals and they point us to a road, with some instructions and saying that once on that road, we will see some signs. We follow that road, just to find some more steep... let's call them WALLS.

Carlos goes in front, I'm the second and Álvaro is behind me. In the middle of one of those "walls" I hear a "CLAAACK!", followed by "MIERDA HOSTIA" and then a big "THUMP". I turn my head just in time to see Álvaro already on the floor. I go back to help. He is ok, but his bike is not so lucky. We don't know for sure what is happening, but the chain is getting dropped onto the bike frame everytime he tries to pedal with the chain on the small ring.

He tries several times, falling again. He is angry, mad. We walk a bit and then he decides to keep on in the big ring. He is mad indeed, crazy like... too crazy, but he manages to do it.

At the lighthouse we join Carlos and we double check the bike. After some adjustments we decide to resume the ride, "MALO SERÁ" as we say in Galicia.

There is no more energy to be wasted with the gopro, so no more videos or pics from now on.

It is late. Night is upon us again. It is time to turn the lights back on.

Lucky us, it is not raining anymore, and it is not really cold neither.

The last part is difficult, like if it lasts for an eternity. The ninth control point (Km 357) is located in a camping area - "great, this is not in a lighthouse, so it won't be behind some steep ramps!" - oh my friend, we were quite wrong.

Ramps, ramps and more ramps. Some of them really steep, long and hard. Carlos says they are like "mini mountain passes". But we keep on, cursing, complaining, getting angry, but we keep on.

After the ramps there come the descents, and some of them are in roads in really bad shape, with big holes on them, loose stones, some gravel. Being at night does not help with that, but we are lucky, no more accidents during this Brevet please!

We are getting closer to Caion, the next bigger town. We are almost there, but we are running out of strength and stamina. At least Álvaro and me. We start talking about giving up, about calling a taxi and the f* with it. But we keep on.

And on the last stretch something happens. Carlos is running completely out of energy, so we do stop in a bar to re-fuel (cocacola!) and try to gather some strength (from where, I don't know).

I don't get into the bar, I don't want to do it a long stop, all I want now is to arrive and finish this thing. They bring me a glass with a coke and I drink it.

Then we leave the bar. It is a long descent and once again I get cold, really cold and I start shivering again. I start to think I'm going to fall from the bike again.

After that descent we start going up again. I'm happy about it, at least I'll warm up a bit again. Suddendly it feels like if something was waking up inside me. Something kicks off and I start pushing. I can notice the high cadence and I feel lighter, faster, stronger. I take a look behind me and I can't see them, so I stop and wait a bit. When they get closer I resume riding, there it is the sensation... I'm f** flying. After a while I stop again to wait for them, resume, stop... 4 times.

I do laugh, like crazy. When we finally get together again I ask them if they put something in my cocacola. Our bodies and brains can be amazing.

We do arrive in Coruña. Go, GO, GOOOO, we are so close now, we are almost there.

Carlos have been without a front light for some time now and suddendly my front light dies too. Shit, not now, NOT NOW. I bring up my second front light but I can't attach it to the adapter below the Garmin, and I don't want to stop, so I just keep it in my hand, the right (good) hand, while I keep the left (damaged) one on the handlebars.

Whoever could see us now would think we are some crazy lunatics. And, well, maybe we are.

We arrive in Bastiagueiro, I see the roundabout with the big statue of Che Guevara and I smile, I laugh. What a crazy thing we just did, 400 km on the bikes. And what a ride, with all the things we lived during it.