BNO 200 - Montañas, Mar e Navallas#

Published by Borja Lopez Rio on 2023-03-25 00:00:00

BNO: Brevet Non-Officiel. It is like a real Brevet, only that it is not organized by a club member of the Audax Club Parisien, so you don’t get a valid brevet card and the homologation afterwards. I’ve made up the term anyway ;-D

“The best plans are the improvised plans” - some would say.

And this was completely true in this case. During the last few days all pieces of the puzzle stick together, everything fit in place, and by thursday evening there was a big chance I would have the whole saturday for me.

My wife had plans with a friend, the girls wanted to spend the weekend with their grandparents… which would leave me with a whole saturday for myself.

So, in a few hours - and after a few conversations on the usual messaging apps - I had it arranged to do an unofficial brevet today.

Dani and me at the start, in the parking lot by the stadium where the local basketball team plays its home matches, there is a big graffiti on the wall of the stadium, with a roman warrior and a lion, the symbols of the basketball team Breogan, a legend says 'Fogar de Breogan'

I knew telling everybody about this plan with just a couple of days to arrange everything would mean less people jumping into it, but that is how improvised plans go. Worse case, I’d end up doing it alone (again, I already did it last year).

In the end, only my friend Dani (you already know him from my previous Brevet reports) managed to get the time to come and join me.

We decided to do it as if it was an official 200 Brevet, so we decided to start at 8:00 and we set 5 control points: Lugo (at the start), Fonsagrada (Km 62), Vegadeo (km 113), Taramundi (km 132) and Lugo again (km 202).

A few minutes in, two friends joined us on our way to Castroverde. Xurxo and Anton would give us company all the way to Alto da Fontaneira, where they would turn back.

Easy pace, chatting, Brevet style, until Fontaneira we went almost up all the time, with a few short downhills here and there, and climbing also Alto da Baqueriza (836m).

At the top of Alto da Fontaneira (936m) we said goodbye to Xurxo and Antón and we kept on. A lot more climbing to do today, and a lot to do until the second control point.

The road to Fonsagrada is so beautiful, specially on clear days like today, as you have open views of the valleys around, and you can see the mountains on the horizon. After Fontaneira we went down to A Lastra, then a bit up and then a long descend until Paradavella. This descent is on a big, open road with lots of visibility, so we went down fast and we could enjoy the views to our right too.

Then we started the next climb, Alto de Cerredo (835m), which is a long steady climb, perfect for chatting and enjoy the views a bit more.

It was cloudy, but the sun warmed us from time to time too.

After Alto de Cerredo the road became a fast roller-coaster, so less chatting and more pedaling!

Dani, far away, on the left and me on the right, riding on a road with open views to our right Dani going down on a road with an open view of a valley to the right and big trees to the left

One thing I love about this route is that there are lots of fountains. I think there are like 5-6 “on route”, by the road, no need for detours to get fresh water. Before Fonsagrada there is one of those nice fountains, in a place sheltered by trees, which is the perfect stop in summer when it is hot and you need a break.

Today, though, we decided not to stop there, we still had plenty of water and we were going to do a coffee stop in Fonsagrada anyway.

Dani and me sitting at a table in Cafe Demetrio in Fonsagrada, in the first coffee stop of the day, latte for me, black tea for him. Our things are scattered around the table.

And we did, in Café Bar Demetrio. There I told Dani that my idea was to prepare a couple of Brevet cards, so we could get stamps on them (even if it was not an official thing) but in the end I didn’t have the time to prepare them.

When we got outside again, the sun was shining and that helped a bit preventing the usual shivering I have after stops (a bit, I started shivering anyway, but not that much).

As we didn’t have Brevet cards, we agreed on taking a “proof photo” on each of the control points, so we stopped for a moment at the exit of Fonsagrada to take a couple of pictures there, by the big sign with the name of the village.

Dani and me together, by the sign with big letters 'Fonsagrada' at the exit of the village. Both bikes are leaning against the sign and Fonsagrada can be seen on the back. Dani, by the sign with big letters 'Fonsagrada' at the exit of the village. Both bikes are leaning against the sign and Fonsagrada can be seen on the back. Me, by the sign with big letters 'Fonsagrada' at the exit of the village. Both bikes are leaning against the sign and Fonsagrada can be seen on the back

After the photos we left Fonsagrada, for good this time, and kept on pedaling on more roller-coaster roads. A big downhill part after Fonsagrada, arriving in Paradanova and then followed by some gentle uphills and more downhills.

From there until Vegadeo the views were amazing. We were high, with views of the valleys around us, either on one side or the other.

Dani on the left, me on the right, approaching a turn to the right on the road at the start of another downhill section. To the right there is yet another open view of the valley with its green fields. The sky is full of light grey clouds. Dani, a small dot at the end of a long straight road, going down fast and passing through some thick woods (on both sides of the road)

A bit up, a bit down, all the way to Santa Eulalia de Oscos, leaving Galicia and entering Asturias. After a while we arrived in Santa Eulalia, at the start of the next climb of the day, 14km to get to Alto da Garganta (900m).

The entrance of Santa Eulalia de Oscos, the road turns right just before an old stone house. Old trees are aligned with the road on the left. On the right there is the sign that marks the start/entrance of the village. Me and Dani, smiling while passing the sign that marks the entrance of Santa Eulalia Me on the front, Dani a bit behind, riding by a long balcony-like structure that was like a safety measure to prevent people going down a cliff, in the entrance of Santa Eulalia

On our way to Alto da Garganta we pass so many nice places, lots of amazing views. The higher we were getting, the nicer the views of the valleys to our left or right was. We rode along a few small rivers too, passed another fountain (just a few km from Santa Eulalia) and we looked, curiously, at snakey little roads that went up the other side of the valleys, twisted and with lots of turns, up up up into the mountains and hills.

We also talked a lot. Everything seems (and feels) much easier when you have good company. Soon, we arrived at the top of a Garganta.

The last turn, at the top of a Garganta. Dani is on the left of the picture, riding towards it. On the left of the turn, far in the photo, a tiny sign says 'A Garganta - 900m'. The sky is full of small clouds, resembling a cobblestones road.

Once at the top, we took a few seconds to enjoy the awesome view on the other side, letting the bikes coast for a while, without pushing the pedals.

From there, on a clear day like today, you can see all the valley, villages, houses… and the cantabric sea, far but not far.

The start of going down a Garganta on the other side. Dani is a bit ahead of me, the road goes straight and on the right side you can see the hills, the valley and a bit far away, the cantabric sea Me, looking at the camera and behind the whole view from alto da garganta with the valley, hills on both sides and at the end of it, like in the end of a tunnel, the cantabric sea. The sky is mostly cloudy, with some holes that let you see the blue behind the clouds Me and dani, starting to pedal a bit faster and going down a garganta. The view shows the valley, hills on both sides and the cantabric sea at the end of the valley.

Going down from a Garganta to Vegadeo means going down for 18 km, with just a couple of a bit more flat sections (but short ones). As one good friend of mine would say in a case like this:

IT IS PAY DAY!

We started to gain speed, but we had to be careful. This road is not in bad condition, but it is narrow and there are some small pot holes here and there. Also, it has a bit more traffic. Sadly, this meant not being able to fully enjoy the views, as I had to keep my eyes on the road and only take short glimpses at the nice views.

It also meant no recording with the gopro, at least not for a few km.

At one point, where I knew already that the views were going to be gorgeous, I decided to take the camera out of my back pocket. Dani was in front of me, and I had a very good spot for recording him.

I picked up the camera with my right hand, then I switched it to my left hand and…

SHWOOOOPS!!

there it went the camera, flying out of my hand

F***!!! noooo, no no no NO!

I saw the camera flying, like in slow motion and then saw it smashing against the road, PAM, and bouncing from the asphalt, flying again, PAM, another smack, more bouncing…. I counted 5 times.

I was going down fast (maybe 60-65 km/h) so pulling the breaks crazily wasn’t an option. By the time I could stop safely, I looked around ensuring no traffic was approaching and I re-traced my steps back, trying to find the camera (or its pieces).

No luck, the camera was nowhere to be seen.

This was starting to take too long to sort out. I picked up my phone and sent a message to Dani, telling him about the camera falling from my hands and that I was looking for it. I also told him where to wait for me in Vegadeo.

A second pass by the area where the camera fell and bounced several times on the road, still no luck.

I was starting to consider simply leaving it behind, it is an old hero3 gopro after all… but I’d be really, really sad if I’d loose all the footage from today. And while I was thinking about that, I noticed the gopro there, in the middle of some higher grass area by the road. I was lucky after all… or not… It was only the outside carcass. Somehow it opened and the camera wasn’t there.

F******!!! - I thought again. Even if I could find the camera… without the waterproof, hammerproof carcass… no way it would have survived… or maybe… There it was, like a meter and a half back, the camera, in some taller grass too. Incredibly, the camera was intact. I bet the carcass opened when it hit the grass. What a lucky strike.

I double checked the camera and the carcass, except for a few scratches in the latter, everything seemed ok. I packed it up and put the camera back into a back pocket.

And damn, I pushed the pedals like if the devil was chasing me.

I didn’t want to keep Dani waiting for me a lot longer, so I pushed and coasted and pushed. The downhill seemed to have no end.

After a while, I was in a series of turns when I noticed Dani, stopped at one of the turns. I did pull the breaks, gently, and slowed down a bit. He was looking at his phone, probably reading my messages, when I shouted “Here already!” passing him. He got on his bike and soon was pedaling by my side.

We chatted and laughed at the whole thing for the rest of the descent until Vegadeo.

In the third control, we went straight to the place I had in mind for a quick lunch (bocadillos, tortilla…) just to have a big surprise when we found it closed, and a sign at the main door with big letters: “FOR SALE”. Too bad, I really liked that place.

We looked for options around there, but it was 13:15 and all the other bars and cafés were full of people having beers, wine or martinis.

Dani and me at a table, outside, having our mini-lunch of the day. Coca cola, pasta salad and a small bocadillo. Our bikes are leaning against a wooded panel/wall behind us

Finally we found a place and we had some coca colas with some pasta salad and a couple bocadillos de jamón con tomate (ham, tomato and olive oil sandwitches with multi-cereal bread) that Dani had brought with him.

After the quick lunch, we refilled our water bottles and stop to take some photos on our way out of town.

Dani and me, with the sign that says 'Vegadeo'. Near the sign are two sculptures of a cow and her calf. I'm leaning on the cow while Dani takes the selfie photo

On our way out of Vegadeo, we went right into the next climb from sea level to Sela de Entorcisa (432m). Yet another long, steady and gentle climb around 12 km long.

One good thing of not having a proper lunch is that our bellies weren’t full and digestion didn’t kick in during the climb. Another good thing was the weather. At Vegadeo we were around 17ºC but on our way up temperature dropped slowly, being fresh but not cold (and definetely not hot), just the perfect temperature for a long climb.

Once again we had some awesome views, as soon as we were a bit higher we could see valleys, hills, green fields, livestock (cows and sheep mostly). What a wonderful day we had.

Dani is going up on a road that is turning left, there is a nice open view of the valley to his left, with green grass fields and a few hills and small mountains surrounding it. The photo is a bit tilted to the left Dani and me riding on that same road as the previous picture, this time the photo was taken from the right so both of us are on camera. The top of the hills and small mountains on our left are visible, as well as the cloudy sky Arriving at the top of the climb in Entorcisa, both dani and me are visible on the left side of the photo, there is a sign on the right where you can read 'Sela de Entorcisa 432m'. We are about to reach the top, where there are two houses on the right side of the road, which turns left to a downhill/descent part Dani speeding down the other side of the climb to Entorcisa, another nice view of a valley, this time to our right.

As soon as we started the descent on the other side of this climb, the wind started to push us back. Damn, it seems the weather forecast was right, strong gusted wind will be upon us any moment now.

The wind intensity/speed increased slowly, but luckily we had a long descent ahead of us. We pushed our way to the fouth control in Taramundi (km 132), where we did a quick stop to take some pictures and have a quick coffee stop.

Dani, on his way to Taramundi, the road goes up and with a turn to the right, which is then followed by a turn to the left to arrive in the village. On the left side of the photo you can see part of the village and the higher church tower. Me arriving in Taramundi. The photo was taken from my right side and behind me there is a road barrier made of wood (to prevent vehicles and people from falling down the cliff on the other side) and another open view of the valley behind that barrier, with green fields filled with small houses, livestock, etc. Me in front of a shop that sells navallas, traditional galician/asturian knives, of all sizes. Dani, by his bike, with his right hand made into a fist and pointing up. He is in the middle of the crossroads at the entrance of Taramundi, with several old-style buildings around him. Our bikes leaning on some metal barrier on the terrace where we had our coffee stop. On the back of the photo you can see the crossroads from the previous picture, from the opposite side

We made this stop very short. We already knew what was coming and the sooner we could leave, the better. The wind was stronger and it was blowing from the south-west. Up to A Pontenova we had it mostly on our front, but coming at an angle, left-front. It was tough, but bearable.

Me and Dani, riding side by side towards A Pontenova Me, riding on a bigger road which was on a higher position than the land on the back of the photo. There, at the back, there is an old building that ressembles a Castle, with 4 towers around it.

Then we arrive in A Pontenova and it started blowing full-force on our faces.

We cursed, but we also laughed, “You know, my friend” - I told Dani - “Last Saturday we had to train riding under the rain, today it is the turn to train riding with strong wind, we have to train for all kind of conditions!” - and we laughed a bit more. You know, laughing makes everything a bit easier.

After A Pontenova we took the main road that would lead us back to Lugo, passing by Meira. This is the easiest, faster and more straight way to get to Lugo (or, let’s say, it should be).

The last climb of the day (I’ve lost the count already of how many we did!) started right at the exit of A Pontenova. 9-10km of climbing to Alto de Marco de Álvare (at 603 meters). As I suspected, we were protected from the wind on our way up. This is the kind of climb where you have the side of the hill or mountain on one of your sides at all times. In this case, this meant it was protecting us from the worse part of the wind.

A different story was the approach to the top of the climb. No more shelter there and strong wind gusts pushing us like marionettes. No more gopro recording from then on.

Reaching the top was hard and going down the other side, towards Meira, was even harder. It is a 5-6km descent and we had to push the pedals as if the climb wasn’t finished yet.

We did another short stop in Meira, this time at another fountain to refill our water bottles and get ready for fighting the wind for the last 30-something km.

Me and our bikes, by the fountain in Meira's old square, near the monastery and the church Dani, coming from behind the fountain in Meira's old square, with his bike ready to go. He is making a suprised face, joking about what is left to do probably

Since we left Meira, the weather got worse and worse every moment. The wind was terrible, but we were managing the fight against it… when it started raining. At first it was just a drizzle, then it came the light rain and then it started raining more consistently.

And the ghosts from one week ago started to dance in my head. Long hours under the rain, my energy being drained, getting all wet all over again…

But we couldn’t do anything but keep pushing the pedals and move forward.

Both the rain and wind came and went and came back and went away again… meanwhile we were rolling as fast as we could on the flats and slightly downhill parts and we took it easier on the repechos.

Finally we arrived back in Lugo, we took the Ronda Leste and then the main N-VI road around the city, arriving back at the starting point around 18:45.

Dani and me, back at the starting point, wet and cold, but happy. The photo was taken in the exact same spot as the one before leaving this morning, with the same big graffiti on the back, the roman warrior and the lion by the message Fogar de Breogan

No suitcase and no Brevet card to be delivered this time, we took a “proof photo” of our arrival and we talked a bit about the awesome day of cycling we just had. Dani changed clothes and got ready to leave to Coruña, and I said goodbye and went back home on the bike.

I got home, had a hot shower and ate something. And now, here I am, writing this report while waiting for my wife to arrive back home too.

Here is some data taken from my activity in Strava, as usual:

Some data taken from the activity in Strava for this Brevet A map showing the route of the Brevet, with a distance and elevation chart below