The Melon and the Nursery School

Day 28
Distance: 105.52 km, Top Speed: 47.5 kmph

I woke early to watch the sunrise over Lake Caspe, an image that would be cherished dearly for the remainder of my day, as the rest of the scenery was simply non-existent. Roads were straight and barren, at points for upwards of 30 km. No trees. No turns. No towns. Nothing. I still maintain that the most challenging aspect of a long distance cycle like this is by far the mental one, not the physical. Today was a good example of this.

Here's me beginning to lose my mind on one of the more mind numbing stretches of road I faced.

Come evening time, after accidentally stumbling upon a funeral reception in a little village in my pursuit of much needed water, the steady deterioration of my cassette over the last few days finally took it's toll, and my bike (for the second time in the tour) was unrideable once again.

This all happened in a small village called Azura. With no nearby bike shop, and no visible way to leave the village, I began the 60 km walk to Zaragoza, the nearest city. Luckily, after about 5 minute of walking, a man passed me on his bike and gestured for me to follow him. Unable to communicate with each other, he called his neighbour, an English teacher. We talked for a while, and eventually decided it was best (after the man offered to lend me the back wheel from his spare racing bike, on the condition I posted it back to him!) that I stay the night in Azura and catch a bus to Zaragoza early the next morning. The cyclist gave me a home grown melon as a parting gift.

The English teacher let me shower in her apartment, then tried to arrange me a place to sleep. Apparently, the village of Azura has a spare flat that is used as extra housing for festivals or for when builders come to stay. Seemingly, most residents in the village had a key to this apartment. My English teacher friend called the mayor of the village and asked if it was ok for me to stay the night.

A few minutes later I was in my own three bedroom, two bathroom apartment, which, as it turned out, was connected to an adjacent nursery school (complete with classroom, blackboard and sports equipment) by a conjoining passageway on the top floor.

And I had a free melon.