Chat Zone for The Big Big Trip Journal!

[HobbesOnTour]

Wine country.....

CycleTravel did a great job of keeping me off the main roads and on smaller gravel tracks that weaved through the vineyards. And up!! And more up!!

Not the same magic (for me) as coffee country but remarkably similar in terms of the odd person out and tending to the crops, poor roads that only the locals and farmers used and little towns dedicated to the crops and the products. And not any kind of negativity to the foreign interloper puttering through their domain. The very rare pickup or even rarer tractor I'd meet would always slow down so as not to throw up too much dust.
I wasn't rushing but it still passed too fast. Temperatures were in excess of 40C and too much time in the sun became extremely uncomfortable. Places to stop were chosen for shade, not beauty and there were far too few of the former to properly appreciate the latter.

 

[Shadow]

About a third of Rioja is white

Not sure where you found this/who told you this! It is only about 10% (9% in 2020).

But it doesn't sit well with me. I tried one and found it far too sweet,

This is very, very weird! I am not familiar with any Rioja producer making sweet (i.e. dessert level sweetness) wine, however, a few do make a semi dulce or semi seco e.g. Diamante from Bodegas Franco Españolas. These would taste 'sweet' to someone who likes a dry white!
If you asked for a glass, or bottle, of vino blanco, I find it very hard to believe they would give you a semi dulce or semi seco. And if they did, I would send it back!
So, I urge you to try again! Ensure you are given vino blanco seco - they are delicious. Although beware of the 'traditional' long oak aging of some, e.g. Tondonia from Lopez Heredia, they are an acquired taste! Even to me, and I will drink almost any wine, they need spanish cuisine.


edit:
p.s. love the 3rd pic in post #1171, such a typical spanish landscape.

 

[dimrub]

Finally I decided that enjoying this epic journey silently is the wrong way to do it. I'm now at day 112, having taken a hiathus, and am enjoying it immensely.

Einstein was right, but also wrong. You don't need to speed to almost the speed of light to cause time to slow down. Time flows differently when one travels on a bicycle. Our week-long adventure along Eurovelo 6 seemed like a month - while it was going on: things that took place on the first or second day seemed to have happened long time ago. I can only imagine the subjective time dilation that takes place over a span of almost 3 years. Very inspirational. One day I too will undertake, well, maybe not something as epic, but a journey that will play curious games with time and distances.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Not sure where you found this/who told you this! It is only about 10% (9% in 2020).

It was the guy doing the winery tour. Mind you, I wasn't in agreement with a lot of what he said.
In the interest of openness I've worked pretty extensively with wine in a previous life.

I am not familiar with any Rioja producer making sweet (i.e. dessert level sweetness) wine

It wasn't a dessert wine but a semi-sweet and still far too sweet for my palate

So, I urge you to try again!

For whites I prefer Italian, but tinto is my favourite casual (wine) drink. Especially Spanish tinto. In any case my alcohol consumption is almost zero because of the heat.

Although beware of the 'traditional' long oak aging of some, e.g. Tondonia from Lopez Heredia, they are an acquired taste!

I'm awkward! The woodier the better

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Finally I decided that enjoying this epic journey silently is the wrong way to do it

I agree wholeheartedly Welcome aboard!

Time flows differently when one travels on a bicycle

It really does. Or it can if we allow it. Not everyone does.

a journey that will play curious games with time and distances

If you really, really want to mess with time and distance involve a global Pandemic! It really changes things up!

Travelling as you do with your son you have another time dimension in your equation. In years to come, decades even, there will still be memories of trans European adventures. The hassles, the stresses, all the things that go wrong will disappear or become part of a great tale, memories and bonds.

Enjoy my story but enjoy continuing your own even more!

 

[Shadow]

Mind you, I wasn't in agreement with a lot of what he said

I wonder where they found him or 'educated' him.

I've worked pretty extensively with wine in a previous life.

Now you have really piqued my interest. May I ask doing what & where?
Also being open, my first job in the wine world was with a spanish specialist.

It wasn't a dessert wine but a semi-sweet and still far too sweet for my palate

I know what you mean. And yet they can make wonderful aperitifs, I adore german kabinetts.

I'm awkward! The woodier the better

Of course you are! Then I strongly urge you to try both white and red Tondonia from Lopez Heredia. And/or any other red from this producer. They are quite unlike anything else I have ever had the pleasure to drink.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

May I ask doing what & where?

I spent four years in hotel school in Dublin then spent a few years working in Dublin including being headhunted for a pretty famous restaurant. My wine experience comes from college then working ..... And some playing. There was a lot of wine tasted in those days. I did everything from banquets to high end dining.
Later, I ventured into the world of whisk(e)y. And beer, of course, as I gravitated to more bar work.
At one stage I had 350 different whiskies on my shelf and a story for every one. Well, to be honest, I had no story for one but that in itself was its story.

I dislike intensely anything that makes enjoying food or wine difficult. As I've become older I much prefer the experience to the product. Give me a decent drink or simple food with good company any day over something fancy. Colombian coffee as an example. It wasn't that the coffee was so great but the experience was.
I used to do whisk(e)y tastings, pretty informal by most standards but I got great feedback from them and great craic doing them.
There's far too much bullshoot involved in much of the food & beverage business these days. I try not to add to it
Those 350 whiskies weren't on a list or a menu. We tried to match a whiskey to the customer based on what they told us. I had some fabulous staff who really got into it - the females were always better than the makes and a few could identify most of them blind - something I'd struggle to do.

I like to ask the waiter/bar tender what's good, to recommend something. People who care about what they do can make some great suggestions. There's apps for that these days. One of the reasons I got out when I did.
In one of my favourite restaurants I didn't order - I just left it up to the chef who was fabulous. I loved his food (even though he couldn't comprehend my aversion to asparagus) and he loved my reactions. I reciprocated by expanding his whiskey knowledge.

They are quite unlike anything else I have ever had the pleasure to drink.

The strangest wine I ever had was Lebanese. Not always available because the poor man couldn't always get to his vines to harvest them because of the civil war. I swear I could taste metal and gunpowder in it!

 

[cwskas]

Well, to be honest, I had no story for one but that in itself was its story.

Was that an empty bottle?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Was that an empty bottle?

Hell no! No story, no sales.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@CharlesF
Here's some more "wear and tear" for you..... Although less wear and tear and more complete dumbassery on my part!

I managed to not just mangle the rear derailleur

But snap half of it off

To make matters more interesting I was in the middle of nowhere with practically no passing traffic about 35km from a town ......

But a beautiful part of the world!

Honestly, folks, if a feckin'eejit like yours truly can do this cycle touring lark..... Just about anyone can!

 

[Oldhippy]

Hope you get it sorted and are back on your way soon.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Hope you get it sorted and are back on your way soon.

Thanks!
I'm currently waiting for the bulls to start running!
It's Fiesta time where I am so no hope of a bike shop being open for a few days. The nearest city is almost impossible to reach by public transport so Amazon came to the rescue.

I get to wait and soak up a local Fiesta.
When life serves up lemons.......

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks!
I'm currently waiting for the bulls to start running!
It's Fiesta time where I am so no hope of a bike shop being open for a few days. The nearest city is almost impossible to reach by public transport so Amazon came to the rescue.

I get to wait and soak up a local Fiesta.
When life serves up lemons.......

Ah, I was about to ask how close you were to Freiburg but you've answered that one. I could send one in the post...

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@HobbesOnTour believe it or not, just yesterday I was thinking about you!
I said to myself I must check your FB, haven't had posts for a while - well, sometimes you don't get notifications, as you know.
Did you detach the derailleur, ride the 35K single speed?
Keep well!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@HobbesOnTour believe it or not, just yesterday I was thinking about you!
I said to myself I must check your FB, haven't had posts for a while - well, sometimes you don't get notifications, as you know.
Did you detach the derailleur, ride the 35K single speed?
Keep well!

Ha! That explains the bad karma yesterday!


Yep! I shortened the chain and attempted to cycle the last 35km.
Turns out this single speed park is a bit specialist, especially trying to connected chain with no "give" from the derailleur or the ability to adjust the position of the wheel.
The only way I could get any kind of consistency was in the small front ring and a middle sprocket on the back (with occasional and random skipping) which led to some furious pedalling at very low speeds

Behind me the sinking sun made the whole country a rich, red, gold colour and in front of me a full, orange moon was rising.
As disastrous days go it wasn't all that bad! Until I got to the campground..... That was closed! But that's another story