We awoke to bright blue skies and solar panel hit 160 watts at one stage today, luckily the biting cold wind doesn't affect our leccy gathering.
The Aire emptied out quite early and we set off with our brand new tyres having worn out the old ones.
It is a 33 KMs ride which follows the river upstream. It is 2 KMs to the start.
The first 10k are boring by anyone's standard. Dead straight alongside a road with a stiff cross breeze.
It then got more interesting with views of cliffs and castles with large bamboo bits and tunnel and we think a vulture. Certainly in our view there was evidence of vulture nests.
We decided to only go 20 KMs to Arnedo as that sounded like a stroll and tomorrow we will set off from Arnedillo but there are a couple or 3 extra things to do including free hot sulphur baths at the end.
Arnedo has an Aire right alongside the via Verde and would be a tempter if not fussed about doing the whole thing.
Lunch was had in the smart town of Arnedo where a burger and beer from a kebab house was 4.50 euros each.
We noted a complete lack of bike racks but bikes were also not dumped. Water stops at 3 different places but no electric charging points but we weren't expecting any.
Good tarmac surface throughout there were many cyclists on mountain bikes and around the parquer between Quel and Autol (by the tunnel) there seemed to be off piste mountain biking.
Perfectly feasible for wheelchair users but don't start at Calahorra.
There is a footbridge west of calahorra that would enable a 2-3 KMs round walk. Just go out of the Aire at the river and turn left til you get to a bridge, cross it and come back on the other side.
Taken from the website
Our route begins in the imperial Calahorra (km 0), on the banks of the Ebro. There, the railway from Calahorra to Arnedillo began its journey next to the station of which no remains remain. The greenway begins in the Cidacos Park in a first section shared with vehicles that ends in a recreational area where we can see remains of an aqueduct that served to supply water to the Roman city of Calagurris. From here the road advances parallel to the LR 134 regional road and, after about 6 km, you reach the old Livillos river halt. It is worth noting that near the greenway there are several wetlands of great interest for fans of ornithology or birdwatching : the La Degollada ponds, the Recuenco lagoon and the Perdiguero reservoir.
The path continues parallel to LR 282 and before the entrance to Autol , crosses the road to continue to the old station, where we can replenish our canteen. The road does not enter the urban area of this Riobajeña town, but we cannot overlook the Cidacos park where El Picuezo and La Picueza will catch our attention , two geological wonders in the form of rocky monoliths more than 45 m high.
We leave Autol through the Gollizo tunnel (km 12.4) of almost half a kilometer and with lighting and continue towards the town of Quel. This section runs between orchards, so it is not unusual to find a vehicle on the route. Although some of them are authorized to circulate to access their orchards, please be very careful.
We enter Quel (km 15.2) for a comfortable walk along the river. The silhouette of its castle that crowns the town and gives its name to the municipality itself stands out, since in Arabic Qalat means castle. The road continues through the rich Cidacos plain until entering the shoe city, Arnedo (km 20).
The Aire emptied out quite early and we set off with our brand new tyres having worn out the old ones.
It is a 33 KMs ride which follows the river upstream. It is 2 KMs to the start.
The first 10k are boring by anyone's standard. Dead straight alongside a road with a stiff cross breeze.
It then got more interesting with views of cliffs and castles with large bamboo bits and tunnel and we think a vulture. Certainly in our view there was evidence of vulture nests.
We decided to only go 20 KMs to Arnedo as that sounded like a stroll and tomorrow we will set off from Arnedillo but there are a couple or 3 extra things to do including free hot sulphur baths at the end.
Arnedo has an Aire right alongside the via Verde and would be a tempter if not fussed about doing the whole thing.
Lunch was had in the smart town of Arnedo where a burger and beer from a kebab house was 4.50 euros each.
We noted a complete lack of bike racks but bikes were also not dumped. Water stops at 3 different places but no electric charging points but we weren't expecting any.
Good tarmac surface throughout there were many cyclists on mountain bikes and around the parquer between Quel and Autol (by the tunnel) there seemed to be off piste mountain biking.
Perfectly feasible for wheelchair users but don't start at Calahorra.
There is a footbridge west of calahorra that would enable a 2-3 KMs round walk. Just go out of the Aire at the river and turn left til you get to a bridge, cross it and come back on the other side.
Taken from the website
Our route begins in the imperial Calahorra (km 0), on the banks of the Ebro. There, the railway from Calahorra to Arnedillo began its journey next to the station of which no remains remain. The greenway begins in the Cidacos Park in a first section shared with vehicles that ends in a recreational area where we can see remains of an aqueduct that served to supply water to the Roman city of Calagurris. From here the road advances parallel to the LR 134 regional road and, after about 6 km, you reach the old Livillos river halt. It is worth noting that near the greenway there are several wetlands of great interest for fans of ornithology or birdwatching : the La Degollada ponds, the Recuenco lagoon and the Perdiguero reservoir.
The path continues parallel to LR 282 and before the entrance to Autol , crosses the road to continue to the old station, where we can replenish our canteen. The road does not enter the urban area of this Riobajeña town, but we cannot overlook the Cidacos park where El Picuezo and La Picueza will catch our attention , two geological wonders in the form of rocky monoliths more than 45 m high.
We leave Autol through the Gollizo tunnel (km 12.4) of almost half a kilometer and with lighting and continue towards the town of Quel. This section runs between orchards, so it is not unusual to find a vehicle on the route. Although some of them are authorized to circulate to access their orchards, please be very careful.
We enter Quel (km 15.2) for a comfortable walk along the river. The silhouette of its castle that crowns the town and gives its name to the municipality itself stands out, since in Arabic Qalat means castle. The road continues through the rich Cidacos plain until entering the shoe city, Arnedo (km 20).