I am not sure I can take much more of this...

I just put up some pictures of Barcelona in my last post, just incase my brilliant descriptions were not enough.

Breakfast channel

Why dont they wind the roads around like in France

It is too much, this should not be just for me. I have had the wildest few days of the trip so far. With water fountains everywhere I am missing a little bit of local interaction so I may start just knocking on doors again for chats. But the dip in sign language conversation has been infinetly surpassed in un-funckin-believable landscapes. Sorry for the nasty Irish habit of squeezing curse words into the middle of words. But its all I can do to contain my pent up happiness...

Sometimes I cheat and push

Pretty close to the edge, didnt mean too haa

Casear the chief mouth of a little village

After the conversation filled weekend with Dara and Orla I rolled on towards Madrid. Climbing again, climbing more and gernerally not really seeing a flat road for days. But they are not steep but just endless. The roads tease you like a flirty 16 yr old in a junior disco. They let you believe the hill will end just around the next corner. They dont, suddenly you find yourself wrecked and have pushed a bit too hard and are still no where "cool" to camp for the night.

This is what I hoped Spain would be like

Ass hole

So I stop, cursing the stupid idea of crossing Spain by bicycle. I make myself a coffee on a wind swept roadside, cold and feeling only nine out of ten in my happiness scale. So I get pumped up by the caffeine, ahh socially acceptable drugs are great eh. I trundle on and finally I come around the millionth corner and low and behold I nearly crack up. Why did I whine for fifteen minutes when I knew in my heart what was ahead. I know it wont always be hard, there is always a reward. Well I got it good. Easily the view of my life, not including girls naked, I mean a huge sweeping 300 degree view of a plain surrounded by jaged rocky mountains. Little Spainish brown villages dotted all over the place, 100km views across the plain. The tears came, not wussy girly night out drunken tears. Manly in touch with nature ones!

I want it all

I love the ramshackle tumbling buildings

My friend Libby has started a blog which you will find here. She is starting her position as New Zealands Youth Ambassador to the Antartic and I recon she will have plenty of adventures to keep an eye on. Good luck Lib!

A roadside abandonded mine shaft,

nice a warm inside so I made coffee and warmed up

They get boring after a while

I like to keep an eye on home affiars too

Well a while back I found a slick bookshop that had a good old English section. I grabbed nearly everything they had. One title which has provided me with the most motivations and laughter is "Round The World On A Wheel". Its about three English gents in 1900 or so setting off to cycle around the world, awww man its just priceless. The adventures they have are brilliant, fighting off horse backed bandits with their revolvers. I cant belive they did back in the day before goretex, comfy sleeping bags, stoves and all the gear we have now. I whip it out and only allow myself to read a few pages a day so that I can make it last longer. I will post it to who ever wants it after me, its a super adventure read.

Rolling on till the Atlantic I hope

Like the scarf?

Trying for the worldly traveller look

I dont really rave on about particular towns, distances I have done or other silly details like that. Mainly because its all good, one town over the next, with your eyes open there is magic everywhere. I am in Alcaniz now, tomorrow I will have to decide between a mountain road or a busy main road. I dont need to do a poll from you guys to know which you want me to take so its safe to say I will be taking the quiet mountain road. Doing my usual huffing a puffing up mildly steep roads while grannies in electric wheel chairs whiz past me. The last joy I will tell you about is the one I get out of music. When the going is easy I stick on some John Butler Trio or Jack Johnson and sing along, loud and proud. Really buzzing off the tunes is what its all about, not just listening but feeling the music, haaa.

UTV at 9pm has nothing on this

Exciting times!