by Liz

Miles : 10. Ascent : 312′.

Running total : 1,002 miles.

Yesterday, cycling towards the Bilbao docklands, a mural caught my eye. Several actually, but one in particular jumped out from a little way down the hillside. Soñar: to dream. I looked it up and found a photo of the creation of the mural in 2015 which made me marvel – a reminder to dream big!

After some swell last evening which led me to pass my bream dinner across the table to Philip, the morning dawned calm and slightly misty. The sun was out by 9 and it’s been a chilled day of watching for whales and dolphins (we drew a blank, they were elsewhere), looking back on favourite moments of the trip, and reflecting on what we’re looking forward to when we’re home. It would have been a real bonus to spot a whale but we’ll have one last look this afternoon before we pack up. 

Standout moments from the ride include the many kingfishers early on, the fishing huts on stilts, swimming in the Atlantic, the little wine press building overlooking the sea, the forest miles, the gigantic yellow sand dunes, Myriam and her narrow escape from the forest fires, Nils and Michael on their 30-year bike rides, the stunning mountain views in the Pyrenees and two heartwarming red squirrel sightings – one each. 

Things we are looking forward to are being in closer touch with family and friends, gardening, returning to our healthy eating regime and wearing different shoes (once again, I just took my Salomons on this trip). And creating a Vélodyssée blog book of the ride.

Our plans to get the train home from Portsmouth have been amended since discovering there’s a rail replacement bus on the cards. So we’ll ride to Havant and find a train there. The excellent thing about that is these additional few miles, along with the extra four I did riding back down a mountain to take a video (of some cows with bells in a dreamlike alpine setting), will take the total mileage of this trip to a shade over 1,000. I know it’s about much more than distance, but that is satisfying.

Our thanks to everyone who has supported us and messaged encouragement along the way. It’s meant a great deal to us. Farewell for now and may all our dreams become reality.