Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle

I had to wait until nearly halfway through the Eurovelo 8 trip along the Mediterranean to intersect with my previous continental crossing – my take on the Eurovelo 5 – in Piacenza, Italy. I even posted a video reflecting upon what had happened and what was still to come. No video today but the first of two intersections has just taken place here in Seville on the end of the Avenida de la Constitución. Back in 2013 I was almost at the end of the journey; I was tired, it was in the blistering heat of August (although my day in Seville itself was a cloudy one – read about it here) and I was eager to finish. It’s very different today as I’ve barely scratched the surface of cycling from Tarifa to Nordkapp, I’m feeling refreshed and eager for the upcoming challenge! It’s also a nice sunny day. The intersection with my 2010 cycle to southern Italy incidentally should take place near Maubeuge (remember that? The Moulin Rouge themed hotel room?) near the Franco-Belgian border. 

Cycling day 4 has clearly been a short one; just 15 km from the campsite in Dos Hermanos. There is logic in my seeming madness of upping sticks and moving only slightly up the road. I need to plan the Ruta de la Plata section of the cycle that starts in Seville. I’m hoping to find some documentation here in the city that complements the website which is quite impracticable to keep looking back upon, especially mid-cycle. But back to today’s cycling. After my chat will Paul (see previous post), I bumped into another Dutch cyclist, John, at the gates of the campsite. He and his friend were also about to embark upon the Ruta de la Plata cycle route and there’s a good chance I may see him again. They seem better prepared than me (no surprise there!) so perhaps I would have been better just spending the day with him firing questions in his direction. 

The cycle to Seville was not only short but straightforward. About two-thirds of it was along high quality segregated cycling paths. The wide avenidas do make building such infrastructure easier but it’s certainly something for the rest of the world to aim at. There were quite a good number of cyclists out and about on their mountain bikes and bright Lycra. Is this connected with the day of the bike (see previous post)? Or is it normally like this? I suspect the latter. The avenida I was following had clearly been a focus of the Expo here back in the 1990s as many of the buildings represented different, Latin American, countries. 

So, it’s now 11.30am. First thing is to sort some accommodation – cheap hotel (there are many cheaper than the local youth hostel!) – then I’ll crack on with the Ruta de la Plata research. Sunglasses still need purchasing and there was something else that I’ve completely forgotten. A bit of idle rummaging around as a tourist is obviously also on the cards. Perhaps I should sign up for a guided tour of the city by bike, or is that too much of a busman’s holiday?