I suspected something was going on when I saw Xuancar with flip flops in his pocket.
Before I knew it I was in the middle of a 12 riders group riding at a decent pace up Gargantada and up San Tirso.
A quick refreshing stop before tackling la Colladona. A 5km@7% climb that we rode easy at the beginning but accelerating as we were going up to finish at a pace that almost killed me.
After the Colladona descent the surprise came. We took a short deviation and found ourselves in Tolivia. A tiny village in the middle of nowhere that, very conveniently, was celebrating a craft beer festival.
It was hot, we were thirsty, the atmosphere was amazing (watch the attached video and pictures), the beer was cheap, and it tasted great. Yes, I also had a beer (and if you know me that is some exception).
The flip flops were a fantastic call (I wasn’t wearing them). That probably contributed to the group feeling comfortable and being by the fifth or sixth one by the time Rober and I had to leave.
I am back home and I’m pretty sure the rest of the group is still there. How they are going to ride the 50k, including climbing up Gargantá, to get them home is a mystery to me.
I was told the party will last until 3am. They might decide to ride back tomorrow.
Next Kingston Wheelers training camp in Asturias will be around 10th of July. They have to experience the Toliva Fest…
The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/19269860169/
Take care of yourself
Javier Arias González
