Needing about an hour to do the 50 miles into the suburb of Granada where we have to take Steve’s bike, we make an early start to get the van ready and drive there for 1000. After leaving the bike with a promise from Ivan it will be a ‘very strong’ repair, we decide to take the scenic mountain route back along the Carretera de la Cabra (Road of the Goat).
The weather is glorious and we saw several cyclists tackling this classic. The route is a 36 km climb with the highest point 1,358m above sea level, looks pretty challenging and glad that we’re doing it in the van today. The road was originally built as the commercial route to Granada from the coast. Mule drivers took two days to take fish to the markets in Granada, travelling at night to avoid the gruelling heat in summer. We met a group of German motorcyclists at a crossroads who assured us the next section was ‘super good’ – they were right! There was a derelict ‘Mirador’ with memorial plaques to some motorcyclists – can’t find any references to the buildings and why they fell into disrepair.
