Leon all Borders – Stage 6

- Saturday, September 5th, 2015 –

Leon all Borders has been in standby for almost a year. During this period, I cycled less comparing the preparation I did for the 7 stages of 2014. However, I run more. I kept regular sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays with my running colleagues.

When the summer was approaching, I put myself the target of cycling 500 km. That way I could get a minimum of bike physical conditions to face the last 3 stages. I didn’t achieve this figure but last Sunday I climbed Puerto de Ancares and sensations were good. So, I’m confident.

To restart the project I chose Stage 6. It’s the shortest one to conclude and doesn’t have crazy climbs. You can find the track under this link: Stage_6.kml

 

I’m lucky that Marcos is going to ride with me. Here we go!!!

Morning is pretty cold, 5-6ºC. We start in Piedrafita de Babia, which helps to have easy warm-up kms. We reach San Emiliano and Torrebarrio soon. There is no much traffic and we cycle in parallel most of the time.

In Torrestío we see lots of cars with bike racks. Strange that so many people want to do the same route than us… Sooner, 2 villagers tell us that a stage of the Transcantabrica MTB race has just departed few minutes ago. Dirt trail to Alto de la Farrapona starts at the end of the village. First impression is that it’s road bike cyclable: pebbles are notorious but also the narrow path cars left. Initial slopes are low. They increase considerably after a bridge but not causing undesired stops. From this section to the end, I use gear 34×26, which is enough to ride without balance complications.

Some sections of the downhill remembers me to Lagos de Covadonga: tree branches tunneling the road, the wooden guard rails, some S bends,… it’s a fast downhill. Several cars and buses are doing the uphill… bad day (cloudy-foggy) to visit Lagos de Somiedo. The tunnel close to the AS-227 junction is pretty dark. It’s a good idea you use light, either in your bike or helmet.

We stop at Pola de Somiedo to have a food/drink break. From here, we have around 11 kms to reach the top of Puerto de Somiedo. Slopes are constant at 6-7%. We only see the sun once we cross to León province. The green landscape of Asturias is for a reason…

Take a look to some pictures of the route

Next weekend I’ll continue the project by cycling Stage 8. The core part for this route will be the tough section of Pelliceira – Pan do Zarco.