The Vía Verde out of Andoain soon crosses the viaduct and continues between steep hills (Route 7)
Embalse de El Pintado in the Parque Natural Sierra Norte (Route 4)
Coping with Extreme Weather
Long days of exposed cycling in the mountains in wind and rain can, in extreme circumstances, lead to a severe chilling of the body resulting in exposure. Similarly long days in hot weather in the full glare of the sun can lead to excessive fluid loss, heat exhaustion or a breakdown in the body’s heat control mechanism, and heatstroke. Although heatstroke, heat exhaustion and exposure are most unlikely to occur it is worth being aware of their symptoms, prevention and treatment; if not dealt with properly all can be life threatening. The box below is not intended to alarm, but to highlight the appropriate precautions that can be taken to prevent problems.
Heatstroke (hyperpyrexia)
Heatstroke occurs when the body’s heat production becomes greater than its heat loss and the body’s temperature rises. A body temperature above 40°C can become life threatening.
Physical effort produces heat which is lost through radiation and convection from the body’s surface. When these mechanisms are insufficient the body starts to sweat and so loses heat through evaporation. Hot still air, hard physical work and heat absorbed from the sun bring on sweating and so body cooling. The inability to sweat properly may be due to lack of acclimatisation, existing illness, or wearing heat-retaining or waterproof clothes. Some common drugs used to treat motion sickness and diarrhoea, and antihistamines, can also suppress sweating.
Symptoms include:
Tiredness, feeling of weakness, dizziness, headache, possible vomiting and nausea, muscle cramps, loss of coordination, reduction in sweat production, hot skin, fast strong pulse, thirst, drying out and collapse.
Prevention:
Acclimatise for the likely high temperatures, or progressively build up distance once in Spain
Avoid cycling if you are running a temperature
Keep correctly hydrated to replace lost fluids
Wear light clothes that allow heat and moisture transfer, block the sun and reflect its radiation
Rest and keep in the shade wherever possible
Avoid drinking alcohol
Treatment:
Increase cooling by constantly wetting clothing or immersing patient in water, but be careful not to cause excessive cooling and hypothermia
Lie the patient down, with the feet raised (to maintain blood flow to the brain)
Seek medical help as effects can be delayed
Heat exhaustion
Rather than a failure of the heat control mechanisms this is caused by excessive fluid loss (usually through sweating) so thickening the blood.
Symptoms include:
Fatigue, weakness, excessive sweating followed by slow pulse, cold clammy skin, disorientation and possible collapse.
Prevention: same procedures as for heatstroke
Treatment: the objective is to get the blood back to its normal viscosity while keeping the brain fed with oxygen.
Lie the patient flat with the head slightly down (to maintain blood flow to the brain)
Get the patient to drink small quantities of sweetened water
Exposure (hypothermia)
Exposure occurs when the body surface is severely chilled, leading to a fall in the core body temperature; this can be fatal.
Either wind and rain alone can chill the body. When they combine they can cause severe heat loss, far more so than low external temperatures.
Symptoms include:
Palour and shivering, disinterest and listlessness, distorted vision, slurred speech, irrational behaviour and collapse.
Prevention:
Wear windproof and waterproof clothing with heat-retaining properties
Eat at regular intervals throughout the day
Treatment: this primarily involves stopping further heat loss, and if possible providing some heat.
Get out of the wind and rain
Get into warm dry clothing and lie down, remembering to insulate the patient from the ground. Use a sleeping bag if available
If possible share body warmth
If conscious take warm drinks and easily digestible foods such as sugar
Avoid tea, coffee or alcohol
Avoid increasing blood flow to the skin by rubbing or massaging
Seek medical help as effects can be delayed
How to Use this Guide
This guide details eight self-contained multi-day cycling routes. Each route is composed of a number of stages; each stage can be done in a day by cyclists of moderate fitness. However, accommodation possibilities along the whole of each route have been given to allow the reader to tailor the ride to his/her own preferences and abilities.
The eight routes described have been designed for maximum enjoyment. The cycling is excellent, passing through the most beautiful parts of the country and visiting many historic and interesting towns and cities. The routes are distributed throughout Spain so each one is distinct in character, geography and topography.
Newcomers to cycle touring or cycling in Spain may wish to consider Routes 1 and 2 which are relatively short but offer an excellent introduction to the country. Routes 4 and 6 pass through some of the less visited parts of Spain without encountering too much hard going. The other routes are more physically challenging, but not excessively so.
These routes are not part of any official network or itinerary, although these do exist. The Camino de Santiago is widely known and well documented for those travelling on foot, horseback or bicycle. The less well-known Ruta de la Plata from Sevilla to Astorga, where it joins the Camino de Frances, is another well-documented cyclable pilgrim route.
The distances of the stages are accurate, as is the amount of climb on the routes described. The cycling times are those recorded by the author and are a measure of the actual amount of time spent cycling and do not include rest breaks, view stops and the like. Riders should use them as a comparative measure when planning a day’s ride.
Many stages have alternatives that provide either easier or harder options to the main route. A number of optional loop routes are described that allow further exploration of some of the more interesting parts of Spain.
The maps are principally to locate and help describe the routes. The maps recommended in the text should be used for navigation purposes and to supply more information about the area.
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