Stage 2. Ávila/Madrid
140 km. 2,500 m positive.
On the way back to Madrid we followed the route of the Camino de Santiago de Levante to the Alberche River with some variations to maintain cyclability and an acceptable average. The yellow arrows on the Jacobean route point towards Santiago de Compostela and at some intersections it is not easy to see them in the opposite direction. The track is essential to follow these “author” routes. The route leaves Ávila along the plain of the Chico River to Tornadizos de Ávila and continues along the cattle trails from the sources of the Tornadizos River to some spectacular pastoral meadows in the hills of El Cabezuelo. The final stretch of the climb follows a path that has good cyclability with good grinding technique and expertise on mountain trails. The path passes a gate with yellow arrows and goes down to the port of Boquerón, between the Cuerda de los Polvisos and the Malagón mountain range, one of the entrances to the great Herradón de Pinares grave. The descent along the Camino de Santiago is an uncomfortable and complicated trial with the bags due to the pavement and the vegetation and to maintain the pace we go down the road gliding over a deceptive landscape, we pass through El Herradón and continue to San Bartolomé de Pinares. The climb through the cobblestone streets of the town is tough and the exit through the forks of the Camino de Levante ends with an infernal wall, until the slope ends on a hill adorned with a milestone of the Jacobean route that has indications of the distances to different places. in the world, from Ávila and Madrid to Beijing or New Zealand.