Photinia Maze! This could be great for all my southern landscape friends. They grow quickly so you wouldn't have to wait too long to get a functioning maze. Of course I'm not thrilled about the way the flowers smell but in a large park it wouldn't be intrusive and the red new growth looks dramatic.
Then heading further on the Loop it got to be a bit less picturesque. Many parts were along service roads and there was even a tunnel with a narrow pedestrian crossing to navigate
So far this section of the loop is extremely exposed. Definitely bring extra sunblock and water because once you get outside of Madrid Rio Park there is nowhere to stop to get more.
The tunnel connection looked a little dodgy but was rideable.
Throughout the system there are these "rest stops" Most of them have benches, bike racks, and signage. The stops on this end of the route were very exposed, poorly maintained and had no signs. There looked like there was a water fountain at one time but it wasn't working. There was really no point in "resting" at any of these stops. The signage in general in this leg of the route was horrible. It was impossible to tell where to turn sometimes. The western leg I covered in an earlier post was not great but there were standard signs at most critical points. There may be some guerrilla signage actions in my future:)
Then heading further on the Loop it got to be a bit less picturesque. Many parts were along service roads and there was even a tunnel with a narrow pedestrian crossing to navigate
Throughout the system there are these "rest stops" Most of them have benches, bike racks, and signage. The stops on this end of the route were very exposed, poorly maintained and had no signs. There looked like there was a water fountain at one time but it wasn't working. There was really no point in "resting" at any of these stops. The signage in general in this leg of the route was horrible. It was impossible to tell where to turn sometimes. The western leg I covered in an earlier post was not great but there were standard signs at most critical points. There may be some guerrilla signage actions in my future:)
A pretty rundown skate park along the Parque Lineal de Palomeras near the M-40 expressway
This video is along Parque Lineal de Palomeras. I was grateful to finally get some shade!
But as a warning it is a very long steeper grade here, so be ready! It's a lot more fun on the way home. I saw some old men playing bocce ball (its called Petanque here in Spain more related to the french version of the game). The park wasn't that great but had some interesting landforms as a buffer from the M-40.
This was about where I think I lost the trail. After this pedestrian bridge I spent about 45 minutes riding around with another lost couple from Barcelona trying to get back on the trail to Juan Carlos I Park. But we ended up circling back to Parque Lineal de Palomeras. It was getting late so I just decided to call it a day. But this just emphasizes the real problem with signage on the route. I will go back to this point next time and try to figure out where I went wrong. I've been told the historic gardens at El Capricho are really nice and that Juan Carlos I is interesting so it will be worth another try (or I could take the metro but what fun is that!)
On the way back to the bike rental place I ran into a pre-celebration for the Vuelta! There were tons of cyclists, families, and kids with numbers on their bikes having a blast. There was music and stationary bike races too.
People were really having fun with it. I loved these girls dressed in the scene from ET!
So hopefully I'll post again soon with guerrilla bike signage updates!
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