13-Oct-2017 -- This is the first out of 4 reports reaching confluence points during a 4-day cycling trip from Madrid to Barcelona. This was my 112th cycling trip. With 760 km of cycling, it is my 40th-longest trip. See an overview here. About half of the trips included confluence visits.
The evening before confluence day I landed at the giant Madrid Barajas International Airport and after unboxing my bicycle, I spent the night in the nearby town Algete. The next morning, I started cycling towards the confluence point at 7 AM – which is a really really early time in Spain.
At noon time I reached the village San Andrés del Congosto in 2 km distance from the confluence point. On a small asphalted road I was able to get within a distance of 150 m. I parked my bicycle and walked down a track into the valley.
But just next to the confluence, people with a car were harvesting some fruits. This fact might not be noteworthy, but since this area is so sparsely populated and since I hadn’t seen anyone for a long time, I found it quite a coincidence. I had a little worry that my appearance would rise attention. I would have to explain the Project and there would be the possibility to “loose” the point. But when I passed, the farmer continued his harvest and I did my job as a confluencer just at the other side of the tree without disturbing each other – maybe the person was worried about my presence, because he was actually steeling the fruits.
The confluence is located on a small, already harvested wheat field which is surrounded by hedges. It is down at the valley bottom – so there are no spectacular views from the point.
I continued cycling to the nearest town Jadarque, where I was finally able to find lunch in a tapas bar.
Another interesting coincidence: The last visit to this point had been exactly 5 years ago by Javier Valles! And another 5 years and two days earlier was the previous visit. Let us meet there on 13 October 2022.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance of bicycle parking: 150 m
- Time to reach the CP from the road: 2 minutes
- Time at the CP: 11:51 AM
- Measured height: 788 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
- Position accuracy: 3 m
- Topography: slightly hilly
- Vegetation: harvested wheat, bushes, fruit trees
- Weather: sunny, 24° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Fruit Steeling Confluence
The story continues at 41°N 2°W.