• Todays mileage:  33
• Total mileage:      306
• Disasters:   One – another rear puncture !

The day started with the best breakfast we’ve had so far.  A buffet of everything – we ate and drank well for our €7 ?

The climb out of Alhaurin was a brutal wakeup with our full bellies.  The road then undulated through countryside the 11km till Mijas.

We stopped in Mijas for a drink before descending steep roads to Fuengarola where traffic got busy. 

The plan (Sarahs) was to pick up the Eurovelo 8 cycle path to Malaga.   I’d got the gpx files from my favorite site http://www.waymarkedtrails.org and loaded them into my mapping apps.  So should make navigation as simple as following the line !

In the past all the Eurovelo routes have been great.  Well thought out and as traffic free as possible.  This part of the EV8 is an exception.   Busy roads, one way streets (wrong way) and off road sections didn’t make for fun riding ☹

We stopped at a beach bar for a coke & on leaving I found I’d got another rear puncture.  The cause looked like the tub tape had rubbed a cut in the tube !  Never had that before ! Anyway second fix of the holiday before continuing to Malaga. 

We were now running late and started getting calls from the apartment owner wondering when we’d turn up. We were only 6km away but it took for ever to find our way through the outskirts of Malaga.

The owner needed to return to his office so came to meet us on his motorbike with the keys about one km from the property. WhatsApp live location is great ?

We got into our apartment about 5:30pm tired and hungry. All we had was some sweaty cheese that was surplus from last nights meal. (Sarah’s starter was just one huge plate of cheese).

We showered and went out for a lovely meal with real veg. The streets and cafes were busy with a nice vibe. After an ice cream & a short walk home it was time for bed. Weve christened our apartment the Hobbit hut…

Cycling summary:

• 8 days of cycling.
• 306 miles.
• 21,457 ft of ascent.
• 2 punctures – both rear.
• Zero mechanicals.
• Zero falls.