Distance today = 51.61 km; Total distance = 16,509.88 km; Location = Lerma  – 42 01.912′ N, 03 45.577′ W; Start time = 0848, Finish time = 1704

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/273208614

I enjoyed running through the Ribera de Duero wine country today. The early weather was perfect – crisp and clear, with no clouds or wind. There are many small towns and villages in the region that make their living from wine – despite some of the old buildings in town being beyond repair, there is always a nice new bodega, where the wine is made and sold. We tried one of the local reds last night – it actually came free with the meal. It was quite reasonable too, at a rating of a 7 in my opinion. Given that it was free, this effectively gives it a RWVQ score of infinity.

I did a lot of running today on very basic dirt and gravel roads. I find this quite difficult, as the unevenness hurts my heel, and the sharp rocks in the gravel bruise my feet through the thin-soled shoes. I will have to try to avoid such roads as much as possible.

Just about every village I run through has many ancient buildings that are falling down or in total ruin. Many look to be many hundreds of years old. There are often lots of nice new buildings side by side with the dilapidated ones. I guess no-one these days wants to live in a house with no plumbing or sewerage or running water, and it would cost more than it’s worth to retro-fit the really old ones with these modern amenities. So people just move out and leave them (I think this happened a very long time ago in many instances). They probably had minimal value anyway. It makes for a very rustic look, but I wonder how it affects the psyche of the residents, seeing all this rural decay on a daily basis. Anyhow, it makes for pleasant running scenery.

The tracker now seems to be working properly again, given it has showed me in the right location at the end of the last two days.