My old road bike, a 2013 Lapierre Audacio 400 CP, is no longer in a fit state to be ridden for several hours at a time. The saddle has a burn hole in it; the chain is so stretched it’s probably an entire chain link longer than it’s meant to be; and half the left brake lever is missing. I could go on with its defects, but you get the picture: it’s a bit knackered. In the past week, however, my once pride and joy which I’ve used to bomb around town on for the past few years, hoping it never catches the sight of a disapproving bike mechanic, has become a lifesaver.
Since the summer of 2022, I’ve called Valencia, Spain my home. It’s a wonderful city. But as you will know, on Tuesday, October 29, the region was struck by Spain’s – and Europe’s – deadliest natural disaster for decades. Thanks to the River Turia being diverted to the south of Valencia following a flood in 1957, the city itself was not inundated with water, but 79 towns and villages were. I’ll repeat: seventy-nine towns and villages.
