My tyres finally ground to a halt. Where on earth was I? I’d started on a backroad, turned off onto a dirt road and finally found myself on a sandy track that had lost the right to associate with the word ‘road’ at all.

I took a moment to take in my surroundings. To my right, the Tabernas desert stretched out endlessly, the setting sun bathing the rolling nothingness in a deep and hazy orange, only broken by a few hardy shrubs pockmarking the view with their spiky shadows. 

To my left, distant waves broke silently against jagged cliffs. 

My attention, however, was drawn to what stood directly in front of me. A building that resembled a nuclear bunker more than a home. The structure’s indestructible appearance juxtaposed alarmingly with the fact that it was teetering on the edge of a seemingly bottomless quarry. 

Was I really going to stay here? The thought of freezing night-time temperatures, combined with the dead snake I had seen on the road earlier had made my decision for me. I approached the massive iron double doors, took a deep breath, and knocked.

How did I find myself here? 

Well, what are you meant to do when you’ve suddenly lost your job and all seems lost? Of course you should probably start bashing out applications pronto, whilst thinking of ways to spin it all as a wonderful learning experience, rather than a painful kick in the bollocks. Instead, I somehow found myself booking a one-way RyanAir flight for me and my bike to the south of Spain. 

The following extracts are a homage to the path less travelled. From birthday celebrations with an adopted family of Spanish Hippies to escaping an eccentric community of misfits in the Sierra Nevada Mountains; my trip took me to hidden corners of a country that just kept on giving.

And that, in itself, truly is the beauty of seeing a country by bike, it is impossible to simply pass through. You don’t just see a place, you truly feel it. The passing blur of a car window is replaced by sights, sounds and smells, every sense drinking in forgotten villages and deserted backroads on the way to nowhere in particular. 

This is a story of mountains, deserts, unforeseen adversity and unlikely friendships. I hope you enjoy.