The Different Personalities of a Roadway
I’m sure that at one time or another you have travelled most of the length of a particular road, but I believe that there are very few people who have actually gone end-to-end on any road. I just wondered how things might turn out for you if you did. I recently got to drive a distance farther than I have ever done before along the CV-35, otherwise known as the Pista de Ademuz in Valencia.
This is a roadway that I travel in part most days. I usually enter it at about kilometre 27 or 24 and I go in the direction towards Valencia City, so I’m counting down to zero. This section of the road has been upgraded and is now a first class Autovia with three and sometimes four lanes in the same direction. All of the bottlenecks that have caused us so much pain have been deleted, and it is now a real joy.
With a little imagination we can see the highway as something that has character. With this particular roadway it has a big, bold, brass, city-slicker personality the closer we get to downtown Valencia. It keeps up this façade until we pass La Pobla del Valbona. At that time a bit of its bravado slips and we go from three lanes to two in the same direction. Now, gone are the brassy Centro Comerciales with all their bright lights. We are evidently entering The Country side of life. Farms actually become noticeable, and we can feel a sigh escape us as we sense less claustrophobia. The condition of the road remains very good as we pass Lliria, the seat of the government in the east.
Soon there will be a major hospital located in this region to serve residents, who have had to make the journey all the way into Valencia to attend at a major centre.
We continue along a straight two-lane very excellent road that some people mistake for a racetrack. This is real country now with wide-open spaces on both sides of the road. We pass Domeño and head for the town of Casinos. The road previously ran right through the town. Now it by-passes Casinos altogether. We wonder how much of a loss that might be for the merchants.
Now the road is down to one lane in each direction, although the road is in excellent condition. For the remainder of the CV-35 we will have to be content with no more than that. However, it’s the state of those two lanes that are the subject of concern. The road will take us through Losa del Obispo, Calles, Chelva, Tuéjar, Titaguas, Aras del Olmas, all of which are within the Communidad de Valencia. The road, although it degrades, is still reasonably good up until kilometre 90. Then it degrades further into not much more than a country cami, the sort of roadway that existed and served the Seat 600 so long ago. There are curves upon curves, and two cars of today’s sizes can barely pass without knocking off mirrors.
The CV-35 ends at kilometre 107. That’s where we pass out of the Valencian community until we re-enter at Ademuz. At km 107 we can hardly believe that this is a part of the bold and sassy CV-35 we know from farther down the line.
When we think back and reflect upon all the complaints we had because we were delayed for a few moments, and we compare that with conditions at the end of the line, we realise we didn’t have anything to complain about after all.
Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael
I’m sure that at one time or another you have travelled most of the length of a particular road, but I believe that there are very few people who have actually gone end-to-end on any road. I just wondered how things might turn out for you if you did. I recently got to drive a distance farther than I have ever done before along the CV-35, otherwise known as the Pista de Ademuz in Valencia.
This is a roadway that I travel in part most days. I usually enter it at about kilometre 27 or 24 and I go in the direction towards Valencia City, so I’m counting down to zero. This section of the road has been upgraded and is now a first class Autovia with three and sometimes four lanes in the same direction. All of the bottlenecks that have caused us so much pain have been deleted, and it is now a real joy.
With a little imagination we can see the highway as something that has character. With this particular roadway it has a big, bold, brass, city-slicker personality the closer we get to downtown Valencia. It keeps up this façade until we pass La Pobla del Valbona. At that time a bit of its bravado slips and we go from three lanes to two in the same direction. Now, gone are the brassy Centro Comerciales with all their bright lights. We are evidently entering The Country side of life. Farms actually become noticeable, and we can feel a sigh escape us as we sense less claustrophobia. The condition of the road remains very good as we pass Lliria, the seat of the government in the east.
Soon there will be a major hospital located in this region to serve residents, who have had to make the journey all the way into Valencia to attend at a major centre.
We continue along a straight two-lane very excellent road that some people mistake for a racetrack. This is real country now with wide-open spaces on both sides of the road. We pass Domeño and head for the town of Casinos. The road previously ran right through the town. Now it by-passes Casinos altogether. We wonder how much of a loss that might be for the merchants.
Now the road is down to one lane in each direction, although the road is in excellent condition. For the remainder of the CV-35 we will have to be content with no more than that. However, it’s the state of those two lanes that are the subject of concern. The road will take us through Losa del Obispo, Calles, Chelva, Tuéjar, Titaguas, Aras del Olmas, all of which are within the Communidad de Valencia. The road, although it degrades, is still reasonably good up until kilometre 90. Then it degrades further into not much more than a country cami, the sort of roadway that existed and served the Seat 600 so long ago. There are curves upon curves, and two cars of today’s sizes can barely pass without knocking off mirrors.
The CV-35 ends at kilometre 107. That’s where we pass out of the Valencian community until we re-enter at Ademuz. At km 107 we can hardly believe that this is a part of the bold and sassy CV-35 we know from farther down the line.
When we think back and reflect upon all the complaints we had because we were delayed for a few moments, and we compare that with conditions at the end of the line, we realise we didn’t have anything to complain about after all.
Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael
