April 1, 2012
A short ride to Sabugal
a rainy Sunday afternoon
Yesterday's modest 60 km from Monsanto must have been a bit harder and taken more effort that I imaged, as it's 9:30 when I open my eyes. Breakfast is already set on the thick oak dining table, as I'd said to the chamber maid who'd shown me the room that eight would be good.
Once I've done some emailing, it's late morning, and by the time I've briefly explored inside Sortelha's castle walls, it's about time for another coffee, so I stop in the village bar and have one, along with a cheese and tomato sandwich. That's the morning gone.
The last of the memory-jogging notes in my little notebook - sandwich; leave @1:30; cloudy; rain? - prove to be prophetic. Just out on the café's forecourt, small dots of rain speckle my glasses; the sky, sunny and bright earlier, has turned dark, so I do a quick U-turn and order more coffee.
There's an Internet service accessible, thankfully, so I do a bit more online stuff and edit the photos and it's almost 3:00 when the sky has brightened and with the junction town of Guarda being just 45 km away, it's no big deal - maybe only around three hours riding.
The tarmac surface is drying in the sun as I make my way up a 3 km climb, to then drop a few kilometers - typical of this part of Portugal. In the distance are more ominous clouds and the weather could change any minute and as I ride along, my eyes keep looking for places to shelter.
My map says the small town of Sabugal looks like a bolt hole, so I press on and once there stop at the Sol Rio restaurant, right across the street from a castle. What attracts me is the added word residencial painted on its white gable wall.
There isn't very much sol around and after a glass of fizzy orange, my mind is made up to call it a day, albeit a short one. It's almost four o'clock, but with only 16 km cycled.
The rain starts shortly after my panniers are in the 25-euro room. Thunder follows soon enough and the electricity goes off quite a few times. It's nice to be dry; cycling through the hills with lightening flashing has never been my idea of fun.
It's been a month since I left home and this is the first wet day, so there's hardly anything to grumble about.
Today's ride: 16 km (10 miles)
Total: 1,203 km (747 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |