The weather is excellent today, although winds for the first half of our loop north of town are on the strong side. We’re at the front end of a solid week of days that look like this, with highs nearing seventy. It’s already warm enough when we leave the hotel that I don’t even bother taking my coat along; and by the time we reach the mid-point and stop for lunch at the high point of the ride the long sleeved layer comes off too. By the time we make it back to town it’s feeling almost hot as we race along with the wind at our backs, and we celebrate when we return to town with our first ice cream cones of the year, sitting in the sun with our backs against the warm stone wall of a church.
We’re really enjoying the rhythm of our tour now, with fairly short stages when we carry our panniers from one town to the next and longer and more challenging rides on the frequent layovers. It feels like a sustainable pace, one we can maintain for months. And it feels like we’re really starting to get somewhere, with Barcelona feeling far behind us now and the Rhône just a week away. We’ll be knocking on Provence’s door before we know it!
In the evening we ate dinner at Maison Conti, Rachael’s choice today since I picked that Spanish place last night. On my own I might not have come here, because it’s rather flashy on the outside in a way that put me off a bit. I was wrong, as usual. But that’s a different story.
Beginning the day in the best way, cruising beneath the plane trees. You can ignore that bit of gravel, because RideWithGPS promises there’s only about a mile of it on today’s ride - it just happens toc come all at the start.
The biggest factor at the front end of the ride has been the wind, which blows at a steady 15 mph - either directly at us or from the side. At this point it feels like it could be a long ride. Maybe steer away from towns with names like this?
Working our way north, with the first foothills of the Central Massif not so far off. I wondered about the rocky formation straight ahead and assumed we’d get a closer look later, but we never did.
The terrain grows more textured as we advance north. We’ve bent to the northwest by now and the wind is starting to become our friend. Before long we’ll climb up to the first of two minor summits before turning back.
A sharp descent between the first and second summits. Just before this a hoopoe flew across the road and alit just ahead of me, too briefly for me to get the camera out. One of these years I’ll will be lucky enough to get a photo of a hoopoe, one of my favorite birds.
Laying a guilt trip on us. And we could have lifted an apple from the fruit bowl this morning! Tomorrow, for sure. We should always pack an apple just in case.
