Benidoleig, Costa Blanca – March 2011

Day 1: Sunday 13^th March

Distance: 64 miles / 102 km

Ascent: 1478m

Ride time: 3hrs 55mins

Average speed: 16.2mph / 26kmh, Max speed: 61kmh

Weather: Sunshine, light winds, 19 degrees

Coffee stops: 2 (one impromptu)

Gels: 1 (apparently banana flavour..... not sure any of the scientists at High 5 have ever eaten one)

The sky is blue and the air is warm and following a hearty breakfast, the riding starts with the steep descent from the villa down into the valley. Helpfully, brakes on European bikes are the opposite way round to those in the UK leading to some concern around a quick flip over the handlebars. Wheels lock up on first serious hairpin but that’s preferable to a plunge into the orange groves 300m below on the valley floor. Sun is shining and it’s great to feel the warm air on my face.

After a safe (if a little slow) descent a gentle ride along the flat valley floor through the orange groves is a nice start to the week. At this stage, the climb back to the villa is put firmly to the back of my mind.  After a bit of obligatory first day faffing with seat adjustments, we ride on pleasant quite roads with some nice undulation towards the town of Pego and then head towards the coast with a pleasant tail wind. The journey to Denia is relatively quick and very enjoyable as Rob and I get to know each other a bit. We follow the coast road and hit the first climb of the week. It has stunning views across the Med to Ibiza and is a kindly 5% gradient over 5k ... feeling good. The descent into town is less terrifying than the first of the day but I quickly lose sight of Adam as he overtakes a few cars and self preservation kicks in for me. A few kilometres further on I am rewarded with a coffee stop overlooking the bay.

Following a brief caffeine injection and a banana we head back in land to Benissa  - another 5km climb at a similar gradient. From here, we descend once more into the valley below at sea level Rob spots a few pals sharing a few plates of chips and beers in a bar at Jalon. I don’t complain about the impromptu stop. The journey home is uneventful until we reach the climb back to the villa. It’s only 2km back to the villa from the turn off the main road, but this has an average gradient of 10% and reaches 25% in parts. My morale wasn’t boosted any by Adam shouting “12% - Alpe d’Huez” as I pushed my way up the hill in granny gear with sweat pouring down my face.

A hard first day for me was over and washed down with 2 recovery shakes (I only brought three!) and things were only planned to get tougher from here on in. This after all, was a warm up day.