Things are looking up...

Day 2: Monday 14^th March

Distance: 62 miles / 98 km

Ascent: 2166m

Ride time: 4hrs 17mins

Average speed: 13.9mph / 22kmh, Max speed: 54kmh (hilly today)

Weather: Drizzle (heavy at times), low cloud, chilly 11 degrees – a bit like the weather in the UK that I’d seen on the forecast this morning

Coffee stops: 1 (including Tostada.... 4.5 euro for 2 coffees and 2 tostada – bargain!)

Gels: 0 (things are looking up)

A great day today and a little unexpected given the angry skies and heavy overnight rain. Adam amended the route somewhat to make sure we were never more than 20k away from home just in case the weather became really unpleasant. Neither of us really believed that we’d really get round the route given the weather conditions but after the first climb and descent things improved a little although we were riding in the clouds for much of the day.

Today’s route was based around 3 peaks (all of which were 550 – 600m altitude gains). My protestation that there were actually four if we included the climb home fell on deaf ears.

Peak 1: 9.5km; 5% ave gradient; 38 mins

The longest climb of the day with the shallowest gradient was the point at which Adam decided to give his first assessment of my (home grown) cycling technique. “Quick, comfortable and smooth on the flat, good pedalling style on hills but not enough power. I know Lance Armstrong rode with very high cadence but you should work on your power... you’ll go faster” he explained.  So as we neared the summit I had to hit the big ring and power to the top. My cries of pain and complaints of being on holiday were scoffed at by Adam as he disappeared into the white clouds enshrouding us shouting, “come on”. When I eventually got to the top I was greeted by his beaming smile and a “well done”.

I think that Adam felt a little guilty as both my legs cramped up at the bottom of the descent. While I took a few minutes to stretch it out we inspected my brake blocks which were fast disappearing!

Peak 2: 4.5km; 10.6% ave gradient; 24 mins

The most notable thing about this climb was not just the gradient but 2/3 of the way up Adam punctured. It was at that point that I realised why I was so much slower than him. Nothing to do with the fact that he’s a super fit ex-pro cyclist and general 2 wheeled guru, oh no... the reason was that I was carrying the pump! All that extra weight and bulky shape slowing me down and increasing the drag. Having pointed this out I was able to trade that with him cleaning the bikes when we got back... a fair deal under the circumstances.

The descent was great - into the back of beyond down a rarely used (if a little bumpy) back road. Finally we made our way to Parcent for the start of the final climb of the day (using Adam’s definition, not mine) – Coll de Rates.

Peak 3: Coll de Rates; 6km; 6% ave gradient; 27 mins

The most enjoyable of the the three climbs because (a) the sun came out and (b) was used in last year Vuelta and the names were still clearly marked on the road.. Schleck, Cavendish et al. Being a bit of a beginner to all this I really took a bit of a thrill from it. Adam said that anything under 30 minutes is a good time, therefore pretty pleased with my time of 27 minutes 30 seconds... definitely under 30 minutes and just 12 minutes outside of the record!

I felt more comfortable in the final unofficial fourth peak of the day – the climb back to the villa and despite about 700m additional ascent vs yesterday, took over a minute off the previous ascent time... that means it was slow -1. All in all, a top day out on the road!