Grinding to Granada

Tuesday 11th September:

After a pleasant evening in Antequeras; involving modest quantities of tapas, beer & wine; and a reasonable nights sleep, we were up early(ish) and having breakfast in a small cafe over the road from the hotel. Tasty, but very basic, so I knew that we'd be calling on Steve's services pretty early on in the journey for the staple of peanuts, cakes, etc.

The roll out was pretty flat for about 6 miles. It promised to be another scorcher, but a cooler breeze was keeping things pleasant as we moved towards Archidona. A stiff climb followed the roll out, followed by a great downhill section, which we took our time on due to the surface being made slick by polished tar. Another couple of longer but less severe climbs through some lovely countryside brought us to our first intermediate sprint.....won, of course, by yours truly (Chipolini was still battling up the previous climb).

Easy!

Then it was on to the first refreshment stop with Steve, who'd found a shaded spot.

Refreshments

We then had a fantastic downhill run into Loja. About 15 miles down a steady incline, keeping the average speed at about Wiggins' time trial pace....makes you realise how quick those boys are...gulp!

Great countryside...especially going downhill

Heading into the Sierra Nevada

A quick stop in Loja for a coffee, then we had a right caper finding the correct road out to Huetor-Tajar. Ended up on a cart track for a few miles before navigating back onto the correct road. Then we stopped for lunch.

The afternoon run took us on a long undulating climb through Tocon and on to Pinos Puente. The second intermediate sprint saw Chipo take the honours (we waited for him and it was down hill :-)), but it kept him in good spirits.

Chipo in top form!

It was now red hot again. Probably about 40 degrees. The streets in the villages were deserted and there was very little traffic. Sensible Spaniards! We were suffering now and it wasn't made an easier by the extra mileage and vicious climb we somehow added on at the end.

That's definitely a 50 cent coin in there!

By the time we reached the hotel Suecia near the Alhambra in Granada we'd covered over 90 miles again and shattered. Picking our way through the back streets of Granada had also been rather 'entertaining', particularly watching Alex trying to follow his Garmin's instructions.

View from out breakfast terrace.

After a bit of rest & recovery, we drifted into town for a beer and something to eat. All tired, but pretty satisfied with how things were going. The plan for tomorrow is for some of us to relax for the day ;-), whilst others climb the 2700 metres to the top of the Veleta! Their heroic efforts will be chronicled tomorrow, either from the hotel or the local hospital.

 

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