Help Me Ronda

La Linea, on the Spanish side of the Gibraltar border, is not a particularly attractive place to be honest, but the AC hotel turned out to be a good choice. Helpful staff, who stored our bikes safely, and great rooms.

View of The Rock from La Linea

We wandered into town last night and hunted down a Moroccan restaurant. Had a pleasant evening wading through various North African dishes as provided by the very friendly owner. Not sure that lamb tagine is the cycling food of the future though?

The Moroccan evening

Had a crap nights sleep, mainly due to the heat and the aircon units, but felt okay.....little did I know!

Alex, me, Dave, Phil, Mel

The first 30 miles out to Jimena de la Frontera and our first coffee stop were predominantly flat and covered in warm sunny conditions and a cooling breeze. Phil had the first 'mechanical' of the trip when the carcass of his brand new rear tyre failed and necessitated a raid on our spares. All sorted, we attacked the first climb of the day. A few km long and climbing to about 400 metres, it was a taster for what was to come. The day was getting hotter, much hotter, and we were all drinking as much as we could to replace what was being left on the road. The real problem however, was not lost fluid, but sodium.

Phil & Alex

Dave

Mel

As the day wore on and the temperature soared, cramp was becoming an issue for some of us. We'd all dispatched the earlier climbs quite comfortably, and I was feeling fine until the middle of the afternoon when my calves began to turn to iron! Alex & Phil fared little better, but Dave & Mel seemed to be okay.

No....I hadn't p**sed me self!

By the time we got to Ronda, I was finished. I'd carefully nursed my cramped up legs the final 15 miles. Alex & Phil were equally shelled. Mel & Dave had found it tough, but not suffered cramps, so were in reasonably good shape at the end.

A cold bath didn't help much and it wasnt until we'd 'pizza'd', a couple of hours later, that we stopped leaping out of our chairs to hop around like crazed loons!

I love cycling........

Ps. Ronda a nice place though

 

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