Chiva
61 Kms
Vertical metres 650
Mechanicals nil
Medicals nil
Misadventures nil
Wine 4
Cup : Geoff, the man who now lives the moment, cycles up mountains and has found Spain " lovely"
The Colonel's (aka Geoff) last day.
Straight out of Altura onto the correct route and into some beautiful countryside...big hills and terraced olive groves. The road surface was smooth and the gradient of the hills comparatively gentle but a long climb up to the top of the pass at 711 m. We are all much fitter and stronger than 26 days ago! We got to the summit as did lots of fit " Vuelta de Espagne " type cyclists. The road we were on was clearly a popular training route. It was a good run down the hill to Gatova, a charming coffee stop...lots of cyclists coming through, old men having their breakfast of red wine and other liquors, bread , cheese and meats and women doing their washing in a communal washing pond. Filled our water bottles from the village fountain fed straight from the mountains.
A good downhill to Lluria via the most impressive cycle route which drew us into the centre of town for a drink and some tapas and then on to Chiva for a late Spanish lunch of salads.
The highlight of the day has been the grapes. The Great Grape Ride has been timed perfectly ...we have been in the midst of the harvest today...sharing the road with grape laden trailers, sampling the most delicious grapes our grape tester Lawrie ( aka the grey hound) has ever experienced.
Posted by greatgraperide
at 12:01 AM BST
Updated: Monday, 16 September 2013 9:34 AM BST
