| Day # | 27 | State of Legs | :-| |
| Distance (miles) | Distance (km) | Ascent (feet) | Ascent (metres) | Punctures | |
| Today | 5 miles | km | 571 feet | metres | 0 |
| Trip Totals | 1274 miles | km | 54690 feet | metres | 0 |
| Today's Route |
 |
| Route So Far |
 |
Travelogue
I'm now in an Airbnb studio apartment on the edge of the town of Draguignan.
Yesterday, it turns out I made two good decisions. One was to schedule some rest. My legs are feeling tired today, more so than on any other day of this trip so far. And the second good decision? Not to take my rest days at yesterday's campsite!
I was staying at Camping Les Blimouses in Callas. It's a perfectly good campsite and in many ways, much better than some I've stayed at (the mosquito-infested RV car park in Milano was horrible, for example!). The staff are really nice and whilst I don't generally look for a swimming pool or restaurant at my preferred campsites, it was actually very good having both yesterday.
So why am I glad to have left?
At about 7:30 p.m. the karaoke started. That's why. And it went on and on until midnight when the assembled audience (of whom it sounded like there were thousands) were in full, football match singalong mode! And whoever it is that told that girl (sounded like a teenager but I never actually saw her) she could sing and encouraged her to take the stage again and again and again.... should be shot. I am not a fan of capital punishment, but here I think the line has been crossed and that person must be held accountable!
So getting to sleep was a challenge. With wax earplugs plunged deep into my ears, I may have dozed a bit but never for long. It was that kind of campsite. You get the picture. But I'm no longer there :-)
I got up this morning and walked a bit around the campsite to wake myself up. And do you know what I saw? Bunnies. Several. Large ones, too. Look....
That was a pretty good start to the day. What's not to like about seeing a few bunnies first thing in the morning?
The resident donkey made its presence felt with its military grade, eardrum splitting braying. I never did clap eyes on the beast though. I do hope I'm not having weird auditory hallucinations!
Another bikepacker was camped near me and we had a long chat. He was from Berlin and had cycled some of the same roads as me, following Eurovelo EV5 through Switzerland and over the Gotthard Pass and down to Italy, for example. He'd quit his job and was heading for Spain, following EV8 just like me but considering crossing into Spain via either the coast or Andorra. I'm not planning to visit Andorra but might take the coastal route if for some reason my preference of going further west before crossing the Pyrenees doesn't pan out.
I packed up and hit the road. I only had 5 miles to cycle, so that should be a breeze, I thought. But I'd already forgotten that all roads around here involve cycling uphill. It's like something from an episode of Dr Who or Red Dwarf, honestly!
OK, I may be a little off with my facts here but look at that profile! A big, big climb in about 2 miles / 3 km of cycling?! My legs really let it be known that they were not happy about this. As I said, today they felt tired, hence their amber status.
I passed through some nice vineyards along the way and eventually, very slowly managed to get to my destination.
I was about 3 hours early but wanted to find the place and stop my GPS recording at that destination, so I went there first. After a rest and a drink, I looked for a supermarket on my phone, saw that there was one less than a mile away and headed off to get provisions for the next few days.
I don't have GPS data for this bit. I wish I did! Because the route to the supermarket involved a steep descent, with sections steeper than any I'd encountered anywhere else on this trip. I was registering this as I went, thinking "OMG I have to get back up that with a load of groceries?!!!".
I got my groceries, and headed back. Sure enough, the steepest section was impossible for The Mules (plural because I think I personally qualify for Mule Status, carrying a bag of groceries on my back as I was!) so I got off and with great effort, pushed the bike up the hill in roughly 10 metre steps, stopping for a rest at each.
But, job done. I got back to the apartment and sat in the shade to wait for the host. It turned out they were inside getting things ready for me. When they came out through the gate, we saw each other, greetings and welcomes were exchanged in French and I was admitted early to the apartment. The host as listed on Airbnb, Jacky speaks no English at all. His partner (I assume), whose name I did not catch knows a few words but not enough for full sentences. So the introduction to the apartment was conducted pretty much entirely in French. Jacky was not to be put off by my lack of French language prowess and spoke a great deal! I did manage to get the gist of most of what was said I think, and my responses appeared to be appropriate. I was shown how to use the washing machine for example and have actually used it to wash my clothes, so apparently we communicated OK there at least!
So, I'm now settling in for some hard core rest. Two whole days (not including today). I'm very ready for this. But why? How come my absolutely heroic legs are feeling it today like at no other time?
It's about the ascent I've been doing. The last 5 days of cycling include the day with the most ascent so far (4508 feet / 1374 meters) and the greatest cumulative ascent over a 5 day period. In other words, I've been doing a **** load of climbing. And it's been really hot as well.
Obviously, I have a spreadsheet which calculates such things. Doesn't everyone?
 |
| Ascent each day of cycling (feet) |
 |
| Ascent summed over a moving 5 day period (feet) |
The next couple of days will follow a similar pattern to previous rest days. Clothes have already been washed. The bike will be washed tomorrow and checked over. I will do a lot of lying down, a lot of reading, will perhaps watch a movie or two on my trusty Chromebook and I will eat and eat. My battery pack will be recharged as will the lights on my bike which have been used a few times during the cycling I've done before the sun was up.
And I will plan the next stages. What will my destinations be? Where will I stay?
And on that note, I say au revoir!
No comments:
Post a Comment