19°C, NW breeze and bright sun. Overnight rain has dried and and haze has gone.
Snack by the roundabout
This is meant as a recovery ride. I’ve been out every day this week (on my new bike). The day was bright and the wind moderate. Perfect conditions.
Cube Attain, 24°C, brisk SW, bright sun
A village community centre marks a breakpoint on this regular route. It has a bench with a view. Problem is – someone was already sitting there. I asked whether she minded if I joined & she said yes. We got chatting and had much in common. She’s a physiotherapist etc etc.
This is a good location for a chat. Remember the guy I warned about the road closure & the attractive police officer? It was also here this year.
Lastly, I have.my energy back after a few days feeling empty. Good day.
17-22°C, brisk W, sunny start but building clouds (rain forecast).
The current hot phase is ending this weekend; rain is due from lunchtime today so I set out early. Starting out today was sluggish, warm-up took longer. After an adrenaline shot from an arrogant driver, my pace stepped up. Bannister lane was okay but the last quarter of the ride felt hard.
I got home feeling empty. This week’s distance is 213 km is high, especially over 9h 55 hours.
19-22°C, cloud & sunny later.
Before collection, the shop mechanic put a longer stem on and then boxed it up for the trip to England. Firstly, a few notes on the spec: it’s about 8.6 kg in weight, 60cm frame (I’d prefer a 62cm though that is only 5mm longer in reach).
First ride. out in England this turned into quite a long ride (56 miles). Note: I did 4 rides in Mallorca but the setup is slightly different. Now it has a Charge Spoon saddle and a 130mm stem. The fit is far better, the front hub lines up with the bars and I’m not sitting on the back of the seat so much. Reach is always a problem for me and this inline seatpost doesn’t help. I expect the longer stem would make it feel less twitchy in comparison
I had to include the climb up Bannister lane to see how it feels on that 8% incline. All is good! The most prolonged gange in comparison with my Columbus Max steel bike is comfort & weight. I am no longer predominantly in the lowest gears. In fact, on flat ground, I’m using the larger chainring mostly. The general feel is smooth with low surface buzz from tarmac.
I’m delighted.
The weather is getting harder. Temperature is due to go over 35°C & humidity over 80%. That will feel very oppressive, even the Spanish are grumbling about it.
Today’s route was low level to keep on top of the building heat. Heat is a big deal this summer, or should I say – humidity. 37°C + 95% humidity makes it impossible to cool down anywhere.
30-43°C (indicated), stiff breeze
Chose the same short route as yesterday & this morning. It’s a good climb with an excellent view at the top. Nonetheless, the heat was intense at times.
Each day, the pattern is the same. Morning is misty (with very high humidity) and that clears somewhat in the afternoon to bright sunshine. There is no escaping the heat. It seems that hotels’ Aircon can’t even keep up. While out, sheltering under a tree is not enough either. There’s no escape.
Very early 27° – 33°C, light NE, some misty clouds
This oppressive humidity means no epic rides; it’s just not entirely safe. Yesterday was hotter but with a brisk wind.
Racelite, 27°C, strong sun & light NE breeze.
Not ridden for a week because of DofE commitment. The urge had built up so I chose a long route. The weather made for a perfect cycling day.
25°C, no wind but strong sun.
The difference in average speed is, I think, the way Mapmyride handles the pause function while I was in the cafe.
32° to 41°C, full sun negligible wind. Zero cloud.
St. Paul de Vence. I missed the turning to the best route. The initial stage had heavy traffic but nothing compared with the last part. There was a steady 5% climb and then turn at the garage to approach the village from the north.
Pont De Loup: a small village below Gourde that appeared on my route just at the time I was out of water. I asked a young local woman about water and she pointed towards a fountain in teh wall so I got my fill. She suggested that water was safe, but frankly, I was so thirsty, I took the risk.
Next I rolled into the village and stopped for an Ice Tea. Then returned to the fountain where the road turns for Bramafan. This is another steady 5% climb which I comfortably chugged along. There are a few tunnels up here, one of which had no lights. Traffic was so light that it didn’t matter. Just before one of the tunnel entrances, I looked up to an amazing sight. A real Mare’s tail of a waterfall.
Gourde this was a relief after St Paul. There were tourists but not excessively. A nice German woman in the tourist info explained about the spring water fountains. Those fountains are regularly tested for safety. So my risk was justified.
Grasse: this stage should have been a chance to raise the average pace from the long climb to Grourde. But here I found rush hour traffic and effectively rode with brakes on most of the time. Another problem was a result of inadequate planning – my map wasn’t that good.
Cannes: horrible heavy traffic. Drivers were reasonable but it was the sheer number of vehicles plus weaving mopeds. Progress was slow, bumper to bumper.
Micycle 