Day 114: Roquetes (Drive/Cycling/Drive)

I had hoped to do today's cycle route yesterday. However, having wondered whether the weather was conducive to a mountain climb I consulted the weather forecast only to discover that the cloud cover was to be at an altitude of 900 metres. But, I would be climbing beyond that! Fortunately, the weather forecast was good for today. So today was to be the day that I would cycle Mont Caro (not Monte Carlo, which exists in a world of simulation; my endeavor was definitely real world).

My ride started at an elevation of approximately 8 metres.

After approximately 4.5 kilometres of cycle the elevation was approximately 82 metres, here (the black circle shows where I'm headed):

At approximately 9.8 kilometres the elevation was 273 metres, which is Kilometre zero of the main climb of 13.8 kilometres with an elevation gain of 1,269 metres:

This sign may look big but, that's because I'm very close to it! In reality, when cycling, it was just about impossible for my old man eyes to see the information on offer!

Here is an overview of what lay before me at this point:

At approximately 14.7 kilometres, at an elevation of 741 metres, there is a water fountain (I topped up my bidon):

At approximately 17.5 kilometres, at an elevation of 1010 metres, there is a Mirador (viewpoint):

And, at 23.6 kilometres, at an elevation of 1442 metres, is the summit known as Mont Caro:

Where these reside:

Oh yes, it was just about 99.999% downhill all the way back to the van! Which would have been faster had I not be held up cars! As I would later discover, today was a holiday in Catalonia! Note to self, avoid cycling quality climbs like this during Easter holidays, especially the "bank" holidays!

Definitely a good cycle climb!

• Distance driven: 9 miles (to start of ride; post ride to aire for water works, supermarket and bakery (when and where I discovered it was a "bank" holiday here!) - they were all closed, so no bread for breakfast tomorrow morning!; so I returned to last night's location: I need to stock up on victuals before moving on.
• Distance cycled: 47 kilometres
• Weather: Pretty good, but it was about 7°C at the top .... coupled with wind chill ... made for a chilly start to the descent.

Today's route: