Day 151: Avinyonet de Puigventós (Cycle/Drive)

Two six month cycle tours in North America, and now on my third Spanish odyssey, this is my 750th post!

I brought the start of today's ride forward from the usual 10-ish o'clock to 8.45. I had hoped to be away even earlier, too much phaffing! The reason for doing so was twofold: to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat and to get to the panadería (bakery) at a reasonable time. Even so, I did notice the Garmin (navigational aid) was indicating a temperature of 35.9 °C at about 1pm! And, the panadería had sold out of the bread I wanted. However, I have reserved a loaf for tomorrow morning.

As for the ride, the challenge of the day was to climb to
Santuari de la Mare de Déu del Mont (Altitude 1108 metres; Elevation gain 908 metres; Maximum gradient 12%; Average gradient 5.1%; Length 18 kilometres).

I doubt I have ever changed from one gear to the next so frequently during a climb as I did today. The first half is fairly easy but, then, the rollercoaster of a ride kicks in. It goes up, it goes down, up, down, the gradient eases, then increases only to ease less than 200 metres later, and to sharply go up shortly thereafter .... Depending on your frame of mind, you'll either love it or hate it. I must admit I was veering towards the later but, on another day I could see how I may have enjoyed it more.

There's a good view from the top:

And here's to views of the summit: one taken on the way up; the other on the way down via an alternative route from that which I climbed:

     

Here's a close-up of one of the summit masts (just in case you cannot see them in the previous photographs! :

On my return journey to base camp, this caught my eye:

The place is Besalú. It appears to be popular with both tourists and school kids (although, maybe the kids didn't have much choice as to whether they were there or not!).

• Distance driven: 20 miles
• Distance cycled: 74 kilometres
• Weather: Blue skies and very hot! 8.40pm T=28.2°C in the van, down from about 32°C at about 1pm.
• Location: Google Maps

Today's route: