Day 153: Saint-Martin-de-Crau, FRANCE! (Cycle/Drive)

I rose at 05:10.
The Sun rose at 06:12.
I set off at 06:19.

I am so very pleased that I stayed, despite the heat, to cycle today's route. I think that it is probably one that will live long in the memory. I'd go so far as to say it is one of the best routes I've ever cycled. It ticked all the boxes:

• A great mix of climbs
• Mostly quiet roads (although, the traffic from France, heading south, as I cycled north, was pretty heavy; probably because the French are enjoying a long weekend holiday in celebration of Ascension)
• Great scenery, almost a great photographic opportunity around each bend in the road.
• There were, mountain roads, coastal roads, open country roads, small town roads and no busy main roads.
• And there were colls
• The final climb had a major "sting I the tail", which was hard but, seemed to be a fitting way to end the day's climbing.
• A good coffee and pastry stop in France. I was going to have a croissant and coffee but, the croissants were plain. Instead I had tartlet of apple crumble and custard, which was excellent, and a pan-au-chocalat, which was okay with my coffee.

I highly recommend today's route. It's funny how sometimes when you've really been looking forward to something, and then when you actually get to experience it, it simply fails to live up to expectations, well today was not one of those occasions. Indeed, my expectations were exceeded! Also, a good attitude always helps!

I arrived back at the van shortly after noon to find the interior temperature was over 37°C and swelteringly hot outside too. So I decided to leave for France; setting of at about 13:30 and, arriving here in Saint-Martin-de-Crau at about 20:30. It is currently 22:22 and the T=25°C!

PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER, I'M TIRED, NEED TO WASH UP, HAVE A SHOWER, MAKE UP THE BED AND NEED TO GET SOME MUCH NEEDED SLEEP. GOODNIGHT!

Update: Here are the photos:

On the first climb:

Coastal view (The cyclists do the climb, whilst the motorised vehicles go through the tunnel)

At the top!

Going in to France wasn't my concern, return to Spain was: I'd left my passport in the van. Obviously, I needn't have worried, there are no internal borders inside the Shengen Area!

And, finally, the gateway back into Spain:

• Distance driven: 198 miles
• Distance cycled: 106 kilometres
• Weather: Again, wall-to-wall blue skies. A cool start: it was about 18°C at 6am in Pont de Molins and decreased to 14.1°C once out in the countryside. The temperature rose steadily, finally reached a maximum of 36.3°C cycling the last few kilometres, in direct sunlight, back to the van at the day approached noon! When I got to the van the inside temperature was 37°C.
• Location: Google Maps

Today's route: