Day 45: Almendricos (Cyclo)

Another windy night (causing me to wake up on multiple occasions) and day (providing strong headwinds, crosswinds and tailwinds). Maybe I've become more aware of the winds this year, but days/nights of strong winds do appear to be more frequent this year.

However, having seen this on the BBC website last night, I think I should be pleased that I'm only having to contend with strong winds and not looking to buy a canoe!

Despite the wind, I enjoyed today's ride. The major climb was a bit of a rollercoaster with frequent changes in gradient and, yes there was a sting-in-the-tail with gradients up at 17%: Just what you want after 13 kilometres of climbing. Highpoint of the day: 1052 metres (Garmin)

Here's a couple of photos taken on the climb:

Most of the headwinds were encountered on the climb. However, earlier on in the climb the landforms was acting as a windbreak, which I appreciated: especially when the gradients were hitting 12 to 15 percent.

The descent on the A-327 would have been excellent had there not been strong crosswinds at times. However, although the road surface is not perfect, it is good enough, the bends are sweeping, the roads were very quiet, such that, when the force of the wind subsided, the descending was very enjoyable.

I did stop to take this photo of many a tree in blossom:

When I turned off of the A-327, I effectively had a tailwind for approximately 22 kilometres back to the van. Happy days!

A good ride that I'd do again; perhaps in the opposite direction next time.

• Distance driven: 0 miles
• Distance cycled: 70 kilometres
• Weather: Mostly overcast, windy, Max T about 19°C

Today's route: