Day 74: Antigua estación de Navalagrulla (Cycle/Drive)

My current location is adjacent to the Via Verde Sierra at once was a railway station for a railway that was built but never actually had a train run on it!

A chilly start to the cycling today, 8°C at 10 o'clock but, sunny. By about 12 o'clock it was about 18°C. It was 6°C in the van at 8 o'clock.

The cycling was very enjoyable because it had:

• Good climbs
• Some steep gradients
• Interesting scenery
• I cycled on a road that I'd cycled previously, but had forgotten how much of a bad state it was in. Two years ago there was a sign stating that the road surface was bad with road works and a reduced top speed. In fact, I didn't come across any roadworks and, if I recall correctly, the road's state today was much the same as when I cycled it previously. There are multiple sections of the road that are gravel, some of which are very rough. It was like riding a mini Strade Bianche (a famous Italian cycle race in Sienna with multiple gravel sectors)!!
• Most of the other roads were in excellent condition
• Good descending
• Not too much traffic
• I was glad to complete a ride that I had to cut short after my bike suffered a mechanical two years ago: A brake cable broke!

However, there was a minor hiccup! I was thwarted by water ...

... and had to find an alternative route.

Here's a photo of the castle at Alora:

And, here's a photo of a Municipal Piscina sign, based on a famous painting by Georges Seurat. It is a shame that it is partially obscured by a bus stop!

The penultimate climb:

Another good thing about today's ride, the tpu inner tube experiment was a success. Given the hole created by a screw puncturing the rear tyre the other day, the tpu inner tube was able to survive today's ride, which I doubt a butyl inner tube would!

• Distance driven: 52 miles
• Distance cycled: 81 kilometres
• Weather: Cold to start, sunny, nice and warm later, light breeze.
• Location: Google Maps

Today's route (updated to avoid ford)