Over the past few years I have had the benefit of a week away around this time of year. March another birthday and another year older I look forward to a bit of sunny pre-season training away from the rain and wind of the Midlands. This year we managed 10 days staying in a friends house up in the hills just north of Faro at the Eastern end of the Algave near the Spanish border. Every year I pile on the weight over the winter months, and while flat Leicester shire might not provide a problem to the extra pounds I usually transport around until they shift in the racing season. The hills of this part of Portugal prove somewhat more of a problem to the overweight and the vertically challenged, now this winter I have ridden and eaten to be in top shape 'early doors' as it were and I go to the Algarve half a stone under my normal weight thinking these hills are going to present less of a task this year, how wrong could I be!
Long training rides in such hilly terrain is no fun so I usually restrict myself to shorter intense rides every morning and then a power ride on the flatter roads along the coast in the evening if I feel up to it. We had great weather this year, sunshine in the low 20s most days but do those hills hurt, I have a two mile climb out the front door past quarries where they hold a round of the European downhill series. This is somewhat of a rude awakening for tired legs, then a series of punishing uphill sections through Alportel on the old main road North (N 2) to Barranco Velho
Through forests of cork trees with their distinctive naked lower trunks where the bark(cork) has been stripped away, I don't know how much longer this industry will survive the modern plastic equivalent, this area produces 80% of the worlds production of cork. When I first came these forests had been ravaged by forest fires the previous summer end everything was black and dead, but over the intervening years it has recovered and this year it looked green and healthy with new plantations to compliment the higgldy piggldy cork trees every one with an individual owners mark.
If I am carrying on for a longer 4 Hr. ride its right along the N124 to Cachopo, then a terrifying decent down to cross the river Odeleite and long a climb up to the high point at Agua dos Fusos with views out along the whole South coast. Its a 10 mile drop down to Tavira (N397) on the coast, not easier going the other direction this little climb takes over an hour with not allot of rest bite in the baking midday sun
Back along the coast road (N 270) these roads are mostly quite now the (IP1) motorway has been built but two draggy climbs up to Sao Bras, I only have to climb over the quarry road and then a 50mph drop to our base at Bordira on the other side. This year has been much like the past a series of rides leaves me knackered and spent and I long for a bit of normality, I'm just not cut out for the hills.
Just before going away I was out on the trusty winter 'steel' when ploughing into a fierce headwind I was visited by an almighty crack, or my bike to be precise, my seat tube fractured just above the bottom bracket in a terminal case of fatigue. Then to cap it all my 'spare' aka 'Portugal bike' (or 20 yr old carbon bike) is mislaid in transit so I am now down to a 30 yr. old 'fixed' or a racing bike for the immediate future or until they can locate and repatriate my lost machine
With the realisation that I have two events over Easter, The A5 Rangers 'Hilly' 31m on the Saturday and the Leicester 'Hilly' 29m on Easter Monday I'm not expecting any miracles
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