@August 27, 2021 1:18 PM (GMT+1) Sitting at a O Campones restaurant. Just finished wild boar with bacon, mushrooms, rice, peas and fries. Overall a decent meal, but nothing outstanding. Why did I eat here? Well, I started going north through Portugal, and the change from the Ocean to inland has been drastic. The towns are far and few between. There are no grocery stores here, in the first town I have come to. The next town may not be for another about 40 kms. This means bringing plenty of water with me.
Yesterday was a big push- ended up doing 125kms. Today I have been worried about how my body will hold up. Overall the body feels good, however every once in a while I receive pains or sensations in different parts of my body. Mainly my feet and above my knees. The goal today is to get to Mértola. Tomorrow Beja. And then to rest in Beja for a day. Going forward, especially with these mountains, I will aim for 40 to 60 km’s a day.
The heat is different to. Throughout the coast and Algarve there was a steady, and often strong wind that had a significant cooling effect. The wind is very light now and does little to take away the heat of the day. I love the heat, but likely not the right conditions for long days in the saddle.
Let’s go over the landscape. Gone are the ocean views, the swaying Eucalyptus trees, and the general ‘green’ vegetation. Now the landscape is brown and dotted green with trees. The barren look helps accentuate the house and ruins whenever they appear. There is a rustic element to the landscape out here. I enjoy it.
The ride this morning has been a tough one. I feel I was effective at keeping the intensity to a minimum and focusing on keeping the ride to a recovery style. This has hopefully left me legs for tonight, and the multiple km push I have upcoming.
Taking the highway so far has been fast, but not the ‘safest’. There is not much of a shoulder to ride on at some points. I’m going to take a longer, but ideally safer, route to head to the hotel tonight. It’s 60km so it’s going to be a long trek.