A Long Descent

Saying goodbye is always difficult, and today was no exception. My dear uncles and aunts wanted me to stay another two or three days. But even though it was lightly raining, I wanted to continue today. When I got up in the rain and the temperature was only 17°C, my motivation wasn't particularly high. But tomorrow is supposed to rain as well, and I won't be any more motivated then, so I might as well get going! Before setting off, however, there was still plenty of food that my relatives had bought for me. Fully dressed in my rain gear and with a full stomach, I set off shortly after 9:30 a.m.

Seventeen degrees sounded quite cool. On top of that, the route started with a climb, meaning it would likely get even colder as I gained altitude. Yet at first I actually felt too warm, so I adjusted my clothing slightly.

By the time I reached the highest point of the day, it really had become cold, and my hands were starting to feel chilly. Apart from that, I was just about warm enough. I didn't want to stop, though—I preferred to keep moving.

As a result, I didn't take my first break until I had been riding for 3 hours and 10 minutes and covered 69 kilometers. As it turned out, it would also be my only break of the day. By then, it had already become considerably warmer, even though I was still at an altitude of just over 1,800 meters above sea level.

During my break, the rain stopped, and after setting off again I felt only a few isolated raindrops.

The temperature was now very pleasant, and I could clearly feel how much more energy I had compared to riding in extreme heat. Combined with the constant gentle downhill gradient and a tailwind coming slightly from the side, I was able to pedal effortlessly for a long time while my speedometer almost constantly showed more than 30 km/h.

Because of that, I decided before reaching my originally planned destination that I wanted to ride a bit farther today. One reason was that the planned stop only had a single hotel, and I didn't know how much it would cost. About 15 kilometers farther on, there was a town with countless accommodation options. And since everything was going so effortlessly, those extra kilometers would be over in no time.

About 20 kilometers before my newly chosen destination, I left the G312, which I had rejoined today and followed for many kilometers. The smaller road had even less traffic, although the G312 itself had already been quite quiet today. I was only happy about that for a short while, because the road surface was so uneven that the ride became extremely bumpy, naturally reducing my speed as well.

Nevertheless, I arrived at my hotel shortly before 4:30 p.m., having covered more than 150 kilometers while spending only a little over six hours in the saddle. That corresponds to an average speed of more than 25 km/h. Cycling is incredibly enjoyable when it goes like this, and the somewhat unpleasant conditions at the beginning of the day had long since been forgotten.

In the evening, I went to the nearby dining and entertainment street for dinner and enjoyed the pleasant outdoor temperature of 25°C. I probably won't have such cool evenings for much longer.