[Leica] Nathan's PAD 12/6/2022: a bike ride

[Nathan Wajsman]

I will be unable to cycle for a week, since tomorrow morning I have an early meeting and on Tuesday morning I depart for a business trip to my favourite country, Denmark, where I will stay until Sunday but with no time for cycling. So today I wanted to do a proper ride, and I decided to go to the Carrasqueta mountain pass, a good 35 km climb from sea level where I live to 1020 meters. Once you leave the coast, temperatures here are on the wrong side of 40C (104F in imperial money) so the key was to leave early, around 8:15, to make sure that any climbing would be done before it got seriously hot.

About 6 km from the pass there is a roadside bar called Venta Teresa where I always stop for a Coke and a snack. Part of the attraction (aside from the fact that this is the ONLY such facility during the last 15 km of the climb) are the funny decorations they have:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-fxsVFFc/A <https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-fxsVFFc/A>

Including this “weather station” which I have translated in the caption:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-XsM2r9b/A <https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-XsM2r9b/A>

The owner came out to greet me while I was taking the preceding photos:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-Mhb3W9m/A <https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-Mhb3W9m/A>

After enjoying my snack (an empanadilla de atún) I got back on the bike and climbed the remaining 300 meters over 6 km. The views from the pass never get old:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-Jz8h9Ht/A <https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-Jz8h9Ht/A>

The buildings on the coast are Alicante (to the right) and El Campello (where I live) to the left.

Then I got back on the bike and let gravity to its thing to get me home. After uploading my ride to Garmin Connect, I saw that the maximum temperature reached 42C. No wonder I have been thirsty all day.

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
photo at frozenlight.eu

http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.frozenlight.eu

YNWA