It's been a funny old week weather-wise, I've been wearing shorts most of the week as it's been quite warm but then towards the end of the week it started to turn a bit cooler and then the forecast turned to thunder and lightning. It reminded me of being in the UK in 2001, (the second year of GSXR ownership), for most of the short UK riding season the weather was great from Monday to Thursday and then rained until Sunday evening meaning no biking at the weekend. The GSXR only did about 150 miles in the whole year, 100 of those were taking it to be serviced, not good.
I'd pretty much resigned myself to not going out this weekend, however Sunday afternoon started to look promising, first with a little bit of blue shining through the grey and eventually I decided to give it a go, how bad could it be.
A quick ride down to Moraira and back was decided upon as the coast is usually warmed and there are fewer tourists about now. I stopped on the way to snap some pictures for our Instagram account as well as this article as the sky was clear blue, I think I'd just timed it perfectly. Having stopped near Moraira to take in the view, I decided to head along the coast to Calpe and maybe Altea, it was glorious. The coast road winds its way along between the two towns with only a few glimpses of the sea until you get nearer to Calpe itself, where the view in places is stunning.
After Calpe, I headed towards Altea through the tunnels and the weather stayed with me, so it was a quick right before the town and up to Callossa D'en Seria before heading right at the roundabout and into the mountains to Tarbena. Some of these roads are superb with left, right, left, right, bends going on and on, great fun just watch for the hairpins.
As Tarbena was approached the clouds became more noticeable again but I pushed on through the village and up towards Col de Rates at 625m above sea level. About 2km before the Col the road disappeared into the clouds and I started to think that my summer jacket probably wasn't the right choice after all. It was fine for Moraira and the coast but a bit chilly in the mountains.
At the Cyclists checkpoint at the top of the famous climb, I stopped to take a picture of the sign before heading down the other side to Parcent and warmer weather again. About a third of the way back down I was finally back below the clouds and starting to thaw out.
Back along the Jalon valley from Parcent to Senija and home there were a few raindrops starting to form on my visor but I missed the storm and arrived back to a hot cup of tea from my wife. A fitting end to what turned out to be a great ride, not too far from home or too long but great all the same.
Total distance 82.5km
Click here to see the route on Google Maps
