After 2 years of not being able to Tour I don't think I could have given myself a tougher start with 80 miles and 4000ft of climbs yesterday and 75 miles and 4500ft of climbs today. There are definitely easier ways to leave the Algarve than this route !
Today started bright and as I loaded the bike it started raining and I had a miserable day until I reached Mertola at 1pm when the rain eased then stopped by 2pm
My first job was an 800ft climb in the first 6 miles and as I headed up the hill the rain got heavier and heavier - next a 700ft descent to the Puente de Rio Vascao and an immediate climb back to 800ft - I took a picture at the bridge but the weather was awful.
After a couple more ups and downs I reached the medieval Castled City of Mertola once again picking up the Guardiana. The climb out of town was good, across the bridge then a gentle left turn and an comfortable gradient of 5%. Then the road turned right and the gradient immediately went up to a gruelling 15%. I was now on the N265 and it continued to roll up and down constantly - that wasn't the biggest problem however - the surface was attrocious with multiple joined up potholes exposing the hard core beneath - this was a 30 miles bone shaker of a ride.
I stopped for lunch about 1 hour behind schedule after 41 miles at Montalvo in a proper portuguese speaking only restaurant and after explaining I wanted something small to eat we eventually agreed on a toastie with cheese, onion & tomato.
Now with energy topped up I had 35 miles to ride and just under 4 hrs daylight so I cracked on eventaully reaching the highest point of the day at Serpa just short of 1000ft up. Next I turned for Pias onto a small road and the surface immediately improved - it was the best all day and I was now cycling through olive & almond plantations - I spotted Iberian Magpies, Shrikes, Storks, Hoopoes and even Red Kites before reaching Pias.
Only 9 miles to go and it was probably the flatest of the whole day - I apssed the Albufeira de Pias (Pias Dam) and in no time I was in Moura before 6pm with a good 40 minutes of daylight remaining.