Caves & Castles

I was up at 6:30am. I hadn’t slept well which was annoying as I had a big day ahead.
I had 2 bananas and then Ellie came down and made a breakfast scramble then I went and got dressed.
I had planned this ride about 2 years ago and never thought I would actually get to do it. I had reconfigured the route so many times to try and stay away from main roads today would be the test. Today I was going to ride to mount Foai and up it. The highest point in the Algarve and the biggest climb in the tour de Algarve cycling race.
I set off just before 9am, the weather was supposed to be a top temperature of 18°c but it was already windier than I would have liked.
I was straight onto the gravel as soon as I left the villa, passing through fields of oranges and lemons and the terrain was already undulating. I really didn’t know if I could make this ride.
15km and I was still in gravel and the hills were really getting big now. Some pushing 16% and I had 2 litres of water on my back, and 1 1/2 on the bike as well as my frame bag full of tools, spares and energy gels and my handlebar bag with solid food in.
Basically the bike felt much heavier than I would have liked.
At 20km in I went down a huge hill with a gradient of 20% and I knew then that if I did make it to Foia I wouldn’t be able to make this climb on the way home. It was just to steep and the gravel to loose.
Once I got onto tarmac I the route wanted to take me up a huge off-road section with a 15% gradient and large rocks. I was never going to get up that, I think a motorbike would have struggled so I had to re-route and I opted to ride the rest of the way in the road.
The garmin wanted me to keep off the main roads which was fine but then I started climbing. The gradients started at 10% and it just kept going up.
I had 17.5km left to go when I started on the road route and 3.5km I was knackered. I had climbed over 500meters in that 3km stretch which is a massive gradient even by pro standards. I didn’t think I could go on and decided to stop.
I got my breath, had a drink and prepared to turn around and just before I got back in the bike I checked to see how much of this climb was left.
200 meters was all and then my next climb would be Mount Foia. Which is a constant 6% gradient.
If I turned around now I would always have the what ifs in the back of mind. This was the only day I could do this ride tomorrow is meant to rain. I have my bike here now unlike any other time and to top it off I’m now 50 years old. Will I ever be in this type of shape and fit enough to give this another go?
I decided to push in until I could either go absolutely no further or I reach Foia, and I started off again.
The next 200 meters was at almost 20% but once I was at the top I had a lovely winding decent almost all of the way to Monchique and then as I went round the roundabout my sat nav beeped to say start of climb and I was going up.
It’s an 11% gradient out of Monchique town for about 500 meters. Then the slope peels away and it’s a constant 6% gradient all the way to the top for the next 6.5km.
This climb felt the easiest of the day and the sun was shining and just before I got to the top I could see the sea in the distance. This climb is 900 meters my biggest outdoor climb ever and I had made it, I was super pleased with myself.
After a light lunch I decided to reroute my journey home and head back on the road and into Silves and then pick up the gravel trails I had ridden the last 2 days and get home that way.
I put my jumper on, waved to the few cyclists that were coming up to the summit and I started the decent.
The road is pretty straight most of the way down from the top, there’s long bends that I could see all the way through and no switchbacks. So I came screaming down Foia at 67kph.
I was at the bottom in less than 5 minutes and then it was pretty much downhill all the way to Silves.
I didn’t like riding on the road the Portuguese don’t give you any Lea way on a bike, some passing just inches away but it did mean no hills for now and it was my quickest way back. I rode with another cyclist half of the way, he was from Belgium and he definitely stopped my mind from going into a dark place as my energy levels started dropping and I was still wondering if I could even get back.
Once I was at Silves I got straight onto the gravel track and I knew I was nearly home. I stopped for 5 minutes, had a drink and then necked 2 energy gels and took a slow ride for the last 10km home and every small hill felt like a mountain.
When I finally reached the villa I had ridden 97km and climbed over 2000 meters.
Except for feeling a little queasy through lack of food I actually felt pretty good. I didn’t ache I was just exhausted. I was super proud of myself I could never have done that ride 2 years ago and I was so glad I didn’t turn around and give up.En savoir plus