Day 5: Alcoutim to Alte

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 We knew our first climb on this ride would be up out of the Guadiana River from our hotel.  With 60 miles and 5000 ft of climbing ahead of us, getting 4.5 miles of ascent during the cool morning was welcome.

FYI: At the end of the ride my garmin indicated 5.33 hours of riding  with 4 hours ascending and 1.37 hours descending.   I was either grinding uphill or gliding downhill.  Not much time  for photos!

What I loved about the ride was:

- Each climb was rewarded with a sweeping downhill... except the last one up to the hotel where my reward was sangria. 

- The territorial views with terraced orchards, and deep mountain valleys kept my mind on the beauty of this region instead of the % grade.


We had a couple memorable stops along the way.

First coffee stop was a truly local experience.   Felt like we were interrupting a town council meeting.   Plus the bathroom was in the owner's home.  Can't get more local than that.

Caught great pictures of our guides during coffee stops..



Second coffee stop we found a pastry van.  Ricardo treated us to his favorites and those sweet buns kept me going for the next several miles.



Our hotel had glorious views of the region...



plus an international celebrity... Mr. Ed...


I have been dedicated to training for this trip for months.  Today's route was the one that I thought about most during training rides.  I survived but more importantly,  I loved it.




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