Day thirty

It's not all blue skies and sunshine. I pass through Tarragona and it begins to rain, so I take a short break and shelter under a building.

I see fresh milk is available in Lidl in Spain, yet despite numerous stops in Intermarche or Lidl in France I could find none.

Today I posted my action camera and accessories back home to save weight (1kg) and gained some extra space. There are 1500m climbs ahead, which are causing me some concern and I do not fully understand the terrain. I also posted the keys back to the last pension I stayed at as I unwittingly left with them in my pocket.

As I head for Vinaros, it is relatively flat all the way until shortly before Vinaros, then there is a steep climb of 1500m, yet Vinaros is at an altitude of just 23m, which makes sense as it is a coastal town. However I cannot see how this 1500m climb fits onto the landscape, but no doubt I will find out in a day or two.

Having to do two 1500m climbs, the other to reach Granada, could slow me down for days if I can manage it at all.

I leave my rain shelter after about an hour and stop eating M&Ms, the rain has eased off. Soon after there are blue skies ahead and mountains. These must be the mountains I must climb in the next days. I am really chasing the sun as directly above me is the edge of the storm front. Ahead blue skies and sunshine, behind grey storm clouds. The wind is blowing south so that I have mostly a tailwind, which means that so long as I do not stop pedalling I can keep ahead of the rain! However after a long stretch on the N340 Maps.me takes me back onto a beautiful coastal cycleway that lasts many kilometres and it is probably one of the most delightful rides yet, helped by a vast improvement in the weather. For much of the coastal ride the sea and beach are just a few meters away and I am tempted to go for a paddle. There are also many restaurants and fish bars along the seafront also tempting me to stop. But if I stop the storm will overtake me and getting drenched is not worth the risk. I keep pedalling and eventually find a reasonable campsite on the coast. I did not get far today having left late (11:00) and waited an hour for the weather to improve. Still I managed well over 40km, which will set me up nicely for my trip to Vinaros and the mountains.