The forecast had a big wet front hitting this area about noon. I was hoping to get to Ruta and sit it out over lunch.
I stopped on my way out of La Palma at the place I ate yesterday and got a cafe con leche and I was on my way. It was a little cool but other than the odd light drizzle I was dry. I even had a shadow a few times.
Again today would have been a fantastic ride if the weather were nicer. The scenery its great. Mostly olive groves on the rolling hills. Soon I was in Cordoba province. There was a decent amount of climbing on the day. I must be getting fitter because it is a lot easier than it was two weeks ago.
When I got to the reservoir the sky got light and I had a nice view of the town across the water. Unfortunately, the sky coming towards me was scary looking.
On the climb from the reservoir the temperature dropped and the rain started. It was an hour early. The 15km to Rute were long, wet and cold. There were 3 long climbs and some freezing descents. I welcomed the climbs because I generated some internal heat. On the descents the streams of water on the road were sprayed into my shoes.
I pulled into the first open looking place in Route. It was not really open but the guy cleaning the tables checked and waved me in. The kitchen wasn't open yet but I warmed up and had several cafe con leche. I made some big puddles in the bar.
After 30 minutes the sky lightened and the rain mostly stopped. I figured I would ride the final 20km as quickly as possible and enjoy lunch at the hotel.
When I had been packing for the trip I debated whether I should take my second gortex jacket. My riding jacket isn't great for wearing around, so I brought the extra one. At this moment I was very glad I had. I put on both jackets and I needed both.
The ride to the hotel was surprisingly quick without any big climbs. It was also mostly rain free.
I was early for my room by 30 minutes so I went to the bar and had a couple of beers. At 2pm I checked in and had a nice hot shower. Then it was to the restaurant for a real meal. The restaurant was empty when I was drinking my beer and now 20 minutes later it was packed. I got a table for one and ate for close to two hours. That seemed to be the standard. The meal was quite good. The waiter warned me I had ordered lot of food but I said, "ciclista", he shrugged and I ate everything.
This afternoon I had sunshine in my window for a few hours.
In Colmenar I bought the deodorizer and with all my wet gear I am glad I did. My shoes would be toxic without it.
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