Day 4...Irony in action

 So after a very restless night up on the mountain I packed up my tent as soon as it got light. It was very peaceful up there but I had a pressing problem... a) it was already getting warm and b) I was pretty much out of water. According to the map I had there was a small hamlet with water about 2kilometers away. so I set off.  Downhill! well that is unusual.  Of course I then saw 2 almost perfect places to pitch a tent, much better than mine but hey ho, I had survived the night without being trampled! I reached the hamlet in. superquick time to find a collection of ruined houses... and no water! Crap. Still on the plus side I was going downhill and after so much struggling uphill it was really nice to be able to almost swoop... although the boulders made some of it a bit sketchy. Also I had to watch out for the thorn bushes on the side of the road, a fact I was made aware of when some got hold of me and tore holes in my leg, pretty painful for sure.

In a very short time I pulled up at the first house... only it was a ruin... so was the se ond and third... in fact the entire village was abandoned leaving behind a nice mural and a broken water fountain. So no water again. I assumed that the next water source would be at the next village once I had got down off the mountain so set off.  I had no water and the sun was beating down. I wasn't going to die of ddehydration but it is still an uncomfortable position to be in... I likto make sure I have even a little left but I had too much confidence in my info about water sources.

Unusually for mountains, there were no running streams or rivers for me to collect water from... they had all dried up from what I could see, leaving me a little dry too. 

I sped down the gravel track... thinking that the cycling gods would make me pay for this nice easy ride and sure enough I hit tarmac and the way was up... 

Nice to be riding on tarmac again after so much difficult terrain... I cycled slowly up, getting ever thirstier. Eventually I reached a lovely little village with a picnic area, benches, shuttered up houses, no shops and no water fountain... So I sat and ate a couple of sandwiches and a tin of tuna (v nice)and then set off down the valley in search of water. Lovely descent on tarmac followed with a nice breeze to alleviate the heat. A petrol station loomed, but they only sold petrol, nothing else and couldn't fill my water bottle from a tap?? bit apparently there was water in a couple of kilometers. Off I went, muttering under my breath...

down and down... until a water fountain appeared at the side of the road with clear cold water running from it. I was soo hot and thirsty I practically dived into it! 

Water bottles refilled... off I set again... ever downhill. I reached the turnoff into the forest and the start of another off road portion of the route... 

It started by a forest centre and the tarmac ran slowly up. It was lovely... a few people but not many meant the peace and quiet were not disturbed. I stopped by the river... sat listening to the sound of water. A few moments ago I had despaired of finding any... now here it was in abundance... I heard laughter in the ether... the cycling gods were having their fun.

Once. off the tarmac, the path ran steeply up and over the mountain, boulders and roots blocking the path, all of which my bike ahd to be dragged up and over... kinda like a mini Canadian reroute....

I bumped into a nice couple or rather they overtook me as I was pushing uphill and then overtook them as I cycled down... and so the game continued for a while... we then bumped into a couple of cyclists doing the same route as me only the other way around... it seems they were struggling as much as me... which made me happy... not just me then. I stopped and chatted to them for a bit about the route and kit and the other couple continued upwards.

It was still hot... the sun was beating down and streams of sweat were pouring off me, no respite. Eventually I reached the top and began a crazy descent which nearly involved me crashing on several occasions... I passed the couple and waved to them as I slid down the rest of the hill, then into the village and towards my campsite for the night. I had decided on a proper campsite to get set for the following day and as I rolled through the entrance I hoped they had room. for a small tent... they did and invited me to pitch anywhere I wanted. Then as I chose my spot a herd of deer including a big male just sautered past, followed by a crowd of people with cameras. It was then I heard the noise that I heard last. night on the mountain, the call of the male deer reverberated around the campsite, loud and gutterall.. primitive. It was to be a sound I won't forget...

So tent set up and nice... I glanced up as I heard a vague sound of thunder in the distance... the black clouds were bubbling up extremely fast over the mountains, accompanied by thunder and lightening. I decided to walk into town quickly. to get some provisions. My kit would be dry under the tent awning for sure. Info town I went and then the heavens opened and a deluge came down. I ran to the shops and found pasta and some crisps, more cheese and rolls and ran back. I was now soaking wet with nothing to change into... in hindsight a bad decision. I tan to my tent and got into my sleeping bag, leaving all my wet kit in the awning. Thunder so loud, louder than I heard before and lightening cracks of almost equal proportion... this was a storm and a half. The rain was pelting down and as I looked out into the awning there was a river running through it, bringing debris with it and soaking all my kit right through. At obe pount there was so much water under my tent, I had a water bed!  Disaster. Through the. noise of the rain and the thunder I could hear the gentle laughter of the cycling gods... I could hear them revel in the irony... You wanted water? I heard them ask....

Eventually the storm did stop leaving me with wet through kit, no clothes to wear that weren't wet and no option but to huddle in ny sleeping bag and try and get warm. Once the storm had subsided, the campsite owner came to check I was ok and offered. me a caravan for the night... I declined politely, given I had no clothes, prob best to remain where I was. The inside of the tent was dry and I could sort it all out in the morning!

At least I have enough water now! 

Nite x