March 9 :: Evora, Portugal

March 9 :: Evora, Portugal :: 187km / 4097km total

Another rainfree day, the third in a row, I think I've been getting lucky with the weather here in Portugal. I set off early, aiming for Point del Sur with the possibility of striking out for Evora if things were going well. Early in the ride the hills hit, man, so steep and frequent. The Portuguese seem to think that 'up and over' is better than 'around' or 'alongside'. However, I'm climbing strongly now, strongly for me, that is... losing 15-20 pounds and cycling 4000km will do that for you!

I steadily pushed along, at times the gentle North wind nudging me Southwards. Its so beautiful here, nothing dropdead gorgeous, just a constant niceness that doesn't quit. I passed the Point del Sur turnoff early, before noon, and decided that, hills notwithstanding, today would be a big one. The hills did not relent, but neither did I, and we slugged it out, them and me. Stops for drinks were very quick and rushed, for I knew that saddletime would win the day.

Around 4pm I entered the vicinity of Evora and decided I had enough time to take in some archaeological sites in the area before entering town. The first one was an ancient double oval of stones, more or less Portugal's version of Stonehenge, and, honestly, more or less a waste of time for me, especially considering the rough sandy 4.5km out-and-back track that I had to ride to get there. The second was slightly better, six 6m tall stones arranged in a tight circle that originally had a cap rock. Then into Evora, too late (and tired!) to see the sights here, that'll be tomorrow morning. 50 metres from my guesthouse I cut my knee on my front tire, don't ask, not one of my more glorious cycling moments. In Africa an open cut would send me into a hypochondriachal frenzy, but here in Europe I´m not even covering or worrying about it. Just before dinner I added up my mileage for the day, was shocked, recalculated it, then compared it to distances in my guidebook, holy smokes, did not expect it to be an Ironman day (180km) with all those hills. I guess I'm in pretty good shape now... just in time for the trip to end!