Day eighteen 18th June 2013

Stage  18 Ubeda to Lucena

97 miles

The day started with a very promising weather forecast. It was going to be cloudy with cooler temperatures so it would have been perfect for the tough day's cycling ahead.

We started off from our posh 4 star hotel having had one of the best breakfast so far on this journey. Suitably nourished and keen to get going we had a short briefing for the day by the day's ride captain (Peter) and we departed at 8.15am. To say it was fresh would be an understatement, it was freezing! We all had to put on our jackets, which we didn't think we would be using again and headed off out of town and on to the A-316 (no, not the one through Twickenham). We started off at a fair pace but after a short while it was apparent that today was going to be a very hard and long day. The terrain was very hilly with some climbs of over 10% promised but it least it wasn't going to be unbearably hot. 

The surrounding countryside was becoming very familiar. The hillsides are plastered with Olive Groves as far as the eye could see. This scenery had now been with us for 180 miles and we were wondering how many hectares Spain has devoted to this crop.

How do they pick Olives? Is it with a machine or by hand?

We pushed on to the first stop and it was becoming apparent that the weather conditions were becoming less than ideal. We had a constant headwind that meant extra effort pedaling all the time, even downhill!

 We were quite happy with the route until the single carriageway turned into an 'Autovia' or dual carriageway. We previously read that cycles were allowed on the hard shoulder of this type of road and as we cycled along we were overtaken by a traffic police car who ignored us, so we thought the information was correct.

After a short while we realised that the articulated lorries thundering past made us a bit vulnerable and we sought an alternative route. We found a track alongside the fast road and cruised  along that for a few miles. After a while we passed a small holding and we were greeted by the usual barking of a dog.This has become a common occurrence during our trip and we usually bark back or ignore it safe in the knowledge that they are behind fences or walls and they can't get at us. However, Matt shouted out 'he's coming after us!' and the dog crossed a ditch and started chasing us. It was everyman for himself, we all pedaled like mad to get away from this ferocious canine, a task made harder due to the laughter and the fact the dog was a very, very small terrier.

 

The alternative route proved to be unsuitable and we rejoined what was to be the 'road from hell' to make progress to our destination. Eventually the road returned to a single carriageway although the head wind seemed to increase and then to make matters worse it started to rain!

This was becoming a very challenging day, we knew we had a number of climbs to make and it was one of the longer mileage days made longer by our earlier diversion.

We made the best of it, thinking positive and taking in the views (mostly Olive Groves).

Matt with the biggest thistle in the world.....

We eventually arrived at Lucena after 8 hours in the saddle, taking the opportunity to take this picture by a monument to a local musician.

The hotel wasn't in the town but about two miles out and on a hillside with a 13% climb to reach it and despite over 90 miles of hard cycling, the team zoomed up (ish) to a wonderfully picturesque spot with brilliant views.

We all agreed we had had a really tough day. The winds were against us the roads were horrendous, it rained and we had to cycle further than planned. The big upside is that we only have 2 days left and we are only 145 miles form Gibraltar!!!!!

Matt asked to mention Jo Dunning from Costain's head office in Maidennhead. Jo baked a load of cakes and sold them in aid GOSH and raised £40 for the cause. Well done and thank you and can we have some please.....

The Fozball Team