Bikey bikey and a little something else on top

We were treated to torrential rain last night but the storm had passed through by the time I got up this morning. Darn it, no excuse for me not to hop on the roadie and bike over the Col de Port to Tarascon (and back) then! The ride up to the Col was a breeze and the descent fun, thanks to my new more aero-dynamic riding position (we removed some of the headset spacers yesterday). 32.1kms/581m of ascent in 1 hrs 30 mins for me to reach Anne's at Barry d'en Bas, just outside Tarascon. The stats from my Garmin are on this link. I was expecting another gentle, short run along the river with her, but she fancied heading up the hill towards the Col d'Ussat and the little chapel that is up there. Agh, my poor little legs! It involved a fair bit of cross-country because a) we couldn't find a good path on the Barry d'en Haut side of the hill up to the chapel and b) we decided to make a direct descent at one point during which the young gorse showed us what it's made of! I didn't take my Garmin because I wasn't expecting to go up the hill, but it looks like around 9kms and around 330m of ascent on the map. It was lovely to explore somewhere different and I wish I had taken my camera!

After half an hour recovering back at Anne's which involved a pint or two of water and an energy bar, I refilled my bottle with liquid fuel and jumped back on the bike to head home. I had a brief stop off at Donna's when I spotted her, Pat, Kev and Justin there, but then I had to get my focus back onto the mission in progress - just how was I going to make it all the way back up to the Col de Port when my legs were already tired!! I put my head down, swigged mouthfuls of my liquid fuel and got on with it. It was hard hard going. I was very tired. I stopped twice, three times, I don't recall, maybe more times, to stretch out my legs and my back which didn't appreciate bearing the cumbersome burden of the small pack which contained my running shoes and other bits and pieces. The inclines kept on coming. Enough already! But eventually the Col de Port was achieved and then it was all downhill - yee-haa! I was so relieved to make it home. Stats for the ride back home are here - 32.6kms/862m of ascent and 2 hrs 05 mins riding time, making a total of 65kms/1440m of ascent and 3 hrs 35 mins in the saddle today and over 3000 calories burnt - cake please!! Tonight = stretching. Tomorrow = rest