Day 5

I did say that the hardest cycle day was the first . Well it's not ! It's the 4th ! So - after sleeping out under the stars the night before - Nicola calls it sleeping rough - we made steady headway up - one can only describe it as - Table Top Mountain . As I'm about 2km ahead of Nic I was on my own and in perfect harmony with the world and bike . There were no tractors - no cars and no cyclists ... so I thought ! And then I heard an 'Ola' from nowhere . 'Where u goin' 'where u come from' 'wos your name' . Never had time to answer any of his questions. 'Ma namm is Alberto - Alberto of the mountains' .
Now for anyone who's ever skied with my great friend Patrick Patrini in Chamonix you know that to get a word in edge ways is nigh on impossible - something about being in the mountains with no one to talk to . Alberto rode with us for about 20km . In that time he showed us where his grandad lived - where his father worked at this water mill, we passed - the purest water fountain in Christendom and eagles - and then he took a right and disappeared .
This evening we are tapising in Soria - one of my mostest favourite towns in Spain but Nic asked that if there was anyone 'out there' could they forward a map with gradients on ! CU