Today’s route is a bit longer : I’m going to Bortigiadas (below Tempo Pausania) instead of Monti as originally planned. The route is labelled with the same level of difficulty but with 20km more !
It was a beautiful day with few clouds at the start.
The first stop was to tighten the wedge on my right boot, which had come loose. It’s better to have a good grip on the boot when climbing to Patatada, the highest point on my route.
On leaving Patatada I quickly realised that I was no longer on the track, and I hadn’t seen a crossroads... Continuing on the road towards Oschiri, I come across the track, and then I’ll see. As I suspected, the tracks are particularly shitty... I stay on the main road.
In Oschiri the terraces are full : it’s 2 June, a major bridge day. I find a bar advertising paninis and stop for lunch.
We know there’s going to be a storm and the clouds have gathered in the sky, but for the moment the weather remains fine.
But the first problem was when I left Oschiri : very quickly a sign indicated that the bridge I had to cross was closed to all vehicle traffic. I didn’t have much of an alternative, so I continued on to see if a bike could get through. No. The road is closed and you can hear the construction equipment working further on, even though it’s a holiday.
I see an alternative : there’s a small road that goes over a bridge, which then joins Tula, then you have to get to the hotel by going round the other side. It probably takes a bit longer, but it looks feasible. When we get to the road just a few kilometres from the bridge, there’s another sign indicating that the bridge is closed to all traffic... I’m starting to get worried... I keep going for a while, until I reach a nice church where there are a few people and I ask a local if she thinks a bicycle can pass... No. Niente ponte.
I’m really panicking because I’m struggling to see a reasonable alternative. But I eventually realised that if I made a wide turn, it was possible to find a road back to Tula.
The storm is getting closer but I feel that this third plan is holding up and I get close to the road. I don’t see any shelter and the storm is only a few kilometres away... I stop on the side of the road and sit down in the rain... (a bike doesn’t protect against lightning like a car)
When I felt that the storm was receding a little I set off again (in fact I started off too soon, I’ll read some advice later that recommends staying in a car with all the windows closed until you can’t hear the last rumble of thunder) and I took stock in the first bar I found in Tula.

I can already see that my new equipment is holding up well in the heavy rain. I’ve had plenty of water for two days now, and everything’s dry.

Once the storm had calmed down, I crossed to the other side of Lake Coghinas and enjoyed a magnificent view.
But before I get there I have to climb some more.

Further down, two routes with the one I should have taken in green. And then the other.
I arrive at the hotel just before 8pm, having done thirty-five kilometres more than planned...