It was a strange week. There was great cycling and bad cycling, the first rain in several weeks, with some magic light resulting from it, and a nice Sunday mid-day walk in the centre of Alicante.
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Lars was leaving Monday afternoon, so we used Sunday on a last bicycle outing, and it was a good one–97 km with 1400 meters of climbing. We took this triumphant selfie at the high point of the route:
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And as always, we enjoyed the view of the landscape below:
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Later in the week, I went back to the beach, inspired by Lars, to make some long exposures on tripod. This is a 17-second exposure, looking south towards Alicante very early in the morning:
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Then on to the bad cycling experience. I had signed up for a 200 km brevet on Saturday. A challenging route with 2500 meters of climbing, but I knew that I could make it, based on my prior performances, not least the Sunday ride at the beginning of the week. I was really excited about it and made sure that I got the needed rest during the week, with just one good training session in the gym on Wednesday evening, healthy eating, no drinking etc. But on Thursday morning I woke up with a stomach virus, and although I was able to go to work both Thursday and Friday, frequent trips to the toilet were required, and I was feeling far from 100% when I joined the other 60 or so cyclists at the starting point on Saturday morning:
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I took this not too cheerful selfie just before start, and off we went. I could tell right away that I would have problems; the first 40 km of the route was very familiar territory, and I had trouble on climbs which in normal circumstances are a piece of cake. So after 35 km I did the sensible thing and rode home:
I consoled myself with the fact that there are several more brevets during the spring for which I can sign up, and spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and watching football. And having a couple of beers while watching Liverpool FC win yet again helped my mood 😉
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On Sunday morning things were wet–it had rained in the night, our first rain in weeks. Around 8:45, so about 1/2 hour after sunrise, I went for a walk to the beach and to buy bread at the bakery. Along the way, I photographed the morning light and my new neighbourhood (we moved here in early September, so it still feels new). This is the road that leads from our house to the beach, a distance of just under 500 meters:
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Light makes even a nondescript apartment building look nice:
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Closed for the season, but not for long:
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There is even a small church near the beach. Sensibly, they let people sleep late on weekends and only have Mass in the afternoon and evening:
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Just before reaching the beach, I photographed an elderly lady walking her little dog:
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On the beach, another human with dog in the sharp morning sunshine:
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The view of the sea, mountains and clouds to the north was magic:
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Later on Sunday morning, I drove to the centre to go for a walk. I decided to have a look at the weekly “brocante” (a market of antiques/junk, coins and stamps) on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (town hall square):
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Serious shoppers:
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Miscellaneous:
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Social life:
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Sharing something:
