There may yet be something to the notion that I might be getting wiser as I age: this morning I chose to forego the optional 14% climb (although I did elect to ride the remainder of the alternate route). Leaving Mende was also uncharacteristic - there wasn't a lot of traffic to battle, and our route out of town involved a 5km descent to Balsieges rather than the traditional diesel-choked climb. Of course there then followed an unrelenting 5km ascent to earn back all the elevation we had given up (and perhaps more), which culminated in an unanticipated plateau that then gently rose for a further 10km, at which point the road pitched down at 6% for 6km of joy before the floor dropped out and we hurtled to the valley floor at 8%. Then it
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