Even if you’re not a fan of hills, still less mountains, you can’t come to this part of Spain and not ride the Col de Rates. It’s definitely not the hardest climb, it’s possibly not the biggest, it’s certainly not the steepest and it’s probably not the prettiest, but it is hard, big, steep and pretty, and the one that all the pros (and amateurs) test themselves on.
So with a forecast of 15-20 degrees and scarcely any wind what more fitting way to kick off our holiday in earnest? First you have to get there of course, but unlike in previous years where we’ve been based in Calpe we didn’t have to haul ourselves over a sizeable climb as our opening activity of the day.
Instead we were able to sit on Richard and Maddy’s wheels pretending we didn’t know the way and allowing our porridge and scrambled-eggs-on-toast to go down gradually as we twisted our way through the camis for well over an hour before we faced the first thing that could reasonably be described as a climb.
Rates summit
After a quick stop at one of the many water fountains scattered around the area we turned on to Rates along with dozens of others, young and old, male and female, amateur and (semi)pro all doing their own thing in an effort to reach the top; hill reps or intervals in the case of the semi-pros!
Once we’d all crested the summit and found each other among the crowds we took in some air plus the views and set off down the next descent. Past a garden festooned with golden statues and up the next, much shorter, climb to Tarbena. Here we descended slightly into a typical Spanish village square with a church on one side and a cafe with cyclists rearranging the furniture and trying to park bikes on another.
Coffee and cake in Tarbena
A well-earned coffee and slab of delicious almond cake in our bellies we ramped our way back to the previous summit to take the left turn to Castells. Anyone who has ridden this road before will not forget it. You start by climbing gradually taking in the magnificent views, before it levels slightly toward an actual viewing point where you can truly take in the roads you have just ridden.
Team photo
Back in the saddle you’re now descending slightly towards a series of ominous “humps” ahead. If you can carry your speed you can probably punch over the first one or two but each one gets longer and steeper such that you’re usually crawling over the bike by the time you crest the last and it’s a relief to have to stop for photos or to wait for riding companions.
Once over Sa Cruetta (or should that be Cruella?), a glorious cherry-orchard lined descent to Castells lies ahead, and once in Castells a right turn and a short rise lead into almost 6-miles of gradual downhill where, if you can find a friendly wheel, you can fly down barely touching the pedals or brakes!
Benigembla artwork
We deliberately hit the brakes in the mural-lined walls of Benigembla to sample the fabulous artwork and, of course, lunch, which in this part of the world is usually tostada. Essentially this is an open baguette-like sandwich, with cheese-and-ham, tuna-and tomato or omelette(!) being typical and delicious toppings.
It may only have been lunchtime, but we already had the bulk of the miles and almost all the climbing behind us by now. Just one, relatively, small climb to surmount that was followed by an even longer downhill and we were back in the beloved camis on a fast train back to Denia.
Maddy had to get back to look after the dogs, but Richard was keen to show us another bar, this time at the other end of Denia beach. We were only too happy to follow him down the promenade as he led us to a quiet spot almost within touching distance of the ocean and where the beer was cold and went down almost as fast as we had descended from Castells. Just that twiddle back up the hill to cap a particularly splendid day of over 100 kilometres ridden, over 1,000 metres of climbing and countless memories.