After a good night's sleep (surprisingly quiet despite the huge trucks racing above), I planned on leaving early to get far before the northern wind picked up. However, it was cold at 6.30 so I waited until 7.15 and left at 9 on a slightly overcast morning until the clouds lifted around 10. 17k downhill and 18k uphill -despite the bigvelevationvchanges and the fact that I could see the mountains nearby, it didn't feel like mountain climbing as it was down and up huge sand hills....