I figured it was not really necessary to revisit the Cathedral, the starting point of the Camino. I had walked from there a couple of days ago to the hotel where I was now leaving from.

I also figured it was not really necessary to religiously follow the exact path of the Camino. Instead, I headed to the Mediterranean which had felt to far to walk (2.4 miles each way) in the heat the previous day. Why not ride along the coast for a while before turning inland to join the yellow arrows?

It was already hot when I ate breakfast: 27C. But on the bike, the breeze helped. It was fairly easy to get out of town, much of it on dedicated cycle paths and, after about five kilometres, I was at the beach. A line of sun worshippers were arranged along the water's edge, laying out in the sun or under umbrellas. I was back, for a little while, on EuroVelo 8 – with signs to Cadiz – and I rode south along the coast, sea on my left and restaurants to my right.

Then my route pulled me away from the sea, on quiet roads through rice fields. Egrets and heron, poking about in the flooded paddy fields. Hot but pleasant. And flat. I felt the benefit of two days rest! I should do that more often.

After the rice came orange groves, though the trees didn't seem to be carrying many oranges. The occasional overripe fruit still clinging to the tree (or lying, rotting, beneath it).

The plan was for a short day, to stop in Almussafes where there was accommodation, rather than than head for the end of the first (for walkers) stage, a taxing distance of 38 kilometres walking on hard roads – and where there was no accommodation. (Not exactly true; there was an albergue with six bunks but it needed booking a couple of days in advance and I didn't feel the need for a dormitory and associated lack of privacy, if there were any pilgrims staying there. It was probably a bit late in the year to be heading out on foot to Santiago. Probably a bit late for heading out on a slow cycling camino, too!). But the Mediterranean diversion meant that Almussafes would have involved backtracking. So, I made it to a hotel in Alzira, a handful of kilometres past the end of the 'official' first stage.

A multitude of markers. The yellow arrows indicate the route is a camino, in this case the Camino Levante. The red and white stripes that it is a GR – a long-distance route – and the damaged sticker on the top tells us that we're on the Camino El Cid.

Dinner? I've been struggling to eat and a change seems in order: last night's ramen had been a good choice. Tonight Chinese? Hot and sour soup is on the menu! The restaurant has some very mixed reviews so I hope this isn't a mistake.

Not the day I'd planned. A usual start but my legs felt immediately weary. The first handful of kilometres disappeared quickly enough but it was an effort. Hazy, humid, semi-industrial for a while with orange groves breaking up the urban feel just a little.

Some was on the camino, some on a more cycle-friendly route conjured up by cycle.travel. Hot and sweaty. Through the town of Carcaixent which had not much separation from Alzira. La Pobla Llarga, Saint Joanet, Manuel... Then a section of freshly paved rail trail, not signed as Via Verde but past an old station.

A detour to a bar for a couple of bottles of cold, fizzy water. Some Sunday middle-aged roadies, in all the gear, were putting back a few beers in the shade outside the bar. Then back on the trail, into Xàtiva.

Decision time. It was a little after two o'clock. My destination was still as far away as I had already cycled but was much steeper. Accommodation looked limited in Moixent and there wasn't much before. A late arrival on a Sunday could make getting dinner awkward. It didn't take much to convince that staying where I was, in Xàtiva, was not such a bad idea.

It felt hot today, and went up to 31C. Same is forecast for tomorrow. Then it jumps to 37C and stays close to that for the next week or ten days. That will slow down any progress I hope to make. Well, one day at a time!

Yes, I rode this section. I have photos to prove it. And a record on RideWithGPS. But I remember very little of the day. Relatively short but tiring and HOT.

I do recall the painfully slow last haul up to the hotel a couple of kilometres out of the town. Tired, as usual, I settled on two nights in the hope of some recovery. The manager/owner drove me back into town for dinner. An underwhelming meal, almost a salad and some calamares, and then a long walk back to the room.

It was a brute of a day!

I was out of the hotel in Moixent fairly early but it was already hot. One day's rest hadn't worked any miracles on my legs. The plan was for a short day, to Le Font de Figuera, where there was a possibility of accommodation. Although they hadn't responded to my email... (Does hotmail still even exist?) There was a fallback plan: a chain hotel on the motorway about four kilometres from the town (village?). Not highly rated but it would have sheets and running water.

I had loaded Almansa as my destination into cycle.travel and followed that route - I hadn't examined it closely but it looked to go through Le Font de Figuera.

If it even knew about the camino, cycle.travel did not show any particular fondness for it. My rides since Valencia thus far had not shared much of the route with that taken by the foot-slogging pilgrims. This meant that my route tended to follow paved roads where the pilgrims were often on dirt or gravel. But in my somewhat diminished state, finding the heat difficult and the riding hard, I was generally happy with cycle.travel's choice of route.

So it wasn't really a surprise that my day's ride seemed to have an affinity for pavement on quiet roads adjacent to the (unquiet) motorways. This gave an opportunity to stop off at a BP service station (what is British Petroleum doing in Spain?) for a cool drink and a Snickers bar – breakfast had been rudimentary, a couple of slices of toast. The riding surface wasn't consistent, though, with transitions to heavy gravel to cross somewhat frequently under the highway.

I passed the motorway hotel and didn't end up going into Le Font de Figuera. It was only one o'clock so I decided to press on.

Then came the steep part. Lots of pushing, from tree to tree where I paused panting in the shade. I was probably recovering twice as long as I was pushing. No fun at all. Eventually, at about three o'clock, I reached the top, totally shattered. With still 25 or so kilometres to go.

It was a tough couple of hours to cover that relatively short distance. Mainly, still, service roads alongside the highway with occasional detours across fields where some major roads crossing my path made navigation more difficult.

I had found an inexpensive hostal on Google and had emailed about a room. Yes, a bike was fine. I immediately checked his availability and extended my booking for three nights. I definitely needed a couple of days down time. Laundry. Haircut and a shave. But mostly to let my legs recover somewhat.

I did eventually reach Almasen where a nice man, Paco, welcomed me into his hostal. Three nights, with two days for some recovery I hope. The next day of riding is as challenging as the one I'd just done.

Somewhere before Almansa I had passed from the autonomous community of Valenciana into the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. It wasn't signposted on the road or track I was on. Sometime in the middle of the day when I had other things on my mind.