Faro to Bilbao via Lisbon

Hi again readers. I write this after a few weeks of winter cycling in Portugal....highly recommended....then more weeks back at home riding with increasingly heavy panniers. On the most recent ride I carried panniers , tent and tools that weighed in at 40k. MUSCLES!!!😊 Those patient folk who have read my scratchings in the past know that I do love the pre-tour training where I eventually carry loads greater than the tour weight (expected to be 33kg) to allow the tour to be enjoyable from the start. Those folk may also know that I am vulnerable to bouts of depression brought on by the simplest of things.....usually an unwanted surprise or .... disappointment in the behaviour, or words, of someone in my circle of pals or family. The depression drags me down enough to stop me cycling and I stay indoors to wonder..... 'why?'  One half of my brain tells me no harm is meant while the other, autistic- half tells me that the 'cause' shouldn't have occurred and my me...