Descent

The End

Unfortunately, it's over.
But the legs are ready for rest.


The long miles and the justifiable indulgence must be come to an end.

It is worth noting that Madrid's airport is beautiful.

Impressive design is everywhere.

It's time to return to work.

Day 14

Today we rested and soaked up a bit more of the Spanish lifestyle. We rode a little, too.

This modern house along the climb to Colossa doesn't have anything covering the floor-to-ceiling windows.


Instead, the orange groves along the road provide the privacy.


Makes sense with these mountain views.

We had some more coffee at the base of the Castel de Guadelest.


We spent a good bit of the time talking about how we all plan to return next year. And bringing the "A" game was mentioned a few times.


Bringing the "A" bike is a given.

Day 13

After a late night of karaoke at the Dubliner last night,

(with some unorthodox hydration techniques) we climbed hard today.

The group felt the need to put the hammer down this morning.


My hammer is hand made by CrothJackson. It's awesome. Get one.

And a bit of the pain cave was documented in video form (stay tuned).

Kyle grew some hair, while I had mine cut.

I'm really going to miss this place. Everything is just too amazing. These flowering trees are everywhere. I'm told they are almond trees.

Day 12

Today, I found a new appreciation for the city where we are staying, Altea.

We rode. Double-pace-lining to Moraira for coffee. It was a recovery day.


bla bla beautiful.

Chocolate Euros are yummy.

Day 11

Today, we climbed.

Just to brag a bit, I beat my previous time up the Tutons by 8 minutes and beat two Juniors from Davo-Lotto up the climb (Junior feeder for Silence Lotto) riding some beautiful Ridley frames.

Back down the descent into Parcent.

Proper recovery.

And soaking up some cosmic rays.

Day 10

Today was a day to ride the flats.  So we rode over some climbs (3800 ft worth) to get to the flats.

In some cases we were able to not climb over the mountains, so that helped.

However, the new guys that joined us for the last week of the camp are very fast.

Not sure why I thought an 80 mile day was going to be easy, especially with the fresh legs setting the pace.

Denia, where we rode the flats, is a beautiful coastal town

But sometimes you're too deep in the pain cave to notice.

Day 9

Today we rode in warm weather at last.

Coat the legs in some warm weather Mad Alchemy embrocation.

And get the ride moving through the orange groves.

Don't forget the lemons for the salty tapas and cervezas.

Kyle over indulged.  Are those his pringles?  I bet they are.

I have faith that he will repêchage.

Day 8

Today was a free day without an organized ride.  While some took the day off the bike to relax, we rode.

Kyle "the easter egg" Smith has found his climbing legs and pushed the pace on the Rats today.

We had more coffee in Parcent,

before climbing the Rats again.

This is Tarbena.  Beautiful.

I dressed as Humpty Dumpty for the day.  A polka-dot jersey would match these PezCycling leg warmers very well.

Speaking of beautiful things.  This car caught my eye. Estoy muy flaca.

If this car hit me, I think I would win.

Day 7

Dreary mornings mean I drink far too many cafe americanos

while reviewing the week's data before we head out for the day.

We rode the coastal recovery route, with a tiny 1000 ft climb thrown in to flush out the legs. 

We made a quick stop to look at some real estate. Just 90k Euros will snag an ocean view.  Tempting, although the mountains are really what I love.

While watching some Eurosport coverage back at the hotel, Kyle Smith informed me that the prettiest racer in the pro peloton is Linus Gerdemann. I was unaware.  You can judge for yourself.

Day 6

Today, we climbed more.

Some of the climbs were steep.

We took a wrong turn.

And saw (and climbed) more beautiful mountains.

Then I got a massage.  Yes, life is rough here.

Day 5

Today was a rest day.  

After We rode to the top of Benissa,

we had some coffee along the coast in Moraira.  Quite a bit of coffee.

Things got crazy in Benidorm.  

Cowboys on tall bikes with very long calves.   

A monkey (not pictured).

Then we had more coffee, some cake, and tia maria.

We spent the remainder of this beautiful day watching coverage of both the Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico on EuroSport. 

Tomorrow I will try to keep the KOM jersey.