Updates from Spain...Click for Video of Tuesdays ride!

Thanks to the wonders of modern communication we have some almost up to the minute updates from Patty at the EuroCycler training camp in lovely Gerona, Spain:

"Our long awaited journey to Spain has begun! After long lines and a hectic day of travel, we arrived at Club-Hotel Giverola, Tossa de Mar, Costa Brava, Espagne...We are thrilled to be here, but nervous with anticipation.

This resort is exclusively for athletes in training. There are people here from all over the world.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and settled into our apartments. We look forward to our first ride tomorrow. (Sunday)

Sunday. The 'Prologue' was 41 miles and a chance for us to get our feet wet in the mountains of Spain. The coaches use this day to assess rider abilities for future rides. We all had a great day and are all so excited that we talked over dinner about returning next year...

The scenery is unbelievable, the climbing is intense, and the weather is mid-70's and sunny!

Monday. We had another picture-perfect day - our 49 mile ride included 4000 feet of climbing. A much more difficult day and we all finished smiling.

Tuesday. They broke us into smaller groups today, as the length of the ride was 90 miles and they wanted to control the pace. That mileage at home wouldn't have been so daunting but in the mountains of Spain it took 6 hours to complete! We worked together, making sure that each of us stayed hydrated, fed and properly motivated.

It is an amazing revelation to find that drivers in Spain regard cyclists as equals on the road, even yielding to them in roundabouts and on mountain passes!

All the people here are wonderful, and all of the EuroCycler folks are very helpful and knowledgeable.

Tomorrow (Wed) is a rest day, and we are all looking forward to not being in the saddle."

Click on the post heading above to check out some video from Tuesdays ride...