Day

Day 1: Arrive in Malaga

So, my PDA internet connection isn't working right now. Maybe it's because I'm not tech savvy. I am going to have one of the guys here take a look so that I can use my own device to update. Anywho, Spain is GORGEOUS! We arrived at the villa at 3 or so (8am US east coast time). So, we are running on 2 hours of sleep I managed to grab on the 2nd flight from Paris to Malaga. I'm a little delirious but not quite enough to say no to the "recovery" ride that day. We unpacked the bikes (no damaged note by the way), and headed off to the hills. Recovery ride for these BikeDoctor guys still means fast. Luckily, Andy, our host, caught on to my smarts and said, "Look, Sara, don't worry about being slow because at least you know you won't burn out by day 4." I felt a little better, then, about being 200 meters behind the rest of the crew. But it's basically beautiful here and riding is VERY challenging. The towns have white stucco walls with old Spanish men standing at every corner watching the wind blow by. The restaurants have quite a few people in them and I'm looking forward to some happy hours later on in the week. YES. Dinner was spectacular, salmon, potatoes and salad. This massive salmon...I couldn't even imagine finishing it. I don't know how they breed them here but they taste good too.

Day 2

I slept for 12 hours, without an alarm, I didn't even wake up until Ted came knocking on my private room. Oh, forgot to tell you that I have my own little cottage complete with a full bathroom and views of the pool. This is the advantage of being the only girl on a trip with 7 guys. I could have slept until noon but then I would have slept through the first half of the ride. We ate breakfast and coffee (of course feeding the coffee addiction doesn't stop when I leave the States) and left for the ride a little after 10am. It was cloudy with rain in the distance. I didn't take long before we reached the distance (and the rain). It was wet, cold. The 2 first ascents we each 15+ minutes. I might be exaggerating but I don't think by too much. I am happy that I am not a stranger to hills thanks to riding in Harford County. Although Harford has wicked hills, they really don't even compare to Malaga province. Dude, they are long, steady, twisted. We rode through several villanuevas and each has a different feel to it. All are crammed into the mountain side, and I really can't even tell it's there until you are going through it. Cobblestone roads, beautiful tall orange and white walls and lots of walking villagers staring like they've never seen a band of bikers in their life. We did stop 2 hours in at a restaurante for cafe leche. Best coffee I've ever had, and I told the bartended that. I think he may have had a crush on me because he kept wanting to entertain my poor Spanish speaking skills. Ha, I'm just getting used to wisping away the language cobwebs. Maybe by tomorrow I'll feel more comfortable making a fool of myself.

We are hanging out now, it's sunny of course. I ate 1/2 of the ham hoagie Andy's wife made for each of us. If I ate all that she prepared, I might gain about 5 pounds. I downed a little recovery drink as well because the guys here said I should. I am learning the ropes of real bike training since I've never done something like this before. Next stop, the massage table.

I hope life's well back in Maryland...Talk soon.