I've been in Spain for the past week with a couple of friends riding bikes. It's the first time I've done a trip like this and it had been really fun.
We are in the town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca, which is a great home base for riding. The town is hot to at least two world tour cycling teams, and there are another 4 or 5 more in the area. I was passed by the reigning Olympic road race champion, Greg Van Avermat and his teammates the other day. The riding is insanely good here as the pictures can attest. The one exception is that the roads are fine when dry, but as slippery as snot on a rock when wet.
I ate shit on an otherwise innocent looking corner on Saturday. It looked innocent, but was in the shade. With the humid air, the condensation forms on cold surfaces, and the sun hadn't dried off the dew of the morning. I ended up taking some skin off my hands and wrecking my rear derailleur and the derailleur hanger. On the plus side, they have a bunch of bike rental places around here; I found a rental that fit and was back in the saddle again today for probably the most scenic ride I've ever done.
It was a great experience just figuring things out and staying calm and realizing that it can all work out in the end. I'm at my best on vacation, need to bring that with me back home.
