May 11, 2022
Lift-off in 5-4-3-2-1
The Countdown is On!
Lift off for our return to Europe is just around the corner. There were days and weeks during covid's destructive streak that I wondered if we would ever travel again, but we started seeing light at the end of the tunnel in February. What started as a strategy to pull oursleves out of our daily covid routine flourished into a plan for a 4 week cycle trip to Spain. I, for one, couldn't be happier. Actually, that's not quite true. I will be happier when I set foot in the Palma airport five days from now.
The plan began with a simple goal in January: to be fit enough to ride the Axel Merckx GranFondo in July 2020, which became 2021 and now, 2022. In February that goal morphed into: being fit enough to cycle in Mallorca and Catalonia in May 2022. See how easy that was? Just throw in 8400km, and the stage was set for another European cycle adventure. We actually had no idea whether the Spain part would happen, but we would be fit and enjoy some great local cycling either way. And, the dog would get lots of walks in.
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Indoor Training
The goal to re-build our fitness was set by January 2, but the weather outside was frightfully cold for any outdoor cycling, so we decided to try indoor cycling. Now, let me just say that indoor cycling of yester-year is, well, so yesterday. It's now augmented with technology like smart trainers and apps galore so you don't have to spin alone anymore. We actually opted for dumb trainers and connected our heart and cadence sensors with bluetooth to the apps (or was it the other way around?) and an old apple tv. Add in some itunes and a surround sound Bose speaker, and we were rockin'.
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That's me, JackRabbit1, on the Apple TV riding to Cap de Formentor on Mallorca. I rode this one plus routes all over Europe, mostly the mountain passes, on an app called Rouvy while David fell in love with the Zwift app. His rides usually had thousands of other cyclists (mostly in Europe due to the timezone) but he often ended up riding neck and neck with other cyclists for a spirited, challenging workout.
We rode for 60-90 minutes at each session and after dismounting, dripping with sweat, our stats were automatically uploaded and displayed in cool graphs, charts and calendars. Endorphins were swirling in our bloodstream as we finished our training rides with big grins on our faces.
Outdoor Training
As the weather slowly turned and we were able to ride outdoors, we pulled on our tights and booties, and layered our upper bodies with 3 layers of wool, pulled on our long fingered gloves and our windbreakers and headed out. That was not until early March and the wind is almost always blowing, so we'd check the wind direction and then choose a route of a suitable distance that included a good coffee stop. That's also when Victoria starts to burst out in bloom and lush green lawns and foliage make their appearance as well. Soon, there were flower beds full of tulips and daffodils, fawn lilies galore and bright green foliage on the trees and shrubs.
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So, how much cycle training did we pack in? About 1000km each. I should add that we have been doing a zoom fitness class 3 times per week since the start of covid, as well. It's nothing intense but this regular routine has strenthened our core muscles and keeps our flexibility in check. Do we feel ready for this tour? In a word, yes, bring it on and pu-lease let it be warmer than this silly sub 10 degree C weather.
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