2017 - Blog 2

Pretty quickly after finishing off my first blog out in Calpe with Zappis Racing Team, we got into our first training block. We did a 700km week with various styles; mainly base work. It was a bit of an eye opener and very different to the style of training that I am accustomed to. The lifestyle is also pretty full on with little chance to take a breather. As well as the cycling we also experienced lots of other things e.g. straight after a 6 hour ride we went to Calpe to get thrown in the deep end with a conversational Spanish lesson. This was interesting to say the least. The room looked like a scene from an episode of Benidorm! Other experiences include the foods I've tried and I'll be honest some I never want to eat again.

Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated so we were forced off the bike to do other alternative exercise to keep us going. It wasn't so bad but dragged after a week. Madness when you go to sunnier climes and the area gets their worst weather in over 4 decades! Also, during this week I picked up a sickness bug and couldn't eat which wasn't ideal. Looking back, the timing was a blessing in disguise as I didn't miss much bike work.

The next week we had another block starting with intensity and then transferring to endurance. My body was feeling 'beat up' and I took the best part of the week to get my legs back into the swing of things. On the flip side, the weather had vastly improved and we had some awesome rides towards the tail end of the week. We ventured deep into the mountains. We were still encountering snow and debris left by the previous weeks crazy weather. It was cool to take in the roads used by The 2016 Vuelta including the Port de tudons. After these good few days of exploring the mountains, we had a couple of easy days. It was nice to refresh the body before the most epic ride of them all......

We all knew it was going to be a big day but this was something else! A 7 hour 30 minutes, 240km epic. Firstly firing along the coast on the bumper of Zappi's Passatt. Then trekking into the hills to make our way back around the mountains in a vaguely homeward direction. We took in various landscapes - big towns like Benidorm (what a place....), then through wasteland as we headed towards the mountains. To be honest, at this stage I was more preoccupied looking at the wheel in front of me or the car bumper than the scenery. As we climbed, the roads became more and more interesting with great descents as our rewards after each climb. These roads could be compared to scalextrics for cyclists. As we crested what we thought to be the last mountain at over 1000 metres above sea level, our spirits were high. We knew it was 30 km of downhill towards home. As we were half way down the descent, the road disappeared in front of our eyes. We had no option but to turn around and climb another 5km to head the LONG way home! What a day...

This ride concludes my first month with Zappi's. There have been a lot of new experiences that will definitely stick with me. As I write this it's around 5am in Alicante airport fuelled by 'de-caff' coffee waiting for my flight home. Looking forward to getting back to see my family and friends - however the weather doesn't look too inviting compared to current weather reports from the boys in Calpe.

Ciao!

2017 - Part 1

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who helped me during 2016 to get me to where I am now. Thank you to Welsh Cycling, Sport Wales Gym, Wiltshire Sport, Velocity Globalbike, Hotset UK and of course, family and friends.

The trip to Spain for Zappi Race Team's pre season training started bright and early for me, leaving Wales and crossing the Severn bridge well before sun-rise. It was a pretty long drive down to Portsmouth to meet up with the team and saying goodbye to my parents before getting on the 24 hour ferry crossing to Bilbao. This long boat journey was a good chance to catch up with the lads. 

Once we got close to the Spanish coast after a surprisingly good sleep we went out onto the boat deck and were greeted by wall to wall blue sky. It was nice to finally see land but it also soon dawned on me that I really was embarking on the next step of my cycling career. It's an exciting prospect but also a long way off and a few thousand hours of training and racing between me now and becoming a Pro. 

Once we got off the ferry we set about the long drive across Spain quickly leaving the greenery of the Basque Country for the barren bare landscape of mid Spain before finally arriving in Calpe, 6+ hours later in the night. The next morning after waking up, we were greeted by fantastic views from our house. This was all well and good but we soon discovered there was a price to pay for the views; a 3km climb with a 25% driveway to top it off at the end!

The first day was a chance for me to set up my mint new ride for the year, the Colnago concept. After getting this sorted we set off on our first ride; 3 hours of exploring the local roads. This area has great roads such as the Col de Rates which we have ridden most days. It is also great to see so many Pro riders along the way on these rides. We've seen the likes of BMC, CCC and Quickstep daily.  

The first few days were pretty chilled just riding the 2 long days of travelling out of the legs. It was also a good opportunity to get used to the area and get used to the unique Zappi lifestyle/regime. Now we are all settled in, we are going to start on our first block of real training. 

Keep you updated

Ciao