So I am heading back to Calpe for another year. Here it is…Calpe 2k18!

Travel Day:

This was an interesting one. So I was working the night before and our flight left in the early hours of the morning.

But during the day it was pretty normal, was meant to be packing my life into a suitcase, but instead sat at a cafe with a few friends. Normal activity really. Then cramming all my packing into about an hour. Standard.

After that it was off to work, just another boring Friday night shift in a bar in January. I got home about 1:30am, but with the combined effect of the loud music, the cold cycle home and the absurd amount of coffee I’d drank, I wasn’t getting to sleep any time soon. So tuned it to some Netflix in the hope it my knock me out for the 2 available hours of sleep. This did not happen. Instead I just stayed up until 3:30am when I had to leave to get to the airport. Thankfully, Dad was willing to get up and take me there. Although he didn’t get much say in the matter.

Apart from the general drowsiness and the clumsiness that goes with it, the journey was smooth. Two and a half hour flight to Allicante, coach to calpe, taxi from the bus station to the villa. Sorted.

Luckily despite being on a different flight to the London boys, we all arrived at a similar time. It was time to build the bikes and head out for a spin to alleviate the plane legs.

Day 1: 4hr w/ Z3 Climbs

After probably the best sleep of my life, it was the first time i’ve slept more than 6hours since I was in Majorca, we got up bright and early to make the most of the sun and headed into the mountains for a 4hour loop. Starting up Benissa, then Rates, then Guadelest. A few of us in the group rode the climbs at zone 3, just keeping the chain tight basically. I still haven’t really gone up to zone 4 or 5 since the race season, but I can bare with zone 3 no problems.

After the climbs we hit the imfamous “red road” descent, straight open and smooth roads. We went racing down, Lawrence came flying past at the top and wasn’t seen again, taking all the corners on the top tube like a mad man. Thankfully we all made it to the bottom in one piece, and from then on it was all plain sailing back to Calpe along the coast road.

It was the perfect ride to just open the legs after the travel day. Even after just the one nights sleep I feel so much better. I’m sure that after a week or so of proper training routine and focus, I will feel like a different person. Not a different person, but actually just me. How I should be.

Check the ride here!

Day 2: 3hrs w/ Sprints

The order of the day was 4x10sec sprints. We had to delay the start a little today just to let the clouds disperse, and after that we headed out up Benissa the same as yesterday. But instead of up Rates, we headed straight up to Pego and back towards the coast and Denia.

Along a few rolling roads we made it to the Pego olive fields. The straighest and flattest road we could find. The group split up and everyone did there own sprint efforts. I got my efforts done. The power wasn’t quite where I wanted but considering I haven’t done any sprints since the race season it’ll do for now. I’ve got a month to transfer the gym strength onto the bike, so there is no worries.

Check the ride here!

Day 3: 5hrs with 5x Climbing Efforts

I started the day riding 3hrs with the guys (and gal now), we headed out over Rates and up the Mordor road to Castell de Castelles. A road pretty much designed to crack any time trialist to me. Constant 200-300m ramps of 12-15%. Not the kind of road I like to ride.

After the grim climbs, we hit what may be the longest descent i’ve ever ridden. Atleast 15km, but to be fair I haven’t checked the segment. From Castell de Castelles all the way down to Parcent is a wide sweeping road. We had a nice group of 5 so got a smooth through and off rolling round to keep the pace up and were going to be in town in no time. The coffee stop was looming.

We headed straight for Tango Bar by the beach. A calpe villa staple. Sadly, I only had time for a bonbon before I headed off to Benissa to do my efforts for the day. Already 3.5hours in meant that it would be a solid day. I had five efforts up the Benissa climb to do, a couple low cadence and a couple threshold, nothing too crazy this early in the camp, but more intensity than i had been doing so far this winter. To be totally honest after a few good nights sleep I am starting to feel a lot more like myself. The legs are improving and the moral in the villa is high. I am certain it will only improve. So bring it on.

Check the ride here!

Day 5: 4.5hrs Z2

With the rest of the villa on a rest day before a Rates smash tomorrow, it was just me and Sam heading out early to get our training in. We headed out together towards Parcent, where we split and went our seperate ways. I headed up to Pego, aiming for Val d’Ebo, a famous climb around here which I haven’t done yet. So it was awesome to hit up some new roads. After that I got well and truly lost in the mountains. Just kept on pedalling. And I enjoyed every minute. Dispite the infamously named ‘Mordor road’ up to Tollos. It took a solid 3.5hrs to do 75km. From the beach in Calpe up to 800m in a weird ass way, 1800m in climbing altogether.

Thankfully after that it was plain sailing home. The same descent from yesterday down from Castelles, a fast run in all the way to town.

I had to make a quick stop off in Parcent for water, I had gone the best part of 4hours on 2bottles and was feeling it pretty bad. The food situation was fine, breakfast and 2 cereal bars had got me through no problems, but the increase in temperature had made water more vital. Even if I am still refusing to remove my leg warmers.

Overall I am really getting into training camp life. I ended the ride and ice bathed my legs in the pool for 10minutes and then made lunch. Yes dad, I am cooking and no, no one has died!

Check the ride here!

Day 6: CAFE DAY

Nice early start this morning. With the upstairs crew heading out to Rates, once again it was just me and Sam heading for the cafe. Certainly needed after a few big days. We are heading down to D-Origen Coffee Roasters in Altea, and we are heading out early so we can get breakfast there and make the most of the beautiful scenes riding along the coast road with the sun rise.

Turns out we timed it perfectly, as five minutes after we arrived, so did Dimension Data. Serge Pauwels, Cavendish the lot. We were pretty happy, the only way this day could have got better is if Lachy was there.

Look out for Cafe Connoisseur Ep2 coming soon!

After a perfect breakfast, we rolled out back to Calpe for a second stop at Tango, before a pitstop at Consum and then back to the house.

After a nice stretch the legs are feeling much better after the spin out, ready to go into the next few big days before another rest day on monday. Here goes a big weekend!

Check the ride here!

Stay tuned for more posts!

Find out about the guys that make my travels possible here!