[DVBC] Spain Cycling Adventure

[dreamer at craftech.com]

Patty from Action Wheels sent me the message below about a cycling clinic
in Spain that she and others are doing.  The trip will be April 12th -
19th and sounds great.  Patty told me the airfare will be about $660 and
the cost of the clinic is $1650.  Food is included, apt with 4 persons in
each, SAG everyday, transportation to and from the airport too.  You can
also rent a carbon Scott ($4000 bike) for $190 for the week if you don't
want to take your own bike.

I'm going to attend the meeting on January 14th at 6:30 at AW to get more
info.

Hey all you ToPAers, how about we do a ToPA in Spain this year?  The only
bad thing about this trip is that I'll have to get my taxes done before
the 15th for once!  How about it Jake?  Dom and JoAnn, no carrying stuff? 
Somebody tell Bob Martin--he'd love climbing those mountains!  Dan &
Misty?  Charlie?  Woody?  Doug?  Nancy?  Dave?  David?  Len?  Doc? 
Cheryl?  Mary (yo Rookie, you're retired right)?  Bob LaDrew?  Drew? 
Okay, you get the point--all of you are invited and please don't be
offended if I didn't mention your name--I do mean YOU!!!

Debbie



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Patty Woodworth <patty at actionwheels.com>
Date: Jan 1, 2008 7:13 PM
Subject: Spain cycling adventure
To: Daniel Dillon <ddlucky at verizon.net>, dreamerdeb at gmail.com


Hi Deb,
If you have a few minutes can you read this and see if it is something
that you would like to pass along to your club?


Hi Friends,
As an avid cyclist, I am always looking for ways to spend more time on my
bike. Last summer (2006), I decided I'd like to go to a cycling training
camp in Spain that I had read about in Bicycling Magazine. The owner of
the company, Eurocycler, had been in my shop to drop fliers a few years
back and it looked like fun. My husband said yes as long as I had someone
to go with.

I started talking about it on some end of season group rides and there was
a lot of enthusiasm. I contacted Richard Debrot at Eurocycler and he said
he would work up a special rate for a group. We got 13 people to go to
Girona Spain for a week of base miles in an area where the pros choose to
train.

We all had panic attacks within a month of the trip and had to talk each
other off the ledge about how stupid we were for deciding to do this. When
we got there, we were more settled but still wary of what was ahead. Our
group was diverse. Matt has been riding about 4 years now as a way to stay
fit and his girlfriend Carol had only started cycling about 9 months
prior. Dave was a BMX pro who has been on a 20" (kids?) bike his whole
life and only started road cycling three years ago. Kevin is an
experienced cyclist and a good climber but doesn't like the descents so
much. Gerry broke his collarbone over the winter and had only been on his
bike 3 times since Thanksgiving. And me, well, I've been riding my whole
life but my dreams are always bigger than my lungs and legs, so we all had
challenges ahead.

The first ride day was 41 miles. Pretty easy loop, most of the climbing is
only 3-5% grade but goes on forever. We chatted as we rode and everyone
had a smile on their face at dinner. We were making plans for our 2008
return. The next day was 47 miles. There was some easy stuff and one
notable 200 meter climb at 14% but once again we made it through with
smiles. The third day was a 90 miler. Lots of miles but nothing that made
you want to go home. We had a great rest day after that and relaxed so we
were ready for 65 on Thursday. We finished the week with another 90 miler.
Except for my saddle starting to get the better of me, I couldn't believe
that we had ridden all those miles. The group stuck together, supporting
each other all week and were all stronger for it.

Enough never being enough, I thought that I would try it again in 2008. We
had only really asked people that rode with us on our regular shop rides
as I never really thought much beyond that, but, this year I would like to
open this adventure up to anyone who loves to ride their bike and
challenge themselves. Again, these are base miles not race miles. Most of
the climbing was done at a comfortable pace under 9 mph.

We are having a meeting about the trip at Action Wheels Bike Shop in
Deptford on Monday, January 14th at 6:30p. If you would like more info or
want to talk to someone who went, drop in and check it out. You can find
directions to our store on our website <http://actionwheels.com>. You can
also email me for more info.

I have provided a link to the Eurocycler site and to some pictures of last
years trip. It was a phenomenal adventure. If you are thinking this sounds
like fun, don't hesitate to contact me.

<http://www.eurocycler.com/actionwheels.asp>

This next site is a photo journal of our trip made by Dave, the resident
BMXer. Please ignore his irreverence if it bothers you. I thought the
pictures were well worth including it.

<http://mysite.verizon.net/vzer3t9i/eurocyclergironaspain2007/>

Thanks and send me a shout out if you need more info,

Patty

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