TREK TRAVEL's journey through spain

On a sunny September 10th, 2008 over a dozen folks, some who knew each other and some who would become friends, gathered at the Santander train station to start what would be an epic Trek Travel Vuelta trip. Dan and Cendrine arrived in minibuses to take the guests out to Hotel Casona Palacio Los Caballeros (a pretty impressive name…) just on the outskirts of Santillana del Mar, perhaps the most beautiful village in all of Spain. When we pulled in, we were delighted to see three familiar faces: Megan, Rob and John. We had met on previous trips, either the Tour de France or the Giro d’Italia. As a guide we live such a vagabond life that it is always a treat to cross paths with past guests.

After a short shuttle and a quick change into our kits we met in the garden of this beautiful family owned hotel (two sisters Maria and Chello along with their smooth talking brother Jose run the place and treat guests like long lost family members). As typical on the first day, guests immediately zoomed in on the bikes, the new 2008 Trek Madones, both 5.2’s and our upgrade 6.5’s, neatly racked in our Ultimate stands. Within 5 minutes, the area was a flurry of activity: we took out the tools and started changing stems, putting pedals, adjusting handlebar position, switching seats…. Everyone got the chance to “ride” on the trainer to ensure that all were properly fitted to their bike.

After grabbing a snack, we left on an afternoon warm up ride in the nearby green countryside. The first day ride is usually a mid-length ride that provides everyone with the chance to make sure that the fit is perfect as the week that lied ahead had its share of more difficult terrain and proper fit makes a significant difference.

Dan and Doug biked with the group while Cendrine provided support in the van. It was fun to see the group snake through the Spanish countryside. As with every group, guests certainly had different levels of pace, physical ability and cycling experience. As such it was quite impressive to see the fastest riders (Mike and Rob, the founders of First Endurance, a maker of high quality sports nutrition products and their friend Skylere, who has competed at the pro level) wait for the whole group to meet up a number of times. During those stops it was great to see guests getting acquainted, chatting about the route, swapping training tips… Kilometer by kilometer, the group dynamics were being defined and bonds developed.

At the end of the ride we returned to the garden where coolers full of ice cold beer were waiting. It was time to relax over Pringles and San Miguels! Some folks headed to their room for a short siesta before meeting up again in the lounge area for a cocktail hour. When everyone had a glass of Rioja in their hand, we started to talk about the week, the riding, the climbs, the team access activities, the stage finishes… all the exciting things that we’ll enjoy over the week. While we were not a race team, we were following a race and as such we had much to discuss about timing, viewings, road closures, wild fans, local police, and race vehicles. The talks finished and we headed into the heart of the beautiful village of Santillana del Mar for dinner. That evening we enjoyed a typical gastronomic Cantabrian meal that featured 4 courses, one of which was stuffed sea urchins.

We woke up the following morning to the pitter-patter of rain. It was the day of the Stage 12 finish in the seaside resort of Suances. Two of our guests John and John (aka. JG and Tonner) had won an auction to raise dollars for cancer research at the Trek 100 charity ride, and their prize was a ride in a Astana team car during that stage. Early that morning Doug drove them to Burgos for the stage start. They met at the team hotel with the team representative, Jared Melzer. From there they were off to the Start Village where they met up with Viatcheslav Ekimov (Eki) who was to be their driver for the day and Fausto, one of the team mechanics riding with Eki. While this was transpiring, 3 intrepid guests (Megan, Jon and Joe) left with Cendrine and biked off to Suances to the stage finish in the pouring rain. The ride was gorgeous, even though wet, taking us along the ocean front and up the imposing 1.5km climb through town to the finish line. It was clear that it was not going to be a sprint to the line but instead would probably see someone breaking away on this hill. While the 4 riders were getting wet on the bike, our Spanish and cultural expert guide, Dan, took another group of guests out to the famous Altamira caves known for its polychrome hand drawings dating from some 15000 years ago. Once the riders and cave visitors came back we shuttled off to the Suances stage finish VIP area. It was pretty amazing coming back to this town we had scouted out previously. A machine had come through to trim down the speed bumps that were made out of concrete. While it didn’t fully remove them it certainly changed them forever, and just for this one day of Vuelta racing. At the VIP area we enjoyed tapas and drinks while catching the action on a big screen TV. As the first riders neared the finish the excitement grew. More and more cars came screaming by and we could tell on the TV exactly how far away they were. We went roadside when the time was right to catch Paolo Bettini screaming ahead to take the stage. It was evident from the look of the riders it had been a rough ride in the rain and cold. What a day!

With the following day a rest day for the pros, it was our chance to get out for a beautiful loop ride. We left the hotel heading west through some quiet roads toward San Vincente de la Barquera. We first passed a beautiful old Spanish estate with lovely grounds and ponies about. Smells of eucalyptus trees filled the air as we progressed up a relatively easy grade climb over some 10km, our first continuous climb over a long distance. Upon hitting the ridge we were rewarded with impressive views of the Picos de Europa – the peaks that were the first sight of Europe for ships arriving from America. A long curvy fun descent took us well on our way to San Vincente. Although it was a rest day for the pros, they actually hit the road to spin their legs out a bit. We crossed paths with several of these stars of the Vuelta throughout the ride, including two Andalusia Sur riders all kitted out. That was pretty neat. Lunch was at a beach looking out at the main part of San Vincente, the start town for the following day’s stage. After filling our bellies with Spanish tortilla, pollo, steak, and sardines, we had another 20km along the coast to get back to our hotel. Over the course of the previous night there had been a big storm and the ocean was sending some serious waves crashing into the shoreline. It was a treat to see from the bike. Back at the hotel we showered and headed off to Team Astana’s hotel in Comillas. This was to be a night to remember!

Jared welcomed us as we arrived amidst dozens of team buses, press cars, and mechanics trucks. Our first stop was with Chris, one of the mechanics. He was waiting for us, casually sitting at the back of the truck with two of Levi’s bikes on display – his TT bike and the one he was going to use for the following day on the Angliru (his gear ratios looked eerily similar to those on our standard Trek Travel triple). After getting our share of inside stories about bikes and gear we made our way inside where Chechu Rubiera was waiting for us. What a classy guy! He was very at ease speaking English, albeit his non-native tongue, and was a treat for our guests to talk to. One guest asked him if he was going to retire as previously announced. He replied that this was a hard decision and hinted, with a smile, at his desire to possibly continue if he could ride for Lance again. Then, Johan Bruyneel and Eki came out and questions flew at them. In the end Johan personally signed a copy of his new book for each guest. Following Johan, the list of cycling greats continued, as Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer hit the stage. They were actually blown away when they heard that we were going to ride the Angliru climb the following day. They smiled, wished us luck (we needed a lot), and advised us to go in an easy gear (as if we had a choice...). We stayed at the team hotel for dinner basking in the pro cycling atmosphere. It was great fun to see many riders walking to dinner, chatting on their cell phones, visiting with friends or just milling around. There were many sightings of Carlos Sastre and Alberto Contador. It was hard to pull away from such an environment but we had to go to bed and rest for the infamous and intimidating Angliru climb…

The following morning we left Cantabria and headed off to Asturias. It was the morning of Stage 13 and we started our ride from our new hotel - Palacio Figaredo. Some guests opted to first attack the Category 1 Alto de la Colladona with gradients reaching 17% at times, while others took an easier route prior to reaching the base of the Angliru. Before the trip the three of us had ridden it. We have one word to describe it: wicked! Definitely the steepest climb we had ever done, steeper than anything in the Pyrenees and Alps. We did not cycle up, we crept up the three ramps over 20% during the last 6 km. And we did it very, very, very slowly. Today the gradients were the same but now 100,000 enthusiastic fans lined the road as we made our way up this beast. It was crazy. At some point, everyone turned around (at, near, or on the way to the summit) and made it down and off the Angliru before road closures to enjoy a rewarding lunch of bean soup and roasted lamb eased down by local vino tinto (red wine) and strong coffee. Because the vans were stuck 6 kms from the restaurant, Dan and Cendrine had to carry everyone’s day bags on their backs. (Graciously, Doreen helped us and carried two bags herself). Dan bungeed 3 backpacks on his back, carried another one on his chest before hopping on his bike and tackling a 6 km climb. It was an amazing sight: imagine a Nepalese Sherpa riding a fancy carbon fiber road bike. Cendrine laughed so much all the way up that she almost fell off her bike! Meanwhile, Doug was enjoying a couple of beers with the guests while watching the Vuelta on TV with some local Spaniards!

At the end of the day, we all rolled out by bicycle down to the main road, getting us away from a large traffic jam and back to our hotel promptly. Still feeling jovial from the Angliru high, our guests were up for some light-hearted fun. So, at some point over dinner at the hotel, one guest taunted another with a 300 Euro wager to change and come back to the table wearing pink panties. Amazingly, he did. And that was quite a sight! He (with Megan and Jon) promptly went on to Oviedo where he happily spent the 300 euro celebrating the day with the locals. Two made it back to the hotel around 3:00am while the third did not come back before 6:45am. Needless to say that he did not ride the following day.

Day 5 of our trip was to be another epic ride to the stage finish at Fuentes de Invierno. Before Fuentes we rode over two beautiful mountain passes on quiet Spanish roads that were both featured in the day’s stage. Mike had a blast snapping photos with his snazzy SLR that he carried with him on his back. It was incredibly quiet and peaceful with stunning views. Amazing to consider, especially since a major stage race was about roll through in only a few hours. We then turned the corner to Fuentes and had 27km to get to the top. The first bit was a false flat. The climb itself was only the last 12km. It rose up through various switchbacks with gorge like features. The closer we got to the top, the more fans were lining the road, giving us the added motivation to keep on going with their chants of “Venga! Venga! Venga!”. At the summit, we headed straight to the VIP area at the finish line, once again, mingling with local sponsors, race officials and long-legged podium girls. We did not miss a second of the action as we followed the race on TV, encouraging Leipheimer and Contador who were charging to Fuentes. All of a sudden Contador launched like a rocket and moments later we saw him live, shooting his imaginary gun in the air as he crossed the line in first place. A great finish! Every second of it captured by Hana and her video camera. Afterwards, we biked down Fuentes de Invierno enjoying a great descent and overtaking team buses. For once, we were faster than the pros! That night we took off to Team Astana’s hotel, La Gruta, in Oviedo to enjoy dinner with Jared and get some inside scoop about the day. It was a happening place. Several teams were staying at this hotel and we ran into many familiar faces, including Johan and Eki who were dining at a nearby table.

Stage 15 of the Vuelta was our third successive day with categorized climbs in our own routes. We started the day in Cudillero, a picturesque seaside fishing town hosting the stage start that day. Its main square is right at sea level but the town rises dramatically with streets meandering up the steep side of the hill making it for a very challenging first kilometer out of town. We started the morning at the ‘village’, a VIP area right beside the start line. Little by little, team buses, cars, officials, police, and sponsors started pouring into the starting area. Riders were warming up and going to the official sign in. Paolo Bettini was casually cycling around the village looking for a friend or family member. It was the perfect moment to get autographs and photos with many different riders as everyone was just casually milling about. At noon the peleton got underway for the “Salida neutralizada”, the ceremonial start (the real start where racing begins started 10km out of town), with the vibrant colors of the riders’ jerseys rolling by behind the race director’s car. It’s always a great sight but especially so on a sunny day with the ocean sparkling in the background.

Shortly after the pros started, we got on our Madones and followed them to Puerto Somiedo. This day the First Endurance guys Mike and Rob, along with Skylere and Jon, decided to push the pace up to the pass. They looked like pros climbing this cat 1 climb: fast and powerful. John L. was not far behind them. However, three days in a row of big climbs led to some of us getting in the sag van to rest the legs, eat chocolate, and listen to tunes. We all eventually got to the top of Somiedo and watched the finish on TV at a small little bar. Everyone had accomplished a lot of riding in this mountainous region of Asturias. After the finish we shuttled back to our hotel, picking up John L. along the way as he had decided to go a little further than everyone else. It was during this time that it became apparent what a huge climb everyone had done today: from the pass at just shy of 5000 feet, we were heading back to sea level - a big descent. Accordingly, we had to celebrate and back at the hotel we gathered at the bar to drink Asturian cider (poured from a bottle held up high, down to a glass held way down low - potentially a messy pour!) and toast the week. Over dinner we chatted about the race, discussed the final GC, and toasted the week some more.

On our last morning, we got everyone’s bikes out and ready but only Hana and Joe decided to ride. The others all opted to sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and relax. We stripped the bikes, returned the pedals and seats to their owners, and loaded the bikes on the van. After a quick lunch, we headed off to the Oviedo airport and train station. Sadly it was time to say goodbye but we took with us wonderful and insightful memories of a region, the Vuelta a España, and the Astana Cycling Team. And we also met some new friends to meet up with again along the road.

To learn more about Trek Travel's trips, please visit www.trektravel.com.