Here’s a photo tour from today’s recon ride of Leige-Bastogne-Liege.

It’s great to be back in Girona after a very successful training camp in Mallorca.

Torres Chocolate signs, for some reason, symbolize Catalunya for me.

Beautiful weather in Spain at the moment.

Had a few very nice rides with Robbie Ventura over the weekend.

Random hole-in-the-wall bar stop with RV and Joel turned into one of the best jamon sandwiches I’ve ever had.

You have to start early, and brave the cold, to get in the scheduled six-hour rides here in Mallorca.

Climbing Sa Calobra with Marco Pinotti and Peter Velits.  My favorite climb on the island.

Still working my way up the 10km Sa Calobra climb with Pino…

At the top of Mallorca highest mountain, Puig Major, the light at the end of the tunnel is pretty small.

The road to Llucmajor, or away from it…

Over the past ten days the Greenville community has seen its fair share of professional cyclists cruising the streets.  Riders from across the nation are discovering the quiet roads and relatively warm climate of the Upstate.  Having the US Professional Championship based in Greenville for the past five years has certainly helped get the word out.  Now, the time and effort is finally being put in by a number of riders to actually set up their winter base here and take advantage of all that the area has to offer.

George and I have been happy to play tour guide these past few weeks.  The long rides we are use to covering by ourselves are made much quicker and easier with the help of some company.  Ted King has been based out of my house this past week and has, as far as I can tell, been enjoying his time here.  Another New Englander, Jeremy Powers, just made the journey down south to put in his final preparations for a bid at the upcoming Cyclocross World Championships in Germany.

Our training group has been getting more diverse by the day.  From sprinters like Frank Travieso to climbers like Chris Butler, we have had a great mix of riders to push each of us in all the aspects of cycling.  After all, sometimes the best way to progress is by surrounding yourself with better riders.

With a few of the locals joining us throughout the week our group has been relatively big and entertaining.  Some of them have been biting off more than they can chew trying to keep up on the climbs and pull through when we are rotating on the flats.  But it has all been in good fun.  I hope Greenville continues to draw in a growing number of cyclists.  When we are in the dead of winter, and the body needs the mind-numbing base miles for the season ahead, misery loves company.

There are very few climbs in the cycling world that are a cherished as the Passo Gavia.  There is also no other church/museum as beloved as the Madonna de Ghisallo.  Brendan and I were lucky to experience both of these in the same day this past Saturday!  After our seven-hour journey the day before we decided the body could use a little rest so we headed out for a short and easy ride around Ponte de Legno.  Once out on the road we couldn’t pass up riding the Passo Gavia as it basically starts at our hotel’s front door.  The easy day soon turned into not so easy.  We ignored all signs stating the road was closed and continued to ride up its steep slopes and into the snow.  Experiencing the climb with no traffic was really special.  It was just the trees and the wind out there, making for a very peaceful ride.  Around five kilometers from the top my knees had had enough, and not wanting to cause any injuries before the Giro we decided to flip it and head back to the hotel.

In the afternoon we drove down the valley and alongside the famous Lago di Como (Lake Como) and then up to the top of the Madonna de Ghisallo.  There the church waited for us with open doors and a surprising amount of tourists.  We gazed at its walls, covered in cycling memorabilia, just trying to soak in as much of the history around us as possible.  But for that you would need much longer than a few minutes.  Every inch of the church is covered with bikes, jerseys and any and all things cycling related.  It was truly amazing to see this firsthand and a must for any cycling fan.  I was also very surprised and happy to see so many tour buses park outside with their guests interested in learning the history of cycling.  Cycling is defiantly growing at the moment, I feel.

Today saw Brendan and I pedaling up and over mountains for nearly seven hours.  Accumulating over 4,000 meters of climbing!  I would have to say that today’s ride goes down as my biggest training ride ever.  It was another beautiful day for us here in Italy.  We finally made it around to the correct side of the Mortirolo only to be able to make it nine of the twelve kilometers up before running into the snow line.  Snow and ice once again forced us to detour.  Luckily, nine kilometers was more than enough for me!  Its steep slopes are relentless.  Even descending was a workout.  The friction from my breaks had my wheel so hot that I burned myself when my knee touched its sidewall!

The rest of the ride we basically spent bar hopping.  A couple cappuccinos at this bar and a few pastries at another in a town down the valley.  Not a bad way to spend the day, but I believe when I am back here in a month’s time I will be missing those opportunities for coffee stops.  We also made another quick trip up the Passo Santa Christina and it didn’t get any easier overnight.  We are hoping to get in one more solid ride tomorrow, but with rain in the forecast it is not looking likely.

Long days in the high mountains of northern Italy are all that are on the program for this week.  Brendan Quirk has joined me from the United States to tour around the country and check some of the climbs of the 2010 Giro d’Italia.  I know he was nothing but excited to see this part of the world and be able to climb these hills with so much cycling history, but after our first hard day today he might be dreaded the next three.  And unfortunately for Brendan, today was the “easy” day!  He will be just fine though.  With the climbs of the Mortirolo, Gavia and the Tonale all tagged in paint with the names of Pantani, Gotti and many more recent champions the inspiration to keep climbing is always there.

Our ride today took us to the unexpected.  Snow covered roads diverted us from our original plan to climb the Mortirolo.  Instead we ended climbing up the Santa Cristina.  Brendan thought it would never end, and I had to agree.  I even said “I am glad we are not racing up this in the Giro.”  Once we returned home, after almost six hours on the bike, I checked to map to see where we had gone.  I realized that we would be in fact racing up the Santa Cristina this year!

Tomorrow we will once again try the Mortirolo, hoping that a new route will bring us to the bottom of the climb.  And if the snow stops us again there are plenty more mountains just waiting for us to tackle.  Being in such a beautiful area makes the training so easy.  Even though the computer read six hours, to me it felt like thirty minutes.  For now though it is time for dinner.  Brendan is in desperate need of more pasta!

Preparing for Liege-Bastogne-Liege, here are a few pictures.