With the Mallorca Challenge now a distant memory, Courtney and I are enjoying some quality time together on the island in Deia. I have written quite a bit about Deia in the past, but each time I come back I love it even more. The whole atmosphere is something very special. Taking in the fresh air with mountains behind you as you gaze out towards the open sea makes this very friendly village of 800 residents truly unique. The roads are quite amazing as well. Countless climbs dot the coast as you twist your way through the Tramuntana region of Mallorca.

For the long weekend we will be calling La Residencia home. Days spent out of the bike will be followed by some serious spa sessions! Not a bad life at all. My teammate, Vicente Reynes, has been kind enough to point us in all of the right directions in his hometown. Some amazing food and wine is to be had, as well as some rest and relaxation before it is off to Portugal for the Tour of Algarve next week. After my recent crash on the first day of Challenge Mallorca I am finally starting to feel back to normal. The stress and strains of crashing are never easy to bounce back from while racing, especially while racing in the mountains. So I was digging myself into a hole for the final two days of the race. Now with just an easy day or two I am back to normal and the legs are feeling good for the future.

This past Saturday Courtney and I decided to take the train down the Barcelona. After the hour and a half train ride we jumped off at the Barcelona Sants train station and headed to one of our favorite restaurants, Inopia. Here are some pictures of how we spent our afternoon.

Two days have now past of the HTC-Columbia training camp in Spain.  Yes, I meant to put the HTC first.  They seem to have taken over the title spot of the team, but that is about the only difference you will notice on the new jerseys.  We have received some great new Columbia gear as well, and I have been putting all of it to use.  As I am typing, the wind is howling outside my window and the cold air seems to be forcing itself through the walls and into my room.  So escaping the freezing temperatures of Greenville, South Carolina didn’t go so well!

Our ride today started out quite pleasant, actually.  Maybe it was the fact that we had the wind at our backs the first half of the ride, and the sun in our faces that kept us warm.  As soon as we started to head back it was a different story.  The rain blew in; followed by a short burst of snow, then more rain!  Luckily, all of this crazy weather hit us in our final half hour, so it could have been much worse.  It is also amazing at how just having some fresh roads to ride makes the day go that much faster, and it also makes you a little less sensitive to these bad moments.

Well, my winter break here in Greenville has come to an end.  I’ve spent the past couple of days figuring out how to pack up my whole life into one suitcase.  I’ll spend the next six-months or so over in Europe, my longest block yet, and I’ll have to be prepared for everything.  Training camp in Mallorca, Spain, is my first stop.  Two weeks of hard training, on and off the bike, and hopefully a little better weather will help me get ready for the racing season.  Then, it’s time to get settled in Girona, my home for the year.

I am looking forward to getting the year going and figuring out where my fitness is in the first few races.  I feel the winter has treated me well, but it’s hard to say when you’re not racing and don’t have anything to compare with.  I am also really excited to get back to life in Girona.  The life and culture there is about as good as it can get.  Morning coffees overlooking the river at our place, and an evening glass of wine in one of the town squares with Courtney are some of the best parts of life.  It will also be nice to escape the bitter cold that has settled in Greenville, and have some fresh roads to train on.

Another nightmare of a trip finally brought me home to Greenville this past weekend.  Delayed, and even canceled flights were again the cause.  The “storm of the decade” was making its way up the east coast as I was trying to get from Philadelphia to Greenville.  My wife, Courtney, had to drive late in the night, with snow and ice on the roads, to pick me up in Charlotte, NC.  In total, I spent almost six days of traveling just to be in Lanzarote for six days!  I am glad we were able to get so many meetings out of the way as it probably wouldn’t have been worth it otherwise.

Now it is time to once again re-adjust to a new time zone and finish up all of my holiday shopping.  It’s hard to believe Christmas is this week, but it sure does feel like it.  Returning to the cold weather was a shock and it is strange to see snow by the roadsides and ice in the trees.  Training is full on for the 2010 season now.  It was a very quick switch from easing into things to being in the thick of it.  In fact, the week spent in Lanzarote, I had around forty hours of exercise!

The goal for the next few weeks is to just enjoy as much time with my family and friends as possible.  Before I know it, I will be back in Mallorca, Spain, for our next training camp and then the racing season will have officially begun.

It’s been decided amongst the Columbia-HTC riders to call this island Alcatraz, rather than Lanzarote.  We are all here on this rock in the middle of the ocean.  It is part of Spain, but we are over 1,200 kilometers from the mainland.  Mauritania, Africa, however, is only sixty kilometers away.  I am not quite sure how Spain ended up with control of the Canary Islands.  Anyway, this island is also as far from self-sustaining as you can possibly get. Even the fresh water must be shipped here. I feel very sorry for our staff that had to drive the trucks down here.  The drive to the port in the south of Spain took two days, and then they had to spend four days on the ferry to reach Lanzarote!

The training is going very well, partly because that is the only thing to do when we are not in meetings.  The roads are quite pleasant, and terrain is undulating.  Winds that could easily blow you off the road seem to be the only negative.  All of us have been making the best of things, putting in solid hours on the bikes and filling the rest of the day with core workouts and meetings.  The days have been flying by, and that’s great news, as I can’t wait to get back to South Carolina and enjoy Christmas with my family.

Just a little water falling out of they sky turned my fairly short trip to Lanzarote into three days.  After spending hours on the runway and many more hours in long lines, I finally gave in and tried to make the best of it.  London-Heathrow came into play as my connections were all shuffled around.  I spent some quality time there shopping and enjoying a full English breakfast.  Then, it was finally off to Madrid, only to arrive too late for any flights departing for Lanzarote.  At this point I was melting, but a glimmer of joy appeared as I realized I would be spending the night not too far from one restaurant which I have been dying to try, Santceloni.

After dropping off my bag at the hotel I headed into town and was waiting at Santceloni’s front door for them to open up at 9PM.  I sat down to one of the best meals of my life.  Several “compliments of the chef’s” dishes accompanied squid to start, then some lamb to finish.  Then the desserts came.  By the end I lost count of all the different dishes.  The only thing missing was my wife, or any company for that matter.  It is always strange dining out alone, but with as much time as I spend on the road I have gotten use to it.  And I just couldn’t pass up a chance to try Santceloni.

The next morning, three days into my travels, I finally boarded the plane for Lanzarote.  The island itself isn’t much too look at.  Sure it’s always beautiful and there are plenty of beaches, but there are no trees whatsoever, and the terrain is desert-like.  The next week will fly by regardless of where we are.  The riders and staff of Columbia-HTC will be busy with one meeting after another, while cramming in as much riding as we can.

My trip to the Canary Islands for the 1st team camp of 2010 turned into a travel nightmare thanks to nasty winter weather. I got stuck at Heathrow, and then got a “bonus” overnight in Madrid. Living the dream? If nothing else, it gives me the time to report that thanks to last week’s contest I got a great new name for my blog. After 5 years of ‘Journey of a Professional Cyclist’ the blog is now (maybe more appropriately titled?) “File Under Pain.”

Thanks to the incredible number of folks who submitted possible names. There were a lot of good ones there, and it’s heartening to see so many people are following the blog. Maybe I’ll actually make it to camp before it ends and I’ll send some updates from there.