With a huge block of racing down the center of France, I have spent the last few days recovering with Courtney and her aunt and uncle, Bobbie and Bill, on the Cote de Azur. I am a world away from suffering through crashes, snow, crosswinds and mountains. Now I am just enjoying the time with family and catching up over some great dinners and wines. We have spent several nights in Monaco, Vence, Fayence and we will soon end our trip in Nice, but for now it is all about enjoying every minute of the day.

My training will get longer as the week progresses, but for now I have been filling my days with cooking classes and spa treatments, as well as just relaxing in the sun on our balcony. This morning the alarm sounded at an early hour of half past four, as we had to meet up with chef Jacques Chibois at his restaurant, La Bastide Saint Antoine, for a full day of following him around. We drove into Nice and joined him on his weekly food run through this massive market that is only reserved for professional chefs. It was amazing to see how much food Jacques needed to purchase to just get him through a few days. By the time the sun came up, we had filled an U-haul sized truck full of vegetables, fish, meat and even flowers.

Then, it was back up to Grasse where his restaurant is located to tour the grounds. Down in his wine cellar we browsed through over 20,000 bottles, some of which dated back to the 1800’s! Once we had a good feel of the restaurant we were seated at a small table in the middle of the kitchen and served a very large eight-course lunch. The food was amazing, but what made it the best meal I have ever had was being able to walk over and watch them put together each ingredient and knowing that we had picked it all out this morning.  With all of this accomplished before it was even two, we were all pretty cracked. So I have been staring at the mountains from our balcony ever since, and the sun has long disappeared. A very nice rest week I must say…

After finishing up the Volta ao Algarve with a fairly strong ride in the final time trail I am ready for what lies ahead. Spring has made its first appearance here in Girona, and my pale skin saw the sun for the first time this week. There is nothing quite like those first few warm days on the bike after a long a miserable winter. Those are the days when the hardest part is forcing yourself to turn your bike back towards home.

I feel my fitness is heading in the right direction now. After a rough start to the racing season, with two crashes, too many flat tires to count and the horrendous weather, I can say that the bad luck is behind me. Now I can look forward to performing well in Paris-Nice. I will spend this week in Girona working on some longer distances as there are many stages over 200 kilometers in Paris-Nice, and then next week I will head up to Nice with Courtney to meet up with some family and recon the last couple of stages. I can’t wait to see how it all goes. Much of my time lately has been spent daydreaming about wearing the white jersey after the prologue!

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.

The Challenge Ciclista a Mallorca marks the start of the 2010 racing season for me. It is quite a strange way to begin as well. The five-day race looks like a typical stage race, yet the format is far from the usual. There is a final overall for the general classification, just like the Tour de France, but each stage is raced separately. Only if you choose to race all five days will you be in the running for the overall title. I know, it sounds confusing, but it is just like what I grew up racing a lot of in the South, the omnium.

Most teams bring over half of their roster here since ten riders can start each day (instead of the more normal six-nine) and it doesn’t have to be the same ten everyday. With some riders skipping a stage or two, spots open up for others, and you could see over fifteen riders sharing the week of racing.

It is a pretty nice way to roll into the season, and I feel it’s great for the fans as well. They get the chance to see twice as many of their favorite pros. The fans also get to ride out on the same roads that others, who are not racing, are training on for the day. A training camp with race days and twenty teams all in the same area is basically what it boils down to.

The first two days were rather flat, so I opted out of those and arrived here today ready for the final three stages in the mountains. Each stage seems to get progressively harder as well, and the weather is not the brightest in forecasts. But I am remaining positive that this will be a great start to the year. With all of the training I have done the past few week’s things couldn’t be better. I am just looking to erase all of those question marks that you typically start the season with. Will I be strong enough to finish? Will I be strong enough to be at the front? Could I be there fighting for the win? By the end of the week I hope to answer them all with a “yes.”

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.

Life has been great here in Girona.  Sunny skies and a quite, tourist-free, town have made the time here very enjoyable.  Courtney arrived this past weekend, and we have had a lot of fun getting to know each other again after our very busy month apart.  We have both quickly adopted our favorite lifestyle, that of the Spanish.  I spend each morning out on the bike.  Usually meeting Michael Barry at the local bar/restaurant here, Boira, then after a quick and extremely tasty zumo de naranja (orange juice) it’s off into the hills.  Each training session has gone better than the last, so I am very happy and confident about where I am beginning the season!

Once my day’s work is complete I spend the afternoon with Courtney.  We have a nice lunch, and then I usually take a small siesta while she knocks out some more of her work and after that we go for a stroll around town to gather food to cook for the night.  Does life get any better than that?

We have a lot to look forward to in the near future.  My first race, Challenge Mallorca, is just around the corner.  I am eager to get to the start line and get some good racing in my legs.  I’ll only be doing the final three stages of the five-day race.  There is no need for me to be parading around the flat streets of Palma for the first two days! The final, very mountainous, three stages are much more suited to my style.  I have never raced in Mallorca before, but with many training camps there in the past I will have a good feel for the roads.  This race should provide the perfect start to the season.  Before all of that fun begins, Courtney and I will probably sneak down to Barcelona for the day.  It is so close and easy to reach by train, so we really are making sure we take advantage of that while we can.