Craig Lewis: File Under Pain » Mallorca

In And Around Palma

Craig Lewis — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:11:42 +0000

Can Miquel. I read about this bakery some time ago and I finally tracked it down in Palma. On my first attempt they were closed for siesta.

I had much better luck on the 2nd attempt the following day and I was even allowed access to the kitchen.

This oven has been cranking out fresh pastries since the year 1560!!

The chef recommend his spinach puff pastry, a healthier breakfast I guess, but it tasted better knowing it just came out of a 500 year old oven…

My training partners for the day, Danny Pate and Caleb Fairly. All ready for some racing in Mallorca!

Just a few kilometers from the Palma city limit and you are this road. It’s easy to see why so many cyclist flock to this island.

Palma de Mallorca

Craig Lewis — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:09:12 +0000

A quick spin through Palma de Mallorca. Down along the harbor and up and around the Le Seu cathedral.

Mallorca Training Camp

Craig Lewis — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:10:58 +0000

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.

Heading Home

competitivecyclist — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:53:34 +0000

HTC-Columbia’s Mallorca training camp has finally come to a close. It’s been a great one, but I am very much looking forward to getting settled in my Spanish home for the year, Girona. Upon arriving in Mallorca the team and staff feared the weather would get the best of us and our training camp wouldn’t include much training at all. However, the weather just seemed to get better each day. By the end of the twelve-day camp we had almost sixty hours out on the bikes, plus countless more hours in the gym! That’s a huge workload, and I am feeling pretty tired at the moment. But I know I will just get better and better over the next few days and I am confident I have a great base to begin the season with.

The next two weeks will be spent fine-tuning my form in order to be ready for my first race of the year, Challenge Mallorca. With so many long rides in my legs after this camp, I won’t need to worry about adding volume. I will just be focused on shorter more intense days, trying to help the body remember what it is like to be racing.

Courtney and I will also be rediscovering the Catalunya region of Spain. We have both really missed the culture and atmosphere of Europe, and are excited to be back. It will be great to spend some time together and revisit our favorite spots and dine at some of our favorite restaurants. There are so many great things to look forward to at the moment.

Catching Up

competitivecyclist — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:57:45 +0000

Roberto Bettini from the other side of the lens.

HTC-Columbia’s training camp on the island of Mallorca has been flying by. Once again, we are slammed with meetings and appointments filling every moment we are not on our bikes. Even in the middle of the night I am waking up thinking I am late for the ride or some meeting! To my surprise, the weather has been great so far. All of Europe is buried under snow, yet the temperatures are mild and the sun is usually out here in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Training has been going along quite nicely as well. Long hours on the road bike are broken up with a few intervals up short mountains or some high-speed work on the flats. We also had our first “race effort” yesterday with a team time trial of fifteen kilometers. We were split into two groups of eight, with the finish time taken on the seventh rider, so we had to stick together. We raced down the coast road here, in very windy conditions, with only two minutes separating the first group from my group. Soon after the start my group began catching guys that were being dropped from the group ahead. They had obviously started off too hard and were paying for their effort now, and that only motivated us more. We ended up winning by a good margin, and the first group only finished with four, not even close to enough riders to stop the clock.

I always wonder why we race so hard in these training camps, but in the end it is pretty fun to be out there going 60kph on the time trial bikes. It is a feeling we have all missed over the past few months. Later in the week we will take the race from the flats of the coast to the mountains inland for an uphill race. Until then, the long days will continue. Five to six hours on the bike each day, followed with more meetings. I am happy the days are going by so fast as I can’t wait to get to Girona, Spain, and meet up with my wife, Courtney.

Greetings From Mallorca!

competitivecyclist — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:37:36 +0000

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.

Packing It All Up

competitivecyclist — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:10:06 +0000

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.