November
I though the cycling season is ending for me but it turns out this is not that case. We left for Mallorca on 12th for the second time this year. As is customary, the weather wasn’t ideal first couple of days. It was rainy and windy so we spent most of the time in the southern part on the flats. When the weather finally improved we were so hungry for the hills that we ended the training camp with 3 successive days in the hills. One of the rides being rough 200 km long stage with 2770 m elevation gain, combining 3 beutiful climbs: Lluc, Formentor, and Bethlem. Overall, I felt way stronger than in March when we were first time here. Strava suggests that most of my climbs were slower but I attribute that to a few factors. First, it’s the end of the year and the body took a lot of beating without any rest what so ever. Secondly, compared to the previous training camp I was riding on way lower heart rate, spending most of the rides in comfortable endurance zone. And last but not least, Ondrej Prenek wasn’t with us, thus we didn’t have dick measuring contest on every single climb.
I was supposed to fly back to Czech republic on 22nd November with the rest of the group but I changed my mind. A friend of ours owns an apartment in Dénia (Alicante, Spain) where they spent a lot of time in the summer, not in winter though which came in handy. Instead of flying back home I and David took a ferry from Palma de Mallorca to Dénia where we are currently staying and riding (and will be for another 15 days).
I didn’t hear much about Dénia before but it lays close to Calpe, one of the best cycling destinations in Europe frequently visited by pro tour teams. The city is pretty much ghost town during this time of the year with most shops being closed or having reduced opening hours compared to the summer. During the summer season Dénia’s population jumps from the stable 40,000 to well above 200,000 making the city a party town on the level of Ibiza and similar. Compared to Mallorca the weather seems to be stable here with temperatures around 15 °C, days are sunny and slightly longer than what we could enjoy back in Czech republic. My only complain is the perpetual wind that makes every ride a hard ride. So far we are sitting at around 2000 km in last 18 days but my legs still feel fresh and I can’t wait to explore more of what Dénia has to offer.
Reading
- Going mouseless - tiny guide to going fully mouseless
- Against Individual IQ Worries
Watching
- The Guilty by Antonie Fuqua. I am huge fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, especially after seeing his performance in Nightcrawler and Prisoners, thus this movie was a must. The whole movie was dialog driven and must have been very cheap to produce (excluding Jake’s payroll). Jake’s performance was stellar as always but the movie didn’t drag me in and didn’t make me feel very connected with the characters. I would rate it at around 6/10 - not great not terrible, neverthless not a movie I would like to see again.