THE Altus journal

On returning to the UK after our trip kindly organised by the Tourist Board to show us the cycling on the island, a friend and experienced cyclist said to me “I didn’t realise you could actually ride on the roads over there”…

I was looking at my Strava heatmap on the flight home from our recent trip to the Costa Daurada. I’d been going through the leaderboard for the climbs we rode and was amazed at how few people I knew had ridden there…

Cyclists don't spend the winter on Zwift dreaming about a cocktail by the pool or a hotel room. They spend it training for, watching videos of and dreaming about riding the switchbacks of Sa Calobra when spring arrives…

And then, emerging from the tiny streets of a whitewashed sleeping village was a saviour in the form of a chainsmoking Spanish man that really did feel like a side-quest character in a video game…

I spoke to a very reputable cycling hotel recently who informed me that for cycling groups they offer ‘unlimited carbohydrates’ at breakfast and dinner. This is what we are talking about.