Remember La Vuelta Stage 2 of 2015??

I am not going to get into details.. Main reason I do not like to do research.. It was a finish at la Vuelta last year I believe..

And I went up it… Slowly… But I did it..

Getting there… You pass this lovely area..

New experience.. Ride under the clift..

Let the pain begin… Bobastro is the name of the climb as well..

Jasper lives in this town so I am guessing he had a lot of friends over.. Lots of paint on the road.. failed to get good shots of them..

Another one 15% or so ramp..

I thought I was was climbing into the sky here..

Over the shoulder hairpin shot….

Photo finish at the top?

And if you pass the finish line you can see this

And farther up the route..

Time to head home… Another climb before we hit a big long downhill with a massive head wind.. I mean really bad one.. Here I took the front for 99% of the time..
23 km of fun against the wind…

But all was worth it.. We had a great day out and finished with a few claras and chips with jamon serrano..

So my extended weekend was:

Thursday: 38 and 750
Friday: 64 and 770
Saturday: you saw this one up there… Yes the one I posted earlier.. Killer ride.. Seriously..
Today: 98 and 1600

The week was a nice one and a new record high in numbers for me here in Spain:

15 hours
368 km
5505 meters of climbing

I am chasing my 10.000 kilometers… So far? 4163 km ridden…

As I mentioned in previous posts I started offering my services as a bike guide3 around this beautiful area of the world.. So if you decide to come this way and want to have someone with some local knowledge of the area and the language give me a call, send me a message or use the Facebook Page to get in touch with me..

Thanks for reading..and see you soon..!

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

Welcome to Southern Spain..!

It was so hot that we had to change out original plans… (150 km and 3000 meters) for something a bit more modest… 120 km and 2000 meters 
The average temperature for the ride? 35 C..!!! AVERAGE!! The max hit 46 according to Garmin..!! Yep it was that hot..

As per usual the routes were great..! This one is from the first climb a cat 2 of 15 km … To el Puerto de las Abejas..

The start of the second cat 2 of the day… This climb was like 9 km long of great twisting roads that went up and down.

Jose trying to catch up with me after I attacked a bump..

And he passed me..

My 3 companions for the day.. I might actually frame this one..

Wind mills to create a postcard view..

Time for the reward… I had two of those before heading home..

Some tapas (small food or snacks) chips… not very salty and jamon crudo

Oh and look..!!! It was new kit day.. (finally I got mine..!!!)

Looking forward to have you over here...If you want to contact us use this blog or you can reach me/us at our Facebook page

Thanks for reading and sharing it..

Pablo 

The Weekend Report and Retreat Guy

Almost 3 weeks off is a long time...

As my wife and daughter came back from the U.S yesterday I was ready to head out of the door for a ride today.. But let me tell you this.. 3 weeks or almost is waay too long off the bike.. I was suffering in many different way today... as the post progresses I will explain this a bit more..

Let me tell you that my route selection for the day was a bit challenging... Even if I was in great shape for it..! Never a good sign when you start your ride like this..

If you can't make the gradient marked there it says 9%... No is not for the whole 15 km climb.. I believe is at 4% the average since it has a few downhill sections in it..

Jose was loving it today..! If he spoke English the best way to translate the way he was feeling would be... Pay back bitch..! Since most of the time I am putting the pain into him.. He loved the route..!!!
How can you not love this views??

Andalucia is full of picturesque little towns.. El Burgo is one of them...

Before we headed out of town we had to stop and take a pic of the monument of it.. I am guessing that high in the mountains you can find this ones running in the wild..

From El Burgo we started heading to the next town in between mountains and valleys.. Something that I came to value a lot is the shaded roads.. There is not many around here..

This road was extremely rough, but since we were going up the hill it didn't really matter... There was a good 15 km of almost no traffic...  Seriously we saw 2 cars, a scooter and one tractor... Almost perfect to soak under the sun surrounded by this views... Can you see Jose there??

Remember the traffic? It was heavy traffic for sure...

After the last picture I went into a stage were all I wanted to do was to get home... I was exhausted.. In pain ( my bad knee doesn't like breaks in my riding) so I put the camera away and just pushed all the way home.. By push I mean I dragged my butt on the roads...

By the end of the day +Strava says we did 93 km.. and 1700 meters of climbing..

And this is me at home showing my new jersey.. Thanks to Joy and Pieter from Pittsburgh, PA for the present.. Loved it..! And it passed a good test today..

Look..!!!

Thanks for reading and giving us a thumbs up in +Facebook here is the link

Pablo

The Weekend Report and Retreat Guy

Discovering the HC climb

What did I had in my mind? No idea..!! But sure it didn’t look like this..!!

This was my third day of climbing.. It was a while since I had 3 days in a route of riding much less of this much climbing.. It was a painful day where I had plenty of shot of my friends behinds…

At the start of the climb things looked like this… And they didn’t change much more for the next 14 km… 6% average gradients..

We even passed 2 tunnels… This one was scary..! Couldn’t see poop in there..!

I am not sure when but this climb was part of the Vuelta?? Maybe 2015?? No clue.. Kill my ignorance.. And Go Purito..!!!

As I got to the top… Antonio and Juan Diego were eating.. Texting and ready to come down… I was like 5 minutes slower then them..

No matter what my time said of me… I was in a good spirit..!! Dead but in a good mood..!

The view of Málaga and the mediterranean sea from the top of this mountain… Is great to get to the top on your own... It gives extra value to it..

And once we made it back home… Refreshments were on..!!

Great day..!! I am done..! So when are you booking your trip to Coín..?

Thanks for reading and sharing.. Don't forget to follow us in +Facebook HERE IS THE LINK

Pablo

The Weekend Report & Retreat Guy

We are OPEN for business..!!!

You knew it was coming for a while if you are a regular of this place... If you are not don't worry you will catch up as the post progresses..

So as I finally consider that I know enough of the routes around me to offer YOU a few days of great cycling when you come I decided to create and open The Weekend Retreat !!

What is this? here is where I offer my services, local knowledge and support the day you come here to ride your bike...

Do you need me if you decide to come? Absolutely not..! Would it be helpful to have me next to you as you ride..??? Definitely..!!!

Why? Simple knowledge.. I have it.. I know where the water filling spots are.... Where to eat.. What routes have a bit more of shade... What times the routes have more traffic... Where the flat roads are... Where the mountains are.. You know what I mean.. I know the details to make you remember this trip forever.. And I want to make sure that you come back a second time..!! Or third..!

We are starting small.. I am not offering anyone to stay with me because the house is small.. Unless you are a close friend and don't mind 2 dogs and kids running up and down...
I do offer you my interpreter services to help you book a room in a local hostel.. After all you are coming here to ride a bike not for the 5 stars hotels.. (you see? I am already making this cheap for you)
The eating and drinking around here are just great pick any bar and you will leave happy and full for no much money spent...

If you want to know more...  Here is the +Facebook page where you can ask any questions or just ask in the comments below...

If you are a long term friend just let me know when are you coming and what would you like to do...

Questions and suggestions are always welcome..

Remember we are starting really small..

Thanks for reading and see you soon..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

Puerto de las Abejas trip... I wanted to do more....BUT...!!!

So I decided to go out and catch up with a fast group and see what tired legs are made out of…. Lucky me I could not find them so I headed out on my own to see what I could do… During the first hour I was feeling great..! Man I think I am going to beat some times today… I was going mostly downhill and flats till the first climb started…

The first pat of the climb? I was good.. No more great… Started to feel the weight of the legs and the bad knee was saying hello… I had some company..

This is after the first 4 or 5 km of climbing… After that it was a dead march to the top.. It was 10 more km to go… Not a cow picture.. Zoology is not my strength

When I see this sign I know is about 5 km to the top of the climb.. Welcome to Yunquera..!

And they want to remind me of how bad I climb.. With a sign that says Mountain Roads…!!! I see them buddy..! I feel them..!

But I finally I made it to the top.. Oh look..! I got my Podium Jersey fixed..!! Zipper needed to be changed in 3 of my jerseys..

Then I took picture of random riders coming to the top..

As I started talking to them one of them made a comment.. About "mate" my national tea remember? so it happened that he was married to a woman from Paraguay… My mom is from Paraguay..!!! And his wife is even from the same city that my mom is originally from..! How small is the world??

When I turned around this views were waiting for me..

Another angle?? Couldn’t make up my mind so I post them both

So on and off I rode 71 km, climbed 1375 meters in about 3:30 hours.. The other thing that is very interesting? As I was riding I saw two guys I recognized.. Started to get Hola Pablo as I am riding..! Started to be recognized in the local cycling community..!

Another thing that I would like to share with you all and invite you to join if you wish to do so is The Weekend Report Club in +Strava  on that way you can become part of an amazing community from people from all over the world...

Thanks for reading this blog and if you wish to share it.. Go for it..

See you at the next adventure

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy