I can see the finish line..

As we are on the straight away I can see it already.. Yes the finish line..!

The year is coming to an end soon and with the weather changing I don't see my numbers taking a huge drop or a huge increase..

As I woke up this morning I felt sort of melancholic and went reading old posts and a lot of comments from them, till I got to the post that give me the idea for this one.. Do you remember the What your goals are? Well if you don't, just follow the link and it will bring you to it..

So mine were extremely ambitious and involved huge changes in my life and my family life.. Did I accomplish any of them? Did anything change from the day I wrote them to now? Lets find out..!

My goals for 2016:

- Moving to Malaga with the family. DONE!
- Get a job that allows me to follow my dream. (wait for iit is coming) Working on it.
- Buy a nice BIG house in Malaga. Discarded, at least for now
- Start our own B&B. Discarded
- Start offering my cycling guide services in Malaga. I started..!!
- Go back to Argentina to get my older son, Pablito. Leaving on the 25th for Argentina
- Ride 15.000 Km for the year. Have you seen where I live? Not this year..!
- Climb 150.000 meters in a year. Will be close..! Stay tuned for this one
- Lower my weight to 85 kilos. Ha..! Not even close..!
- Write more in my blog. And better should I add. Ons and offs.. I like interaction and the blog doesn't give me that
- Become financially independent. Working on it every day

- Meet more PdC members. Yes..! Yeehoo, thebongolian, maratsafin and Paul from Scotland

-And the most important one….. TO BE AND MAKE MAKE FAMILY HAPPIER..!!! We are HAPPIER!

So to me has been a nice mix of yes and nos but I will take it as us (family and me) finishing ahead with all the changes that we faced..

The Pablo's Cycling Tours Facebook page is running and I am looking forward to this business to take off.. by the way if you didn't like the page yet please do.. If you already did.. Thank you very much..! Feel free to suggest anything that might help.. Good and bad critics are the only way to move forward.

But enough about me.. Tell me, tell us...

What your finish line looks like?

A man on a mission

Last night i started to prepare my assault to the 2 big climbs of today… No I was not aiming for the KOM.. Is totally out of reach for me.. But I sure could beat my previous times..!!!

The first climb? Cerro de Hijar is a 7.1 km climb at around 5% qualifies as a cat 2 where my previous best attempt was 32:10 over that distance… Today’s effort?? 27:48 I felt like my heart was going to come out of my chest but I kept pushing.. 
It feels so good to see some improvement on my climbing… But it will be a while before I attack that climb again..

Some pics of my friends as they were getting to the top

Don Antonio… 57 years old and usually kicks my butt on every raise of the road… (also weights 63 kilos)

And the last one? This is the look of someone that gives everything on a climb…

Then we had to ride for a little while to reach the next climb… I am sure some of you will remember the climb to el Juanar… This is another climb that is not long, at least the part that I wanted to do better at… El Juanar is a Cat 3 climb at 6% where the first km probably is the worst part… My previous best time here was… 20:30 and today’s effort was… 18:50..!!!

Not bad for a 100.4 kilo rider right??

As you can see this place and me can adapt to almost any requirements.. By this I mean that if you want to ride hard when you come I can make you ride hard.. If you want to take it easy and stop to take pictures everywhere we can do that too..!! I am happier with the latest option...

Start planning your next trip to Málaga and I will make sure you have one of the best times of your life on the bike... Or at least try..

If you want to join our +Strava Club Pablo's Cycling Tours

And our +Facebook page to stay in touch Pablo's Cycling Club Page

See you next time.. Or maybe soon?

Pablo

Puerto del Viento.. Viento is Ventoux??

I went for a ride with Jose this weekend since my Saturday riding group was on a trip.. The vistas during the ride looked like this..

The weather was great early in the morning since it was a bit cloudy making the ride cool during the first couple of hours.. Also the sun playing hide and seek in the clouds gave us this view..

This area of Málaga has the particular characteristic that as you ride you can see the change in the landscape.. You go from riding in a forest of pines to ride in a desertic Colorado looking area..

Is hard to imagine for anyone that during the Winter months you can see snow up here.. As most of you know this is known as Costa Del Sol... Coast of the sun... The average temps are always around 30 celsius... And as you are riding and sweating buckets this sign seems out of place here..

Remember the Colorado reference? Well I actually never been there but I am very much sure it looks similar to this...

After almost 3 hours of riding we reached our destination and turn around point.. Puerto del Viento..!!
A steady climb at 1190 meters above sea level.. Here is José and a local guy that joined for the pic..

As we turned around was a lot of downhill and time to put the camera away.. But right before I did so I found this great view of part of what we had climb to get to the summit of this local mountain..

The way back home was a hard one.. We found that the wind decided that we didn't work hard enough to get over all the mountains on the way out so it gave us a beating all the way back home... As you can see the smaller engines were spent before we got home..

But all was fixed after we got back into this town that we call home... The drink and snacks were all we needed to get some life back into us..

And since we all like happy endings.. This is me wishing you were here with us to enjoy this adventure... Cheers..!!!

For those that like to look at maps and numbers here is the +Strava Mountains, wind and more mountains and wind

Quick useful links:

* Our club in +Strava HERE

* Our pictures in +Instagram HERE

* Our page in +Facebook HERE

* Our place in +Twitter HERE

Don't forget to join us, like us and follow us to stay up to date and never miss an adventure or ride.

Thanks for reading and see you next time

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

To Instan with the fast guys

On Saturday my day started early… Couldn’t sleep well the night before.. Went to bed at 2 and was up before 7… So I was the first one at the meeting point..

It was a hard ride on our way to Instan, that is the name of the town on top of a beautiful climb.. As we rode hard up I didn’t take any pictures.. I was trying to get a few PR on my way up and I was doing extremely well…. Till we found a guy laying on the ditch and a bunch of other cyclists around him and a car parked a little farther up the road.. My first thought was the worst.. I thought he got hit.. Fortunately I was wrong..

He was coming down the hill hit a rock and ended up on the ditch on the other side of the road.. Lucky him he wasn’t hurt too bad.. scratches and bruises, road rush and shaken.. The hip too a nasty hit and might need x-rays.. But he was conscious and nothing obvious broke…

After this incident my momentum was gone and I just follow the rest of the guys up the hill at whatever speed I could go.. We finally reached the refilling point..

You should see the size of the bike and water bottle holder of the guy with the green bidon..

Then I joined them down there for a pic… Pay attention to the guy on the left…

Next time you have something to complain think of this guy and what he does every time he gets on the bike.. And don’t give silly excuses anymore on why you didn’t go for a ride.. Also a bit of his background: He finished 20 on the world championship of his category.. He is a very strong rider..!! Yes he passed me up the hill…!!

Coming down the hill I hung off the back to take some pics.. The guys… Well they didn’t wait..

So it was like this till they dropped me.. Take pic..Chase..

This guy was a slower descender… I kept him close by.. Enjoying the view..

And that is a dam in the middle of the mountains.. Makes for a nice size lake..

A bit closer to the lake… I wanted to go for a swim there..

After a few minutes going down the hill we got to Marbella and rode for a few minutes on the side of it.. Interesting place (filthy rich) but to get home we had to go over that rock in the back…

And here is the start of it.. And my riding buddies passing me as I take pics.. Salvi is impressive..!!

After that last shot I took a few more but they didn’t come out as I expected… Besides I was too busy with my head hanging over my handlebars climbing the rock on the pic I showed you earlier.. Got a PR there as well..!!! Woohoo..!! Here is the link to INSTAN ride.. He he.. couldn’t help it with the name..

So there you go this is a loop that I hope to show you the day you come by for a visit.. Has lots of lovely views and if you do it at a more relax pace there is lots of pictures opportunities..

Remember to LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE to stay up to date about rides and events.. Also if you are interested about any specific dates..

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and stories..

See you next time 

Pablo

Thw Weekend Report 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

The extended weekend..

One of the things I do not fully understand here in Spain is how every little town has their own holidays... Well today was my little town turn to have his... Where do I live? Coín for you..!

So we had another day off.. To me makes no difference really since I am still in the process of validating my paperwork here in Spain while I am looking for work but not luck so far... Thanks God my wife is working and I can stay home for now and take care of the kids, the house and the pets... But I am not going to lie is getting a bit frustrating...

BUT it has a positive side to it right? I can venture out almost every day on my bike and take pictures and write stories that I believe you enjoy and makes you pass a few minutes traveling around Spain thanks to the internet... Maybe one day we meet on the roads???

Well too much blah, blah blah already..!!! We went for a ride down the beach with a few detours... First we went to Alhaurin el Grande before heading into the mountains of Mijas and here is where the real fun begun.... But I posted many pictures of these climbs before.. You can look them up on the previous posts...

Today was about the beach...
Here is one pic as we got to the beach area on what I believe was Benalmadena

The images are great to perceive the peace and quiet of a Monday morning by the beach.. I would say was around 10:30 AM but I wish there was a way to make you breath the sea air as you were riding... That is something that you have to come down and experience for yourself... A true amazing feeling!

In between your riding you can visit the other towns.. Or why not just ride along the Mediterranean sea while you visit them? Fuengirola

As I was telling you... there is a great marine path where you can enjoy a relaxed ride by the beach.. Follow her example...

And eventually when you get enough of the beach and the flat lands you can make a short detour to start climbing almost right away...

While you are climbing you will have this amazing surrounding where the sun and mountains will keep you company for as far as you can see...

Now don't forget that this is Spain and if you decide to come here for a ride you will be HOT so is very important to have 2 full water bottles and plenty of sunblock..!!! So you can enjoy this roads..

What the routes are like? Let me tell you I was glad to be going the other way here... Not that was much less getting here..

So at that point I put the camera away to start the downhill into home... No I am not that crazy to take pictures while doing over 50 km/h on the bike...

As a resume and the route for you here is a LINK to the +Strava ride, you can have a better understanding of the ride and the routes by looking at the profile and speeds that the +Garmin records while I am riding...

Thanks for reading and SUPPORTING this blog...

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE ONES THAT DONATED