El Torcal, a going up trip.

We started the ride like this…

Rainy start.. see the mountains in the back? We were heading there…

Some switchbacks…

Some were intimidating..!

The roads? Excellent..!!! (most of the way) look in the back.. That was our destination..

At the top of our main climb.. "El Torcal" is an observatory, and you can see even Africa from there in a clear day.. today wasn’t one..

At the turn around point.. Now that was some climbing..!

At the sign point… Reference.. Look t-Bong I am using your present..!!!

Heading back was lots of downhill..!!! Do’h..!!! But in order to get to the main road and take some distance away from the ride we had to face this..

One of the guys cresting… Pain face anyone?? The view in the back amazing..!

To finish at this place that is amazing..! Cycling meeting point is the name of the place..!

And I am done for this week.. 385 km and 7300 meters of desnivel.. I am done..!

Thanks for reading and if you need any info leave a comment and I get back to you..

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

I rode my bike a bit..

Monday: off
Tuesday: Ride with a friend and then I headed out again.. 2nd ride
Wednesday: Cadencing in the wind started trying to have a higher cadence while riding..
Thursday: OFF
Friday: OFF, actually went to help some Belgium friends that opened a bar in a town near by.. PdC drinking quarters..!!!
Saturday: Harder that what it looks Still working on the cadence.. Kept it up till the last big climb.. No pics
Sunday: The big ride of the week Great views..! And I did take pics..!!!!

At the start of the day we met at the Alameda.. Here they had all around the world food trucks this weekend.. And some attractions..

I had to fuel up before I headed out 

No issues with the law..

Back in time…. Now a days in NY they wouldn’t open the door for those prices..

But once we got to the new area of riding the views were amazing..!

Me dropping at the start of the climb… I couldn’t get going..

But been off the back means I could take pics.. Willj this one was with you in mind..

Then I really got behind..!!! Can you see the guy ahead? And he is not even a climber..!!

A look at the dam from the other side… + the mountains on the back and around..

The route we climbed… about half way up..

A little farther up the views got even better.. a twisty road with a lake next to it..

Then I caught everyone here.. Not a bad place for a pic..

And this was suppose to be the turnaround point… I am the one with the Podium jersey.. 

This place was so great that even the flats didn’t feel too bad…

The actual view from the place were we were??

This climb was a real bitch.. Sorry there is no other way to call it..

The other part of it… And you can add another 50 meters to 100 after the left turn…

The resto of the guys were getting to where I stopped to wait for them.. And take pictures.. And tell them to smile for the pictures.. I got some nice words back..! Can’t repeat them…

There was a lot of ups and down.. But my legs started to feel better.. So I was making it to the top of some climbs before other people..

And some others we were just waiting for the others..

After the last shot we still had like 60 km to get home and was my time to go to work.. So there was no more pictures from me.. I can tell you that by the time we make it back in town I was completely exhausted and wanted to do nothing but to eat something.. Had 2 Claras and something like a poweraid.. chips, jamon serrano, chorizo, bacon and bread as Tapas.. snack ways food.. 2 plates for 6 guys so I didn’t get to eat all that much…

So my week was huge for my standards… 367 km and 5.500 meters + of climbing.. (I kept it flat  ) I am sitting on the couch writing and the only reason to move is because I am hungry and I am cooking something on the grill…. Looking forward to dinner.. I am hungry..!

Hope you like it and consider visiting me one day

Thanks for reading and see you next time..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

And what about Sunday?

I felt like poop this morning.. Stuffy nose, hard to breath, was awake till 2:30 in the morning and had a few beers while cooking and with the people we had over.. When the alarm went off this morning I wanted to stay in bed so bad but I managed to drag myself out of bed to join my Sunday group ride and I think they are my friends.. Or at least there is a friendship.. Well it was a good day as I pedaled I felt better..

It looked like this when we started..

The guy in green was his first road group ride.. He is a mtbiker so has plenty of stamina..

We were heading over that bump ahead..

The view as we climbed the first part…

This other guy got the visit of the man with the hammer… He was beat..!

After the long climb we stopped to fill the water bottles at Carratraca’s water fountain, it comes straight from the mountains.

And after a long downhill and some assistance to the guy that blew up… My well earned reward..

After that stop for beer and some chips with jamon serrano I headed for another few km since no one was home and I forgot my keys… At the end of the day my ride looked like THIS

I am starting to offer these kind of experience to anyone coming to Málaga.. If you would like to join me for one of my rides feel free to contact.. Comments will be the first step and we take it from there..

Hope you like this report and see you next time..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

I never stopped riding.. Just writing...

 

I have a cold.. So I wasn’t sure if I was going to be up to the challenge of keeping up with the faster group I normally head out on Saturdays morning.. I did anyways..

The group was about 8 guys of different abilities… Me? Well I took pics from the back…

As the climbs started to pile up I was a bit better then others… Barely… So I could take some different angle pictures

But at the same time I had something to chase.. Or try not to get too far behind.. (poor quality shot but the idea is great)

There were some interesting ramps along the way

The roads? I let this pic do the talk..

It was a great view riding by this wall…

After the water stop and a cereal bar my legs started feeling very good…. Caught them..!!! Passed them..! Shortly..

As we were riding by this I yelled we have to stop..!!!

Can you see the tower at the top of the mountain? That was a Vuelta finish last year.. Bobastro

The bunch..!!!

And the finish line…

The Strava link 105 km, 1500 meters and 25 km/h (average dropped at the finish line 

Thanks for reading my blog.. If you ever decide to come down this way get in touch with me..!! I can take you to see this beautiful places...

See you next time..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy