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

Expanding my local knowledge...

So a tiny Colombian guy I met here in my new town took me out to a climby route... WTF was I thinking? After all have you see me??? No? Look at me..!!! I am not built like a climber...

98 kilos of whatever I am built with... Spanish food is too good to go on a diet.. But I am trying to lose some weight... And did I mention I like my recovery drinks???

So we left Coín in the direction of Marbella... Is a bit bumpy heading that way... And as expected when the routes started heading up..... my riding partner was ahead...

We were heading for a little town in the middle of the mountains called Istán, this little beauty of town is in the middle of all this...

My friend was sort of worry about me getting drop in the middle of all this climbs... Look forward..! I am here..!!! (still)

But when I was able to put the big chain ring and push the pedals a bit harder.... Look what happened..

And when the roads headed back up?? We were playing like that all the way into town...

Once we got to the center of town was time to refill bottles at the local fountain... A nice place to stop and take a picture while refreshing.. Not far from this were bars where you can have some food and drinks before you head back down the mountain...

If you are wondering how hot it was here? I mean by the time we got to the top.. Pushing your bike over all those bumps... Well my +Garmin says 25 C average for the whole ride.. But there? Well I think this image gives you an idea of how people reach the top...

We came down the mountain flying... There is a nice view of a dam but I could not take any nice pictures while descending.. Maybe next time.. Once we reached the flat lands our roads looked like this before we headed up the mountain again to get home..

Of the last climb I did not take any shots as I was busy managing my effort to not get drop.. I was lucky enough that my companion started cramping while climbing and I didn't get drop... But to give you an idea is a loooong constant climb that Strava says is a category 2 climb... 52 minutes climbing...!!! On the bright side I am in the top 100 in this segment (only 64 did it) The whole ride if you like to see the route..

Hope you enjoyed the reading.. Hope to see you around here one of these days..

Thanks for reading and sharing... 

Thanks to everyone that is supporting the blog via Paypal Link every little helps to keep bringing you stories and images of Spain.

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

Off roading..!!!

The beauty about having a CX or gravel bike is that you can venture off road as long as the "roads" are not to rough.. Mine are OK to do some exploring and discovering... Not to mention to break the routine of always doing or riding under the same conditions...

Here is my playground for the day..

Was on and off the limestone roads for a while..Then was a rougher trail like road with lots of loose rocks that I didn't stop to take a picture of... Then I discover this switchbacks on a less then ideal country road.. This road was asphalted but the conditions are to be careful while descending..

After going downhill for a while and not being familiar with my surrounding I turned around and stared climbing the switchbacks.. This one gives you and idea... (loved the shade while climbing)

After finding my way to another road I followed it to see where it was taking me... I was in for a treat..!!

The picture this time doesn't make a justice of the beauty of this spot..! Imagine the sound of the water falling as you take a breather...

I was really close to take my shoes off and jump in.. Instead I sat down and enjoyed the peace..

Play around with the camera and the bike for a bit and came up with this pic..

The trees, roads and views made up for some great lighting and effects.. (the best of the day?)

But it was time to head back home.. And the way out of this valley??? Oh my....!!!
Gravel...

And when the inclines on grave were done I had this 20% inline on a rough road... 200 meters or so of it..

Half way out of the valley I looked down to see this view... (next time I will look for that lake)

And then we had more gravel...As you were climbing...

And no wonder I only saw like 5 cars in an hour I was messing around there...

Not complaining at all..! The sign says that from june to October only residents and authorized vehicles... It was great..!!!

And to finish on my way home I hit two more climbs and 300 meters of what? Cobblestones..!!! The ride and adventure was a real treat and when I start giving the guided tours here in Spain this will be an option..!!!

 If you coming to Malaga and want me to show you around get in touch... I gill be pleased to help you and show you around.. Use this opportunity now that I am not charging anything.. A donation will be more then welcome, have to pay the bills somehow...

Thanks for reading and sharing..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

If you wish to support this blog please donate to The Weekend Report Guy thanks in advance! And really special thanks to those that suggested this and already helped the blog..!

Looking for the climbing legs..

I had a quiet weekend when it comes to riding.. I did not ride much.. All I did was was this ride where I was curious to see how fast I could do it and what kind of power I could produce while at it..

So FTP territory right? But please tell me... FTP means??  I came up with my own definition.. F*ck That Pablo..!! But what did I actually did??

I headed out on Saturday without much of a clue on what I wanted to do.. Then I run into a guy I know that was doing this loop I know where I can push a bit since is rolling terrain for a bit over the first half... Here is where I wanted to test my legs and power... The result??? 240W... Not a big number... But a number to work with from now on.. The ride? Strava says.... This are rolling terrains..

Today?? I went looking for my climbing legs...

My playground for the day looked like this..

And I was riding with this guy...

And we did this ride... not bad for a Tuesday... If you are too lazy to click on the link it says 52 km and over 1000 meters of climbing in two hours...

So That was it for today... See you next time..Thanks for reading and sharing..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

One more off road adventure!

Yesterday I started exploring the dirt routes around here... Now when I say dirt is dirt, gravel, sand or whatever the terrain looks like...
Today's adventure was lots of big rocks... The kind that makes your wheel jumps all over the road or trail... Want to see what I am talking about??

At the start of my off road trip..

I know for your skills this might be nothing but for mine they were horrific boulders coming at me... At this point I got scared.. Put a foot down and lost grip so great opportunity to take a picture right??

Here was the turn around point.... Too many too big rocks..Loose rocks.. Many big loose rocks for the CX wheels to handle and not to mention my abilities off road... And it was steep..!! And hot !!! And I could hear dogs barking in the distance.. I was scared.. I turned around..

Someone that knows this route told me that behind that next bend on the trail it gets worst so good thing I turned when I did..

Here is one more image that kind  of work as a signature of me riding into the unknown  trails...

You have no idea how happy I was when I reached the pavement again....!!! But that is the beauty of a CX bike.. You can venture off road for a bit as long as you don't mind walking in the very technical bits.. Me personally I don't mind at all... I like to be back home in one piece..!

The way back home...

 And that's all for today boys and girls... Thanks for reading it..See you next time..

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

CXing around...

Story short? My CX bike is finally here!! Actually been here for a few weeks already but I couldn't get to go out and play with it.. That said.... Today I did it..!!!!

Visit a sanctuary that is not very far from home... And is at the top of a hill..

At the top of the hill there is like a whole ghost tow... this comes alive for a week a year when everyone goes up there to visit the virgin..

At the church... I am not a big believer but I said thanks for what I got and asked for a job that fits me.. (if you are going to ask ask right..Right?)

A fancy view of a cobbled stairs... They were rough to ride...

That was the first part of my ride... I got to the Ermita" via the paved road... I knew there was another way up so I started looking for it on my way back...

Guess what? Found it..!! And also the first dismount and picture shooting opportunity.. Back wheel kept sliding.. And I played it safe. Can you see the bike??

Found a little cobbled bridge that made for nice pictures before the climb started..

The CrossRip is great for this rough cobbles..! Thanks +Trek Bicycle

Almost at the top I stopped to breath and look at my surroundings.. Great ones by the way..

I could see the church again from the other side... A little more climbing..

Last switchback before the top..!!!

Remember the cobbled stairs? Well from the bottom now..

And it was time to head home... Sign says 3.9 km to it... I stayed close by today..!

I still managed to hit another 2 climbs on my way home but nothing worth taking a picture.. By the time I got home +Strava said 18 km and 570 meters done..

Thanks for reading and see you next time..!

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy