My Cycling Training Trip To Mallorca

Majorca or Mallorca (yes, it has various spellings, I guess catering towards both Spanish and English dialects) an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the  Balearic Islands.  Ok, I know you know I am smart, but I did have to look that up (Smart, but Geographically challenged, in other words). Regardless, of how you spell it, or where it is exactly on a globe, it is one stunning place… and what better way to take such beauty in, but on a bike!!

How this came about… Meet Laura, Founder and CEO of Team Lipstick, and the part that initiates our contact, is that she is also the Athletic Director of the CNN Triathlon Challenge.

So a few months ago, at the kickoff weekend for CNN Fit Nation, I was asked to do a nutrition presentation for them. What an opportunity. I was so excited to meet Dr. Sanjay Gupta, definitely America’s blue-eyed boy, and be a part of such an inspiring story. Anyway, long story short, Laura and I hit it off, and next thing I knew I was booked and ready to join her on her training camp in Mallorca.

Fast forward… August 17^th – Atl – Madrid with bike pedals, saddle, helmet, water bottles, and a touch of nervousness in tow. Nervous, more because I was renting a bike. This meant Dori and Giant, who have given me utmost support, had to stay home. I also knew my bike skills are not quite up to scratch… (It’s a mental fear I have after a couple of serious injuries, so no need to say more… ).

Meet my new BFF (Eddy Merckx)     [Sorry Dori, Sorry Giant, I fell in love within minutes.]

I faced many fears, and learned a lot along the way, and thus I thought that would be the most effective way to present my report:

What I learned:

I will never be a pro cyclist.

I continue to have a drinking problem… yes, I am still struggling to drink on the bike. It’s a mental thing, and I am yet to find a way around it. I know if I do not “just do it” it will never happen, but baby steps are in place. Like changing hand positions, touching the bottle, touch my legs, going into the drops…  Thank goodness for my Speedfill (T) system set up on my giant, and my aero-bottle set  up on Dori, else I would be reprimanded for being a sports dietitian who claims drinking on the bike is dangerous.

I am an endurance junkie (ok, I knew that already,) but I learned I am too far gone to ever recover. For example: I ran 3 times before some all day bike rides, and swam 3 times after. I also did not want to put the bike in the van when it was a unanimous vote to do so. I loved every minute (ok, except for some of those screeching u-bend twisty turny downhills) but that’s not endurance, that is just plain survival. And then, the van was all but short of a halo.

I am not as much bothered by dry heat than by humidity… Mallorca had record breaking temps, but I felt fine all the time, whether it was on the bike, or not. Yet at those same temps in humid Atlanta, I was close to heat exhaustion.

This is one I have always known, but seeing it is my professional career, I will emphasize it again:  Nutrition is 85% of the lean and fit equation. How did this trip reinforce that for me, well, even with the hundreds of biking mileage, and the other cross training disciplines, my clothes STILL managed to shrink in the closet…mmm…. I put it down to the typical European lifestyle of late night dinners (and every dinner is an event), late mornings with big (scrumptious) breakfasts, and larger than “what I am used to” lunches. The lunch places we stopped at were phenomenal, the problem is by that time, after strenuous climbing and heart stopping descends, one no longer cares how much one consumes.

I need more bike skill lessons. (Any coaches out there willing to trade services??) I knew starting out that I had none (I am realistic, I know my biking needs major work, but until now, I have never embraced a coach’s advice to my full potential). Guido and Laura were great teachers, and I can confidently say that I learned a lot from them both. One major fear factor for me was to descend with more confidence and a securer feeling of safety just by practicing the anchoring methods Laura demonstrated (no, it does not come naturally to everyone…). It will take some time, and I may need lots of bike skill practicals, but I have a few specific targets now to focus on… watch out GAPS of GEORGIA, bring it !!!

I learned that Mallorca can be described as the Gaps on Steroids.

On the very first day, I learned that I would rather ride in major traffic than on a skinny little bike path. I am not kidding… the bike paths felt more dangerous than any other terrain I have experienced. They are about one bike width wide. People are screeching up and down them on all kinds of machinery: road bikes, mountain bikes, beach cruisers, roller blades, skate boards, animals and things attached to leashes, to name a few, needless to say, only the Americans (and only some of them) are wearing helmets. I think I had 117 mini heart attacks on the bike path… Funnily enough, my New York contemporaries cruised easily along… I guess the bike paths in New York parallel those in Mallorca. I love you, Silver Comet Trail !!

I also learned that white stripes across any road gives a pedestrian magic powers to avoid death. I am not kidding, the pedestrians step into the white stripes and never care to even look if a car or cyclist may not have enough time to apply on breaks before they are reached. Yes, it is there right of way, but O.M.G, I would still look… I almost ran into 4 pedestrians because of the short distance I was given for brake effect. Ok, this may go hand in hand with my bike skills… BUT STILL !!

I learned that Mallorca is a cyclists dream. One can experience the beauty of a Mediterranean Island, embrace new cycling terrain every day, ride in mountains next to the blue, blue ocean, ride through the typically Spanish villages which offer and shou culture, and get in some valuable training simultaneously. In fact, many pro cyclists choose this Island to ready themselves for the Tour de France and the like (not taking Pro cycling any further than this, as the Pro’s are currently wrapped up in their own can of worms at the moment… carry on).

Europeans are extremely affectionate and open. They can put on a rag and still look fashionable. Their aura’s scream Romance… and I cannot wait to experience more European countries, with my now whetted appetite from Spain.

Madrid airport sucks !! (no need to say more – those that have traveled through there, can empathize, right?)

Finally, I learned that I would rather be in Mallorca than anywhere else in the world, right at this moment… Ok, that’s a bit far fetched… needless to mention that I came home to no water, dead car (don’t ask… its not worth the answer, nor the 3 triple A service calls later), no internet, and a coming down of my endurance high. Its all sorted out now, thanks to Superior Plumbing, My Computer Guy (Key Information Solutions) and the fact that my brand new car battery is under warranty.

yes – here there was plumbing, internet, and a means to get where I needed to go: My new BFF – Eddy Merckx Bicycle!!

Lastly – thanks Laura of Team Lipstick, and Guido of Life Style Cycling… I learned that I am a better cyclist and person than I was last week 😉

AND A YEAR OLDER TOO !!

              GOOD NIGHT !!