10 of us were based in the resort of Maspolomas on the south of the island. Our accommodation was a nice little villa in a private complex complete with pool. The town it self left much to be desired however. It seemed to cater for the party animal in the summer and the elderly in the winter with neon lights, Chinese, Indian and English 'restaurants' on every street. This was not a major problem though as most of the day was spent on the road...
For the first 4 days we put in solid 5hour rides. These were possibly a bit too hard for January training at times. On the second day we managed to find a 10km climb which averaged 20% and was 28% in its steepest sections. If it wasn't for a fresh water spring half way up the climb i may well still be passed out on the side of the road, it was a tough one. On the positive side of it all the other climbs seemed easy in comparison!
On the 5th day we decided to take it easy and ride along the coast to find a cafe. The next day however it was back to business and I was determined to get in 100miles. 7 hours later and after 107miles I made it back. I was a tad wobbly though as I ran out of water for the last 30minutes, not ideal when the mercury reached 27 degrees! The long ride was probably a bit over the top as the next day I suffered as soon as the gradient kicked up. I managed 3hours but was pretty wrecked and suffered from a bit of sun stroke from the previous days efforts.
All in all it was a good week though, a nice 35hours in the tank and more climbing than I'll ride all year in Cambridgeshire! Now my training has been kick started so hopefully I'll only get quicker... just need to get some more power or less weight for those steep bits now!
Here is a video from one of the rides...
Gran Canaria training from Josh Ibbett on Vimeo.
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