Our tour begins and ends in Malaga, but the Vuelta a Espana is there today! Today’s stage will end at the very dramatic Castillo de Gibralfaro. Our hotel is not that far away from the Gibralfaro so we usually visit it. The final climb of the third stage of this year’s Vuelta is up to the Gibralfaro.

The Castle Gibralfaro was built to provide better protection than the Alcazaba below it offered with the advent of canon fire. The Alcazaba which dates back to the first century is among the largest and best preserved Roman and Moor ruins in Spain. . The Alcazaba and Gibralfaro were connected by a series of tunnels. The history of Malaga goes back much further than that to Phoenician and Greek eras.

The Gibralfaro:

The place is very cool at night

Here are the ruins of the Roman Theatre just outside the Alcazaba and below the Gibralfaro:

The Picaso museum is another fantastic place to visit, not only because of the artwork, but because the basement of the museum has been excavated to show the ruins beneath it.

There are plenty of other things to recommend Malaga:

The Paseo....it will be full of people all night.

El Tintero for Seafood on the beach

I' not in favor of bullfighting, but I do like this shot of Malaga

All this to say that I am GETTING PSYCHED to head back to Spain. Our tour, begins Sept 25 and we are all set.

Jim is going to be our support crew. I like that. I get an enforcer AND I can spend ALL my time on a bike.

He played rugby and his nose is still straight!??!!

There is one solo spot left for Spain if you want to join the scrum!

Our tours have plenty of challenging biking, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t do other things.  Actually, it’s the other things that are the whole point of doing a bike tour  in another country! 

Sikkim (India) is on deck in October and it’s time to start getting into the swing of some of those other things.  You don’t actually have to be going to Sikkim to appreciate this. Here’s how:

1.  Go pour yourself a glass of wine (or something stronger)

2)  Relax

3) Turn up your speakers

4) and get IN THE MOOD.

5) If this doesn’t make you smile, there is always Backroads (yea Fede!), Trek Travel and Butterfield and Robinson.

Thanks Keith N for sending this!

Clara is a strong climber.   We know that because she often does “The Hills of Arlington” right here in Arlington VA.   That’s a good thing.  Spain is not all plains.   In fact, in Andalucia I don’t think there are any plains.  At least not a lot.

Clara M

There is one solo spot left for Spain on Sept 25 and there are two double occupancy spots left for Sikkim on Oct 17.  If interested in either one, it’s pretty much do it now…or wait a year or two.

On top of that, they were from Italy.  We love it when Far and Away Cycling not only means cycling in places Far and Away, but also being with people who live Far and Away.   In our view, it doesn’t get any better.

Anyway, on Indochine it soon became apparent  Mr. Paolo could probably give Lance a run for his money.  Paolo is a fitness instructor and could ride like the wind.   He spoke less English than Fede, but he kept mentioning “Mongolian Challenge,  “Mongolian Challenge”.  We soon learned that he was using Indochine to further his training for the big test, The Mongolian Bike Challenge.

Well the Mongolian Challenge is on right now!   And Mr. Paolo is in the thick of the action.  And I mean really thick.   It seems today’s stage was canceled due to a sandstorm.

Mr Paolo is Number 35.  There is a tour tracker so people can follow along.  I haven’t seen pics of Paolo yet, but I’m looking and I am sure I will find some before this thing is over.

The Mongolian Challenge looks ridiculously hard.  120- 140 k per day with 200o or more meters of climbing in a race environment with time eliminations while camping.   Mr Paolo is probably missing the wonderful amenities of Kiu Kacham, Laos about now!!

At this moment, Mr. Paolo is in 23rd place out of 94 entrants and about 80 minutes behind the leader.

Here are some pics of Paolo (and Fede).

I am 100% sure that Paolo would love to hear from people.  Write a comment,  a Bravissimo!, a “go Paolo”, anything.  He is all the way on the other side of the world, but you can bet damn sure that I will make sure that he hears it.

Some pics from The Mongolian Challenge Website:

The start of the MBC. Mr. Paolo is here somewhere!

Wow, this looks pretty barren!

From Indochine:

Fede and Paolo at Tram Ton Pass

R to L: Paolo, Fede and Gwyn

Compared to MBC, Indochine probably is "child's play" for Paolo!

WHOO- HOOO, go Mr. Paolo!  You Rock!

***

On the way down I encountered a couple wearing lycra and carrying bike helmets. They were Bob & Chantal, on a daytrip from Yuksom (my next destination). It’s still pretty amazing to encounter cyclists here and once I’d persuaded them I was cycling as well (as I’d left my bike at the guesthouse) we discussed our routes – they were going the opposite way round without the benefit of my cycle guidebook, so some of the climbs were more of a surprise to them – I’m not sure if this would have been a good or bad thing – it might be nice not to wake up with the feeling of dread I’ve had on some of the tougher days.

The next day I reluctantly moved on. This was another pleasant ride – the last two have both been much shorter distances, as where possible I’m splitting journeys when there’s anywhere nice to stay enroute. These are much more enjoyable as I feel I can take my time and stop whenever I like, without worrying about what time I’ll arrive. There was, as usual plenty of climbing, but mixed in with long downhills. On the way I encountered these kids with their homemade bicycle, which made me feel quite guilty – I tried to think if I had any spare bike part I could give them, but couldn’t think of anything. I suspect the recent mountain bike race may have been through these villages as the kids are all very excited to see bicycles.

On the way I bumped into Chantal waiting by the roadside. Bob had lost his GPS somewhere on the way and had been forced to retrace his steps to try and find it. Eventually he reappeared having had to buy it back from some kids who’d found it, which cost him 300 rupees. The kids must have been very pleased with this. I then passed a waterfall which seemed to be inhabited by some slightly terrifying Lord of the Flies style children who shrieked manically at me. I decided to move on before they could climb down to the road as they were a bit frightening.

***

This is even better.  Adrian just sent me this pic which shows the spot on the road where he ran into the Sikkimese Bikesters.  I know about where this is:

You really don't want to go over the edge here. Look at all the stuff Adrian had on his bike!

]]> http://www.farandawaycycling.com/blog/tour-reports/sikkim/a-new-bike-for-our-sikkimese-bikester/feed/ 1 http://www.farandawaycycling.com/blog/tour-reports/indochine-tour-reports/feb-10-2010/signed-up-erika-n-denver-co-for-indochine/ http://www.farandawaycycling.com/blog/tour-reports/indochine-tour-reports/feb-10-2010/signed-up-erika-n-denver-co-for-indochine/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:08:23 +0000 Bob http://www.farandawaycycling.com/blog/?p=2548 Never before have I had anyone sign up for a tour and then BEAT ME to posting that news on my own Facebook Page. But then, I don’t think I have ever had anyone with the on-line presence of Erika sign up for a tour.

If Erika rides a bike like she writes, I may need to recruit all the bad boys from Rock Racing just so someone can keep up with her.

Here is Erika:

It's red alright.

Erika’s bio:

Whoa, I just noticed these last two entries. It's a good thing these tours always go well.

Erika’s line of work now is writing, social media and brand integrity.  Redheadwriting.com is her website.

In exchange for teaching Erika important phrases like “Nam Dim”, “Kup chai lai lai”, “kahm ern” and “Ninde te di pope chau”,  I am hoping she will share some writing and social media tips.   I have no doubt I could use some.

I’m very glad Erika is coming to Indochine.

Tour d’Indochine is 700 miles through Vietnam and Laos and it is an adventure.  If you have the balls to join Erika on Indochine (Erika has had an influence on me already!), we have this deal going for a few more days:

On sale thru the end of July

We’ve tried to capture it in our own video and we are always on the lookout for videos or articles from others that attempt to do the same.

Part of that spirit is the ability to make something out of nothing.   The things we take for granted are not givens in Laos.  That is easy for me to forget and that is part of the reason I keep going back year after year. As Brian T put it (when asked why he was signing up for our cycling tour in Laos for the third time), “it keeps me grounded.”

I just noticed this article about the under 18 Lao soccer team traveling to an international tournament in Sweden.   I have been to plenty of soccer tournaments and I have been to Laos and I can only imagine the kind of challenges and difficulties any team from Laos would need to overcome in order to make this happen.  To top it off, the team loses their sponsor in a manner that is a tragedy beyond description.

But then again, it’s all in your perspective. The ability to make something good out of nothing is big trump card and it is one that we all have.

For anyone planning to travel to Laos, the video and the story are instructive. For those that have already been to Laos, I imagine that watching and reading will bring back some memories.

Below is the link to the story about the Lao under 18 team which apparently is also being made into a feature length movie.

Lao Football Team Wins Trophy

Here is our own video effort attempting to capture the uncapturable.

This is it for Moreau.  He says that watching Lance Armstrong struggle through the race convinced him more than ever that it is the right time for him to retire also.

My hat is off to him.   And it’s off to Armstrong and Horner as well, both of whom are only one year younger.  Frankly, I think just finishing is a huge accomplishment.  And doing it while remaining competitive with people nearly half your age is pretty darn amazing.

Here is Moreau at the gala route announcement event for the 2010 tour route:

He looked relaxed enough to be retired, but he wasn't done yet!

We also can’t forget Italian Alessandro Petacchi who, at age 36, took the Green Sprinter’s jersey.   That is pretty special given that the guy you beat out for it is the 25 year old Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish.  Here is Pettachi:

Petacchi dodged a missile

Personally, one of the things I like about cycling is that competitors can remain world class into their late 30′s.  The oldest winner was Firmin Lambot, aged 36 in 1922.  Next oldest were Henri Pélissier (1923) and Gino Bartali (1948), both 34.  Gino Bartali holds the longest time span between titles, having earned his first and last Tour victories 10 years apart (in 1938 and 1948).

Plus, as far as recreational riding, you can pretty much do it until you “fall off the perch”, as Graeme W. would put it.