Tom Vessey Cycling: Getting around Europe

Training in Belg pretty much goes like this…

One particular day, out training with Gaeton and Julien it started snowing the heaviest I had ever experienced, it felt like a white-out had just rolled in on the ski field, unreal. The weak Belgies then decided that it was unrideable and took cover outside this ladies house, who soon realised that there were three dodgy looking fellas lurking around her house and invited us in for coffee. Naturally I had three.

After a few days of frostbitten hands and feet I was itching to go somewhere where training was bearable.

Meeting the team for the first time was nice, they all seem like good buggers, most of which speak Englais and we get on well. 15 hours later, on a bus with more leg room than the cattle class on Etihad Airways, we rolled up in Barcelona.

Talking to little Hamo, he recommended going to Tossa de Mar for a reco day while in Spain. After we rode through there, the road around the sea was the best riding I had ever done, mountains that go on for 25+km, ashphalt roads and no enraged kiwi drivers! Reeeeal nice.

Been knocking out big k’s making the most of the weather, spending 6.5hrs out of the bike, I could think of worse ways to spend my time in Espagne!

The hotel offers 3 meal buffet service with; all pastries possible, racks of lamb and rabbit, legs of quail, salmon and many more delicacies! May have been over indulging a bit, I’d hate the see what the scales say at the moment!

Spain was grouse. Enough said.

Back to reality, however the weather seems to be improving with the snow pretty much all gone and took the opportunity to visit Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which is the Belgian Formula One race track which was a nice cruisey day – Getting to know my way around the place now!

First race on Saturday, let you all know how that goes!

Beauty.

Ciao.