FREE (ish) Cycling Holiday anyone ?

calistro

I've won the below prize but cannot go, if any body wants to use it they can PM me and I'll send on the contact details.

Basically it only covers the accommodation & guided rides.

I've estimated the extra cost per person would be approx.

€200 return (Ryanair - checked yesterday to Malaga) including own bike
€25 per day which covers breakfast/snacks for the rides/evening meal with drinks
€50 airport transfers

http://www.ciclismoespana.com/win-cycling-holiday-spain-ciclismo-espana/

Zyzz

Jesus fair play to you fella giving it away!

calistro

Zyzz wrote: »

Jesus fair play to you fella giving it away!

Hopefully someone will use it, don't want to see it go to waste.

cunavalos

Can you just clarify if the prize is transferrable as the website claims the prize is non transferrable.

Also are there any specified dates for the holiday.

Rules.

1. You must be a Twitter Follower of @Ciclismoespana.
2. You must evidence your flight details by email within 4 days of notification of your prize, if not the prize will be re-allocated.
3. Prizes are not transferable, the winner must accompany their chosen guest.
4. All entries shall be made by Direct Message through Twitter @Ciclismoespana entries put on twitter feed shall be removed and your entry will not be counted.
5. Competition will start from 13th Jan 6pm UK time and will close from 15th Jan 6pm UK time. Entries received after this time will not be counted.
6. If more than 3 correct entries are received the winners will be selected at random from all correct entries on the 16th of January.
7. In the event that less that 3 correct entries are received the closest 3 shall be chosen
8. The correct answer is the number that Ciclismo Espana have. The source of this information shall be provided after the competition if requested.

calistro

Hi,

Yes, I've checked and he has allowed the transfer. The only date available is for 1 week between the 08/02/2014 until 15/02/2014.

calistro

Shameless Bump !!!......if that's ok mods?

Hoping someone might avail of this as need to let the competition owner know by Sunday night.

Thanks

calistro

Holiday now gone. Thanks.

rab!dmonkey

I'm the lucky guy who ended up going to Spain for a week on the cheap, so I thought the least I could do in return would be to post a little review on my holiday with Ciclismo España.

Steve - the sole guy behind CE - runs the rides from the quiet village of Alcaucín. It's about 5 min drive from the nearest main road, so transfers were no hassle, yet it's off the main tourist trail. The accommodation is run along the lines of a catered chalet - three twin rooms, breakfast and dinner served. The property was well furnished and there was plenty of room in the bikes and bike bags storage area. Steve's catering left nothing to be desired either: every day started with croissants and porridge and finished with a hearty home-cooked dinner. There was plenty of isotonic drink on hand, though I would recommend you bring your own preferred riding food as I didn't see any well-stocked supermarket in the village and you won't really have time (or energy) to go shopping further afield.

If I were to use one word to describe the type of riding on offer, it would be 'hilly'. The coast road offers the only respite. Steve knows the area very well and had plenty of varied and interesting routes on tap - some more mountainous than others. The climbs were generally of the long, steady gradient type and often reward you with a great view and thrilling descent. The road surface was great, apart from a few isolated patches, and the drivers were courteous.

We had a mix of ability levels in the group, from HC KOM chasers, competent climbers, hangers on and one guy who wasn't quite up to it. I think everyone in the group was running a compact crank (a triple was the only exception) and 11-28 cassette, and each of us needed that granny gear to a greater or lesser degree. Steve did a great job keeping everyone happy, but if you're visibly a long way from race weight and you haven't put in the miles over the winter (as was the case with that one guy) this holiday will not suit you. The rides averaged about 2500 m of climbing (according to my Edge510) for six days - polkadot jersey chasers will be in their element.

Steve says on his site to come prepared for all weathers and I wholeheartedly endorse that advice. During the week I experienced everything from a downpour in frigid temps, through to conditions that necessitated sunscreen, with snow making a brief appearance on one col. That's how early spring goes, I suppose - even as I type this, the weather there is looking more consistently warm. The weather forecasts were good, so I probably should have put a bit more faith in them when layering up in the morning.

Overall, I had a great time and I'd recommend Ciclismo España to anyone looking for a week of road cycling with plenty of elevation thrown in. Steve was a fantastic host and he even got my white, mud-splattered jersey whiter than it has been in months!

Slo_Rida

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

and one guy who wasn't quite up to it.

Was this you, RM???????????

rab!dmonkey

No, I was riding every day. That one guy decided to sit out a few because he just wasn't up to it. He hadn't put in many miles over the winter and he was carrying a fair amount of 'internal energy stores', so it was to be expected really. It serves to illustrate that you will need a decent base fitness to make the most of the holiday, though you needn't be a dedicated, skin-and-bones climber (I'm not).

Ole Rodrigo

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

No, I was riding every day. That one guy decided to sit out a few because he just wasn't up to it. He hadn't put in many miles over the winter and he was carrying a fair amount of 'internal energy stores', so it was to be expected really. It serves to illustrate that you will need a decent base fitness to make the most of the holiday, though you needn't be a dedicated, skin-and-bones climber (I'm not).

Was that 2500m climbing per day ? Over how many KMs ?

rab!dmonkey

Around 110 km most days. On the last day we did 140 km, 3200 m to get the Strava Gran Fondo challenge - that was tough!