May 14, Bujaraloz
Arrived at the Espanol, a hotel in Bujaraloz, tired, wet, and hungry, after riding 75 km (45 miles) in hilly country. Nice morning ride to Fraga, then a long uphill climb. Pushed the bike on an 8% grade for 2 km to the top. After that is was a gentle downhill descent for about 10…
May 13, Lleida
We left Montserrat around 11 A.M., misty and overcast, via a route that went up the hill…my legs were not prepared for this and I struggled to the top in my lowest gears. Once at the top, we rollercoastered on a narrow two-way mountain road, with steep drop offs. The vistas were breathtaking. On our…
May 9: Montserrat
Leaving Molins de Rei, Dennis spotted a cyclist and caught up to him to get directions. We had been unable to find how to get to the bike route we were looking for. Adolfo Jimenez was our trail angel. He asked directions at a local hotel, and then lead us as far as Pallejá. He…
Wednesday May 8 – St. Andreau
Dennis and I are leaving the bike store for Montserrat, a mountain-top crag about 35 miles north of Barcelona. I’m a little nervous about riding in the city on a new and fully loaded bike. Dennis has planned the route which means he will pay attention to street signs while I concentrate on avoiding people…
Sunday, May 5 — Barcelona
Yesterday was low-key. Dennis was still not well and spent most of the day in bed. By evening he was starting to feel better and had the first restful sleep in five nights. The rest seems to have helped him. Its Mother’s Day in Spain, so I get to celebrate the holiday today and again…
Friday, May 3: Barcelona
After brunch at the hotel, we went back to the bike shop to retrieve a day back pack that I had left in the front rack pack. Nacho (nick name or Ignacio) kissed me on both checks. When I commented that store personnel in the US don’t have this custom, he replied “Its the latin…
Don’t drown in self-promotion
As you try to promote your book, do you feel as if you were drowning in work? Are you overwhelmed with all the various social media marketing tools? When I started promoting my book online, I spent way too much time tweeting, blogging, and updating my status on Facebook. I was creating so much content…
Sunday April 28 (cont.) to May 1
Sunday April 28 (cont.) It was great to be able to Skype my mom for her 86th birthday. The internet connection on land was much clearer and faster than on the ship. Also managed to speak with our daughter, Aine, who just returned from a trip to St. Barts. We had lunch on the top…