Feliz Navidad 2024 - Cycling Paradise CALPE

Winding roads with beautiful asphalt and crowds of cyclists surprised us last year as we drove between Benidorm, Calpe, and Denia in Spain, so we started making plans for this year's Christmas and New Year's trip... Every year, professional teams and amateurs flock to the Costa Blanca to enjoy summer in winter and rack up some serious mileage.

We sent our team truck, Carthago C-line, ahead with all the equipment. Ondra, Štěpánka, and Matýsek had a little more time and wanted to enjoy skiing in Andorra on the way. All that remained was to find out if they would leave us alone at the airport in Alicante, then all we had to do was board the plane early in the morning on December 20, and a few hours later we were stepping out under a blue sky. We did some shopping at our favorite Mercadona and drove to Calpe to the https://marysolcampingpark.com campsite. This small but nice campsite became our base for almost a week. We weren't alone here; every other motorhome had road cyclists setting off for a ride in the morning...

We didn't wait around, we took out our bikes and went on our first "coffee trip." Ondra and Štěpánka only went a short distance to test their new Scott bikes, which have a TQ motor with a small battery. Pavel and Klárka took a little longer and did well, as they were lucky enough to meet the entire UAE Emirates team, including Tadej Pogačar, on their last ride. The very next day, we went to Benidorm to see the Luxor Hotel, where their base was, but they were already gone.

We enjoyed the surroundings for six whole days, riding along the entire coast through Moraira and Xabia to Denia, climbing Cap Marti and, of course, not missing the popular Coll de Rates. We met lots of road cyclists everywhere, and car drivers were incredibly considerate towards cyclists. And there was also time for coffee. By the way, when you go to Coll de Rates, you have to stop for coffee at https://www.facebook.com/Musette.cc/, because even Tadej goes there, who set a record on the hill this year when he managed it in 12:21!

We also spent Christmas Eve in Calpe, which we celebrated with a delicious dinner with friends at https://lapsusbistro.com in the old town, which is also worth a visit. There was also schnitzel, but that was a day later...

During our day off, we visited the waterfalls https://lasfuentesdelalgar.com and moved on to the Mar Menor area, Europe's largest dead sea. We didn't try swimming, so we don't know if the water really floats, but we cycled around the whole area and Ondra and Štěpánka even broke their personal record, 100km in the saddle...

From Los Alcazares, we are heading to the southernmost part of this year's trip, Castillo Beach near the beautiful village of Mojarar, where we have found a quiet place to spend New Year's Eve without fireworks. The competitors will cover a grueling 165 km on their own, and the rest of the team will travel by camper van. The trip back to Alicante, from where we flew back, was similar, so the result of two weeks in sunny Spain was 1,216 km for Pavel Šorf and 830 km for Klára Tomsová. It was a nice turn of the year in the saddle, and we are already looking forward to next year...