Vuelta A Espana 2016 the MN Peloton contemplates another glass of Rioja to go with the tapas

[FelicityLemon]

Despite the Olympics still in full swing it is time to turn our attention to the Vuelta.

www.lavuelta.com/la-vuelta/2016/us/parcours-general.html

The stages

1 Team time trial Saturday, August 20th Ourense, Laias Health Resort / P. N. Castrelo de Miño 27.8 km

2 Flat Sunday, August 21st Ourense Thermal Capital / Baiona 160.8 km

3 Hilly Monday, August 22nd Marín / Dumbría. Ezaro Viewpoint 176.4 km

4 Hilly Tuesday, August 23rd Betanzos / San Andrés de Teixido 163.5 km

5 Flat Wednesday, August 24th Viveiro / Lugo 171.3 km

6 Hilly Thursday, August 25th Monforte de Lemos / Luintra. Ribeira Sacra 163.2 km

7 Hilly Friday, August 26th Maceda / Puebla de Sanabria 158.5 km

8 Flat Saturday, August 27th Villalpando / La Camperona. Valle de Sabero 181.5 km

9 Hilly Sunday, August 28th Cistierna / Oviedo. Alto del Naranco 164.5 km

10 Mountain Monday, August 29th Lugones / Lagos de Covadonga 188.7 km

• Rest day Tuesday, August 30th Oviedo / Oviedo

11 Flat Wednesday, August 31st Colunga. Jurassic Museum / Peña Cabarga 168.6 km

12 Hilly Thursday, September 1st Los Corrales de Buelna / Bilbao 193.2 km

13 Hilly Friday, September 2nd Bilbao / Urdax-Dantxarinea 213.4 km

14 Mountain Saturday, September 3rd Urdax-Dantxarinea / Aubisque - Gourette 196 km

15 Mountain Sunday, September 4th Sabiñánigo / Sallent de Gállego. Aramón Formigal 118.5 km

16 Flat Monday, September 5th Alcañiz / Peñíscola 156.4 km

• Rest day Tuesday, September 6th Castellón / Castellón

17 Mountain Wednesday, September 7th Castellón / Llucena. Camins del Penyagolosa 177.5 km

18 Flat Thursday, September 8th Requena / Gandía 200.6 km

19 Individual time trial Friday, September 9th Xàbia / Calp 37 km

20 Mountain Saturday, September 10th Benidorm / Alto de Aitana. Air Force Squadron 193.2 km

21 Flat Sunday, September 11th Las Rozas / Madrid 104.8 km

Apparently it is going to be a tough one: Too brutal for sprinters: Teams prepare their climbers for mountainous Vuelta a España
Read more at www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/#iLVQdFMS6pFLb4wQ.99

Can I mention some bike love here? I've been on a ride today with a matey on Spesh on a track/trail. Spesh did not like it at all but did it. I've cleaned him, did the chain bath and lube, wiped all the crud off and now he is gleaming. As I walked passed him he gave me a "when are we going out next please?" and audibly panted.
I my

You want to go out for a spin with me and my ToB lantern Pan? My luffly cheap Boardman will let your Spesh take all the glamour points?

Earlier in the season there was a three race 10 mile TT series with the local club. I probably posted then that it was the first time I had seen a proper TT bike and aero helmet (we are in the back of the back of beyond so it was a bit boggling). Mr £8K TT bike with matching shoes won the first two races but on the final of the series a young lad turned up on my exact same bike, borrowed helmet and only bib shorts over a t-shirt (he'd forgotten his top) and blew the locals away. It was brilliant . I helped him with his number pinning and stuff as he wasn't far off DS1's age over here on placement from uni. I did tell him I had the same bike but mine didn't go as fast as his .

Lovely moments aren't they?

On occasion I have to visit Didsbury/Chorton/Withington which is our equiv of the W London Rapha set (too much disposable income) and see MAMILs (of which I am probs one) riding high spec bikes incl some Pinarellos, all the gear (we have a Pinarello shop now) V badly and trying very hard. Good for them for getting out and spinning, but...just but.

Having said that, a few years ago we did an 8 mile TT locally and a young bloke turned up a fairly crappy MTB and set off after me. No 'kit', nothing really and toward the end he had almost caught me up. I chatted with him afterwards and he'd got the train from Manchester on his own as M/c don't do TTs and couldn't afford a road bike - the MTB was a mates. Big chapeau to him.

I appear to live in Iron Man central. There is so much KIT (can't do it in lower cases because that isn't manly enough) people must spend every single bit of money they earn on it. I started to get the giggles at all the areo helmets and skinsuits (we live in the middle of nowhere! It was supposed to be fun on rural roads TT not the Olympics) that were appearing. I was so happy that the lovely young man on the cheapest Boardman available won. There were mutterings .

See that's exactly why I won't buy DS1 any more KIT, sorry, kit. At their age they can do it well on whatever bike they have available if they have the thighs. He did his first sportive on a mountain bike, apparently 5 miles before the finish, uphill into a head wind, his dad (DS was only 14 at the time so I'd press-ganged his father into accompanying on his road bike) wheezed 'if you have the legs go for it' and was dropped like a stone .

Funny thing? A couple of years ago I was riding passed the M/c Velodrome and was a bit late for getting back to Glossop to cook tea for dd. A Brit Cycling/Sky dude was in front of me and was looking down at his chain constantly and slowing. So I zoomed past with an "excuse me" - I had essential business to see to! We had a brief exchange at the next traffic lights, explained why I'd over-taken him on a cycle path. He was cool when I said "As biking parents that's just how we roll."

Nice bloke. Probably a gold medal winner somewhere.

yep MrSlant - there is no replacement for effort and talent is there?

Damn! Pass me the Vuelta lantern please DA.

Here you are, Pan. Be careful won't you, it's heavy

Cheers DA.

Those days of Giro glory seem very distant now.

Well that's what I'm telling DS anyway I need to go to sleep, back to club for him tomorrow which is an hours drive in the morning for me. So glad I live here. Honest.

oh make him ride there!

DH has gone off for the weekend with a couple of his pals in a camper van, heading off to deepest County Cork to do a 160km hilly sportive. Months of training have gone into this, so I hope they manage it.

This is what they are doing, it looks stunning.

clicked on that link DA - the 160km sounds erm....challenging! Hope he is up for it?

He's feeling positive, he's put in a lot of hours out on the bike over the last few months following a very strict training plan so I hope it all pays off

V quick? A friend of mine slimmed down about 1 stone to go on a "Fat Bloke at The back" tour in Italy this summer - 4 days in the Apennines and got to the airport in M/c with his son's passport in error. Was not going to miss it. He got through ALL passport controls between M/c and Pisa return. Why? Because he is Irish ginger and officials didn't really look. The passport photo on his son's passport was taken when he was 10 yrs old! Himself is 45 yo. All they saw was a ginge.
Concerning, and also hilarious.

DH has lost a ton of weight from all this cycling. I made him go shopping last week to get a new pair of jeans as his favourite pair were literally falling off him and looked ridiculous. He'd gone down two waist sizes!

Lucky bastard can eat whatever he wants as well, which pisses me off unreasonably.

yeah, I've gone on a bit of a riding/running/swimming thing in the last few weeks and not eating empty calories and moved down two notches on the trousers belt. When the fabric bunches on your waist under your belt and t-shirts dangle off your torso it's a good sign.

it's the calories that do it! As is known, " you can't out run a bad diet"

Drop the wine and crisps! Tough I know.

Drama the start of that course isn't very forgiving! At least they get the very worst over straight away. I hope he has a great time, the scenery will be spectacular if he has enough air in his lungs to focus .

Well I got a text from him at a food break saying he'd done 120k and had 40k more to go including a bastard of a hill. Then I got another text a while later saying 'finished but knackered', so he's done it :-). I reckon a few beers may be had tonight, and quite right too

Well done Mr Alpaca.

In other news Movistar put in a token effort at the ToB so I am clinging on to the podium by my fingernails. Pleased for Tony and will be sad to see him off to Katusha next year, but happy to see Jack Bauer is joining Etixx. He's Dan Martin's neighbour in Andorra so hopefully they will work well together.

Chapeau MrAlpaca. Hope he really enjoyed it and has a good evening although when DS did the 120k the other week we were both asleep by 9.15 that evening totally knackered. I don't even know why I was so tired, I'd driven everywhere .

Considering I have the future MrsSlant Steve Cummings on my team I'm not doing very well at the ToB!

What about the Vuelta today, how fantastic those last 60 or so kilometres were. It felt like every position was still being keenly fought, not just the podium places. Froome and Quintana were just everything I love about the sport.

Driving and supporting is just as knackering MrS. That's my story & I'm sticking to it

I'm currently watching the Vuelta and don't know what happened, so I'll leave you to it & come back later.