3 days into cuba training camp

3 great days of training under my belt since arriving in Cuba on Tuesday.  As indicated by some of the reviews that were posted on some travel sites, the hotel that we are staying at would definitely not be up to the standards of either my wife or Brian's, but it is great for cyclists on a budget!  There is plenty of food, it is pretty healthy, and the poor taste and bland food helps to cut weight!  The rooms are clean, we have A/C and we can drink the water out of the taps, so I am happy as a clam.

So far the weather has been great.  We had a little bit of rain this morning, some cloud yesterday, but most of today and Tuesday were sunny and hot.

Some local riders latched onto the group pretty early and have been showing us the local routes and pushing the pace to see if they can crack a few canucks :P  It is really interesting to see the gear that these guys have because apparently there isn't even a bike shop in varadero to buy any cycling stuff even if one has the money...  Looks like most of the locals have been gifted cycling kits from Canadians and other riders that come down here for training camps.  It is really interesting to see a guy riding tires that are shredded and patched on a carbon fibre frame and then the guy next to him is riding a full steel bike 10-speed (not the 10-speed in the sense that the cassette has 10 cogs, but 5 cogs on the rear... a true 10 speed!) with steel handlebars and no bar tape!

I think that my father would love it down here in Cuba.  There are lots of old classic american cars that look like they have been pretty well maintained, the beer and cigarrettes are cheap, and people smoke everywhere!  The people are friendly, the food is cheap, and the weather is beautiful year-round.  I have to say that I like cuba a lot better than Mexico so far for everything except for the food (but it may be better at nicer hotels).  Probably the crowning jewel of Cuba... no loud obnoxious Americans!

Internet runs around 8CAD/hour and is pretty slow, so posts are likely to be a little on the thin side while I am down here.  Not to mention that the weather is so nice that I don't particularly feel like sitting inside on a computer during the day!

So far, this is definitely the best training camp I have been on yet and for the price, I think that this might be a good way to get onto more training camps while it is cold and snowy in the winter without upsetting my dear wife by being on the road all year long.  I am thinking taht I could probably sell her on a couple of weeks/year at an all inclusive in Cuba or something comparable... :D

Travel preparations

So, as I am starting to think about getting ready to travel to Cuba for the CCA Para-Cycling training camp on Monday, I thought that I would weigh my bike box to see whether I will be able to travel with it under the charter flight baggage restrictions.  About 5 years ago I purchased this really nice hard case that can carry 2 bikes in it so that I could protect my gear and save money by cramming everything into one box.  About 2 years later, all of the new baggage restrictions came into play and I was still able to put 2 frames with wheels into the box, but I had to strip cranks, pedals and seats out of the box and put them into my suitcase to meet the weight limits.

 

Going to Cuba, we are flying a charter flight run by SunWing and apparently we can have 2 bags at a max of 20kg each and one bike weighing a max of 20kg for a fee of 30$ each way.  I threw my bike box onto a scale this morning with the padding that I would normally put into the case and it weighs 19kg... My bike weighs 7kg... so, at a cost of 12$/extra KG I could use this bike box for a mere 72$ each way. 

 

Off to Bow cycle to get a cardboard box for free...  Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones.

World championships moved again...

So, I got a phone call from Larry last night letting me know that Columbia has bailed on organizing the para cycling world championships this year. The UCI really needs to get its act together.  Last year spain bailed with only a few months notice and then this year the same story again!?!

So, road worlds will be in Quebec (I am really tired of going to that province) and track worlds are to be held in Nov or Dec at a location to be determined at a later date...

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Contintental breakfast?

How many times have you been to a hotel with a free "continental breakfast" that turned out to be some stale pastries with instant coffee?  I am at The Matrix Hotel in Edmonton (thanks to my lovely wife's tip) and what you see is only half of the spread included in the free breakfast. The service, the rooms, and the location are fantastic and if you use expedia to book, you will get a discounted rate.  Www.matrixedmonton.com

-- Sent from my Palm Pre