Training in Lockdown
Spain is in full lockdown to help slow the spread of the coronavirus which has meant I’m doing all of my training on Zwift. Zwift has been a real lifesaver for me (especially because of the meet-up feature) but, even if you don’t have access to Zwift or a smart trainer, if you’re riding indoors, these are a few things I’ve learned in the past two weeks.
1. Adjust your power. Drop your watts, scale down your FTP, and recalibrate your brain to those numbers. Riding inside is harder and if you try to match your outside numbers you will pay for it!
2. Focus on the feeling. Since your power won’t be what you’re used to and you may have to adjust normal training sessions, take your heart rate into consideration and always factor in your RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Listen to your body. In races you rely on your instincts anyway so it’s great practice for getting in touch with your body.
3. Indoor trainers function best with cadence around 80-90 RPM. Under or over and your training might be compromised. I’ve been trying to execute some high torque, low cadence strength intervals but with the smart trainer, sticking to cadence targets isn’t effective; instead, I focus on the feeling.
4. Reduce the volume by 20-30%. Riding inside is a constant effort. Although on Zwift you get a sense of drafting and going downhill, you still have to pedal. I’ve been adjusting my 5 hour rides to 3 hours and my 3 hour rides to 2 hours.
5. Don’t forget to fuel. Although your sessions might be shorter, don’t be tempted to skip nutrition. I set up a table next to the trainer and stock it with dates, homemade banana bread and lots of liquids to ensure I’m fuelled and hydrated.
6. Lastly, let go of perfection. A long period of indoor training is a big mental challenge. You might be used to structure and nailing each session but accept that indoor training is different and allow your training and expectations to adjust.
Transformation Underway
Can Campolier is a bit like an archeologist dig: we slowly uncover the past and discover new potential as we make our way through the house. We always had the idea to develop the downstairs area but it wasn’t until we took a high pressure hose to the floor and walls that we really saw all that it could be.
Originally, the downstairs was where some of the livestock were housed and cared for. When we moved in, there was even still old hay piled up in the corners. It was dusty, dark, and, frankly, we had other areas to focus on. But as the business expanded, we needed more space. Slowly, the downstairs became storage and then, over time, it was clear it had to be cleaned up and made into a proper usable space.
We started to clean, chip away at the disintegrating concrete, and then the vision was really clear. We called in the contractors. In a few weeks the team of 8 workers had transformed the area and revealed beautiful arched ceilings, exposed stone walls, and a crystal clear vision. It would be a space that was all about the bike. Of course, our bike workshop and rental bikes would be stored there but now it would also be a space for riders with shower facilities, seating areas to enjoy a coffee or two, and space to get ready to ride.
Plus, we all kinda liked that the foundation of the house is the foundation of our business: bikes.
Although it has moved on from cattle to bikes, as with the rest of Can Campolier, we will preserve the authentic feel of the space. Our top of the line carbon Cervelos and 3Ts will be perfectly at home next to the old brick but we hope bringing the space back into use will also tie a little of our cycling DNA into Can Campolier.
Work is still ongoing with but we look forward to sharing coffees and ride stories in our new cycling zone very soon.
A Good Place To Start
Marianne Vos is back this 2019 road season and it all kicked-off at the CCC-Liv Team Camp at Rocacorba Cycling.
The dominant force of Marianne Vos as we all know her is back. When Ashleigh invited the CCC-Liv team to have their pre-season training camp at Rocacorba Cycling, we were all especially excited to have the legend that is Marianne Vos experience Rocacorba Cycling, Can Campolier, and the roads that we all call home. Since February, Marianne has collected 15 victories, including 4 Giro stage wins and the La Course title, and while we can’t take any claim on her palmares, she did tell us that getting off to a good start at the pre-season camp was an important part of her preparation. We’ll take that as a small victory.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
Welcome Change
Typically, Marianne heads down to Calpe for her pre-season training but after more than 6 years, she was ready for change. While it’s “easy and comfortable” to return to the same place again and again and “hard to change something that works,” Marianne says, “exploring is also a big part of cycling—a joy in cycling.” Add in good pre-season weather and quiet roads and we couldn’t agree more.
With Ashleigh as their guide, Marianne and the whole CCC-Liv team got to explore the best of the Girona area and, as Marianne discovered, from Rocacorba Cycling, we have it all. “There are great climbs for training, great endurance rides, but there are also flats so there are all the options to train. That’s the most special thing.” Marianne favoured the impressive 18km Mare de Deu d’El Mont climb but, she says, “if you stay at Rocacorba Cycling, you have to do the Rocacorba climb”.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
At Home
Back at Can Campolier, the team stayed all together, having the whole place to themselves. “Normally at training camps in a hotel, you feel stuck, and in between all the other teams that are training. So there is a racy feel. Here it was much more relaxed which was a positive. You can relax, enjoy the area, and it feels like home. It feels different from the rest of the season,” Marianne said.
“Every day we woke up and walked over to the big house for breakfast with the sunrise. The views were amazing,” Marianne says. “I saw some photos before but, in person it’s even better. This place is stunning.”
“Good food, nice people,” Marianne continues, “easy to travel to and relaxing…it was a good camp and a good place to prepare for the road season”. Based on her impressive results this year, we think it was a pretty good place to start too.
Watch Marianne at the World Championships road race on Saturday, 28 September.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
Returning as Cyclists
It was a pleasure to welcome Anastasia and Kirill back to Rocacorba Cycling. They first stayed with us back in August 2018 and recently they returned, but it wasn’t the Anastasia and Kirill we had initially met.
Last year our guests from Moscow, Russia arrived as pure holiday-makers. They had found us on AirBnB and used us as a base to explore the Girona area and experience Catalonia. They stayed in the apartment of the grand old house Can Campolier and were quite taken with the property, the building, drinks on the balcony, views from the tower and, of course, Mila. They explored Besalu, old town Girona, the Costa Brava, and then they discovered something they weren’t expecting on their Spanish holiday: cycling.
Anastasia and Kirill were not cyclists at all but when you stay with us, it’s hard to miss that we are a cycling destination. Other guests were in and out with hire bikes and their curiosity was sparked. We introduced them to cycling, showed them our Cervelo R3s and what made them a road bike versus the 3T Exploro gravel bikes. We told them about the great routes and things they could see and experience while cycling Girona and the surrounding area. It didn’t take long before they gave into their curiosity, first going for a spin around Lake Banyoles on the town bikes and then venturing out on the 3T Exploros to explore the La Garrotxa area, and that was just the beginning.
Fast forward to April 2019 and when they returned, they were not just holiday-makers anymore. They told us since their first visit their lives had changed. They had bought bikes, proper kit, GoPros, joined Strava… Anastasia and Kirill had come back as proper cyclists. Not only did they enjoy a few days of gravel riding on the 3T Exploros again, but they also ventured out on the Cervelo R3s, some rides even nudging up to 100km! We helped them plan out the best routes over all four days and by the end of the week they had conquered the iconic Rocacorba, ridden the Costa Brava, and experienced Catalonia in a whole new way.
It was a whole new experience off the bike too. Although they were keen to return to the same apartment they had stayed in before, we were excited to have them as our first guests in the newly renovated masia, Cal Germa. While the familiar charm of the property and cuteness of Mila remained the same, they were taken with the comfortable modern rooms and garden backyard of Germa. The combination of privacy and spaciousness, modern and historic, gives the house a really special feeling. It’s the perfect place to relax, recover, and enjoy the surrounding nature and views of the mountain especially, they told us, after a long ride.
Anastasia and Kirill may have been returning guests, but nothing was repeated. Their transformation was nothing short of incredible and we’re absolutely delighted to be a part of their story. If their return visit and riding adventures aren’t convincing enough, Kirill also told us he already wanted a new, better, faster bike: a Cervelo R3. We have a feeling they will be back soon and that they will be taking more than good memories home! Don’t worry Kirill, we’ve got an R3 waiting for you!
The Rocacorba Cycling Jersey… all the way in Moscow.
The Next Chapter
You can just imagine the family working where we’ve started to dig out the new pool. Originally the vegetable garden, you can still see the built-in benches in the remains of the stone walls where they would rest. We’re definitely keeping those benches.
The position of the pool moved several times during planning and was discussed at length over months, as are all the renovation plans; but, ultimately, the house always reveals what is best and we’ve learned to trust that. There is always an initial idea of what we want but when you live on a property like this one, you get to know it. All the quirks, how it functions and how people flow through the spaces, the scars of wear and tear, the layers of modernization—it isn’t a blank slate. Respecting what is here always presents challenges but working with what we have allows us to refurbish and reinvent instead of replace and erase.
For the recent updates to the Germa building, we especially wanted to reinstate the doors opening onto the courtyard. The action is always in the courtyard and it’s probably been that way since the house was built. We wanted to re-establish that connection, not just for the building, but so our guests can feel that connection too. It’s easy to think of Can Campolier as historical, and it is, but it’s also still a functioning property so it’s not just about highlighting what it used to be, it’s also about showcasing what it still is.
There is so much history on this land and, as we modernise and bring the Rocacorba Cycling vision to life, there is a hope that this will become another chapter in the long story of Can Campolier. The truth is the house has 300 years of history before us and hopefully, with our help, 300 years of history after us. It’s a significant part of our lives but we are merely custodians of Can Campolier, hoping to leave it better for the future.
The Best Things in Life Are Shared
The memorable rides, the ones that transform into shared stories, have a few special ingredients. Good roads help, great bikes are optional (okay, desirable!), but it’s the people, the vibe, and the opportunity that make a ride a memory. It’s not an easy combination to have when you travel to explore somewhere new but it’s exactly how we’ve designed our guided tours.
You might be hungry to conquer the legendary Girona climbs or longing for the sunshine and sea-side roads of the Costa Brava and a guided tour gives you the opportunity to go and ride. Explore the best roads of Girona without the stress of planning routes, navigating a new country and language, or finding people to ride with. With our local knowledge, in-house bike mechanic, and rider-focused premium accommodation, it’s a chance no cyclist will want to pass up.
The best things in life are shared and every rider knows that’s true. Joining a guided tour might be a step out of your comfort zone but, at the end of the day, it’s riding bikes on great roads with new friends. Cycling brings together so many different types of people but with a shared passion it’s always a comfortable and happy environment. You won’t be too slow or too fast but you may be challenged, fall in love with Catalonia, and never want to leave. One thing is for sure, you’ll never forget your guided tour and you’ll be talking about it on your next ride.
Only The Best
Riding somewhere new can be great. It can also be terrible. There is nothing worse than showing up to ride a route or climb you have dreamed about only to end up on the busiest roads, going the wrong way, at the worst time. We’ve all been there. A lot of people come to Girona and waste precious kilometres when they could be riding the good stuff.
I never realized the value of a guide until I became one. After riding in Girona for many years, it’s second nature for me to put together routes. From the Costa Brava to the Pyrenees and every back-lane, not-on-Google-Maps road, I’ve ridden it. There are certain things that you just have to find out and experience first-hand on two wheels. Of course I know all the climbs, how to fix any road-side mechanical, and the best places to stop for coffee but it’s more than that. Its creating rides even the seasoned Girona rider would be excited by, knowing where the water taps are on abandoned back roads, the most picturesque places to stop for photos, where all the friendly donkeys are, and, of course, the inevitable conversations along the way.
I’ve ridden with dentists, accountants, geologists, stay-at-home parents, lawyers, photographers. . . from all around the world. After a long ride it’s hard to remember I’m a guide because after the ride we’re all just tired, happy, and ready for a piece of chocolate cake or (and, in some cases) a beer. I can get you from A to B on the best and most incredibly quiet roads you’ve ever ridden but you’ll find out the really good stuff is along the way.