Another Vuelta came to an exciting conclusion last night. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. It takes a lot of hard work to pull an event like this off and I’d like to take a moment to express my gratitude to Suhail Medina, Myrna Rosado and the rest of the Vuelta staff, the road captains, the drivers, the medics, the police officers, the town officials, the volunteers, the photographers, the videographers, the writers and everyone else who put in the time and effort into making this year’s Vuelta such a success.
Most of all, to our great community of cyclists, THANK YOU! It was a pleasure riding with you. We hope to see you again next year.
The last few miles of La Vuelta were extremely exciting to watch. I can only imagine of what it must have felt like to be in the middle of the peleton as you sped through the city. Although most of you riders made this whole event look easy, I know it probably wasn’t, so congratulations on what you’ve just accomplished.
Being in one of the cars with the Vuelta staff, I heard lots of stories about people who had difficulties last year and came back this year to conquer. I love those stories. I know that another rider, Bill Gifford from Bicycling Magazine, only found out he was coming to this event a few weeks ago. With very little time to train, Bill wasn’t expecting to finish the whole tour, but finish he did. Nice job, Bill!
Thanks to all of you for the inspiration. I can’t wait to get back to Oregon and start training for my own cycling season. If I’m going to be able to ride with you next year, I’ve got a lot of work to do.
It is sad that tensions between motorists and cyclists in the United States have been growing over the past few years. Apparently Puerto Rican drivers haven’t gotten the memo because they showed La Vuelta riders a lot of courtesy on the road this week. And, while it might not have been obvious to the riders, some of those cars were stopped and sitting for several minutes waiting for the peloton to pass.
It was extremely satisfying to look at drivers stopped in the middle of the first day’s climb. Most of them had big smiles and genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves. Instead of getting upset at the disruption, they seemed to delight in the fact that, for a moment, they were able to be a part of this great event.
Since nearly half of the riders in this event live in Puerto Rico, it got me thinking: is the reason motorists treat cyclists with respect because there are so many strong riders here, or are there so many strong riders here because motorists treat cyclists with respect? Is it because cycling is more accepted as a spectator sport? Or does living in paradise just make it easier for people to stop and smell the roses?
Every year I watch every minute of the Tour de France. In fact, during the month of July, I let most every other commitment I have slide. Often I wonder what it might be like to ride along in a team car. Sadly, I know this will never happen. However, today, YOU made this dream close enough to being a reality that I'm truly happy. The (sort of) closed roads, the cars driving in the wrong lane, the motorcycles with photographers on the back zipping from place to place and people shouting in languages I do not understand set the backdrop.
But it was the sight of your beautiful peloton -- the way you moved, the bikes you rode and the uniforms you wore -- that made it totally convincing. And, when you hit the climb, I saw those things Bob and Phil talk about year after year. I saw you reach into your suitcases of courage. I saw you dance on the pedals. I saw you fly. It was amazing. To those who may have been struggling today, I say "congratulations" because you wouldn't have known it by looking at you. To all of you a hearty thanks for helping me live my dream -- if only in my mind.
Today more than 30 riders kicked off the 2010 festivities with an early morning breakfast at the Caficultura cafe in Old San Juan. The coffee was flowing, the breakfast delicious and the excitement palpable. At 7:05 the sun was up and the ride got underway. The peloton worked its way through the capitol city with purpose. Riders were treated to the beautiful cobblestone streets of the old city, the campus of the University of Puerto Rico, the financial district of Hato Rey and the pristine beaches of Ocean Park.
Tomorrow this group will join with the other 420 riders for the official start of La Vuelta. The 148 mile ride from Old San Juan to Ponce is the most challenging day of the tour, but, if today is any indication, the riders are more than ready.
Hi there everyone. Training for La VUELTA is now in full gear for most if not all of you and we wish to correct some information related to the accumulated climbs of our tour. We had incorrectly informed that La VUELTA had 18,000 feet of climbing in the three days but its really 8,000. That was a typographical error!!
So, if you have been training for 18,000 feet, then I guess you are in good shape right now!! Stay tuned here for more news and remember that our registrations under the regular price are until midnight, December 14, 2009.
Questions? email info@vueltapr.com
Bicycling Magazine Online is recommending our tour "La VUELTA" of Puerto Rico as one of the sixteen (16) "Best Gift for Bicyclists 2009" and we STRONGLY AGREE!! (See all 16 recomendations in HERE, ours is number 16!!)
Bicycling Magazine Online states ...
Vuelta PR: A Tropical Ride Around Puerto Rico. A mid-winter riding vacation is a great gift for cyclists, especially if Mother Nature regularly shuts down your season each year. One warm, beautiful, and reasonably priced option is The Lighthouse Cycling Tour of Puerto Rico: aka La VUELTA. La VUELTA is a fully supported three-day loop starting and ending in San Juan that explores 375 miles of the island's coastline. Riders choose between three groups of varying ability (with a no-drop policy so slower riders aren't left behind), and the chance to pedal through tropical rainforest, coconut plantations, exotic beaches, world-class marinas and 43 coastal towns. Click here for more information, to register, or to purchase as a gift.
We have extended the regular price of $379 until midnight Monday, December 14, 2009 due to Bicycling Magazine Online's announcement. This will give a fair chance for the readers of Bicycling Magazine to read about us and sign up.
It was so much fun getting to know the triathletes here in Madison! The best part was watching how excited they got at the idea of riding 375 miles in 3 days with 18,000 feet of climbing. I loved watching the eyebrows go up when they realized that the Group A rider's average speed is more than 20mph...emphasis on the "more than". Yeah, baby, this is no "chat ride" through Wine Country on a nifty, little hybrid. We met some fantastic people from Smith and Nephew who were freaking everyone out/promoting their famous hip resurfacing. Also, the team from Flax Matters were there encouraging everyone to get their Omega-3 on. We are going to pull the winner from the group of entries for the free registration for the 2010 VUELTA. The question is...will you be tough enough for Group A??? (If not, please see ME in Group C with the non-psychos...aka 15mph average.)
With all due respect to my hometown bike shops in RI, Machinery Row is NO JOKE. Not only did they have an amazing selection of bikes, but they also have a $39,000, one-of-a-kind, titanium, TRIPLE- tandem bike in the house...umm, for the cyclist who has everything?? Aside from checking out the local scene, I met some of the thousands of triathletes that will be competing on Sunday. Everyone is full of nerves, smiles, and Gatorade! To be honest, this is the first time that I am at a triathlon and I am NOT competing myself, but I am having a great time trying to get people to think about base-building in 82-degrees in February. The Canadians, in particular, seem to be very enthusiastic... (!)
During my taxi ride from the airport, I couldn't believe my eyes! Bike lanes, bike paths, and cyclists, oh my! Yes, it appears that Madison is the place to be for commuters. Even my taxi driver told me that is it usually the cars that have to smoosh themselves over to one side of the road while the cyclists take over the road. A walk around Lake Monona confirmed it...from tri bikes to commuters, from hybrids to beach cruisers, every kind of bike is represented here. I suppose I am not surprised, I mean, I do own a copy of "American Flyers" and have probably watched it about 500 times. Oh no! I guess I just let everyone know how old I am if I remember Kevin Costner in bike shorts...
I am so excited to be a part of La VUELTA de los Nueve Faros and can't believe that registration officially opens tomorrow! If you have any questions about the tour, I mean any questions at all, please go ahead and send me an email. In the meantime, I am heading out for a bike ride before spending the rest of the week promoting the VUELTA at the EXPO for IRONMAN Wisconsin. Stop by and say hello to William and me if you happen to be in Madison. Good Luck triathletes!!
We are pleased to announce two improvements to our already spectacular tour!
For the first time, the route of the 2010 VUELTA will be marked with arrowed signs to provide directional assistance to riders.
Additionally, the 2010 VUELTA will be a "No Drop" ride. A team of two cyclists will serve as "Lanterne Rouge", riding behind the entire peloton with a SAG wagon to assure its successful arrival at the end of each day. Stay tuned at our blog for more details!!
Registrations open September 9, 2009!!
"Lantern Rouge" ... term used in professional cycling races for the last rider!!
The Road Captains
Our Road Captains are a group of men and women from all walks of life that share a passion for cycling and for Puerto Rico. All are either born or raised in the island and have collectively ridden their bikes around enough times to make anyone dizzy. All are La VUELTA veterans some of which have been Road Captains since our inception. They bring experience, knowledge & leadership for the benefit of all those participating.
The role of these Road Captains is to ensure guidance and leadership to our participants while ensuring that you all arrive from point A to point B within the programmed times.
We are happy to announce the appointment of these fine Road Captains for the 2010 edition of La VUELTA. Alphabetically, these are ... <learn more>