La Vuelta is one of the coolest cycling events ever and I've been lucky enough to be able to see it firsthand for a couple of years now. As I make my way home, each year, I have plenty of time to sort through the thousand or so photos I've shot and relive the experience while the memories are still fresh. As an observer, I can only imagine what it must be like to actually participate in the event, but I'm pretty sure my many of the things I love about it would rank pretty highly on the riders' lists as well. So here goes:

1) The effortlessness -- I've logged enough miles on a bike to understand how hard endurance riding can be. So when you see a bunch of serious athletes making a ride this challenging look easy, it's awesome (and a tad annoying).

2) The suffering -- Part of what makes endurance cycling so compelling is the fact that it sometimes seriously sucks. Overcoming the challenges, working through the pain and pushing yourself a little beyond the limits of what you thought you could handle are are all part of the price that must be paid for the overwhelming sense of accomplishment that lies at the finish line. Bearing witness to the suffering the  road somehow allows me share the joy with the riders when I see them finish.

3) Day One -- The excitement, the anticipation, the uncertainty and the challenge of the climb.

4) Day Two -- Unspoiled beauty, two of the most scenic rest stops, and the strong rum drinks in Rincon. The riders can't really get their drink on, so I sacrifice myself and do it for them.

5) Day Three -- Suffering, tapping of the energy reserves and the raw emotion at the finish.

6) The stories -- The semi-pro racers, the Manhattan bike messenger, the cancer survivors, the folks who dropped massive amounts of weight to make the ride, the doctor who adds an extra 50 miles to Day One and Day Three so he can ride with the group the whole time and the guy who did the whole ride on a single speed are just a few of the great stories of La Vuelta. Learning about them either directly or through La Vuelta folklore is a gas.

7) The ladies  -- La Vuelta is a magnet for really, really strong female riders. This year the four-woman team that set the world record for the Race Across America (the Raw Milk Cats) was in the house and watching team member Anna Catharina Berge break away from group A on Day Two was quite a sight. Some of the guys say they could have caught her but I'm not so sure.

Every year, there are several female stand-outs in each group to help keep the gents in check and everyone's better for it -- particularly for those of us with cameras in our hands.

8) The peloton -- Individual cyclists can be fun to watch. A pace line can be funner. But a living, breathing cluster of several hundred riders working in unison is something else entirely. The view from the front shows how hard the leaders need to work to keep the train moving. The view from the rear shows how the group can literally pull the folks in the rear along. And the view from the side -- up close and personal -- shows the intense concentration and communication required to keep the whole thing rolling safely. It's electric.

9) The precision -- At times, La Vuelta can look like controlled chaos (and at times it probably is). But there's something incredible about being able to tell EXACTLY what time each group will arrive at the end of a 150 mile day. That doesn't happen by accident.

10) Puerto Rico -- There's so much to like about this island, it is absurd -- frankly it is a little unfair to all the other islands of the Caribbean. The history, architecture, culture, food, the natural beauty, the hospitality and everything else make this a place I want to visit again and again.

How could that have happened? Seems like we just left (says the guy who got to complete the course in an air-conditioned truck). The sunrise on Sunday rivaled the beauty of the sunset on Saturday, which is to say it was something pretty special. The final day is a leg-punishing mix of steep climbs, steep descents  and some long flat sections featuring some stunning coastal riding where headwinds and crosswinds are plentiful. And then, of course, comes the triumphant charge into San Juan.

The last leg of the ride is something to behold. Groups B, C-- and eventually A -- join forces to create a peloton that seems to sprout wings at about 15 miles to go. Riders who looked half dead a few hours previously are able to hammer toward San Juan along with everyone else (the draft of the giant peloton probably doesn't hurt either). The run into town is always exciting and borders on surreal.

The finish line is an extremely emotional place as everyone realizes they just accomplished something most cyclists can only dream of doing. Then music, food and another Puerto Rican sunset. It's hard to describe in detail, but it is something you need to see for yourself. Fortunately, you've got 362 days to train for 2013, which is enough time for virtually anyone with enough discipline and determination to get themselves ready. So what are you waiting for?

Day Two is one of my personal favorites. After a quick pre-dawn romp on the highway, the course plunges into some of the most remote, unpopulated and gorgeous parts of the island. Day Two is also the day we hang out with Group A -- these are the thoroughbreds of La Vuelta. There are semi-pros, RAAM racers, cycling trainers and others who have reached great heights in the sport. Their idea of a nice recreational ride looks and feels a lot like a pro stage race from an observer's perspective. And having a front-row seat to a really, really good Tour de France "cover band" is still pretty darn cool -- particularly when a hotel with a great open-air bar a few steps from the beach lies at the end of the trail.

The first half of of the second two-thirds of the course is a ribbon of pavement atop a sea of rolling hills threaded through the drier -- but hotter -- part of the island. The landscape looks more like the western half of the US than a tropical paradise, but it is stunning nonetheless. In fact, it's stunning. Then it's back to the coast via a small fishing village/vacation spot that BEGS you to stop and explore (this is the part of the island where the locals come when they want to get away). The other half of the second two thirds goes along the coast through a tunnel of trees which are great to look at and provide welcomed relief from the sun.

It's mid-afternoon and all three groups are in. They are bathed and walking around with serious rum drinks served in fresh coconuts. That means it's time to quit blogging and start, um, "interviewing" some of the riders for the next blog post. Cheers!

Day One of La Vuelta is one of the three most challenging days of the tour. At 155 miles, it's the longest and also has contains longest climb, which can get a little nasty in sections. "Epic" is a reasonable way to describe it. Regardless, the Puerto Rican weather gods must have thought this year's crop of riders was looking a little too fit, a little too ready, a little too clean and a little too dry at the starting line this morning, so they decided to pitch in and make the day a little epicer. They began with an evil morning deluge and some gnarly headwinds. Later they served up generous portions of heat, humidity and crosswinds.

The riders certainly noticed, but didn't seem to mind too much and devoured the course the same way they to do every year. In fact, all the Group C riders we watched climb Camino Nuevo made it look easy -- a little too easy for the likes of some of the more hard-hearted photographers who were secretly hoping for a little more drama to preserve in pictures.

At the end of the day, the pelotons arrived in Ponce. The were filthy (and possibly a bit stinky) but they were grinning from ear to ear as usual, 'cause that's how Vuelta riders roll! Time for a well-earned meal, massage, beer and a good night's sleep.