annett kamenz - triathlete

For the fourth time Kevin, Kate and myself made our way to Spain to hold our 4^th Annual Train in Spain Camp in Mallorca. As a well-known cycling Mecca in Europe the island offers all a cyclist wants – most of all great switchbacks to ride up. REAL switchbacks, not like back home in Canada, where there might be a corner every half-kilometer if you’re lucky...Just take a look at an 11km climb (Sa Calobra) that’s nicknamed “The Snake”…and you see what I mean. No wonder, I keep mentioning that I miss corners when riding back home in huge rectangular laps for hours and hours.

The group was as big as never before, and lots of fun. Everything worked out great in terms of cycling groups. With Dieter, Oli, Emanuel, Marcel and Gottfried we had 5 strong and reliable Germans to lead our way on the nicest routes available, ensuring that nobody gets left behind. Depending on the group, most rides included a coffee-stop of some sort (sometimes cake ;-)!) to refuel for the rest of the ride. The highlight for many was the 140km ride along the coast (the “Coast Classic”), where we get shuttled to the south of the island and then make our way back (UP) to the north…climbing more than 3,000m along the way. For many the 14km climb up Puig the Major was an exciting challenge that needed to be celebrated. With 3 birthdays as well we found many reasons to celebrate, and sit together with a good glass of wine, or beer, or Sangria. Well, that being said, besides the fun social schedule, we also swam and run quite a bit. Having a heated outdoor pool just 200m away from your little hut is sure a luxury that most of us wanted to make use of. While it was nice to swim in it in the cooler mornings, going for a swim workout in the afternoon was getting pretty hot. It felt like swimming in a hot tub, and having a cap on felt like swimming with a big winter hat on. Good for those of us who made it in the mornings. 

There are various routes for running around the BlueBay – leaving people to chose between the Boardwalk along the Ocean, trails through pine forests or the road to Alcudia. Kevin and I even used our off day to go trail running up the mountain to the Monastery Lluc. Maybe something we will incorporate into the schedule for everybody next year.