Not much to report here.

Sorry, for all of you that are trying to follow my existence. I have
not had much to report in quite some time. Get ready for the new year
though. I joined a new bicycle racing team, and I've started my
training for the road season. Goals include a trip to master's road
nationals in Louisville, and possibly master's track nationals in
Indianapolis. I'm waiting for some more info on the team, but I'll let
everyone know the very cool nature of it as soon as I can.

Can't wait for '09

Training starts now

Jennifer has talked me into doing the Tour de Tuck again this year on
September 20th. I guess we better get some miles in before we tackle
the 108 miles with 11,000 feet of climbing, so we start tomorrow with
a ride on the Cherokee Watterrock loop. This one is almost 60 miles,
with one heck of a climb to Waterrock, the second highest point on the
Blue Ridge Parkway. The actual TdT will continue on the Parkway to the
highest point, Richland Balsam, then back to Sylva via Charlie's creek.

What a pizza

That, my friends, is a grilled-smoked chicken, garlic, onion, tomato, and basil pizza, on a whole-wheat oatmeal crust that I made here with my own two hands. A sort of celebration, I passed my boards (unconfirmed as of yet, but I knew all the answers), and Jen raced her but off this weekend (and won some good money). Email me if you want the recipe, but I must warn you, it ain't easy to make.

More yurt photos

These shots are from Jennifer's camera, and I realize they are out of sequence from the others that I posted earlier. This set covers the time we spent on Friday putting the liner, insulation, and outer shell on the yurt, and some shots of the gang from Thursday night when we were finishing work on the frame. Enjoy......

MORE YURT PHOTOS

PS- There is also a shot of our temporary toilet, which is a waist deep hole I dug with a box and seat on top!  

Wow, what a yurt!

I spent 2 weeks camping on our land in Black Mountain putting up the yurt we ordered in February. My body is aching, I'm covered with bruises from falling off the deck 2 times, but we now have a yurt to live in. The deck is 8 feet off the ground at the highest point, 46 feet across diagonally. The yurt from Blue Ridge Yurts is a 24 foot model, fully insulated, with a regular door and a French Door opposite it. I could not have done this work by myself, and I wish to thank all of you that helped: Cousin Bob and his family, Carlos, Bill, Art, James, Brian, my wife Jen, and especially my mom, who stuck with me through the entire process even when I was ranting madly with frustration and exhausted. 

Here are some shots of the process, just follow the link:

Yurt gallery one

The shots of the fabric and insulation going on are still on Jennifer's camera. I will retrieve them and put a full slide show together with narration as soon as I can. The deck is still lacking the final deck planking in some spots, but both doors are on and they lock, so we can stay there and feel safe about leaving our stuff overnight. There are many details I wish to share with all of you reading along, but I have to move on to the next project, NURSING BOARDS!!!!!! Yes, I have to take the national exam on Saturday, so the next five days are reserved for study. I will take some breaks and post more tales from the yurt raising process as the chance presents itself. Thanks again to all that helped out!!

video of the beaches on Menorca

Pictures from Ciutadella

My last couple of days on the Balearic island of Menorca were spent in the city of Ciutadella, on the Western coast. I rode the bus from Mahon, checked into the cutest little hotel, $30 per night and it had an attached bathroom with shower! I jumped on the bike, and headed for the port. Along the way I stopped at the grocery and picked up some sardines, octopus, and bread for lunch. I followed the far road out to the lighthouse and sat by the sea and ate. On the way back I spotted a man descending some stairs to a concrete platform next to a cove at the entrance to the port. I said to him what a nice spot it was, and to my surprise he said, “there’s plenty of room here, you should join!” I did, and it was a stroke of luck. His name was Felix, and he spoke good English, lived in Barcelona, had another home here in Ciutadella, and was super friendly. We talked about the island, and I learned a lot, then he convinced me to go for a swim. I should have been in the water the whole time! It was perfect. The water was as clear as what comes out of the tap, and just the right temp to cool off. We swam for quite a while, then he invited me to join him for a meal. We went to a cafe in the top of the port, and I had the best meal of my trip thus far. Felix left to go back to his family in Barcelona, and I went to find a shop that sold swim goggles. I returned to the cove with goggles, and spent the rest of the evening swimming with the fish. I went back to the hotel, which had a beautiful courtyard with cafe, and planned tomorrow’s visit to the virgin beaches. The next day I rode the 14 miles on winding country roads to the Southern coast, to where the pavement ends, and if you don’t have a bike you walk the last 15 minutes to the beach. This beach, called Macarella, and the smaller Macarelleta another 10 minutes walk around the corner, were spectacular! I swam from the main beach to the smaller beach, then hiked over the mountain to take pictures. In the pictures, the beach that is on the left is the main one, and the one to the right is the smaller one. I can’t stress how much the pictures do not do this place justice. I was so struck by the beauty that I stayed all day. I swam for hours, and got burned to a crisp, it still hurts today. I got back to Ciutadella about 6pm, washed up, and went out to take some more pictures of the city. As you can see from the pictures, it is perfect. I did run into a local horseman practicing for the festival that would take place next weekend. On Menorca, they have a very special breed of horses, one of the only true all black breeds left in Europe. They walk with more pride than any horse I have ever seen, the Lipizzan Stallions have nothing on these horses. During the festival, the rider rears the horse up and the people gather around and try to hold the horse up, and keep him from returning his hooves to the ground. The closer to the heart you can touch the horse, the more luck you will have. They also race the horses on the natural clay area at the head of the port you can see in the photos. The next day I left Menorca via the “fast ferry” which could go a maximum of 46 miles per hour, and we did 46 miles per hour the whole time. What took 9 hours to cover in the conventional ferry only took 3 in the fast one, sweet. I can’t wait to go back to Menorca!!!!

Mahon, Menorca, ESP

pictures of a day in Mahon

After a full day of sights in Barcelona, I boarded the overnight ferry to Menorca. There was a little confusion on which ferry I would take, as there was a major protest in Spain going on, and no fuel was able to make it to the port of Barcelona that day. The company I booked with was unable to sail a ship, so they transfered my reservation to another company that did have a gassed up ship. I was slightly troubled at the thought of going to an island with no guarantee of return if the protest kept up, but hey, I could get stuck worse places than an island in the Mediterranean, right? I woke up the next morning to see a lighthouse painted just like my favorite one in Buxton, NC, on the Outer Banks. A little later we entered the mouth of the port of Mahon, the second largest deepwater port in the world, second only to Pearl Harbor. It averages 40 meters deep, that’s deep, but it doesn’t see nearly the traffic most other harbors do! As we neared the harbor, the harbor pilots came along in a little boat, and one jumped across to a rope ladder on our ferry, headed to the wheel house, and took over the steering. We passed by lots of pastel colored buildings and lots of pleasure yachts, cliffside houses, and some seriously steep and curvy streets that led to the top of the cliffs. I rode my bike to the hotel, a brightly colored place, with some hippy types in charge. The rooms were all different colors, and there was a really cool patio on the roof that overlooked the main part of the city. My room was by far the brightest room I have ever slept in, ever. After I settled in, I took a cycling tour of the city. The standard method I use is to head first to the waterfront, then just ride till I am completely lost, find myself on the map, orient myself, then repeat till I can’t get lost anymore. This adventurous exploration method works really well, in the smaller cities especially. In my wanderings I found a gin distillery with original equipment from the 1800’s, still in use. They had an all you can drink, self serve, unattended tasting room. Too bad I don’t like gin at all, but I did get to witness several Aussies getting way out of hand, any nobody said a word to them. After exploring, I headed out on the bike to find that lighthouse, and the remote beach near it. It was about 12 miles away, in a national park, and the walk to the beach was 45 minutes from the parking lot! The beach was amazing, and there were only about 4 other people there when I got there. I stayed to swim and lay in the sun for a few hours, then headed back to Mahon. Later, I took a really cool harbor tour aboard a glass bottom boat that I really enjoyed. Tomorrow it was on to Ciutadella on the other side of the island. I was talked out of riding my bike across the island by the skipper of the tour boat, he claimed that there was nothing to see in the interior, and the bus would only cost me $2. Besides, my folding bike was perfect for the bus trip. As it turns out, he was totally right.

A few words about Catalan

In Catalonia, where Barcelona is located, they do not speak Spanish. This was a surprise to me, it's Spain after all! They speak Catalan, which is a cross between Spanish, Italian, and French from what I can tell. Catalan is also spoken in the Balearic Islands, where Minorca, or Menorca in Catalan, is located. The capital city of Menorca is Mao, or Mahon in Catalan. I will refer to it as Mahon, because of this reason........

Long ago in the city of Mahon, a certain sauce was created and brought back to the king of France after the defeat of the British on the island of Menorca. This later became known as mayonnaise!! Anyone who has sat at a table with me for more than a few minutes knows my lifelong dislike of this condiment. YUCK! I can't even believe I visited the birthplace of this dreadful sauce, but to me it was sort of ironic. Needless to say, I did make all of my own sandwiches the whole time I was there.  

Gaudi day!

Pictures of my day of Gaudi

No visit to Barcelona would be complete without a visit to Antoni Gaudi’s Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) and the Park Guell. Gaudi was a famous architect from the 20th century responsible for many of the whimsical buildings in Barcelona. Not many of his works have straight lines, and seem modern even for today’s standards. la Sagrada Familia, his most famous work, was started over 100 years ago, is still under construction, and is slated to be finished maybe sometime in the 2020’s. This is my favorite church, and maybe building, in the whole world. I have been waiting a long time to see this. I rode the bike paths from the hotel to the site, and entered the museum in the basement first, actually, this was dumb luck, as I was really looking for the bathroom. I was able to see the history of his life, and this particular building in detail, and also able to witness the workshop where the master builders are quietly measuring the scale models for the continuing construction. Next I rode a lift to the top of some of the towers and got a great view of the city, and the tops of the towers that are decorated in different fruits in mosaic form, as gifts to God. The walk back down the spiral staircase was really quite frightening for even me. It was sooooooo steep, and narrow, there is no way on earth this would be open to the public in America! Inside the main part of the cathedral, the roof was just being completed in the main hall, and the columns that hold up the roof were like nothing I have ever seen before. They looked, by no coincidence, like trees. I spent a good 3 hours here taking it all in. Afterward, I rode to the top of the mountain behind the city, to a spot where Gaudi was commissioned to create a natural park. The main entrance to the park has a cute set of guard houses the house a museum of some of his other works. Above the houses is a covered plaza for a marketplace, and above that still is an open air plaza for yet more market space. Walking up the stairs you pass a couple of mosaic statues and fountains (being fixed that day), to a cute little covered mosaic bench for resting. The entire perimeter of the top open air market place was a mosaic bench for resting. This place was truly amazing! I climbed further up the park to see fantastic bridges and archways leading to more gardens, and more fantastic bridges and archways. What a great way to spend an afternoon, then I was off to Menorca by overnight ferry!

Barcelona!

Pictures of Barcelona

Barcelona, the city, is simply amazing. It is everything that Madrid is not. Less smokers, more bicycles, and way more civic pride. I arrived early in the morning after an all night train ride, and checked into a cheap hotel in the Bari Gotic, or Gothic neighborhood. It was a simple hotel, 30 euros per night with a shared bathroom down the hall. I took a quick nap, then proceeded to check out the city by bike. My new folding bike worked perfectly for the entire trip, and I am convinced this is by far the best way to travel to a new place. I was able to take it on the train without a hitch, just fold it up and put it in the bag that came with it. When I got to the train station in Barcelona I just unfolded it, put my backpack on, and peddled off while all the other travelers were standing there waiting on the bus, subway, or just trying to figure out to get where they were going. Immediately I noticed that almost all of the streets have bike lanes, and I don’t mean some thing on the side of the road, I mean real lanes that are separated from traffic by trees, or a curb. This was my favorite thing about the whole city. In the Bari Gotic the streets are well suited for cycling too, as the roads are not wide enough to allow passage of vehicles! Imagine, roads that were built before anyone conceived the idea of cars. I zipped down Las Ramblas, the most famous street in all of Spain, to the port, and down the beach for a few miles. Las Ramblas is a huge pedestrian walk that has hundreds of stores and open air markets selling everything under the sun. The flower section was really beautiful. The pet section had every sort of pet you could imagine, including baby prairie dogs! About halfway down to the port is a giant Miro mosaic built into the promenade. Imagine, walking on a priceless Miro work? Well, you can do it here, and it is real, not a reproduction, or fake, he installed it himself. I spent 2 days riding around looking at the sights, and visiting some important landmarks. I chose not to go into most of the churches and museums simply because I was having so much fun riding around a new place. I did go to La Sagrada Famila, which you can read about elsewhere in this blog. I did manage to eat my first paella here in Spain, and it was better than any paella I have ever tasted! The restaurant was called Amaya, and was about 40 years old. It is a famous spot on Las Ramblas, and I happened to luck into it. Later in my trip, a local I met on the island of Menorca actually recommended it to me, he was surprised that I had already eaten there. Here is the website if you want to check it out: AMAYA, Cuina Basca. (many of the links in the site are under construction, but check out the gallery) The bike system in Barcelona is super advanced and popular. Residents pay $25 euro for a electronic card that is swiped at any of the many bike depots around town. It automatically unlocks a bike, and you are free to use it for up to 2 hours. You simply ride to wherever you want, and re-rack the bike and go about your business. The program was launched just over a year ago, and they have had to double the service already. The bikes are comfortable 3 speed affairs with a basket, and are all serviced regularly. Now that’s a progressive forward thinking populace! Finally, I stumbled upon a park that had the neatest children’s slide I have ever seen, it was in the shape of an angel fish!

As I was putting the computer away for a week, maybe a little less, I noticed that there are some slideshows on my site, that I have failed to post links to here on the blog. So without further fanfare, or particular narration here you go.

Aviles day 4

Spain May 21

Spain May 22

Some of you may have already seen these when I sent you a private email, the others, well, here is your chance. 

The first link is a trip to Gijon, follwoed by a whirlwind trip around to some of the fishing villages, a lookout in the mountains, and a super cool trip to Covadonga, the chapel built into the cliff, and some alpine lakes in the Picos de Europa. Jennifer did indeed ride her bike up to the lakes, could be the hardest ride of the year for her. 

The second set is from another day trip into the mountains, this time with dad's cousin. Jennifer again rode her bike, I was too sick at the time to make the ride, I'm surprised I even made it out of the house to be honest. The church in the pictures was built in 891 AD, and yes the key did operate the door.

And finally the third set is our bike trip up and over the mountains, out of Asturias. The climbing was great, the grade went to 17% although we did not get a picture of that sign. I had so much fun with my wife on this ride, I wish it had never ended. Coming down the other side was not as nice. Everything turned brown, and workers were mining everything in site. 

OK, I'm off to Barcelona! 

Week trip to the South

Tomorrow night I'm taking an overnight train to Barcelona, where I will stay for a couple days. From there I am taking a ferry to the island of Menorca for three more days of travel. I am bringing my new bike with me, and plan to ride it all over the island, which is only 24 miles long. I am really excited for this excursion, and promise to take lots of pictures. I will arrive on Menorca in the city of Mao, and depart three days later from Ciutadella. Menorca visit website

I spent most of today surfing the internet, researching my trip, and visiting the Atocha train station, here in Madrid, to buy tickets. I would like to have traveled on the train that goes 200 mph, but it cost three times as much, so I'm OK with the longer trip time. 

The picture is from the Museum of the Americas, a real shrunken head, one of the coolest things I have seen.

Dad leaves for the US on the 17th, and I follow on the 20th. I plan to go to several other "local" to Madrid towns when I get back from the South of Spain. See you all soon!!

Day trip from Madrid

pictures from Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial

A few days ago I travelled to Valle de los Ciados, or Valley of the Fallen, and El Escorial outside of Madrid. After dad and I took the battery out of the car, brought it to a mechanic who recharged it, and we had it reinstalled properly (we left the interior light on when we came back from Asturias) we drove and hour to the Northwest. The first stop was Valley of the Fallen, where Franco used slave labor POW's from the Spanish civil war to construct a monument to the soldiers that were killed during the conflict (from the right side politically). He excavated the interior of a granite mountain to build a cathedral, and used the rock that was removed to build the largest cross in the world. It is quite imposing at 150 meters high, which is 492 feet. The cathedral inside the mountain has one of the largest mosaics in the world too. Franco even thought so much of himself that he included his likeness ascending to heaven in the mosaic, but I doubt he ever made it there after killing so many innocent people during his rein. Dad and I walked the path up the mountain to the cross itself, a beautiful hike. The view from the top was really great, and it was nice to escape the pollution of Madrid, which can be seen in the distance. Around the back of the mountain is a medium sized monastery, you can see it in one of the pictures from the top.

We returned to the car and drove a little further down the road to the Escorial, or monastery. This is the largest one in Spain, and it seemed gigantic. We went into the cathedral on the site and dad told me that many of the kings of Spain were entombed there. We walked around the outside of the building for a while, taking in the sights, and ran across a flock of the current king's merino sheep. It was cool to see them walking around the area without anyone really watching them. 

 

New Bike

I purchased a new bike yesterday, and I simply love it. I will be able to take this little guy anywhere I go on the train, plane, or ferry. It folds right up in less than 10 seconds, no kidding. I spent the afternoon riding the streets of Madrid, and I am really impressed with the way the little wheels make it super agile, and easy to ride. Now, off to more adventures. 

(This makes bike 12 for our household, maybe time to thin the herd soon)

A trip to Segovia

Here is a link to the pictures:

www.tonycamblor.com/segovia/index.html

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, not really. It has been raining all over Spain for the past week, with some TV reports of severe flooding in the North. I decided to just ignore what the weather was doing, and have an adventure, so I went off to Segovia. Segovia is a pretty good example of a town built by and around the ruins of the Romans. I took a high-speed train from Madrid, the ride only took about 35 minutes on the new line, and 20 of those minutes was spent inside a tunnel going 160 Kph. When I got there, I was surprised that the weather was perfect for my visit, and it being a Monday, the streets were relatively deserted.

The first thing you notice when you get off the bus from the train station, (the new AVE train station is 7k away, you have to take a bus, no walking on the autopista) is the aqueduct. It is the signature landmark in the town, and part of the reason it was designated a world heritage site in the mid 80’s. It is 728 meters long and consists of 163 arches, none of which has a single drop of mortar holding it together. Good thing this is not earthquake territory. This landmark is simply amazing, and the pictures just don’t do it justice. Dad said there are larger ones still around in Syria and Turkey, but none in as good shape as this.

Leaving to the north on the main drag into the old city I noticed that there was no asphalt in the streets. Indeed the whole day I was within the walls, I noticed that ALL of the streets were cobblestone! From Plaza Major I had great views of the cathedral, which I decided not to go into. Instead I hustled further up the hill to the castle at the top of the hill. I did notice that this church had the biggest, tallest door I have ever seen, that is used to pass people.

The castle is supposedly the inspiration for the castles in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, and once I saw it I would agree that is true. This castle is totally storybook in appearance, with sheer cliffs on 3 sides, and a really deep moat and drawbridge (now just a bridge) in the front. I did opt to go into the castle, and was surprised that all the antiquities were not really guarded by anyone, the honor system was keeping people from touching paintings and sitting in thrones that were hundreds of years old, cool. I looked at all of the rooms, and took a few photos. The chapel was very quaint, a Spanish king and queen were married here. I climbed the tower next (additional charge, and 156 steps) and was rewarded with the best view of the city. I can see why this was chosen as the spot for a summer home for many of the kings, it would seem impossible to overtake this building without modern warfare equipment.

I left the castle and wandered the streets for the rest of the day, taking in the sights, and jumping out of the way of traffic that still uses the narrow roads. I returned to the aqueduct and walked the length of it to find the starting point, and returned to the plaza to catch the bus, then train back home. What a fun day, I was exhausted, I went straight to bed (kind of, iChat with Jennifer first) and slept like a rock, a roman aqueduct rock that is.

Long time comming

http://www.tonycamblor.com/avilesday3/avilesday3/index.html

Ok, I have fallen really behind in my blogging duties. I am going to play a little catch up here. On the third day in Aviles we started by eating the same breakfast the locals eat, cookies. Yes, in Spain many people eat cookies, not too sugary, for breakfast. I don't think it is too different from the American way of eating cereal and milk, maybe even less sugar is consumed this way, these cookies are not very sweet. Then we went to the local market to get the ingredients for supper later in the day. The local market runs till noon or so, and has just about everything you can imagine. Stand outs were the fish or olive selections. Then we went to Gijon for some sights. We checked out some of the touristy areas while dad was getting his driver's license renewed. The views from the hill on the west end of the beach were incredible, and we explored the oldest portion of the city as well before dad called us to meet. After we went back to the house in Aviles, Jennifer and I decided to explore the local hills on bike. We rode up the super steep hill that leads out of Aviles opposite the port, and rode on several ridges till we ended up at the beach. Jennifer convinced me to ride up to the top of the bluff, and we found a beautiful spot in a park overlooking the coast. The burro in the photo doubled as the lawn mower. The owner just moved him around to where the grass needed trimming and that was that. 

What a great ride

Here are the pics to go with Jennifer's notes. Some of the first ones
are from supper the day before. This is the best cycling I have yet to
do in my life. There is no direction that you can look and not be
amazed by the view. Enjoy, we did.

http://www.tonycamblor.com/avilesday2/index.html

MAY 18, 2008 • CYCLING IN NORTHERN SPAIN • (Happy Birthday Dad!)

We rode our bikes to Luanco. It is difficult crossing the river from
Aviles by bike when you don't have very good directions. We tried
following the street signs, but they were made for cars and we ended
up on a major highway. We finally got off at Piedras Blancas and asked
someone at a gas station directions. He actually gave us pretty good
directions. We rode past Salinas and hugged the river until we found
the bridge. There is also a walking path along the river. We took
AS-238 to Luanco which was a direct route, but it wasn't very busy. It
was a beautiful country road with houses filled with yards of flowers.
They must propagate flowers here… they have thousands of dollars are
flowers in their yards. It's incredible.

Luanco is a beautiful small town on the ocean with small beaches and
restaurants overlooking the ocean. There is a path along the water. An
older man was feeding these big fish some bread. The photo
opportunities of this bike ride were endless. Every view was amazing
whether in the country or the city. I especially like the tight
streets lined with older buildings. The buildings are abundant with
flower boxes and clothes lines.

From Luanco, we went along the coast on smaller country roads to a
lighthouse (Cabo Peñas). It looks flat on the map, but it is far from
flat. Up and down with beautiful views. Tiny towns along the way. At
the lighthouse was a path along the ocean with more sculptures. There
were other cyclists, too. We returned to Aviles along the northern-
most country road and crossed the bridge through the industrial area.
We rode for 3.5 hours bike time and 45 miles. It never rained on us,
although it was cool.

Gonzalo and Elia prepared fabada (sp?) for dinner… large bean soup
with chorizo. We're still working on that giant bread, too. After
dinner, Gonzalo, Elia, and I went for an hour and a half walk around
town and along the river path. We walked until 10:30 pm. The streets
are still populated with people at this time.

Best ride ever

We agreed that today's 50 mile ride was the best ride either of us has done for that length. Details and more pictures to follow.

Aviles, Asturias

Because Jennifer is doing such a great job of documenting our trip, I
will defer to her to tell you the details. Read if you are interested,
or just follow the link to see the pictures posted to the web. The
picture viewer is a little different than the other ones I used
before, you click on the picture to make if big, then use the arrow
keys to switch to the next picture. The pictures take a minute to
load, and the appear in random order. I think we will switch back to
the other method tomorrow.

http://www.tonycamblor.com/avilesday1/index.html

MAY 17, 2008 • TRAVEL TO the NORTH OF SPAIN

We were supposed to pick up the bikes at 8:30 am, but all three of us
slept in (well, we were walking up until after 10 pm, so no surprise).
No one had set an alarm. The bike shop called us asking where we were!
So we weren't able to pick up the bikes until almost 2 pm because the
bike shop guy had some errands to run. We went back to sleep and woke
up around noon! It felt good to catch up on sleep. We packed up the
car and headed over to the bike shop by car. Yes, this was the first
time we got into a car since our arrival to spain. Gonzalo has a Honda
CRX and is very uncomfortable driving it around Madrid. It doesn't
seem particularly difficult to me to figure out how to get around…
although, the street signs are on the sides of the buildings and not
always the easiest to see while driving.

Elia met us at the house. She was traveling with us and we're staying
at her house/condo in Aviles. She is Gonzalo's friend since high
school. Elia speaks ZERO English. Before this, we weren't engaging in
much learning of Spanish, but now, we needed a crash course. We have
to keep telling her to slow down so we have a chance in comprehending
something. Most of the time, we need Gonzalo to help interpret. Or we
end up waving our hands sculpting what we are trying to say, but
unsure if either is understanding a thing. During our 450 kilometer
drive to Avila, we taught each other a few words… sky blue is "cielo
azul". And poppy is amopola. Hierba is grass. It was funny how Elia
had difficulty saying "grass." In Spain, the "s" and "z" sounds are
said a "th". So azul is said here "athule." So grass with the ss was
difficult for her! We also passed by some grape vines. I called them
"uvas" and she explained to me that there weren't grapes on them, just
vines, so they were "parras."

Ok, enough Spanish. Back to the bikes! We went to this bike shop's
garage (storage garage) on the northeast side of Madrid. While waiting
for the guy to show up, we walked over to an Italian coffee shop. I
got something as close as to what I get at Starbucks… I had to mix my
own sugar and it was tiny… maybe 8 oz. Tony's cafe latte was even
smaller… a shot size. The bike guy met us over there on his bike. My
bike is a blue GT 50 cm bike (a little big for me) with 53/39 gearing
and Tony's is a Jamis. We put on our own pedals and seats. We loaded
them up on a rack on the back of the Honda.

We stopped in the Villa de Rueda at the Bodega Museo Palacio de Bornos
for a snack. They had many vinos (wines), quesos (cheese), aceita de
oliva (olive oil)… gigantic 3 gallon containers, and chorizo. We ate
some jamon sandwiches (ham). We also bought some pan (bread), queso,
and turrones (almond & sugar peanut butter-like dessert) to take with
us.

On the drive, we saw some castilles (castles), little towns and big
towns, sheep, horses, arid flat lands and mountains, green grass,
poppies, old churches, sun, rain, trains, windmills, and solar panels.
We went through a number of tunnels through the mountains and after
the last tunnel, the mountains went from rocky and arid to very green
and lush with many trees.

The cities of Oveida and Aviles are very industrial cities. The steel
industry used to be big here. There is a river that runs next to
Aviles where industry set up shop years ago. Aviles is fairly large
with numerous 6 story buildings lining the streets. It is also
mountainous here. We rode our bike up one of the city hills that
overlooked the city. Up there were quaint homes along narrow, winding
streets. There are cats roaming the streets and we saw one that looked
exactly like our orange cat, Murphy! I was hoping that he wasn't some
angel Murphy and that Murphy is ok. :)

Elia's house is on the third floor of one of this 6 story building on
the corner or Jose Cuerto and Avda de la constitucion in Aviles. It is
right next to a large "futbol" stadium (soccer). Her house is fairly
large with several bedrooms and two baths, a large living/dining area,
and a nice kitchen. She has been remodeling it with beautiful tile
work. There is art on all the walls. Simply, yet very nicely
decorated. Elia and Gonzalo fixed dinner. They served some unique and
marvelous tasting queso, tortilla (omelet w/patatas) the best chorizo
I've had yet, ensalada with olivas, and gigantic pan.

Elia was wearing a shirt that had an English phrase on it. She did not
know what it said. It had maybe spelled "mayde". We asked her about it
and she said that she bought it at the Chinese Store across the street
for cheap (Wal-Mart ala Spain, but very small stores packed with
junk). That was so very funny.

When we arrived at Aviles, Gonzalo was unsure of the parking situation
and dropped us off on the street with our bags. For me, this felt like
mass confusion as I was afraid if I walked two feet from our bags that
they would walk. We hustled our bags up the stairs and Tony and I
quickly got dressed to go for a bike ride. It was 8:30 pm and so we
had about an hour before dark. The temperature here is cooler… I wore
arm warmers and tights. We rode out to the ocean to Salinas. This was
a cute little town on the ocean with houses on tight streets and a
long tiled path along the ocean. The path led out to a viewing point
with some interesting Miro-like steel art. From here, we had a good
view of the town and a lighthouse across the bay. The sun was starting
to set at this point, so we took a couple photos and headed back for
home. Well, my tire started to feel like I was going over bumps. The
tire was coming off the rim and wasn't seated properly. Tony fixed it
quickly and we didn't have any more bike problems. My fit wasn't great
since we didn't have much time to mess with it (just make it good
enough not to hurt). It was on our way back we climbed up a hill to
view Aviles. I really like the towns on top of the hills. There is no
shortage of hill climbing around here!

Our internet connection is worse than in Madrid. We have to plaster
the computer to the window, and even then, there is an intermittent
signal. Today we plan on riding out along the ocean near the
lighthouse. It is raining off and on, but this seems to be the climate
pattern here.

what kind of marmalade is that?

In the last of the photos from the walking tour, there is a shot of a
pastry with marmalade. It was delicious, squash marmalade, like pumpkin.

Jennifer's notes from yesterday

This is a link to the photos of the day http://www.tonycamblor.com/madridtour/index.html

Walking Tour of Madrid • Thursday, May 15, 2008

Well, we woke up after 10 am, ate some tortilla patatas (potato
omelet) that Gonzalo made for us. We've also been eating a good share
of chorizo (spanish sausage). Also drank some Naranja (orange juice)
for breakfast. Entonces (then), corremos (we ran) to this nearby park,
Parque Santander. Gonzalo walked around the track while Tony and I
ran. This park had a 1 kilometer running/walking track around the edge
with a small golf range, jardin (garden), campo de futbol (soccer
field) en el centro (center). Tony and I took two laps around and then
ran down some streets to try to get to this other park, Parque del
Oeste. Well, I think my new bike position has killed my running. We
got 25 minutes into our run, and my quads were feeling like they were
going to rip out of my knee. We slowed down more and stretched, but it
didn't help. So after 30 minutes of running, we started to walk. We
walked back via Starbucks (yes, they are here, too). It is kind of
chilly here, so I got a hot drink (carmel macchiato… con leche
desnatada (skim milk). Everyone was looking at me in my running shorts
and tank top, so I asked the barista if people in Spain don't dress
like this to run? And she said that "most people in Spain do not run
for sport."

We met up with Gonzalo at his condo and took a bus down to the old
center of Madrid at the Plaza del Sol. We walked to the Plaza Mayor,
where I got assaulted by a woman insisting I needed a massage (I
probably did, but not sure I wanted to be strong-armed into paying for
one!). The plaza was filled with people and it looked liked there was
a band setting up for this evening. This Plaza reminded me of one in
Venice I'd been to (ok, can't remember the name at the moment, but it
was a famous one). There are pigeons all around, but not a sea of
pigeons as I remember in Venice.

We walked along Mayor Calle (main st) to Plaza de la Villa where there
was another statue and a nice garden. Down one of the narrow alleys,
we found the bike shop! Yea! But, boo, it was closed on this holiday.
We'll be back tomorrow. I can't wait!

Then we walked down to the Palacio (palace of the kings). The current
king does not live there because it isn't modest enough for him. Maybe
we'll tour the inside at some point. Along the palacio, there were
small marionette street shows that the kids were watching… one of the
Beatles. The kids were dressed up in period clothing. There was a park
where with a maze of hedges.

We then finally made it to this big park, Parque de la Montana, Parque
Tempelo Debod, Parque del Oesto… these all connected together. The
temple had Egyptian carvings from around Christ's time. I didn't pay
too much attention to the history, just enjoyed the carvings in the
stone. :) Within these parks, there was a fantastic rose garden. We
also had drinks at this restaurant in the park. I had a horchata (kind
of root) drink… it tasted like a cold, blended jicama drink. Very yummy.

Then we walked back to the house. I have to say something about cars
in Spain. People walk everywhere here. There are cars, but they are on
average smaller models in than in the U.S. We've even seen some
Toyotas that we can't get! (Ok, you know I'm mad now). There's also as
many Smart Cars as you would see Toyota Prius' in the States. They're
so little! I haven't, however, seen a single Prius. ??? Not sure why
that is. There's a Toyota dealer two blocks from Tony's Dad's. Maybe
I'll pop in and see if it's even buyable here...

More photos from Spain

We made it to Spain

We flew out of Knoxville, to Washington Dulles, to Frankfort, to Madrid. Whew! We were tired in Frankfort, till we bought one of these great sandwiches. They were made in advance, and piled on top of each other. The whole case was full of different varieties, we chose the dark wheat with cheese and salami. Dad met us at the airpot in Madrid, and we took the super nice subway to his house, about a 30 minute ride. After we got situated in the house, which is on the top floor of the building, we walked for a few hours around the northern part of the city. The streets are filled with people walking, taking care of business. Thursday (May 15) is a holiday in Madrid, so all of the shops will be closed tomorrow. Dinner was a tapa and a delicious fried calamari sandwich at a shop by the house, mmmmmm  mmmmmmm

Pictures from the Pinning ceremony

Well, I graduated. I'm so happy. Jennifer took many photos from the
two ceremonies, here is a link to the nursing school pinning ceremony.

http://www.tonycamblor.com/pinning/ranc08.html

Athens Twilight Pro first lap

Criterium racing catchup!

My gosh is has been a while since my last update. I'll try to keep it
brief. Charleston was just what we needed. We left Sylva at around
9pm, I know that is kind of late to start a 4.5 hour drive to the
coast. We arrived at about 2am, and went straight to bed in the hotel
that was less than 2 miles from the race site. The race site on
Saturday was in a neighborhood called I'on Village, one of those
Florida style developments with some green space, canals, and shops at
the entrance. My race went off at 1020am, and I was not positioned too
well from the start. After the 4th lap I was gapped off the back, but
kept peddling as hard as I could in hopes I could catch back up.
After about 1/2 a lap I started to pick up other riders that had a
little more fitness than I do at this point, and we became a crew of
about 10 riders. I pulled most of the way for a few laps, but the race
martial decided to end our race. I was disappointed that we were
pulled, especially when the field came around and I noticed that they
had sat up and stopped riding as hard for a few laps. Oh well, that is
bike racing, and I am just out there for the fun of it at this point.
Soon school will be over, my job will start, and I will be able to
focus on getting some good results. Jennifer's race went much better,
she raced hard, and came across the line in 5th and won some money.
After the race we met some of the BMW teamies at a great tavern on
Sullivan Island, then raced to James Island Park to set up camp. We
decided to camp the last two nights to save some money. We went right
to sleep, till the storms came. It rained and stormed till 230am, and
neither of us slept very well. In the morning, I decided to skip my
early race, so we could take our time getting to the race. The race
was in the park next to the Citadel, and was very photogenic. Jennifer
finished in the top 10 again. Here are the shots from the trip, the
other people in the photos are new and old friends that live in the
area:

http://www.tonycamblor.com/avillerace/index.html

Next up was Athens, and the Twilight Criterium race. If you have never
seen this, you gotta go, it's intense. Jennifer and her team tried
hard to stay with the field, but bad positioning at the starting line
really made this difficult. The BMW girls really had a great time, and
I think they all were happy they did not suffer any skin loss, like
many other riders did this night. Here are some shots of the race. The
male racer in orange is Andre Vandenberg, a junior racer from
Asheville that finished 5th in this very big, very important race.

http://www.tonycamblor.com/athensrace/index.html

Here are some pictures from the Rock Hill races

What a great weekend we had, now on to some racing in Charleston next
weekend.

http://www.tonycamblor.com/rockhill/index.html

Rock Hill Races here we come

This weekend Jen and I will travel to SC to participate in the Rock
Hill series. Friday night is sprint night, heats of 5 racers go head
to head in a 500m sprint to the finish. The winners of each round move
to the finals, and the champ is crowned. Saturday is a 0.8 mile
criterium race where racers go round and round for a prescribed time
to the end, in my case 30 minutes and 45 for Jen. Sunday rounds up the
racing with a 45 mile road course that promises to make me hurt. My
goals are to finish, and not get hurt. Wish me luck!!

Haymed.org Triathlon

Yesterday I volunteered my time in the morning to work the Haymed.org
triathlon in Waynesville, NC. The night before I was able to convince
Jennifer to do the race, even though it was calling for rain in the
am. I got her out of bed at 0500, and we made the 1/2 hour drive in
the rain to the race site. While I was busy on the course making sure
that the marshals were in place, and the roads were swept of loose
gravel, Jennifer was busy racing. I made it back from my first task,
to see Jen go off in the pool, 6 laps, or 300 yards, not a long swim
at all. Jen has not been swimming since 2004 IMFL, but she completed
it in a respectable 7 minutes. On the bike course, she posted the
fastest women's time, and 4th fastest overall time men or women,
unbelievable! Her run was 27 minutes, great for not having run since
December! She placed 4th overall woman, 1st in her age group. I was
busy most of the time out on the bike and run course, so I didn't get
to see much racing. I did follow an 11 year old girl on both the bike
and run, and I'm happy to report she finished the race and got the
loudest applause at he awards ceremony. 11 years old and racing
triathlon, amazing!!

Greenville Racing Series

Jennifer and I recently spent three weekends down in Greenville, SC for a series of spring races. The six races were the first real races since her return to racing bicycles this year. We were really happy with the results, she got the overall 5th spot, out of more than 40 women competing. Jennifer, of course, was a little disappointed at first that she didn't do better, but she changed her tune when she realized that she had exceeded her goals coming into the series. The 5th place overall is a payoff of all the long hours she has spent on her bike since early February of this year. Pretty good for such a short time of formal training. Her coach has her doing some sprint training, and standing power rides that are not only fun, but will surely help her improve her finishes. 

The next big race is the weekend of April 4, and I'm considering doing the omnium myself. Being around all of this racing is making me want to do it. I just don't think I can resist. For sure I want to do the Charleston series April 19 & 20th. 

The pictures are just various shots of Jennifer and her squad-mates at the races, enjoy!

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? Wow! School is great right now. I am on a clinical rotation at Mission Hospital in Asheville, on the very same unit that Jennifer works on. I get to see her for a minute in the mornings after she is done giving report to the next shift, and I am getting report from the previous shift. I guess I could actually have to get report from Jennifer one of these days, that would be nice. 

Class is hard, but I think I just barely still have an "A" for the term. The class average on the past few tests has not been great, I can only assume we will be loosing a few classmates to attrition soon. I am enjoying being back in the acute hospital setting more than ever, with complex patients, and really powerful pharmaceutical interventions going on. Some of the drugs we use today are nothing short of amazing. How we ever figured out that this one pill will fix your heart, and not kill you is beyond me. 

I have applied to several units at Mission, and hope to hear back for an interview soon. I can't believe I am going to graduate soon. Oh, and I was chosen by my classmates to give the student address at the RN graduation ceremony. What an honor. I'll have to start working on that one ASAP. 

Here at home, I'm on spring break, and waiting for the weather to cooperate long enough so that I can finish the roofing project I started a Looooooong time ago. 

The picture is a shot of me at the Greenville Bicycle Training Race Series. I was there doing support for my favorite team and rider, BMW Bianchi and Jennifer. 

This is what my classroom looks like

This semester, class is taking place in a large auditorium on the auxiliary campus . There are 80 students, so we are split into two sessions, I'm in the second one 1-3pm. In this shot we are taking a must pass math test. I made 100%. I was the second person done, so I was able to snap this shot with our new camera. 

Jen is racing this weekend, so we are going to Greenville, SC Saturday and Sunday. I will take lots and lots of pictures, then post the best here for your pleasure.

 

 

Cycling in Black Mountain

I met my friend Brian Burns, of Asheville, yesterday for a ride in
Black Mountain. We parked at the Ingles supermarket by interstate 40,
and rode a 23 mile loop with a short side trip to the lot. The loop
will surely be a favorite of Jennifer, and is part of the Hilly
Hellacious Hundred route. The only thing I had in my stomach all day
was a muffin and cup of black coffee. needless to say, this was not
really enough for 2300 feet of climbing in 23 miles. By the time we
got back to the car we were wiped out, and famished. We had planned to
get some grub in town at one of the nicer eateries, but when we saw
Taco Bell less than 200 feet from the car we pounced on it. The two of
us consumed $18 worth of faux Mexican fare. Honestly, I did not think
it possible for TWO people to spend $18 in Taco Bell in one sitting.
It can be done, as evidenced by the second photo. We laughed when we
got that tray of bean pies, and people must have thought we were from
somewhere else when they saw us taking pictures of it.

My legs are spent from 2 days in a row of good rides. Jen is getting
up right now to drag me out for another 3 hour ride today, I hope I
make it!!

Team BMW Bianchi

Here is the website for Jennifer's new team. They are pretty good at putting up race results and reports, so check it often when racing starts this year. I think the girls are slated to go to the training criterium races in Greenville, SC at the end of this month! Go team!

http://www.bmw-bianchi.com/team.php

Quick Update

I have been very busy, surprise, of late with school. My second exam was quite harder than the first one, but I did do well. My 92% may be the highest grade in the class, I won't know till next week, but the class average on the test was a 75%. Passing is 78% in this class. 

Last Sunday, Jennifer met with her new cycling coach to do some heart rate testing to establish a baseline and create her training zones for the season. Her coach's name is Laura, and she is quite an accomplished cyclist herself. Laura rides for Advil-Chapstick, check out her squad here: http://www.teamadvilchapstick.com/

Laura is the one on the far left in the team shot on the home page. After the test, Jennifer rode out to Black Mountain to meet me at Bird Creek (our new land). 

After dropping Jennifer off at Laura's house I went straight to Bird Creek, and was blown away with what I found. Two days earlier, Feb. 1, Black Mountain was hit by a big ice storm. Although our lot did not sustain much damage, route 9 that leads to our side of the divide was devastated. Many of the trees lost their tops, and there were limbs down everywhere. I stopped counting the number of utility power trucks at around 20. When I got to our new road, I talked with the only neighbor we have, and he told me it took him three hours to chainsaw his way out of his driveway. Like I said before though, our lot did not sustain much damage. The neighbor told me it was the worst storm he had been in since moving there in the 80's. First came the ice, then 60 mile per hour wind, a terrible combination. 

I spent the better part of four hours looking for the placement of the existing septic tank on the house site. I was able to locate the 100' X 7' drain field, but I can't seem to locate the 1000 gallon primary tank. Bummer. I was hoping to be able to drive a 1/4 inch rebar into the ground and hit it, then dig out the top to locate the connection. My next step is to try to rent a powerful metal detector to find it, via the rebar used in construction of the tank, then hire someone with ground penetrating radar if that fails. The last option is going to be expensive, but still cheaper than a complete rebuild of the entire system.

Jennifer is headed to training camp this weekend with her team, so I am going to go out there again Sunday to pick her up from her meeting point at a friend's house in Black Mountain. I plan to spend some more time looking then. Jennifer is excited about the prospect of riding all weekend with her new team, and she promised to take lots of pictures we can post here for everyone's enjoyment. 

My preceptorship at Harris Regional Hospital is almost over. I have completed most of my 96 required hours. This week was spent in the outpatient surgery center getting patients prepped for their procedures, and a day at the pain clinic in Bryson City. The pain clinic was really fascinating, I saw many epidural steroid injections under the fluoroscope. Next week I have another day at the surgery center, then I think I will be done. Just three months to graduation at this point, I can't wait!

Cardiac Test

My nursing school uses the 7 point scale for grading. This means a
92.5 and higher is considered an "A" an 85.5 is considered a "B." I
got a 98 on the Cardiac test, I find out which question I missed later
today. What can I say? I was well prepared, and the subject matter was
engaging. On to Respiratory.

Too Cool

Jennifer is on a new cycling team. They even have their own team cars,
check it out! How cool is that?

School has started again

Well, the last semester is upon me. I must admit I am glad to be
taking Adult Nursing II, it has been too long since I was on a
hospital floor taking care of patients. My first test is tomorrow,
cardiac. I am not nervous in the least, I am prepared instead. I'm not
being cocky, I just feel like I know and understand the material I am
responsible for. Regardless of how I do, I know now more than I did
before, and that is the point of this, right?

3 great iPhotos

Jen and I went yurt shopping yesterday. Here are some shots of two of
the yurts we toured. The blue one is owned by a VT professor that
wanted a weekend getaway, and the second one was owned by a family of
four (kids aged 4 and 10 I think). The deck on the red yurt was really
nice, and the interior was awesome with bamboo floors and some cool
tile. The kitchen was pretty much IKEA. We ordered a 27 foot model
that will be delivered in about 6 weeks. Holy cow, we have quite a bit
of work to do!