May 14, 2019
Let the Journey Begin
Our tour of Sicily in 2018 was such a fabulous adventure that it was easy to decide on Sardinia as this year’s destination. Another Italian island in the Mediterranean just seemed like a natural fit. So, we bought our tickets in early January and set our sights on Sardinia. The training schedule was not up to the usual standard this year, nevertheless, I managed to get in 1000 km of training rides and regular circuit training and yoga classes to round out the fitness. Thinking back on our fitness regimens, I have often thought that we don’t pay enough attention to rest, which is when the re-building takes place. This year, we will see the effect of more rest on our overall fitness.
Part of the preparation for the tour is to have the garden all prepped so it can look after itself for a month. A neighbour will cut the grass. The veggies and flowers are on their own.
David always gives our Bike Fridays a good going over so they are up to the challenge of a rugged month of riding. This year I needed a new derailleur, chain and cog, and a new set of cleats for the shoes. His bike didn’t really need any more than a tune up. I am forever grateful for his mechanical skills as it gives me confidence in my bike as I am on the road.
Our friend, Leslie, had kindly offered to drive us to the airport today. But, first we had to drop off our Jack Russell at the Pawsh Oasis, her home away from home. Then we were off to the Victoria International airport. We flew AirCanada to Vancouver, then Lufthansa to Frankfurt where we transferred to our final flight of this leg, to Barcelona.
We are now tucked in at our hotel in el Prat de Llobregat, near the Barcelona airport. When we arrived, our body clocks were telling us it was 6am and time for breakfast. Of course, Lufthansa served us breakfast 6 hrs ago! So after a 1 hr snooze, we headed out for dinner.
We found a great, vibrant kebab shop not far from the hotel where we both had a kebab platter and beer. It was fun to watch the chefs making the kebab orders and the hubub of locals, dropping by and visiting while waiting for their take-out dinner.
This year, we have several friends who happen to be cycle touring here in Europe at the same time so we checked in on their blogs then called it a day, a long but satisfying and successful first day.
Tomorrow morning we do the final leg, a 90 minute flight to Cagliari, Sardinia.
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