From Early Morning til Late at Night

It's wild to think just ten days ago I went from this......to this...It is to be noted that we arrived to two days of frigid precipitation (also called snow) here in Mallorca, before the sun came bursting out as you see in the second of those pictures above. But now that the sun is shining, we are ready to make this Cannondale-Garmin camp a smashing success, so, Rise and shine campers!Actually, don't. Not today anyway because today is a rest day. We've been going full tilt here at camp and everyone is deserving of some R&R. From the moment we the alarms shrill wakes up until we exhaustedly crawl into bed late at night, we have something to occupy our time. Which, of course, is a good thing -- we may as well make the very most of every minute of camp, since it's very rare that we get so many riders and staff together from across the globe.So what's a typical day entail? Great question, me! Let me explain.The day will unfold with a foundation workout in the gym lead by the intrepid Matt Rabin. From there it's onto breakfast, which includes a colorfully laid out, well thought out meal as designed by our team chef Sean Fowler. This ain't no pasta and packaged crackers of years past as the first meal to kickstart your day; this is first rate, professional nutrition!Everything about Cannondale-Garmin team is new and different and very well received, beginning with the fact that February is the first riding team gathering, as opposed to November or December. Or take the attention to detail with folks like Matt, Sean, or the always-on-the-ball Louise. Louise is the CLO (Chief Logistics Officers, I just gave her that title) and she is on point! So the staff runs a very tight ship, the riders are all gelling tremendously well; in fact, having been on ten teams from amateur to collegiate to national to domestic pro and European professional, this is hands down the most melded group of riders I've ever seen, and it's an honor to be part of. And look here y'all, I don't blow smoke nor speak in hyperbole, so take that as fact!Back to the grind: we've hardly had time to digest when the daily schedule says it's time to hit the road. With the team split into two or three groups appropriate of the racing in the weeks and months ahead, there's a mishmash of tough training mixed with a touch of necessary media attention. Here a car full of photogs leads the way after we've already busted out a doozie of a VO2 session.Hi.In mid-to-late afternoon, we'll trickle into the hotel basement, where the mechanics are hard at work completing the fleet of our stealthy new Cannondales -- the envy of the entire peloton. Next lunch awaits with a full smattering of nutritional needs.There's a list posted with our assigned soigneur for the day to soothe our sore legs and aching bodies. Again, as opposed to most years past, we alternate among the entire staff of masseurs day to day so as to meet and really get to know the entire team. It may sound minor but it's those sorts of things that mesh such a diverse, international, interesting group together.By now it's early evening so if we're lucky we can sit down to cruise the interwebs, call home, or write an email, but more likely we're next off to a meeting or two. Our sponsors are fantastic and they have a lot to say about the products they provide us. We therefore learn the latest and greatest about our very fine wares.Dinner looks about 80% similar to lunch. Bright vegetables at the salad bar, then the all important carbohydrates in the form of rice, paella, potatoes, and pasta. Protein seems to come in the form of fish and the ever nutrient dense red meat. BEEF, it's (often) what's for dinner. Then a bunch of other fun stuff like smoothies, rich breads, yogurt, and fruit to satiate all appetites.Likely another meeting follows dinner, but whoever is leading the gathering will see lots of yawns and weary eyes, so they generously keep them short. Bed has never looked sweeter.Here's yesterday's ride which marked the final day of a nice block.We did some morning TT work then swapped to road bikes. Here's a snapshot of the ol' bike change-a-roo.Next we climbed a few well known climbs that dot Mallorca, Soller, Puig, and Formentor. This is my first time to the island, so it's nice to see what this place is all about. Nice roads, low traffic volume, friendly folks, and sun (...most of the time) -- yup it makes sense why this is a cycling destination. We reached snowline about mid-way up Puig, and then high atop the mountain we pass through a tunnel, like so.A few climbs and stunning views later, we arrived home, then aforementioned meals, massage, meetings, and Zzzzzzzz. Camp 2.0 is coming up, so time to catch some rest and get ready for the finale.