Eat, Rest, Massage

Fausto Coppi massageComing on a cycling holiday for a week is an unusual experience. It’s not your normal holiday (how many other holidays do you have to train for?); it’s not your normal week of cycling (you don’t normally ride 100km every day for a week).  Because your body is being asked to go beyond its comfort zone of familiarity, it’s worth thinking about how to help yourself through this week of unusual demands on yourself.

The first thing to do is eat well; our cyclist’s breakfast and evening meals help here: giving you plenty of well-cooked food to replace your energy while not over-taxing your stomach. One thing we know is that people’s stomachs differ—especially people differ in what they can stomach when riding. So we make sure that choice is abundant in our breakfast, so that you’re sure to see what you’re used to eating and what you want to eat among the choice in front of you.

A second thing to do is sleep well; staying in a villa that’s just for cyclists means you’re not disturbed by hotel-noises in the night: our villas are in quiet locations, with comfy beds and rooms to give you a sound night’s sleep. The last thing to do is look after your legs. Being slightly obsessed by the look and feel of your legs is a natural part of being a cyclist (that’s surely a big part of the reason we shave our legs). All our villas have unheated pools: they might be chilly for doing lengths in winter, but they’re perfect for post-ride recovery dips—go straight from the bike into the pool up to your waist; this will help to take the slight swelling out of your muscles from the day’s exertions, and the contraction will help flush the toxins from them.

Erc Zabel massageA service we offer our guests’ legs (that goes much deeper than a cool dip) is a massage. We work with a local masseuse (from Pollensa): Jane, who is a fully qualified in sports massage. She can visit your villa to give a half-hour massage to those cyclists who want one. Your legs are the natural place for her to focus, but as a sports-massage specialist, she will be able to help your back, neck and arms cope with the demands of long hours in the saddle. Jane charges 30 euro for a half-hour session (the duration most of her clients go for). As she is a native English speaker, you can explain just where you ache to her without needing to know the Spanish for “just there”!