First Post

Hey hey hey,

This first post is actually coming aways innto my trip to Colombia. For those of you who don't know, I am racing in the Vuelta a Colombia from May 10th-25th. This is arguably one of the hardest races in the world, comparable to the Tour de France and the Giro D'Italia. Not only am I here for the race, but I arrived on May 1st and am not leaving till the 27th, so I am here for just about a month.

The last week or so I have been staying in a small town called Piedecuesta.. I flew into Bogota last Wednesday ad stayed over night until I could catch my flight to Bucaramanga. I have been staying at Victor Hugo Pena (who wore the yellow jersey in the tour)'s parents house. Joining me has been Jeremiah Wiscovich, Sergio Hernandez, and Oscar Sevilla.

The training here is ridiculous. There are no flat roads anywhere. Everyday we would do at least a 10 mile climb. A few days back, we rode 170kms that included two 25km climbs and a 15km climb. Absolutely ridiculous. Yesterday, we rode to the start town on Barrancabermeja where we are staying at a really shady hotel until the start on Saturday. All of the other riders and staff are getting in today.

The culture in Colombia is so much different then the US. It can be very dangerous here, and you always here stories of Americans getting kidnapped. Victor warned us that we have to be careful who we speak English around. Luckily for us, Victor has been able to support hs parents and they live in a beautiful house in a very protected part of town. That still doesn't neglect the fact that all the security guards here carry AK 47's and I feel like I am going to die everytime I get in the car. The people here drive crazy, and everyonce in a while you might hit a stray dog/cow/person. There are no highways here, and it supposedly takes 8 hours to drive the 260km from Bucaramanga to Bogota.

Other then that, just got Skype, so now I can make cheap cheap phone calls (about 2 cents per minute). Tomorrow, I will try to post about the team presentations and the general cost of goods and services here. Adios

Adam