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LOS TRES HERMANOS
Great Bike Adventure - 1999 - Spain |
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| Day One | Carrnona - Small picturesque town 20 miles from Seville explored Moorish Fortress - cobblestone streets - Casa Parador de Carmona - Larry asked for two bars of soap for the room, and instead received two bowls of soup! |
| Day Two | Visited Roman Necropolis (Cemetery) - Cycled through fields of cotton, olives and orange trees - We stayed in Palma del Rio at Hospederia de San Francisco, a restored 16th century monastery - The monks from this particular monastery traveled to California and named most of the California cities of today - Great riding day - Beautiful landscape with rolling hills - We all ate churras at midnight at the corner square (fried funnel dough with a melted cup of chocolate). We loved it - especially Les who drank the cup of chocolate! |
| Day Three | Beautiful back-roads loop through olive fields and steep hills. We stopped at a convent - long hard ride - we just got back at dust. The brothers looked great in our matching shorts, hats and jackets that Lenny again provided. These were the best ever! |
| Day Four | Ride to Cordoba - 1,000 years ago this was the largest city in the world with close to one million people - Before Cordoba we visited Almodoar Castle, magnificent and majestic. - Spectacular views of the countryside. Biked up very steep inclines as we approached the castle with rock and dirt roads near the top. Larry fell onto the rocks during the steep climb, but was not hurt - continued on - The Brothers rode into Cordoba and stayed at the Hotel Hesperia - five star hotel across from the ancient mosque built by the Moors 711 AD. We had a private dinner at Pepe's of the Juderia - Incredible cultural experience. |
| Day Five | Explored the city of Cordoba in the morning. Rode to Montilla - very steep climbs with rocky and dirt road - great scenery - every day brings new biking challenges and unique and different landscapes. |
| Day Six | Toured winery and convent in Montilla - Lenny was slapped by a cloistered Nun. A great scene - cookies from the Nuns and then we rode to Rute - very hilly with continuous climbs and down hills. Hotel Maria Luisa with an authentic paella dinner. |
| Day Seven | Challenging ride to Antequero. Stopped for tapas lunch in historic Archidonia - Larry had sardines. Dramatic views of olive groves and mountains. Stayed at Parador de Antequero - another great and unusual hotel. Very tired after another hard ride. Dinner next to a bull ring. |
| Day Eight | The Climb - El Torcal - reaching the top together was a great feeling for all of us. Afternoon downhill ride in Granada through the Gypsy section - caves - old streets to the magnificent Palaciode Santa Enes - directly I across from the Alhambra. Dinner at Moracan restaurant In Moorish district. |
| Day Nine | Granada - toured the Cathedral and tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella - very impressive. Juan and Javier took us to the Alhambra - one of the Ten Wonders of the World. Words cannot describe what we saw and learned. Dinner at private home overlooking the Alhambra, then authentic Gypsy flamingo dancing in the caves. Sensational - Les was picked to dance with beautiful Gypsy girl - "awesome" dance moves. |
| Our Best Trip Ever - more challenging than we ever expected. Tremendous cultural experience. Spectacular and diverse landscapes - friendly people - great guides, Juan and Javier. Everyday was incredibly unique. The best of all was being together again. | |
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Major language barrier problem on our trip other than the two soups and going to a private home thinking it was a convent, was our lunch near the castle. We asked Javier for his suggestion for the Tres Hermanos. We ordered three cobb salads and were served three cod fish salads with tomato sauce. Lenny ate it!! Les passed and Larry ate 1/4. The vegetable plate we had later was superb! |
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Major misconception - the Brothers looked at miles per day versus terrain!! This was very very challenging with more steep climbs per day than any other trip. |
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The challenge - Ten mile 11°-14° grade up Mt. Torcal on our last day. Only twenty people have done this in the past five years. The Brothers did it! We also did EFI, keeping our record in tact for our 6th trip of never getting into the van. |
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Best room accommodations - all great - Larry's suite at the Palacio in Granada was incredible (thanks Hermanos). |
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The most daring - Lenny - oxtail stew - blood sausage and other unidentified foods!! |
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Riding styles on climbs - all different - Lenny standing, Les in 2nd gear, and Larry in 1/1. We all did it! |
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Most major concern - Les - bathroom before ride. |
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Best Flamingo Dancer - Les |
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1st time ever not calling in for voice mails - Larry - best decision in ten years |
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Most pictures taken than any other trip. Lenny - seven rolls. Quickest Photographer - Larry. |
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Video - Lenny thinking of selling to the Travel Network - fabulous job! |
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Hardest day for Brothers - shopping in Granada - very tense and exhausting. |
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Older men (over 55) in Spain - all wearing "Perry Como" sweaters. |
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Steepest grade - 20° short climb to hotel in Antequera. Very hard. |
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Worst sense of direction - Larry |
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Favorite drink - "Tres San Miguel's" |
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Most outgoing and humorous - Lenny - 6th year |
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Laughs at his own jokes Lenny |
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Next year we will ride again
- Ireland
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