On the Bear Trail Again!

Leaving the Angliru as soon as it got light the morning following the last stage we went the short drive north to Oviedo to do some grocery shopping.

After stocking up we headed to the spot we’d chosen for this day’s stage – a place they pass thru twice. As we neared the road Colin said ‘this looks familiar’ – it was the ‘bear trail’ road! We’d been on it a few times in past years so knew of more than one place that might be great to stop in.

However the best place was already taken over by the ‘VIP’ tents so we had to back-track a bit to another spot that was actually perfect. The race splits off the main road on the first pass and goes up a small mountain before circling around and going past us again on the road back north.

For the first pass I walked a very short way up the ‘mountain’ road – it was quite steep and the sun was actually getting very hot…

…but that didn’t deter the fans, both young…

…and old.

The breakaway arrived just before four…

…with Remco once again in the lead…

…about ten minutes ahead of the peloton, with Jumbo all together at the front.

As usual the helicopters let us know as the race approached again.

They arrived for the second time at 5:14, this time Remco alone in the lead…

…with the rest of the breakaway in pieces behind him.

Rather than stay the night after the race was done we drove for a couple of hours, stopping at an aire in the village of La Magdalena a bit south of the Luna reservoir – it was very quiet and peaceful.

Getting started the next morning at a decent time we continued south, skirting Leon and Benavente where the road veers a bit to the southeast and onwards almost to Madrid. We’d already decided to skip Friday’s stage and headed instead to the route of Saturday’s stage that looked more interesting.

There are at least three climbs on the stage that they go up twice so we just went along the route and picked a nice spot at the side of the road not far from the bottom between two climbs.

We are in a rare place that we just can’t get the internet in – I realize how much I use it and have resorted to reading my book instead.

There are a couple of cattle ranches in the valley below with a lovely river running through. In the evening there was a spectacular lightening show with sheets lighting up the sky one after another, followed of course by the thunder. Then the rain arrived – just torrential but thankfully not all night long.

From Rio Luna to The Angliru

The day after the TT we headed north towards one of our favourite campgrounds to have several days of rest. Along the way we stopped for Henry to have a break and noticed a memorial stone.

It was from the Spanish Civil War and named several villagers who had lost their lives – very simple but quite touching.

We took our time getting to Rio Luna, taking the ‘scenic route’ rather than the motorway. The reservoir was the lowest we’ve seen it.

It was so nice to be back at a familiar place – we had chips and eggs for lunch at the campground bar before taking nice hot showers. The next few days rained off and on most of the time – we did manage to get some laundry done and dried during one of the sunny spells.

Mostly we staying inside because of the rain, going up to the bar for coffee each morning and again later in the day to watch the Vuelta on tv.

One of the campground cats had kittens a couple of months ago – they’re very cute but a bit skittish. The owner (whose name, sadly, I can’t remember) asked if I wanted one – I said I’d take two if I could but I don’t think Henry would like that!

One day we took the short drive to San Emiliano for coffee – on the way back to the ‘main’ road we had to stop for a small herd of cows that were walking up the road towards us on their way from one field to another.

We then drove further west to the town of Villablino and continued south a bit along a small lake. Not finding a decent cafe or restaurant we stopped at a nice pull-out and had lunch in the campervan.

After our nice interlude at Rio Luna we headed to our next race watching place – partway up the Angliru.

We weren’t sure how far up we would get as the road does get closed to traffic. I think we made it about halfway when we encountered several police cars that were turning people back. There were some campervans a little further ahead but apparently no more space beyond that so we turned back.

We ended up at a nice pullout that was on very solid ground – with all the rain lately many of the spots that look good are very soggy. We saw a few campervans in spots that we wondered if they were going to get out of but our place was ok.

On race morning fans started cycling up before it was even light out and during the day literally thousands of cyclists and walkers passed us on their way to the top.

I wouldn’t have wanted to walk up – we’re a good nine or ten km from the top so it’s definitely a bit of a hike.

I found a great place to watch and photograph from – you can see down the hill a ways and the valley opens up for a beautiful view.

Just down from us some folks have painted the Quickstep rider’s names on the pavement and they’ve covered up the ‘Angliru’ sign with ‘in Remco we Trust’.

Unfortunately Remco lost a ton of time on the Tourmalet a few days ago so is out of GC contention but he still had something to prove – he was the first racer to pass us…

…although the peloton wasn’t far behind.

The descent of the fans after the race was the largest I’ve ever seen – it took almost two hours for all of the cyclists, walkers, cars and motos to get past us on their way down. They kind of came in waves – a bunch of cyclists, then a bunch of walkers, then a lot of motos and some buses and campervans – then it started again. We stayed put rather than trying to fight the traffic and get nowhere fast.

Off to the Races Again!

After corresponding with his oncologist back in France who told Colin that his most recent blood test wasn’t that bad we decided to go ahead on our planned road trip up north to see some of the Vuelta.

On the first day we made it a fair distance – past Toledo and on to the shores of a reservoir/lake. We were looking for a park-4-night place but ended up just pulling over on a very wide spot with a lovely view.

The second day’s travel was much shorter as we stopped in the hilltop village of Portillo – you could actually see Valladolid in the distance to the north.

We stayed at the park-4-night for two very rainy, stormy nights, emerging from the campervan during one break in the rain to walk to a local restaurant for lunch.

Along the way we noticed many gray gates that we could see weren’t made to keep people out, and realized after awhile that they were for the bulls.

Before leaving on the second morning I took a walk to a nearby viewpoint – there were wonderful views in all directions.

The trip to Valladolid was quick and easy – we knew exactly where we wanted to go and for once the GPS took us right there. It’s just to the south of the city in a large nature park with plenty of excellent places to spend a couple of nights, and most importantly it’s right on the Time Trial route for Tuesday’s Vuelta stage.

On the Sunday afternoon there was a huge group of motorcycles that rode past, accompanied by police – not sure what that was about but it was kind of impressive.

With Monday being the first rest day of the Vuelta we got to see many of the riders doing a re-con of the course. We were joined at our chosen spot by a couple of campervans from Belgium, one of whom had a Giro wolf and a Vuelta bull in his front window – also a moose from a race in Norway.

In addition on race day they put out a large teddy bear in Jumbo kit that they called ‘Wout van Aert’ – since he’s not riding in the Vuelta I guess he’s just hanging out enjoying the sun and watching.

As usual on race day more and more folks arrived to watch – we’re just before the 8 km to go marker and at the top of a very small hill.

Throughout the morning most of the racers did a lap or two of the course…

…as current world TT champion Remco was in the rainbow jersey.

I got a decent photo of Ganna approaching us with the photo-moto right behind him – he ended up winning the stage. If only he was on a different team I would be a huge cheerleader for him.

The crowds at our place got so big we even got our own police guards.

Remco flew by…

…and shortly after the current leader Sepp Kuss, who managed to keep his overall lead. Remco did make up a bit of time on his main GC rivals so it was a good day overall.

As per usual within a very short time almost everyone had left the site…

…and another quiet night was had.

To the Sea, Wasp Killing, Stray Dogs Rescued

We decided to take an overnight trip to the coast, heading first to the town of Carboneras. It seemed very pretty, and not too touristy but there was nowhere to park so we just kept driving north along the coast.

We stopped for lunch at the village of Sopalmo that was a bit away from the sea but seemed quite nice. It had lots of pretty white houses with lovely blue flower pots everywhere.

Henry had his first ride in his pram – he seemed to like it alright and we definitely made better time from where we parked to the bar/restaurant we went to for lunch.

We both ordered well-done hamburgers and ended up with almost raw meat. The potatoes were excellent, and the rest of what was in the burgers was tasty but Henry got most of the meat.

After lunch we drove a bit further north and stopped at a really nice looking beach with ample parking as well as a fort. This spot was used as a port hundreds of years ago as the water gets deep very quickly.

There was a placque giving the history of the place and part of it was in english – we just weren’t sure why it would have been manned by four people, three of whom were bullfighters.

You could see Mojacar in the distance to the north and we knew it would be very crowded, but there were very few folks at this beach.

We had intended to stay for the night but it was beastly hot, so almost at the same time we asked each other ‘should we just go home’? And so we did.

We got back to going for bike rides every second morning, one day making it to Taberno for coffee. On another day we rode down to the cafe at Llanos de Los Alleros.

After our coffee we explored the village a little bit – we’ve passed by it many times as it’s right on the way to Albox but we’ve never left the main road before to see the actual village. It was quite nice, with a lovely church and another cafe.

We had some company for lunch last week – we made good use of the sunroom, and their kids enjoyed the pool.

We are once again having water issues – this time we know the water is flowing in the channel but we can’t get hold of anyone to ask for it. That’s one of the more frustrating things about living here – we know we can call the tanker guy but we do belong to a ‘co-op’ that currently isn’t responding. We’ve now contacted the local facebook group to ask for advice – hopefully someone will have a different phone number or something so we can get the water we need.

We’ve discovered a couple more wasp nests and are pleased with the dozens of dead wasps, although there are obviously more nests to find as there are still a few that dip into the pool for water in the evening when we swim.

The birds are emptying the feeder almost as quickly as we fill it – we’ve also made a water bath for them and they seem to like it.

We found out on the local facebook group page today that the two dogs we feed in Las Pocicas have been taken into someone’s care. Last year’s puppy (who is named Chica) has been taken to the vet’s and has been ‘fixed’ and is doing very well. Mama Luna and her six new puppies are all in a couple of homes now and will be well cared for – we were so happy to read that as we look for them every time we pass through. We think they were rescued by a couple of brits we spoke with one day, along with help from a ‘sweet little spanish woman’.

(Photo from facebook group post)

Haircuts and Artwork in Chirivel, Agave Blooms

Progress on the garden is moving along – our wonderful gardeners come about once a week and we just keep getting more oleanders and geraniums and having the watering system extended.

We both got haircuts again in Chirivel – mine is the shortest it’s ever been and I love it! The park across from the hairdressers is actually very lovely and has lots of interesting sculptures, including a carving in a large dead tree.

We’ve gone out for lunch a couple of times – the last time in Los Cericos I got the grilled calamari and was it ever delicious. I fed little bits of it to one of the bar cats – they’re usually kept outside but the small female snuck in and mooched off me. She’s just a kitty herself but is already pregnant so I figured she could use some extra protein.

Work on the house is also progressing – our carpenter has done some work on the doors to prevent wind and rain from getting in, and also has painted the french doors. Things are looking good.

Water is, as usual, a bit of a challenge. We ended up once again getting the tanker truck to deliver the other day – he topped up the pool and filled up the bottom tank in no time. Not cheap, but at least when we turn a tap on or flush a toilet water comes out – seems like a luxury!

Our agave flower is nearing its end – the ‘trunk’ is starting to bend a bit and sometime soon it’s going to break and the main plant will die. At least we’ll get a lot of seeds for replanting.

The cherry tomato plants are going crazy, and it looks like they’re all different – nice round orange ones (that might turn red) as well as oblong ones that look slightly striped (kind of like miniature watermelons).

The main part of the centre of Albox has become car-free and it’s lovely to walk around – the fountain is very pretty and it’s much more relaxing not having to dodge cars.

There have been several unfortunate accidents with the little birds. We’ve found at least four of the poor things on the terrace – they likely fell out by mistake as they had not got their feathers yet so couldn’t have been learning to fly.

We’ve located and destroyed three wasp nests so far – not huge ones but they seem to be very aggressive. They like to get water from the pool so they’re very annoying in the evening when we go for a swim.

We had a nice day trip to Villaricos on the coast to visit Ann and Ernie. Having lunch at the restaurant next to the pool was excellent – I had homemade Thai fish cakes along with a roasted goat cheese salad – very tasty.

Racing in France, Colin Returns, More Racing in France (a different kind), Garden Flourishes

Colin got back from France as scheduled, and all of his tests were ok. While there he helped the cycling club with their annual youth races in Angeau – the kids are so cute.

And the winning team was – the local organizing club Guidon Manslois (Colin’s club)!

I’m glad for many reasons that Colin is back but a big one is that I really don’t like being alone in the house at night. It’s frequently windy and things blow around and make noise – kind of freaked me out a couple of times.

The garden is coming along nicely – the weeds are tenacious, but so are the gardeners!

The Tour de France has started – the first three stages were in northern Spain and now they’re working their way north, then east. We’re both very sad that Mark Cavendish has crashed out as we were sure he would break the stage-win record in this, his last Tour. I was somewhat cheered up yesterday, however, when Michael Woods won on the Puy de Dome.

We’re trying to find a used pram or stroller for Henry – he can’t walk as fast or as far as he used to and Colin often ends up having to pick him up. In search of one we drove south yesterday to see if we could find one at a large second-hand furniture place but she didn’t have anything appropriate. She did have a beautiful german shepherd guard dog and a black cat with orange eyes.

We’ve put up a fly screen on the french doors so we can now have them open in the early part of the day – nice breezes come through. But all windows and shutters get closed by noon or so to keep the heat out. Our swims are later now also – usually around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening because of the heat, and also the angle of the sun.

My arm rash has come back and I’m treating it with apricot kernel oil so I don’t end up looking like a leper. As long as I stay out of the direct sun it subsides and isn’t itchy so mostly I’m staying inside during the day and doing any of the outside stuff in early morning or late evening.

The herb garden is doing very well, especially the basil. I’ve made pesto twice now (for pizza) and it’s awesome to be able to go out and pick it, then crush it. I don’t have any pine nuts so have been using almonds – but what else would I use in almond-growing heaven?

We’ll be having fresh cherry tomatoes soon as one of the plants has gone crazy and already has fruit on it – small and green now but in a week or two…

Most mornings I do a bit of tai chi and chi gong on either the front terrace or the side terrace – it’s so peaceful and quiet and I get to see the sun come up over the hill to the east.

The birds have finally discovered the bird feeder and we now have to fill it every couple of days.

We had a nice lunch out at the bar in Los Cerricos – once again the cats were hiding from the heat.

The Ikea delivery arrived! We met the truck down at the restaurant/gas station and they followed us up to the house – now the office is full of the new kitchen in boxes.

Henry tried to walk on the pool cover again – luckily I spotted him right away. It was ok when he got out on the winter cover as it was tied to the sides, but the summer cover just floats and even a smallish dog like Henry caused it to start sinking. Fortunately he was near the shallow end so I just went down the stairs and fished him out – wet shorts was a small price to pay.

I finally went for a bike ride – not long but getting hot by the time I got home – I’ll have to leave earlier next time.

Housework Progresses

We’ve taken a couple more trips – the first was back to Ikea in Murcia to meet with the ‘kitchen planner’. As we had done a lot of measuring and looking at their choices online we were very prepared and the meeting went well. It is going to be beautiful and I’m very excited.

The second trip was to the coast and the peninsula of Cabo de Gato which we’d read about and seen on a couple of cycling videos that went through the area. Once we passed Vera most of the drive was past mile after mile of tattered plastic greenhouses so we were quite disappointed – it looked like a moonscape.

But the town of Cabo de Gato wasn’t bad – we found a nice bar that had excellent tapas and wine, and then drove a short way to a lovely beach.

There’s also a bird sanctuary in the salt marshes.

We’ve had more work completed – Steve (our carpenter) has done a bunch more stuff, including installing a door between the guest bedroom and it’s bathroom. Carlos has added three more outdoor taps as well as fixed the outdoor shower near the pool, and our wonderful gardener and her husband have planted the jacarandas, oleanders and cedars.

They also gave some advice on the cleaning of the pool – I need ‘shock’ and ‘floculant’ and then some vacuuming – hope to be able to use it soon as the weather is finally turning hot and sunny.

Our solar panels have been installed! Our roof is now covered with them – we don’t have batteries to store the energy but are going to be feeding it to the grid when we have excess – I’m so happy!

The summer pool cover has been fitted and installed – it will help a lot to reduce the evaporation rate, and also keep it warmer.

I finally had my first swim of the year! Our ducky thermometer says the water is 30 degrees – it was very refreshing and just what was needed on a hot, muggy day.

For the second time I had a couple of unexpected visitors – two larks (I think that’s what they were) were suddenly in the lounge flying about. They got in through the front door which we like to leave open for the breeze. The first time they found their own way out, and today I managed to get the french doors open to release them.

I didn’t have my camera handy but did manage to get a quick photo with my ipad – as usual the quality is a bit disappointing to me.

We now have a beautiful herb garden…

…the potted tomatoes are doing great…

…the oleanders are finally flowering…

…and while other plants and flowers are showing off their beauty…

…the agave is still working on it’s one-and-only blossoming before it dies…

Water is still sometimes an issue – the ‘canal’ that belongs to the co-op that we’re a part of is being repaired at the moment and the tanker truck can’t deliver to us until next week. I’m using as little as possible but have stocked-up on large jugs of water from the store – enough to keep the garden and new trees alive, and make a cup or two of tea in the mornings. The quantity of water available at this time isn’t an issue here – it’s just the delivery of it that is a challenge!

The Rambla Rages, and Finding Jacarandas

We’ve had some fierce storms in the last few weeks, and twice our normally dry rambla…

…became a raging river.

As far as the raging rambla was concerned it didn’t affect us that much – not like the folks who use the rambla to access their driveways. They were unable to leave their houses for a day or two each time as the rambla is the ‘road’ that leads to their driveways.

The torrential rains did do a number on our driveway, though. We already knew we needed to get it fixed up a bit but now it’s got huge ruts from where the water washed down.

The day after the first big washout I drove down to Albox to do some grocery shopping. As I went down our driveway it was very rutted but as I turned left to enter the ‘road’ we share with our neighbour-across-the-way I almost stopped and turned back. The dirt/mud road was so deeply rutted I wondered if I would get stuck but I made it down. Then all the way into town I was wondering if I was actually going to make it back up to the house. When I was finished the shopping and was back at the bottom of the shared drive I just put it in first and gunned it, barely slowing down for the sharp right-turn onto our driveway. I fish-tailed a bit but made it!

We also encountered a couple of other issues – we had small floods from both the front door and the french doors as they don’t have proper weatherproofing on the bottoms. I spent some time mopping and laid down some towels to prevent more seepage.

And another problem we had was a drip into the kitchen very near the fridge. It wasn’t from the rain but from a backup between my shower and the toilet in the guest bedroom.

Carlos – when he was able to get out of his house from the flooded rambla – came over and unplugged it, and is partway through re-caulking my shower as that’s where the backup was going, and from there down into the kitchen.

We’ve been out for lunch a few times – at the bar in Chirivel and also at the bar in Los Cerricos. The bar cats are still there, and there are a couple of new babies that are very cute. They hung around our table and got lots of little nibbles.

The second time we went there the bar cats weren’t around, but the ‘dumpster’ cats were. I, as usual, had leftovers of my pork tenderloin so ended up giving it in little bite sized pieces to the many stray cats as well as one very cute little dog. I wish I could help all of them but the best you can do is catch them and take them to the local vets to have them ‘fixed’. Apparently the vets do this for free and all you have to do is catch them, take them in, then return them to the street they came from. They’ll still be scrounging for food but at least they won’t be having six kittens four times a year…so sad.

Colin and I both got haircuts – mine is the shortest it’s been since the cut I got in Navarrete in Sept of 2018 – I love it!

We took a trip to Ikea in Murcia almost two weeks ago to have a look at kitchens. Looking in the online catalogue is one thing but we both like seeing something in person to really get a feel for what it will be like. We did pick up a book shelf for the snug and have since rearranged the furniture.

All around the area are beautiful flowering trees with lavender coloured blossoms. We found out what they are – jacaranda – and the local plant store finally got a delivery in – they’re very hard to get.

We picked three of them up this morning along with four more oleanders and I can’t wait for them to be planted. The jacarandas are very tall, but of course won’t flower until next year.

The winter pool cover has been removed but we’re having a heck of a time drying it out to put away – it rains at least a bit almost every day so it’s been impossible.

We’re having solar panels for electricity installed – hopefully next week right before Colin returns to France for some medical appointments.

The ‘giant asparagus’ hasn’t changed much – we’ve been told it will be a few weeks before anything happens. And it’s not a yucca (as I called it previously) but an agave and once it’s done flowering it will die.

They’ve completed a new display at the south end of Albox and it’s a very good one – showing the story of the area and the people.

Great Relief, and Back to Spain

Colin’s doctor’s appointment was a great relief – he was asked why he wasn’t still getting the twice-yearly shots and was taking the one-a-day pills instead. He was instantly given a prescription for the shot and we took it right away to the pharmacy in Mansle. The nurse came to the house the next morning and administered it. Hopefully that does the trick with the very high PSA.

While back in Mansle we did the usual – had a lovely fish-and-chips lunch, visited Tony and Joyce, said hello (a couple of times) to Edith and Sylvain at the bar. Also on Colin’s birthday Tony and Joyce joined us for a lunch at the Marmite – very nice.

We started the return trip to Spain a week ago, and since we were in the car it was much quicker. We stopped at a hotel just outside Zaragoza that accepts dogs – we’d stayed there before. Arriving at the house mid-afternoon was wonderful – we even had water! Except until the power kept cutting out and thus the pump wasn’t working.

After a call to Carlos he came right up and got it running again, but not for long – apparently something got wet and just needed to dry out. It was very frustrating until partway through the next morning when all was working again.

Our ‘handyman’ Steve has done a bunch of stuff – stained the outside doors and some of the window trims, installed several solar powered motion triggered lights and another security camera. Lots to do but it’s all coming along…

Our fantastic gardener was hard at work again – one of the large yuccas is about to flower, and then will die – it looks like a giant asparagus.

Colin and I made a trip to several different places to collect flowers and trees for Ali to plant for us. We now have orange, lemon and lime trees, two bougainvilleas (one of my favourites!), several small cypress trees and a bunch of various colourful things for the planter boxes.

I’ve spent three days vacuuming and cleaning – first day the ground floor, second day the sun-room (including washing the floor) and today the upper floor – so much dust! Slowly but surely the boxes from Worcester are being unpacked so it doesn’t look so much like a storage place.

Everything is starting to look so lovely – more like a ‘home’ than just a house. I sit outside in the evenings and just drink it all in – can’t wait to get the pool uncovered and jump in! Although right now it’s probably a little cold – we need to get a solar heater and summer cover.

Housework in Spain and return to France

We’ve been fairly busy at the house arranging jobs, etc. The gardener is working diligently clearing out old dead stuff and trimming all of the plants as needed. You can see a big difference and we’re super glad we found her.

We also got a sweet little painter who was recommended to us by Carlos. She lives in a house across the way that we can see from the terrace. She did the entire lounge in one day, and the exterior of the sun room and laundry room over the next two – she even painted the outside lamp fixtures.

She’s very keen to do the house exterior as well but we’re not sure when we’ll get to that. She really doesn’t speak any english and my spanish still needs a lot of work, but on her last day I discovered that she speaks a bit of italian – it would have made a couple of conversations easier if I’d known that before!

The furniture from Worcester arrived on time and was mostly piled in the middle of the floor of the freshly painted lounge.

The movers were a bit sub-par – the young fellow wasn’t too bad but his girlfriend/partner was a bit surly. They complained about the driveway, refused to even try to get Colin’s wardrobe up to his bedroom and also wouldn’t put the beds or anything else back together (as was part of what had been paid for).

As it still gets pretty cool at night we got a gas-heater that warms up the snug – that’s where we have our morning tea and it sure makes a difference. The days are getting quite warm now – up to 28 or 29 one day so the many loads of laundry we did dried nice and quick.

Sadly we had to leave to return to France and Colin’s doctor. The evening before we left we realized we were just about out of water – the upper tank was almost empty, which implies that the lower tank is completely empty.

Luckily Carlos arrived just as we were about to leave on Saturday morning and is going to arrange a re-fill for us. He’s also going to get the wardrobe up to Colin’s bedroom and re-attach the banisters we had removed for the furniture delivery.

The drive back to France in the campervan went well – we did it in two days rather than the three we thought it might take.

Stopping for a bite to eat in the lower parking area of the mall in the town on the french border we saw an unusual sight. Many folks travel with dogs in their campervans and we’ve seen the odd cat as well – this time it was a parrot eating it’s lunch while sitting on top of his cage outside the van.

Getting around Bordeaux was not a problem – we made good time and arrived back to Mansle in late afternoon. Colin went to his doctor’s clinic on Monday morning and has an appointment to actually see him in two days.

Until then we’ve been taking it easy and not doing too much, other than a jigsaw puzzle…

…and a quick visit with Tony and Joyce. Tony’s done a couple of paintings of Colin’s house in Worcester and they are, of course, beautiful. He’s going to frame them and we’ll likely end up keeping one in Mansle and the other will go down to Spain when we return.

Henry – or Henri as we’re now in France – got a grooming/haircut today and it’s the shortest it’s been. He’s turned from a wooly looking sheep to an almost hairless goat.

I had thought he was getting a bit chubby under his thick coat but with all of his hair gone he’s actually rather trim. I think he likes his new cut as he’s strutting around now as if he knows how cute he is.

We’ve been watching all of the spring classics on GCN – some really great racing happening, and every race we look for the place we were watching from a few years ago.