Thursday 28 June 2012

Reve Tour

Ahead of the Tour (on Saturday) I was surprised when I saw what this group of women are going to do.

A team of six amateur women will take on the ultimate road cycling challenge of a complete grand tour. Starting in Liège one day ahead of the pro peloton the riders will complete the entire parcours of the 2012 Tour de France arriving in Paris on the 21st of July.


In the process they’ll prove to themselves, other female cyclists, and women thinking about taking up the sport, that any bicycle dream is possible.

They’ll stay in the same hotels and endure the daily exhausting transfers that define the Tour.

All the girls have a different background but they have a passion for cycling and for these kind of hard challenges.

They have trained hard for this and tomorrow they'll begin the journey. Nothing more, nothing less than 3479 kms in 21 days!


You can check the riders and their challenge here: http://www.reve.cc/


Wednesday 27 June 2012

What is InGamba?

Every year I wait for the month of July. It's like a habit. But why? The Tour de France.

Last year I went there for the final stage in Paris but this year I can't because of professional reasons. In 2013 I'll certainly be there again.

I'll follow the race and post some pics, videos and backstage stories at my blog http://tdftech.tumblr.com/

Talking about cycling maybe you've seen a new logo in my blog on the right side. I truly believe in what their doing and I'm going to have a trip with them in Portugal in September.
But InGamba? "Eat up the miles, Drink up the culture"? 

You can follow all their activities and all the destinations @InGamba and InGamba

and at the Web to book your trip: http://ingamba.pro/

Let me explain:

Group riding at Chianti

Imagine you've booked a holiday and you want to do 3 things that if you are like me you love: cycling, culture and eating. I really enjoy riding my bike, discovering new places and people and eating good food (a lot).




Imagine you spend 1 week or 2 weeks in a trip riding by day with some Cycling riders (Pro riders Ted King or Laurens Ten Dam were at the trip in Chianti) and have a guide named João Correia. Who is he? NYTimes
 You’re also supported by a full-time mechanic and soigneur (Jorge and Raul). 


 




Everything is provided from support, food and drinks for the entire course of each ride. 






Pinarello Dogma 2




Even the bike is provided. A Pro-level bike, equipped and setup with a true pro-level build, fitted to you.

So no worries about bike fees at the airport. 












Spring Classics Trip - The Muur



You ride in some of the most iconic and beautiful roads because the guides have trained and raced there.









Chianti, Italy
But a trip to a new place is also a time to discover the culture, the people and their habits and all the guides at InGamba truly understand the places. Here you're not going see what tourists see, you're going to feel the places and their lifestyles to travel and discover some of the most charming places around the World like Chianti in Italy or the Pousadas in Portugal. 





Dinner
And the best part: the food! Forget about tourist restaurants. You're going to savor true local cuisine, restaurants that you can't even find in guide books. Delicious regional food and good wine all included in the trip package.  






My trip in September will be a really nice experience as I'm going to discover the Pousadas of Portugal - a chain of luxury, traditional or historical hotels in Portugal - and their iconic locations, ride in the Portuguese countryside and eat and drink the best Portuguese food and wine.

Who wants to miss these experiences?



Saturday 23 June 2012

Habits and how to change them


The advantage of not being a student is that I can do pretty much whatever I want while I'm not working. No worries about exams or studying after classes. Time to train, to party, to read, to cook, etc.

So last night I've finished reading this book about habits. I've decided to bought it because I was curious why I was doing some activities without even thinking.

This book shows some clues about what is an habit and why we do it and like the title says "Why we do what we do and how to change". The book also gives an overview on how companies are now working to use our habit formations to sell and market products to us.

Think about something it took you a really long time to learn, like how to parallel park. At first, parallel parking was difficult and you had to devote a lot of mental energy to it. But after you grew comfortable with parallel parking, it became much easier — almost habitual, you could say.

Parallel parking, gambling, exercising, brushing teeth and every other habit-forming activity all follow the same behavioral and neurological patterns. 

So how do habits form? Simple. It turns out that every habit starts with a pattern called a "habit loop," which is a three-part process. First, there's a cue, that tells the brain to go into automatic mode and let a behaviour unfold.
Then there's the routine, which is the behavior itself and that's what we think about when we think about habits. The third step is the reward: something that the brain likes that helps it remember the "habit loop" in the future.

Some habits are good some don't. Like eating while watching TV or others.

So how can we change them? By simply change the routine.





A good read to understand my good and bad habits and how to change them. I'm going to apply the methods explained to change some of my life routines.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

S.P.L

As for my S.P.L - sports part of life - I've decided to put a hold on my triathlon training last December. I've not stopped training completely but I was training just to be fit and healthy.

Since we are in the middle of the triathlon season in Portugal I've decided that I'll give more time to my bike training, my weakest part. My biggest goal for this year is to participate in the SkyRoad Grand Fondo in October (http://www.skyroad-grandfondo.com/index.php/pt/) and do some other smaller cycling and running events.

I'm going to save some money to buy a Powermeter (so I can train properly) and some competition wheels.

I'm now really proud to be part of this awesome project and in a team of champions: Charity Multisport

"The "Charity Multisport" is a voluntary organization, non-profitable, consisting of a multidisciplinary team focused on the sport of Triathlon, intended to meet the conditions to support the most disadvantaged communities, particularly in supporting young children and families in need through the implementation of a social project for charity called "3Hope, health, food and education" as well as supporting other projects existing external entities.


Internationally, our goal will be to travel the world, competing in the toughest endurance events in order to raise awareness and demonstrate that no obstacle is impossible. Our athletes are examples of strength, endurance and adaptability to the adversities of life, inspiring the community to achieve the same."

But my future continues uncertain. 1 more week to know!

Friday 1 June 2012

Chocolate Box Life

Life is made of experiences. That's I was in need before starting my internship in January 2012.

And when I started working at the chocolaterie I wasn't sure what I was going to get.

The first month (December) was difficult and funny at the same time: 8/9 hours standing and talking with clients but also learning how to work with chocolate and pastry.
In January both Chefs that work at the chocolaterie knew it was time for me to go. I was going to begin my internship in Economics. But they didn't know I was going to help them as much as I could outside the chocolaterie.
So from January to March, they appeared on RTP, SIC Radical (both Portuguese TV channels), magazines, the Facebook page suddenly got new likes and they made partnership deals with some cooking brands.

They even filmed this video and it appeared in some international websites:



I continued to help them in the shop on Saturdays until  last week. I met a lot of people from different backgrounds, made some friends, talked hours with the clients and most of all learned different views of life.

It's not over for me. I will continue to give myself to this amazing project they have I just can't continue to be there all Saturdays.

I'm back to triathlon. As for my future job in 2 weeks time I will already know where I'm going to be for the next year, if here in Portugal or abroad.

I'll keep you updated.