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In 2007, I was an aspiring professional bicycle racer, and I went to Malaga, Spain for the winter to train. The goal was to go somewhere warm, with a strong cycling culture, in a Spanish-speaking country.

A cycling mentor was from the town of Frigiliana, Spain, and advised the southern coast of Spain (Costa del Sol) as an ideal winter training grounds for cyclists. I discovered that Andalucia has some of the best riding in the world! It also helped that my girlfriend at the time was already in Spain.

I want to tell you the story of moving to Malaga for three months, because this was before the 4 Hour Work Week and definitely before I had any inkling of the concept of a digital nomad. I had saved my money from first job, about $8000, which lasted me through the time I was there.

In this episode I’ll tell you the stories of:

•  Finding a room in a giant shared house in Malaga (with roommates from 8 countries, only costing 120 Euros/month)
• Training every day through the mountains of Andalucia (beautiful “white towns”, cork trees, olive groves, castles, bulls, old Spanish professional cyclists, and secret roads)
• A side trip to Mororcco (French commandoes running parkour, 400 year old jewel encrusted daggers, Riding the Marrakech Express)
• Meeting my Canadian cycling mentor
• Learning to cycle downhill with no brakes
• Visiting the Alhambra in Granada (one of the most beautiful buildings in the world
• My favorite town – Ronda (perched on a cliff and home of the oldest bull ring in Spain)
• Riding 8 hours just to go watch the Vuelta Andalucia/ Ruta Del Sol bike race (the single most epic day of cycling ever)
• My diet – Stealing avocados and cycling with sandwiches in my pockets
• Getting to know my local market, merchants
• Carnaval celebrations in Cadiz (sleeping in a giant tree, singing with the crowds)
• Visiting Barcelona and Gaudi’s architecture (including Sagrada Familia – the most epic cathedral ever made)

Coffee in the White Towns