This DVD from the Ambient Collection [Virtual Cycle Rides: Spanish Pyrenees] brought back a lot of memories. As a young man, with absolutely zero biking experience, I pedaled from Malaga (sea level) to Madrid (2,200 above sea level), up and down 530 km of mountain ranges. What an experience. And what an experience this DVD offers!

You have a choice of three distinct journeys to pep up your cycling workout, each ride lasting about 20 minutes—or you can loop them for a continuous ride.

Ride One: the pace is leisurely, under a bright blue sky, on an old traffic-less road that goes on forever. You can actually see the road disappear into the horizon, which gives you the feeling of an endless bike ride. The scenery is spectacular; the route is varied [Up and Down], so you won’t be bored; you can race downhill with the wind in your hair, or plod up the endless climbs, as the weather changes before your eyes.

Ride Two: is a little more edgy. The pace is faster; the landscape more dangerous. A guard rail is all that separates you from a thousand foot drop. How did they ever build this road, which seems to have been cut out of the mountain side? You pass through an ancient town that seems hewn out of the same rock as the mountain. Another town appears at the top of your climb, at the end of the ride, signaling that it’s time for a glass of Spanish vino.

Ride Three: is a little more mysterious, you ride down into a valley of shadow, formed by trees and steep canyon walls—and into the black hole of a tunnel somehow bored through the rock. You get a deep, deep, canyon-all-around-you feeling as you eventually work your way into the sun. But now rain clouds threaten, and the pace picks up as if you are looking for shelter. At the end of the ride, you reach another ancient town—and you feel as if you’ve been on a real journey.

What a great way to spice up your gym cycling!