Is paella, perhaps, good ride food? It’s made up of rice (carbs); some kind of meat or seafood (protein); and veggies. But I never knew that this dish is named after the shallow pan in which it’s traditionally cooked!

Along with the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, Vuleta a Espana is one of the three Grand Tour bicycle races. It began more recently, in 1935; and was inspired by the TdF and the Giro. It, too, is three weeks long.

The race is held in August-September. I suppose that’s to give riders who participated in the Tour de France a chance to recover, just as the TdF doesn’t begin immediately after the May-June Giro.

Even so, that sounds like a grueling schedule. Three weeks of riding all around Italy; three more weeks of pedaling around France; then three weeks of pushing the pedals around Spain. There are intervals of about one month between one event and the next. Even so, the riders must recover from one race; build up to the next; and taper leading up to starting day.

During the Vuelta, do the riders have paella, perhaps, for supper? Especially a variation including mussels. The mussels might help their muscles!