After giving hard and long thought on how best to describe Catalonia, we've decided it's the planet's version of Grestest Hits anthology album. Nothing about this magical region makes you want to skip or fast forward. Every town, every landscape, and every ancient structure is a bonafide hit.

In fact, we're so impressed with its unlimited riding appeal that we're starting to think as Catalonia is not just a name but an acronym for Cyclists Are Touring A Landscape Of Notably Incredible Attractions.

It's a region, tucked in Spain's northeast corner, full of diverse terrain, making it the closest thing you'll ever experience on a bike tour to geographic schizophrenia. In less than two hours you can be standing atop a craggy snow-dusted peak in the Pyrenees Mountains and then be swimming in a secluded, sun-flooded cove along Calalonia's famed Mediterranean coast. In between, stretched over rolling plains, are vineyards and olive orchards dotted with rural villages steeped with Medieval history.

Or, even, Catalonia can also be an acronym for Culturally Appealing Terrain Attracts Lots Of Names Including Armstrong. He thought so much about Catalonia that he made Girona his home while racing in Europe. And since then, it has become the favored training ground for the world's greatest cyclists. For not only does Catalonia offer diverse terrain, but also diverse culture. Nearby Barcelona's Gothic Quarter features many architectural wonders listed as World Heritage Sites. The Montserrat Monastery, perched atop a pinnacle of rock at 2,380 feet, is the alleged location where the Holdy Grail was first discovered. And Figueres, the birth place of Salvado Dali, honors his artistic legacy with the Teatre-Museu-Dali.

Regardless of Catalonia is an acronym of not, all it takes is one visit to understand why it's become the number one hit on the bicycling circuit today.