The Adventures of Tintin

It was an even earlier start than normal. The bus left at 5:30 for the 6 hour drive from Annecy to Rambouillet. Nobody felt like riding anywhere, and Paul looked liked everybody felt with the 1000 yard stare of the returning veteran. The final stage did not follow the tour route at all. 10 laps of the Champs Élysées is rarely feasible, and on Bastille Day afternoon it's barely possible to walk it once. So it was a 'representation' of the route, starting at a Goat Farm outside Rambouillet, going via Versailles and then finishing in front of the Eiffel Tower. About 20 supporters - including James - joined with us for the run in to Paris. The early start and ong bus ride was soon forgtten, and the mood was celebratory and frivolous with champagne bottles popping as we rode along. We still had to cover the 60km, so the pace wasn't slow - but James could keep up, which he enjoyed. At Versailles , we met Jo, Lizzie and Bridget. It was lovely to see them, and there

Stage 20 - The last 'proper' stage of the Tour.  None of us can quite believe that we're here now.  Corsica seems an age ago - yet the time has flashed by The morning came too early.  A late finish after a really long day yesterday had left everybody tired and focusing on getting through today.  That's a bit of shame really because it was a short and beautiful stage and should be enjoyed for itself. Starting by the church as the sun rose over Annecy reminded us all what we'll miss next week when reality returns After 4Km by the lake, the climbs start.  This route was chosen by the organisers for this year's 'etape' - this mass participation ride.   They don't choose easy stages - even though this was by some margin the shortest of the tour. Climb and descent, climb and descent.  Repeat until told to stop.  The ascent of Le Revard, I found very tough.  It was hot and long - although not particularly steep.  However, the lack of markers to t

Today was a   l o n g  day. However, I should mention that yesterday evening I was awarded the 'chapeau' - given each evening to somebody who the previous recipient thinks deserves it.  I'm not really sure what I did to merit the award - I think it was probably mainly due to cheerfully being overtaken 5 or so times per day by the same people! The day started with a long traverse contouring around from Huez, and then down to the start of the Col du Glandon -avoiding the busy valley road.  The Glandon is a lovely climb - a bit frustrating because it has quite a lot of descent in the middle - but the moutainscape is awe-inspiring I actually felt fresher than I look at this point A long descent led straight into the Col de La Madeleine.  21 km at 8% with virtually no let up.  Just grind away, waving cheerfully to the faster people as they pass! From there, it was tempting to think that the bulk of the work was done, but there were still many km and m to do

This stage was definitely one of the highlights of the tour route when it was announced last year.  Alpe d'Huez not once but twice in a day.  Obviously, they thought you can't have too much of good thing!  However, that wasn't the only climbing today, with several other chunky climbs. I was joined by James Heath today, who although not part of the Tour de Force, had been given dispensation to join us for the day.  He gallantly rode alongside me the whole way, even though he could have done it much quicker (he missed out the first climb out of Gap - that must be why he had so much in reserve!). At the start of the day, we were in mist for quite a while - following the N85 north in the valley.  As we turned east towards the Col d'Ornon the sun broke through, and its was a lovely quiet climb up the valley, surrounded by steep-sided mountains, with some patches of snow still hanging around at fairly low altitudes.  The descent was beautiful - see below Arriving at

Today was a short time trial stage through the hills on the edge of the alps.  At 32km, it'll probably take the pros less than an hour.  It took me considerably longer, but then I did stop for photos. The stage consisted of 2 cat 2 climbs and their descents.  The climbs gave wonderful views over the lake and the 2 descents was lovely and fast (the 1st was too twisty to go fast) Sarah had prepared a treat for lunch.  I'm not sure where Nutella pies feature in a balanced diet - but they taste good! I should write a bit about the organisation behind this trip.  I think I'm probably a pretty harsh critic of poorly organised events, but the organisation and logistics behind this enterprise are nothing short of brilliant.  Sarah (Perry) is the mastermind behind it all and has been supported by a team of masseurs, mechanics, physios and drivers).  She has arranged everything from the hotels, to the catering (e.g early breakfasts, getting the hotel kitchens to cook buckets

After a relaxing rest day yesterday, it was back to the routine today.  A lovely stage going from Provence into the High Alps.  Great scenery throughout.  Although the real tour route will start from Vaison La Romaine, a few miles north of My Ventoux, we started from our hotel in Bedoin and round the shoulder of the mountain to join the route after a few miles giving ourselves some more 'bonus' miles.  There were some fine views back to Ventoux before we moved out of Provence and into the Alps. Although surrounded by steep mountains, the road picked a gentle gradient down and then back up over 40 miles before arriving in Gap. From Gap, there was an entirely unnecessary loop up the Col de Manse and back into town.  I rode with the lead group for much of the afternoon, before getting dumped on the final climb.  However, that did allow me to get in before the rain started - and it really is coming down in sheets.  Lots of thunder and lightning filling the whole valley.  The

Apologies for the late posting of this.  Yesterday was a long day and I knew we could relax on the only proper rest day of the tour today. Regular readers will know that Stage 15 was 'the big one'.  242 km finishing with Mt Ventoux.  The last time the Tour de France had stage this long finishing with Mt Ventoux, Tommy Simpson died 2km from the summit from a potent mixture of over-exertion, over-heating, amphetamines and cognac. It was another brutally early start.  Breakfast at 5:30am, bus left at 6:00 and we were on the road by 7:00am. 7:00am in Givers  We knew from the outset that it would be scorching hot day, so the initial 130 miles was all about  pacing - regular drinking and eating and not pushing too hard on the hills.  The terrain was beautiful and rolling - lots of lavender fields, vineyards and olive groves - it felt a thousand miles from the damp, grey of St Malo only a few days ago (in fact it's not much more than 650 miles).  The mountains to our l

Today is all about preservation and preparation.  120 miles with 7500ft of climbing in temperatures that touched  and the aim is to finish in better condition than when I started to give me the best chance to finish tomorrow's monster stage in good shape. An early start today with an hour's transfer from one rather anonymous bit of central France to another.  As you can see from the photo, all the riders were eagerly enjoying the scenery  At the start, the fields were covered in mist, and it was bit chilly.  I started alone, but was soon joined by 'L'autobus ecosse' - the well-drilled group of Scottish riders.  I was honoured to be allowed to lead them for 15km to the first feedstop. Then rolling terrain makes it tricky to find a group going at my speed, so I did much of the day alone - losing time on the climbs and making up some of on the flats, descents and feedstops.  Lunch was at the highest point - some 2500ft up.  The temperature started to climb so it

Through The Corn Belt The stage today was another day of long straight roads.  It was shorter - at 176km, and the sun was shining so the general mood in the peloton was lightened compared to yesterday.  We're 2 weeks into a 3 week event and yet have a lot more than a week to go - which doesn't seem to add up somehow.  I was in a group of 3-5 people for most of the day; I think a larger group is more efficient (less time at the front).  Nevertheless, we were finished by 2:30pm giving plenty of time for a snooze and even a swim before an early supper. As an aside, I should mention the story of Adrian - who is riding with us and also posting videos on Youtube about the ride (somewhere - can't find them at the moment).  When on holiday in the Channel Islands aged 9 some 34 years ago, he put a message in a bottle and threw it in the sea.  Some time later, he received a reply from a 9 year old french girl, Emmanuelle who had found the bottle on the beach and replied to

The Long and (not) Winding Road This year's Tour De France has many beautiful and wonderful stages meandering through fantastic scenery.  And this one. At 134 miles, it was a long stage and despite the lack of classified climbs, it undulated up and down 5,500 feet over its length - but it was the straightness of the road that was amazing - disappearing 5, 10km into the distance.  I think everybody found it a trial and was glad to arrive. The road goes south-east I was in a quite a large group for most of the day - the second group on the road.  It consisted of several people who should be in such a group (such as me - provided it was a flat day), plus quite a number of the fastest riders who just couldn't be bothered to ride hard today. From Left to right (click the picture to enlarge):  Slyvain, Jamie, Elton, John, Doc Col, Gareth, Matt, Tim, Paul, Simon, Larry, Chris, Phil, Sean, me and Luke. Incidentally I gave a brief talk to everybody last night about Chi

The weather today is definitely more British than it was down in Provence and the Pyrenees.  Cold with rain squalls blowing in from the west meant that that 20 mile time trial was more of a trial than it needed to be.  The ride itself was fairly uneventful - much like cycling into a strong wet westerly in Devon. We started early, with some people deciding to race to get a good time while others grouped together to get round efficiently.  A few started off fast and then decided than racing into the wind and rain was too much like hard work. Just finished the time trial. After the ride, we all retired to the cafe for a hot drink and a criossant or 3 before heading to Fougeres, where we're holed-up in a motel at the edge of town. Strava link  here

The tour felt different today.  After a day off and a night at a very plush Chateaux, we had recovered from the hardships of the Pyrenees and felt ready to face the next week.  The focus of this stage and the next 4 is to get to base of Mont Ventoux on Sunday afternoon in a good enough condition to get up it without problem. Today we split in about 5 groups and spent the day working together.  This was sometimes 2 abreast with the leader dropping back after a couple of minutes; on the busier roads we went single file, with a minute at the front and when it was safe we did 'through-and-off', riding in 2 columns with the fast column moving up one side to the front, then slowing and drifting back past until you join the back of the fast column again.  We got it working very well, keeping quite a speed without significant effort - but it requires concentration and clear roads, so 15 minutes max. The banter in our group, 'Group 4', was fast and fun - although it diminish