Better now than later

Final preparations for the trip.....

While cleaning my back wheel, I found a worrying crack in the freehub.  It might last a while before failing completely, but I'm not going to take the chance.

So I spent this morning hunting around London looking for a decent wheel that would suit 'the larger rider', before handing my bike to the guys at 'on your bike' to be taken to Corsica.

Meanwhile, jo's cousin Alistair has been cycling from Lands End to John o Groats.  64 hours in, and they have reached Brora - about 50 miles short.  He should finish in about 66 hours - which is an awesome achievement.  I know which feat is harder, and it's not my French trip!

Extreme Weight Loss....

One kind sponsor has promised so-much per pound weight lost between Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the end of the Tour de Force.  But I think neither he nor I intended it to go to such extremes..

I was in Alderney harbour at the weekend, on our boat, having sailed over there for the weekend.  Just prior to going ashore, I checked the mooring and saw it had jumped out of the roller and was chaffing.  I tried to haul it back, but just as I lifted the rope, the boat was lifted by a wave bringing the rope hard down on the steel  edge of the anchor roller.  Unfortunately, my left middle finger was caught under the rope and the last inch or so was avulsed (look it up!).

A trip to Alderney hospital confirmed it had taken 1/2 the last finger bone, and needed to be tidied up properly to heal.  We searched the front of the boat, but the tip was probably in the sea.  A few alternatives were suggested, but in the end it was better to sail back overnight (Nelson style) and then get it dealt with in the UK.  It's now been cleaned, 'debrided' and dressed, and the healing process can begin.

This is the finger now now.  I have picture of the finger just after the accident, but it's really too gruesome to post here.  Let me know if you really want to see...

Getting Closer...

It's not very long now until I head to Corsica to start Le Tour.  5 and a bit weeks.  On the cycling front, I feel fairly well prepared.  I've felt fine at the end of the long rides I've done, and am going quicker than I have for a few years - provided that I eat enough!  I am probably asking for trouble by saying that.  I think the problems (and there will be many....) will be more related to the following:
- General wear-and-tear on the bike and body
- No recovery time so minor niggles can't heal.
- Weariness not just from the cycling but the coach travel, new hotels having to sort out food, washing, bike issues etc.
-  Making sure that I stay upright on the bike and don't hit anything.

I've looked in detail at the schedule, and I'm thinking of the event in 4 sections:
- 3 day warm-up in Corsica - heat will be a real issue here
-  5 days across the south of France ending with the Pyrenees
-  6 days of La France Profonde going almost directly from Brittany to Provence
-  6 days of Alps and the end.
In other words, 4 nice cycling holidays strung into 1!

I'm sure there will be many moments of exhaustion, pain and despair - but at the moment the one I'm dreading the most is the long day to Mont Ventoux.  I've been on Ventoux twice and the mountain leads 1 1/2: 1/2 on points at the moment.  On both those occasions, it came after about 80-90 miles cycling.  This time, however, it comes after about 120 miles of riding.

I met Rick Wates last week to try to persuade him that WWMT should support Chiltern Lighthouse - the charity of which I'm a trustee.  No definite answer yet.  I'm ramping up the fund-raising effort at the moment, so if you are thinking of supporting me - please do it now!

Getting Out there

Finally winter has ended and conditions have improved for riding.  For the 1st time this year, I ventured out on my bike wearing shorts as opposed to  long tights.  Oddly enough, it seems to make me go much faster, and I was substantially quicker on my standard 2 hour ride.  Any idea why shorts make you go quicker?  Anybody else notice this?

The wonders of GPS and the Internet have combined to produce Strava, allowing one to get competitive against people who you've never met, will probably never meet and who have no interest in me or how fast I cycle.  Is this a good thing?  It certainly allows me to obsess about a multitude of details about otherwise unremarkable rides.  Why, for instance, was I slower up Kop hill yesterday than the day before?  Is having a pulse of 160 for 20 minutes a good thing?  The trends on Strava are clear however - on very gentle, non-technical pieces of road, I am quite good!  However, as soon as the gradients get steeper, gravity takes its toll, and I slip down the rankings.  'Twas ever thus.

A winter of doing ergos has left aerobically fairly fit - with my 1hour erg score about the same as 5 years ago.  From now on, I think the training should focus on time on the bike - trying to get used to the hours in the saddle.  I reckon there will be many problems on the 3500km around France - but few will be related to lack of top-end speed!

Liege- Bastogne-Liege

I've just returned from a weekend in Belgium participating in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege sportive.  Most sportives in the UK top out at just about 100 mile mark, but this was over 170 miles, lots of climbing and most of the hills in the last 1/3 or the race - so a very good test of preparation for the Tour De Force.

The day started clear and cold.  A strong northerly wind blew and it was about 3degC when we rolled out at 7:00am.  The route meandered through the grim industrial outskirts of Liege before we eventually reached 'Km 0' - where the official 'race' begins after 12 miles or so.  From there the route climbed out of the town and into the lovely Ardennes countryside.  There were some good groups for the first 60 miles and I made good speed powered by the Jo's chocolate flapjack and the tailwind.

At Bastogne, the route turned sharply into the wind, and for the next 45 miles it was vital to get into a good group to counter-act the effects of the wind.  A couple of times I was dropped by a few yards and had to strain to get back into the group.  Had I not done so, I would have lots chunks of time.  The supply of chocolate flapjack failed at this point, and there was rather an unpleasant period when the major climbs started and I felt very under-nourished.  I was crawling up some of the hills, whilst others seemed to be flying.  However, I generally was able to use my superior size to maintain speed on the downhill sections.

The picture shows me at the top of 'La Redoubte' - perhaps the most famous climb on the route.  The bottom section was lined with camper-vans waiting for the main event the following day, but there were few supporters nearer the top.  I was going very slowly at this point!

At the last couple of feed stops I forced down a number of unpleasant energy bars, and that allowed me to finish in better form that I had feared with 50 miles to go.  In the end, I took 11 hours 25 mins to do 172 miles - about 4 hours 45 mins behind the pros,  but then they didn't have to go so far......

Spring is Here

We've just returned from Devon, where the weather went overnight from the cold easterlies caused by the blocking high over northern Europe to warm southerlies, driven by a deep low west of Ireland.  The result is not only  a lovely increase in temperature but a change in the pacing on my standard ride.  Yesterday I was 5 minutes quicker on the 1st hour, and 7 minutes slower on the 2nd hour, into the wind.  For those who care, or haven't got anything better to do, you can see my training on Strava.

I'm now starting to fund-raise in earnest, so if you would like to support my attempt to ride the route of the Tour De France, please donate here

In a few days, we'll be off to do the Liege-Baston-Liege sportive.  160 miles of rolling Belgian countryside.  That will be the first proper test of the winter's training.

Easter Cancelled

I had planned - and trained - to do the Devizes to Westminster canoe race over Easter.  This is a 125 miles race along the Kennet & Avon canal and then the River Thames.  Run non-stop (at least in the event I entered), it starts on Easter Saturday morning and should take about 24 hours to reach the Westminster Bridge.  

Unfortunately Matt, my paddling partner, has come down with a horrible bug that has filled his lungs with green slime and he is struggling to do any strenuous physical activity - 24 hours paddling in freezing conditions definately qualifies as strenuous In addition, the Thames is running very fast (have a look here - the numbers are cubic metres (i.e.tons) of water per second) , with red boards on all the locks indicating strong stream - and potentially dangerous conditions. So, we have pulled out of this weekend's race.  It's a big disappointment, but we get to fight another day (or year).  Matt and I will go and give them a hand on Saturday night as the crews go through some of the swirliest bits of the Thames.

With no more kayaking obligations for a while, I can concentrate on cycling, and preparing for the Tour De Force - starting in less then 3 months.  Cycling has been limited by the weather and kayaking, but I'm still a fair bit fitter than I have been for a number of years.  

Fund-Raising

The Tour de Force is being organised by the William Wates Memorial Trust.  It funds charity projects in London & the South-East helping disadvantaged youngsters.  It particularly relevant to me as trustee of Chiltern Lighthouse Mentoring.  We have 25 mentors helping young people across Buckinghamshre, and we really need some funds to retain our Programme Co-ordinator - who keeps the whole thing running smoothly.