Wednesday, November 28, 2007

My Year in Performance Management Retrospect


With the benefit of hindsight I produced a performance chart for my 2007 season as above. And it makes sense, at least the blue CTL line maps well onto my 3 key events.
The yellow TSB line is a bit less meaningful. I remember feeling great at the start of the Wessex so adjusted the starting value to 100 which made it postive around then.
Will pay this some more attention this year and see how it all pans out...

Getting to grips with power based training

It being the start of a new training season and my first with a Powertap, I thought it worth doing a bit of background reading.

Some excellent resources can be found here:
WKO 411

including a pretty difinitive introduction to the subject by Andrew Coggan
Coggan Power Intro

and Joe Friel's guide including power based drills is here
Friel Power Guide

As part of this I discovered a feature of WKO that I had not spotted before, the Performance manager. An explanation for this can be found here

Performance Manager

The terms used are a little complicated and, I think, slightly misleading.

Basically:
CTL = Chronic Training Load = Long Term Load: Default = 42 days
ATL = Acute Training Load = Recent Training Load: Default = 14 days

TSB = Training Stress Balance and links CTL+ATL. A positive number should mean being fresh and ready for action, a negative should mean being less so.

There are some examples included in the last link that explain how these interrelate.



The one above gives most easiest image to comprehend.

The line to focus on is the blue "CTL" line. You can see how it gradually builds through the season leading up to a peak that coincides with the riders main season target.

It will increase through the pink "ATL" lines gradually increasing in amplitude (reflecting the fact that training load is gradually increasing week by week).

The yellow TSB line is negative throughout this time then just before the target event shifts to go positive.

Overall this all seems to make a lot of sense and I will start using it this year to see how it helps addess one key question of how to best plan training to balance increasing load to increase performance without risking overtraining.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Wednesday 7th June Mauleon>Lurbe St Christu My first Hors Categorie

Distance 80
Time 4:12
Climb 1554
Cols Soudet
Weather Very Hot (still)





I had a good nights sleep but woke with butterflies in my stomach. Today was going to be a special day, my first ever climb up a "HC" mountain. HC = Hors Categorie which refers to the Tour de France classification of climbs.

Wiki: The French term primarily used in French races (most notably, the Tour de France) to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization", an incredibly tough climb. Most climbs are designated from Category 1 (hardest) to Category 4 (easiest), based on both steepness and length. A climb that is harder than Category 1 is designated as "hors catégorie".

I was planning to go in the deep end. I had never done a climb of Category 2 let alone a 1 and here I was planning to do one so hard it could not be categorised. The climb in question was the Soudet. Overall it climbs for 30km up 1300m which is beyond anything in the UK. Harder still is that the further you go the steeper it gets, the second 15km go up over 1000m at an average gradient of over 7%.

My nervous stomach meant me only having a small breakfast as I was eager to set off. The weather was hot again, but there was plenty of shade. Finding the route to the Soudet was easy and after an hour or so I saw the first sign on the climb proper.

As I made the first turning up the mountain I looked down and saw a couple of fit looking, shaven headed guys get some bikes out of a car. This was a bit worrying, I was not sure if I was going to make it to the top or what state I was going to be in. I remembered the embarassment when starting cycling of having to get off and push. If my attempt ended this way then I would prefer to keep the humiliation to myself.

This gave me a bit of a spur and I kicked on. True to the profile the first few km are not too bad but things get tougher after passing through St Embrace. They were even tougher for me as I took a wrong turning up a near vertical street, only to find it was a dead end and I had to retrace my steps.

I carried on and the going got harder. The signs by the side of the road counted down the kms to go but the gradients started to get steeper with 8s and 9s appearing. To add to the difficulty the road was being resurfaced. This was something I was going to have to get used to, roads all along my route were being repaired in advance of the tour. This meant that often my back wheel would spin on the newly laid gravel and at times I felt more as if I was mountain biking.

Still I pushed on and saw my first 10% km sign. Then 11%! This is an average over the next km. Now this is tough. In the UK people talk out 25% and 30% hills but the reality is that this only refers to the steepest section of the climb. For example I climbed the Devils Staircase in Wales during training and that had warning signs of 25% and bits of it were. But at the end of the day it was a 1km climb averaging at 11.5% and once done the climb is over. Now I was doing pretty much the same after several km of climbing and several more to go.

I engaged low gear and pushed on. At the end of the km the next sign came up with me praying it would not be another double digit gradient. My prayers were answered, a mere 8%. Then I discovered why people say the Pyrenees are tougher than the Alps, a statement I was to agree with by the end of my tour. Climbing is fundamentally about establishing a rhythm, keeping pedals turning and breathing going on a steady pace. In the Alps the climbs are longer than the Pyrenees but tend to be smoother with less changes of gradient. This makes establishing a rhythm not too difficult. While in the Pyrenees you get things like was just about to happen to me. Just after celebrating the fact that after 11%, 8% was going to mean a bit of a rest the road suddenly went downhill for a bit. This was double bad news, first it meant my rhythm went. Second it meant that the bit after the downhill meant regaining my lost height then adding more. I reckon it was more like 16% then 8% and nearly did for me.

But in fact this was the toughest bit and once over I knew I would make it to the top. The final couple of km was a long drag and I finally left the cover of the trees. At last I made it to the top. I was tired but not dead and full of elation. My first HC, done without stopping. To add to the achievement there was no sign of the bald headed blokes I saw at the start.

I phoned Mrs Miff to give her the good news and took time to savour my triumph and take in the view. Sadly the latter was not much to write home about, the top of the Soudet is pretty nondescript and sadly lacking in sources of refreshment.

So after a while I headed downhill. Fast. Very fast. Faster than I have ever gone in my life. My speedo was registering in the mid 80s kmh and I was having a great time. It was lunchtime and the road workers were heading for the valley and a bite to eat. This meant descending was a bit easier as I followed one of them down.

Descending HC mountains is as much of an experience as climbing them. Nothing in the UK can prepare you for the amount of time you spend shooting downhill which can get tiring both physically and mentally.

My first descent was nearly my last. As I headed round a corner I suddenly found the road had disappeared. The top layer of tarmac had been removed leaving just a layer of hardcore. I didnt have time to think which was probably a good thing. I just shot over a 6 inch drop and carried on over the hard core every bone in my body and bit of my bike shuddering. Somehow I managed to jump my bike up and over back onto the road.

I went downhill a bit more slowly after that, figuring if I was a cat I might be down to 8 lives.

After what seemed an age I finally got to the bottom of the Soudet. I stopped by a tabac and at last the June edition of Velo was out. This had the full tour route details so at last I could be sure I was following the real thing.

Then I looked for a hotel. My first choice was a posh one but this was already full of cyclists (in fact there was a moment of confusion as when I pulled up the receptionist assumed I was with this group and started showing me to my room).

So I cycled a bit more of my route and came across another hotel in Lurbe St Christau. This looked a bit dilapidated and I was one of only a handful of guests. But appearances can be deceptive. The guy running the hotel was very laid back and welcoming and it had a swimming pool by which I lounged and drank several beers. The for evening meal I ordered pizza, which was excellent, piled high with fresh ingredients.

My first HC and I felt grand. Ready for the challenge of tomorrow and yet more climbing.

LEL 2009 - 50 up target

I am a great believer in serendipity. That's what kicked off my TDF in the first place and has now led me to a new challenge. Right now I am doing some forward planning for 2008. In the back of my mind when doing this is the fact that this year, while being fun, did not have quite the same challenge as 2006, in that I never started something I would not be able to finish.

My 2008 plan aims to sort that a bit but mainly through the quantity/quality of the events I will be doing so my challenge is a relative one of time, rather than an absolute one of whether I will finish or not. So my main target for the year is the Marmotte in less than 7:30, which will be hard but covering known ground unlike my 2006 tour.

I am happy I decided to read the Audax UK winter magazine. I joined Audax mainly to save some hassle getting medical certificates for some of the events I was doing. However looking at the rides they planned I had already decided to do a few this coming year as part of my training.

When you join Audax you receive a quaterly magazine full of sterling tales of riders and pictures of cold feet. I don't usually read it but on return from work yesterday I decided to scan it over tea, mainly to read about the Paris-Brest-Paris, an epic 1200km event, with a history dating back to the dawn of cycling. Most of the magazine was given over to accounts of the event ranging from heroic to inspiring to downright boring. Overall I was reconfirmed in my intent to give this a go at some time in the future. However since the event only runs every 4 years the earliest I could do this would be 2011.

Then a notice in the magazine caught my eye. London-Edinburgh-London 2009, a challenge to cycle between said towns the year after next. That means cycling 1400km in 93.4(? why .4: ask the organisers?) hours, so even more than PBP. I was attracted by the coincidence of me happening on this while musing about future challenges, coupled with the fact that earlier this year Mrs Miff and I spent a week in Edinburgh, thoroughly enjoying the place. However the main coincidence is that in 2009 I will have turned 50. So aiming for the LEL 2009 (as I will now call it) feels like a suitable landmark challenge, a challenge I will be assisted in achieving if things go according to plan and I leave the ratrace come 50.

So today I have printed out the entry form and am just about to send it off along with various bits of bumf.

One wierd thing. Entry includes a number of benefits including bag drops, energy bars and a free water bottle. But also 2 pairs of ear plugs?? Guess these are needed to help you sleep but given you will be cycling 20 hours a day or so then not sure there will be much of a problem sleeping when chance arises. From all I have heard main sleep issue is doing it while cycling.

Anyway I have a new challenge...watch this space.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Tuesday 6th June Dax>Mauleon Over the first (little) Pyrenee

Distance 135
Time 6:35
Climb 1864
Cols Osquich
Weather Very hot





Exhausted by my long ride I had a very good nights sleep. I awoke and breakfasted. I was, by a comfortable margin, the youngest person in the hotel. Dax is famous for its "cures", a popular continental experience that involves spending time drinking or bathing in smelly water. Despite my fatigue I did not particularly relish trying this out so I set off, somewhat excited as today was going to be the day I did my first "big" hill in the Pyrenees.

It took me a while to escape from Dax but once I did I made good progress until I tried taking a short cut. I should have known better as a rule of mine is that short cuts make for long journies but I ignored at my peril. My map showed a route that meant cutting off a section of road by going up hill. The hill was steep and at the to came to a crossroads. This wasn't on the map so I followed Sigrists law of being lost: (If lost and at a crossroads take the uphill route as if you are wrong you wont feel too bad). So I headed uphill and hit a farm with a loose mad, albeit small, dog. This chased me and I sprinted to the summit then hurtled down the other side. This bought me to:
  • Another farm
  • A dead end
  • Another dog on the loose, this time very big.

The latter did not chase me. It simply eyed me up and down as if deciding which bit would taste best. With as much dignity as possible I did a u turn and sprinted back up hill before it could make up its mind. Exhausted I reached the top of the hill. And the farm. And the mad loose dog. That chased me again over the other side. I hammered as fast as I could and shot back down and through the crossroads.

After a while I stopped. Completely lost. Thanks to my compass I knew which direction I was travelling in but not which of the roads that made a maze on my map. I carried on, hoping to find some habitation, free of dogs, that would get me back on track.

Eventually I came to a stone masons. Several chaps were hard at work inside but they stopped to show me the correct route. This got me to a village where I managed to sneak into an Intermarche 2 minutes before closing to grab a bite of lunch.

It was getting increasingly hot as I pedalled on. To add to my woes my gear changing was becoming tricky as it seemed to be getting difficult to get the chain to stick to one cog on my rear cassette. Eventually the chain came off . Putting it back on I got a rude surprise. It seemed to be coming to pieces. A number of the little pins that hold the links together where loose and poking out. I guess this was the consequence of all the km plus the rain in Belgium.

Fortunately I had stopped just in front of a petrol station. So I was able to carry out a messy bodge by using my multi-tools chain tool to poke the pins back in then buy some oils and cleaning rags for the bike and my hands.

I carried on, negotiating my way through a few rue barres until eventually I took a turn leading to the col Osquich. This is a diddy col, a 3rd cat 500m pimple. However it was my first official col of the tour and I approached it with some trepidation, the more so as it was getting very hot.

There were helpful signs at the side of the road telling me distance covered and % gradient to come and I counted these down until I reached the summit. There was a restaurant there and I stopped for a beer and to take in the view, basking in the sun and the glory of making the climb.

After a while I continued to Mauleon. I had booked into a hotel in the centre of the village. The hotel was great, very old and feeling like a castle. Dinner was had in an open courtyard at the centre of the hotel and I ate and drank like a lord, looking forward (and with some fear) to the next day when I would be climbing a real mountain for the first time in my life.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Tour of the Black Mountains 2007

Map here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Tour-of-the-Black-Mountains-2007

The course:




Had a thoroughly hard but also enjoyable weekend. Did what I expect to be my final sportive of the year and it turned out to be the best.

The event was the "Tour of the Black Mountains", starting from Abergevenny and heading north then east of Brecon, then south and a series of climbs past a number of reservoirs to return to base.

The course (set by the same guys that do the Wessex) looked a bit of a challenge. 115 miles, a big old hill just after the start, then a long stretch on rolling A road, then lots of hills. Then right at the end another long climb.

In the couple of weeks beforehand I was dreading the weekend. The weather was truly awful and the prospect of riding all day in the wet welsh mountains held little appeal. However the closer the day came the better the forecast. In the end it turned out perfect. Dead lucky, second long ride in Wales of the year and both blessed with great weather.

I stayed overnight at the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny:

http://www.angelhotelabergavenny.com/

Once again I struck lucky, another great independent hotel with superb food. Learning from the Wessex I kept things simple, just ordering some penne. But even this simple dish was great.

Due to it being so popular I had to eat in the lounge and as a result had an interesting encounter with a local chap, with who I spent a happy half hour hearing a bit about the local history and looking at some really very good photos of steam trains taken in the area.

Prior to checking in I had checked out the ride doing a 70k circle round the start/end. Glad I did because the last 1km of the first climb was very steep which was good to know. Also the run into the finish included a couple of nasty little steep bits.

Only problem with this reco ride was that it did mean going to bed a wee bit more tired than I had hoped.

Woke on time, ate some Frosties (fortunately breakfast was not served until 8 so I did not have the tricky decision of whether to miss what I am sure would be a great "full" in search of cycling prowess). I donned my "Swiss" top for its first real outing, reasoning that having to ride for my country may spur me on to greater heights...

Very short drive to the event so I arrived, unaturally for me, early with plenty of time for last minute fettling. My cunning plan was to go off right on the dot at 8.00. This was the time set for those expecting to go under 6 hours. Not that I expected for a minute to do this time. But if I set off with this group and stayed with them up the long first climb, this would be the perfect group to stick with along the A road. Worst case and I fell behind I could join the next group along, who would probably be riding around my normal pace in any case.

Best laid plans...when I rolled up to the start at 7.55 a lot of riders had already set off. And I could tell from a short look round those with me that they were not the stuff sub 6 hour times are made of. I cursed a bit and assumed I had missed the first quick group. So I hurtled off, plan now being to catch them. Or if not to find riders going at similar pace during the climb and stick with them. This meant first 15km or so were a bit frenetic. I was catching and overtaking groups all over the place. Finally just before the end of the climb I settled into a group that seemed to be moving quite quickly. The presence of a motorbike just ahead seemed to indicate this was the lead group. Happily I had no problem sticking with them on the steep section but then just as I was relaxing a bit my pedals stopped turning. I looked down and realised my chain had come off....so I stopped, fixed it and restarted ASAP then hurtled at breakneck speed down the hill to rejoin the group I was with.

I made it, albeit with a bit of effort (on the first 2k of the descent I averaged over 200W with several 500-600W spikes after).

Still at the bottom of the climb I was pretty much back on plan. Or so I thought until I reached down to get a drink. My hand came up empty and on looking down I found I had lost one of my two sports drinks bottles. I guessed it must have become dislodged in my frenetic descent. This was pretty bad news because

  • Sunny weather is great for riding but it tends to make you thirsty
  • The first drinks stop was only 15km away but exactly at the point where I most wanted to be in a group. Stopping for drink meant riding alone.
  • In an attempt to travel light (and being honest show of my Swiss top), I was not carrying my Camelback.

I had 500ml of drink to last 70km. Looking at my map I thought that the second drinks stop was going to be at the bottom of the second climb. So I stuck with the group when they skipped the frist stop and headed off down the A40 west of Brecon.

The group proved to be reasonably quick and we averaged 32kph on this stage. Not bad as the road is rolling with an uphill trend and the wind was blowing against us. Sadly, as often seems to be the case, it was not a very well organised group. One guy did about 50% of the work and I guess I along with a couple of others did the rest. 4-5 others just sat at the back (I guess they had the same plan as me....)

Come the end of the A40 the second climb started. The guy doing most of the work split from the front with another chap. I lost a bit of momentum on a turn and dropped from the back of the group. At first I was a bit distressed about this but happy to say I kept a cool head and got into a steady climbing rythm, being very conscious that I did not want to overcook myself going to hard. The climb was a relatively steady one of 5km at 4.5% and I motored along at 280W. Reassuringly the gap to the group steadied, then as the climb continued narrowed. Finally as the climb neared the summit I went through the group and actually finished on top with just the couple of others ahead. I could see one of them so I engaged 53x11 and set of in pursuit. This bit was fun, I did a 6k stretch at 48kph average (though an average power of 215W). I eventually caught the guy ahead. As we moved on to the third climb I thought I would be pretty sure to be able to stick with a group to the next drinks stop.

However my maths was slightly out and I found we were climbing again with no drinks stop in sight. Climb 3 came in 2 halves. During the first half I was getting thirstier and thirstier and when it kicked in again I had to take it a bit easy. (Part 1 was 272W, part 2 234W). When I got to the top and found still no drinks I realised I would have to throttle back. I let the group go on and motored along at a more steady pace, doing climb 4 at 244W.

When I got to the drinks stop at the top I had to take several minutes to drink as much as I could and find out that unfortunately there were no spare bidons.

When I set off from climb 4 I was alone and spent most of the rest of the ride catching/being caught by various groups. I was wary of running out of drink so kept things easy, climbing in the 240s rather than 260s up climbs 5 and 6. At the top of 6 a second very welcome drinks stop was made.

We then swooped down for a long section. So long in fact I thought that the profile was wrong as it promised a final climb. But then we headed off the main road and sure enough the final climb came. It turned out to be a cracker, very much like a mini Alp. My Powertap turned out to be very helpful, I set out to average 260W and as a result made it comfortably. I was joined by another rider and together we swooped down to the final run into the finish.

As I knew from yesterdays recce this had a couple of nasty little climbs, but knowledge gained helped a lot and got me and my fellow rider back to the finish where I was rewarded with a gold medal
Next years training plan is taking a bit more shape. On reflection I decided to give the Stryeproven a miss as the logistics of getting there/back will be a bit tricky and probably best left for another year when I have a bit more time.

So I have decided to focus on sportives and try to do at least a couple in France as well as UK.
My main events the moment the Wessex end May and Marmotte in July. Latter should be a bit of a blast as it reckoned to be one of the hardest sportives on the calendar.
For the Wessex I was planning a target of under 19 hours but latest info on the event shows its going to be shorter than this year. So I think I will aim for a target AVS of 30kph. This will be a bit of a tall order but may be doable. This year I managed 30.6 for day 1, though only 26.1 for day 3. (Day 2 was a washout due to wind and rain).

Setting a target for the Marmotte is a bit trickier. The event is 175km or so long and 4500m or so climbing. Looking over my rides this year I have done similar day rides and averaged 21kph which would give a time of 8:20. However in the excitement of doing a sportive I would expect to go a bit quicker than this, so will set a target of AVS 24kph and a target time of 7:30. It will be interesting to see how I end up doing.....(famous last words)

Thursday, November 08, 2007

My first MAP

Did my first MAP test a couple of nights ago. This is a test to exhaustion that you can use to set power training zones (see here for info: http://www.cyclecoach.com/pageID-articles-Power_Guidelines.htm)

My first MAP




The test involved me pedalling away on my turbo, gradually increasing power until I could pedal no more. I started at 150W and increased by 5W every 12 seconds until I faded at around 375W. Apart from the pedalling the hardest thing about the test was checking the watts I was meant to be doing vs what I actually was. I tended to go a bit over all the time so my MAP score was 382W (peak 1 minute). This is "good" according to the site for my 73kg weight. Its a bit under where I think I should be, partly because I have had a few weeks of taking things easy and partly due to me getting used to the mechanics of the test. Will be interesting to see how things go next time....

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Monday 5th June Montendre>Dax The Longest Day

Distance 238
Time 9:05
Climb 647
Weather Very hot






I wake earlyish still not sure of travel plans following the sad news of my Aunt's death. I want to go back to the UK for the funeral but this means less cycling days and needing to sort out logistics of how to get from/to the UK.

Over breakfast with the family I find out I was lucky to hit on their B&B as there is nothing much by way of accommodation quite a way south. I venture a thought that is going through my head, to cycle down to Dax today. They confirm its well over 200k and think its way to far. But I am not sure. Its flattish and the only way I can make it back to the UK and complete my tour is to get myself well ahead of schedule. This looks like a way to gain a day in one full stroke.

So I head off south. I keep up a very good pace averaging over 30kph for the first couple of hours. The going is fair but no easy since I am heading through some of the most famous vineyards in the worlds. I pass many a sign offering "degustation gratuit" in a cave but have to pass them all up. Quite apart from the need to press on I don't think I would be so welcome, a fly bespattered cyclist is not going to buy many bottles of grand cru.

My average speed drops, mainly due to the roads east of Bordeaux being a maze, meandering here and there with few signs. At one stage I get passed by another cyclist. I speed up a bit to get a tow, today I need all the help I can get.

Around midday I check my progress and think Dax is doable. I phone ahead to book a hotel. Shortly after I lose time by getting hopelessly lost in the vineyards, eventually finding my way with the help of a charming old couple.

One thing I had not factored into my plans was it being a bank holiday (Pentecost I believe). Watering holes were few and far between and the weather was getting very very hot. I was starting to get desperate when I passed by a bar that seemed open. As I stopped and entered a host of firemen/ladies left (not I am glad to say on business, they had been having some bash or other). I had some baguettes and lots of beer and pushed on.

South of Bordeaux is quite amazing. Its a vast regional park "Landes Gascogne" http://www.parc-landes-de-gascogne.fr/

Cycling through it is very strange. The going is dead easy, because it is completely flat. But also strangely hard because the roads are arrow straight through the middle of unending forest. So no matter how long you cycle you dont seem to be making any progress.

After a while the tedium is relieved when another cyclist flashes past. I put on a sprint and catch him. Turns out he is a triathlete who goes in for Iron man competitions, including those in mountains. He is super fit, out doing intervals. When he speeds up he leaves me for dead but recovers and lets me catch up. He is heading to Pissos (confusingly for the French pronounced piss-oss) where we split. He is heading for a swim in a nice cool lake, something I would appreciate rather than the mile upon mile of hot forest I have to get through.

Progress is rapid though and I head down through Morcenx to pick up the autoroute. Not planning to ride down it but a road runs parallel to it that makes navigation easy. However I also see a sign that says its 46km to Dax. Knowing I will be late at the hotel I phone ahead, they say fine but warn me that dinner stops being served at 9.00 which gives me just under two hours to cover the remaining distance. Should be easy but its been a long day.

Push hard and in fact make it with 30 mins to spare. Still I am the only guest in the dining room and the chef is anxious to finish. So I just order a melon and steak. I have certainly enjoyed my meal. 238km in a single day is more than any stage of this years tour and a PB by a comfortable margin for myself.

Only niggle is that my right toe is giving me real gip. I put it down (wrongly as it later turns out) to road vibration and me only wearing one sock. Needless to say I have little difficulty sleeping.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Sunday 4th June Rochefort>Montendre Good day sad night

Distance 150
Time 6:06
Climb 801
Weather Sunny







Fantastic breakfast. Quite the best of the whole trip despite the La Fayette being "only" a 2 star hotel. Fresh fruit salad, carpaccio ham, huge range of cereals, great fresh bread and croissants. Wonderful.
Leave Rochefort by the "pont transpondeur", a quite unique contraption that is a cross between a bridge and a cable car.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transporter_bridge


Perfect for cycles as takes minor roads out of Rochefort. Meet French/German couple who are also on cycling trip. German is pedalling a fixed gear bike along with trailer, looks hard work!
Wave goodbye to them but not for long as I confidently head for the area of France I know best after the Alsace I get lost and end up a dead end in some oyster beds. Return to point I got lost to see the couple again. Wave goodbye again and then think I have taken wrong direction into Marennes so again see them going in as I go out. Take bypass round Marennes to bridge in direction of Normoutier and guess what I see them again coming out of Marennes. Wave goodby for final time and head over to Ronce. Cycle down familar road along coast to La Palmayre/Royan.

This road brings back many happy memories of camping holidays past. There is a hill on hte road that I used to think was tough. It goes up about 30m at 8% or so...so things have changed a bit!

It was along this road that I noted in my diary the problem of using sun tan lotion (now the weather was getting so good): you become a mobile fly trap and end up with face and arms spattered with dead insects. After a few days of this I gave up on the lotion.

South of Royan I left familiar territory as I cycled south down the mouth of the Gironde. I needed to stop for lunch but there were not many villages. However I lucked upon a restaurant by the side of the road that looked very unprepossessing but turned out to be excellent. Think it was called Moulin de Monards. I remember particularly how kind the waiter was, not looking at all nonplussed by having a bespattered cyclist turning up and offering to fill my bidons (an offer I gratefully took up as it was getting very warm).

I push on in the afternoon finally reaching Montendre. I found most of the little towns and villages on my tour to be quite pleasant, but this was an exception. It was very dreary with a main strip that was more reminiscent of a mid-West American town rather than a French one. There were a couple of hotels but both were very run down to the extent that it was not even obvious they were still functioning.

I gave both a miss and resigned myself to having to head further south, which was a bit worrying as I was heading into countryside off the beaten tourist track.

Luck however was on my side because as I followed the road out of time I spotted a "Chambre D' Hote" sign pointing down a gravelled road. I knew what this was. It had been mentioned by one of my French colleagues when I had told them what I was planning. Chambre D'Hote is the French equivalent of Bed&Breakfast.

I descended and scrunched up this until I came to a large detatched house. There were clear signs of life, washing was on the line and windows were open. I scrunched up to the door, noticing as I did a lot of donkies in an ajoining field. I rang the bell a few times but no joy. Just as I was about to give in a lady appeared. She spoke no English but my French was more than sufficent to establish that: yes she had a room and yes I could stay the night. I thanked my lucky stars and followed her to a super large room at the back of the house. The lady explained that they did not serve dinner but recommended a restaurant back in Montendre.

All was seeming pretty OK. I phoned Mrs M only to receive some very sad news. One of my aunts back in the UK had died. I was especially sad about this because she was my favourite who I had known all my life as she lived in the same city as my parents. She was a wonderful person, who everyone seems to have been loved by all who met her. Typical of her was the way she reacted in the face of the cancer that would eventually kill her, somehow managing to keep smiling despite how she must have suffered.

I finished the phone call with my head in a bit of a whirl. I took my maps with me to my meal realising I would have to do some replanning as I felt I wanted to come back to the UK for the funeral that would be taking place in a few days time.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Raid Pyreneen - Fun, Sun & Snow

Did the Raid Pyreneen late September 2007. In a nutshell this is some 730km and 12000m of climbing in 100 hours or 4 and a bit days.
My trip was organised through Cycle Pyrenees (Roquefort Cycle lodge) who had put me up during my TDF 2006 ride. I had a great time, in no small part due to the magnificent support offered throughout the trip by Nick, Austin and Sal. Anybody wishing to do the Raid or sample the beautiful Ariege region should get in touch with them:
http://www.cyclepyrenees.com/lodge.html
The final words Sal said to us before we set off to the Atlantic coast were "remember you are on holiday, you are meant to be enjoying yourselves." These words were put to the test in the next 4 days as we rode through rain and shine (and snow), up and over some very large mountains. But they proved true. We certainly enjoyed ourselves. Here are a few photos as proof.



Day 1. First coffee stop. Stopped for coffee in the morning of the first day after having set out from Hendaye in the morning. Despite a grey start this proved to be a lovely sunny day's riding.





Over the Osquich. The first large(ish) climb of the tour. Brought back happy memories as just over a year ago this was my biggish climb of the tour. Then the restaurant at the top was open, this time it was closed but made up for the fact by having great views across the plain below.




Vital recovery drinking. The potential for beer is often, I think, not fully recognised by the cycling fraternity. The French have a great term for a pint. They call it a "serieux" (serious beer). I needed one as this stop was just before I made a detour to go up the Marie-Blanque via the steep side. Great ride, especially the Plateua de Benou on the other side.



Day 2. The weather took a turn for the worse and we climbed the Aubisque in cloud and that did not rise on the ascent of the Tourmalet as can be seen from picture aside. We had a "secret control" at the top of the Aubisque which gave us the chance to meet the organisers of the Raid (and have some vin chaud..)





Classic top of Tourmalet picture. Three guys here are my companions for the trip, for them it was first time over 2000m so a bit of a landmark. I am not in frame as I had already started off downhill. I had a few ghosts to bury following my fall last year and wanted to get the descent over and done with. Remembered Mongie but could not find exactly where I fell.


Day 3: Having some fun on top of the Peyresourde. Definitely more fun than last time I was here. This is a tough old climb, especially when conditions are bad. Still at least this time I made it to the top without having to count the white lines on the side of the road. Bitterly cold though and so we hung out for an hour or so in the cafe on top of the col. Owner there is a bit of an eccentric and has made lots of wooden toys/games for his customers to play with. Not sure quite why but good fun, certainly a break from cycling.




Coming over the Portet Aspet. The steepest climb of the raid with sections of 18% or so. Kept pace with Davy up this climb and we both enjoyed it. Both also agreed that though tough the Crouzette is tougher.





Day 4: Snow forecast so I had a cunning plan to keep my head warm and dry. This involved putting a tesco bag over my helmet.




Strangely others in the party seemed to find this funny....








Coming over the Port. Conditions prove the value of my headgear.





Strangely though others still seemed to find this funny.









Our support van. This became a welcome sight throughout the trip. Plan had been for just Nick to accompany us, given we were only 4, but his van developped a fault so we had Austin and his van for company as well. Both offered great support, encouragement (and amusement) throughout the trip.




Cycling in a winter wonderland. Hard to believe this is just 2 days after the first pictures and less than 24 hours before the ones below. We had thought that the Puymorens, our final big climb, would be closed due to snow. Luckily it wasnt so we were able to say we rode the whole way, despite conditions.





Top of the final col. And very very cold. Still just a couple of hours later it was sunny...









Day 5: Journey's end. From memories of last years tour to earlier memories of camping holidays. Our final half day involved cycling down the south Med coast through and past many of the places we had spent on camping holidays. That said we had never made it as far as Cebere, the last village before Spain so this was new for me.



Final finish, flying the flag for Newbury RC.









Classic end of Raid photo. Cycled from the Atlantic to the Med.




Not bad....





And a well earned meal......

Raid Pyreneen - Warm up

Did the Raid Pyreneen late September. This was a great trip organised through the Roquefort Cycle lodge/Bikepyrenees.

I arrived a couple of days before the ride. A couple of Irish guys were there already and we had a ride out together up the Cols Ares and Latrape. The weather that day was fantastic and we hoped it was going to stay that way.

Unfortunately next day, the last before our transfer to Hendaye and the Raid start, we woke up to a cold misty day. The Irish chaps needed to go to St Giron so I rode the day solo, checking out the quite scary Crouzette and riding down to Foix.

On my way back I went over the Port and up the very (4km 12%) steep Peguere. On the descent down the Crouzette to the lodge I met the Irish guys coming up. We met later for dinner. They had set some PBs on the trip already in terms of height/distance. They agreed the Crouzette was another in terms of sheer difficulty.

Raid Dolomites - Conclusion

Having a blog can be a bit of a bind when you fall behind...

So I will keep things a bit shorter and try to stay up to date with events.

So just to wrap up the Dolomites raid. When last blogged I was at the end of day 7 in Selle Gardena.

We had a good night there, best meal of the trip.

Day 8 was biggest day. The standard route involved 4 climbs over 2000m, the last being the evil Gaiu (10km at 9%). I thought I would make it a bit more interesting by adding an excursion to the Marmalade. Ended up being a hell of a long day, with me doing over 4000m for the first time. Only just made it into Cortina in time to beat the rain (some others didnt make it). Cortina notable for first sighting of R8 (not keen, too clinical for my taste).

Day 9 was other end of scale. Woke up to torrential downpour so first thing I had to do was buy some waterproofs. Buying in Cortina proved expensive but the Gore stuff I got lived up to its claim of keeping me dry. Day involved a climb up to Tri Cime, which is daft for a Raid as it is not on the road to anywhere, just straight up a mountain. Its very steep and this combined with the appalling weather meant I was only one of 4 from our party who got to the top. I was luckiest as the sun shone while I was there. Others had rain or snow.

Day 10 was the day I had been looking forward too since realising Zoncolan was an option on the route. Set off in cold weather and after descent from the first climb of the day (Ciampigotto, pretty big in itself at 17km/6%) I had to spend an hour or so in a cafe warming up.

However sun started to shine by the time I got to Ovaro and the Zonc.

Climb was the highlight of the trip. Had great weather, sun had come out but it was not too hot. No traffic up the road and once I got started and into a rhythm I found I could make it up by mashing my 30x23. Road was quiet and still had the graffiti from the Giro. Its quite a different climb from the more established "greats", being mostly in forest on a narrow winding road with few hairpins until the very top. Just before the top the forest opens out and the road flattens for a bit until you pass through a couple of tunnels to take a final few hairpins to the top.

Only spectators to my effort were a herd of cows. No refreshments at the top, but great views which you can savour as the descent starts quite flat before becoming very steep.

After Zonc its downhill all the way to Udine.

Day 11. Bit of an anti-climax. Only have 90km to do, all flat. Started as a group and stopped for a coffee after only 500m. Eventually headed off down a long straight main road. Dawdled along until joined by New Zealanders, things just getting interesting when I punctured for first time in 4000km. After fixing I headed off in search of more interesting scenary and came across a hill that had been a frontier in the first world war. It gave great views onto the mountains in Slovenia. Then headed down to Trieste and the end of the trip proper. As chance would have it as I came into the town I met up with some of the others. Celebrated at a pub which I only later found out was called "Martin", so somewhat fitting....