No news is good news

Both my followers needn’t fear! Radio silence has not been driven by disappointment or injury, but predominantly apathy.... and lack of WiFi access at Chalet La Source in Villard Reculas last week. As you are both aware, all went well on the 2^nd July.... hoorah!

It appears that my rather amateur approach to training was successful in achieving my main goals – to keep my chip and pedal all the way... I did it.  In fact, I even managed to really enjoy the ride although the final climb up Alp D’Huez was a little tiring.

Not only did I finish, but all of our party finished despite Al’s increasing fear that he’d be abandoned somewhere high above the ski station of Valloire on the way up to the summit of Galibier. Rich managed a silver medal time that we were all mightily impressed by. As I was coasting down through La Grave thoughts of silver glory were in my mind but the scheduled loo stop at bend seven of AdH my have been an unwise move.

My total ride time was 11h07mins, well inside my 12 hour expectation. I suspect I could have shaved quite a bit off this had I not:

(a)   Stopped to eat so many pieces of baguette avec jambon / fromage at the (rather disappointing) feed stations

(b)   Spent such a long time admiring the view of Mont Blanc at the top of the Col du Glandon ... must be one of the most spectacular al fresco pee spots in the world and certainly an opportunity not to be missed

(c)   Battled with sweaty lycra at the well located public loo on hairpin 7 of the AdH ascent to ensure that I was “comfortable” as I crossed the finish line

However, time was never important to me. Finishing the ride was the first goal and enjoying it so much was a bonus. I can thoroughly recommend this to anyone who has recently discovered the joy of sportive riding in the UK. The scenery is outstanding, atmosphere great, weather was perfect and the hills are long .... very long.

Just to give you an idea of the event goes, it’s something like this:-

·         1 week before the event: crap yourself as you don’t think you’ve done enough training

·         1 day before the event: crap yourself as you hear a combination of the following stories as you chat to people at the (rather well organised) registration: deaths on terrifying descents; high speed blow outs caused by excessive breaking overheating rims; snow on top of the col’s leading to life threatening hypothermia; feed staions running out of water at the bottom of AdH in temperatures of 40 degrees; entering pitch black tunnels on a 60kph descent, trolls on hairpins 12, 7 and 5 of AdH that knock you off your bike and steal your last energy gel; people weaving all over the road and throwing up on AdH.... While all of these have some grain of truth (apart from the trolls), it seems to me to be a bit like a right of passage for Marmotte alumni to terrify Marmotte Virgins

·         1 hr before the event: freeze your arse off as you descend AdH to get to the start in Bourg, trying to balance the need to minimise what you carry and maximise internal body temperature prior to the start

·         30 minutes before the event: obligatory wee in the Isere while waiting for your wave to be released

·         Start: Ride along the valley with 7500 other excited riders, passing the start line to music and cheering locals

·         First 30 minutes: Great ride along the valley floor the start of the first climb. People chatter excitedly, there are a few unfortunate punctures and lots of chains falling off as people change down gears as the first hill arrives

·         Next 1½ hours: Silence as the first of 4 big climbs happen, but steady pace up to the top of the Col du Glandon, rewarded by stunning views & a stale baguette and lump of camenbert

·         Next hour: thrilling descent followed by bunches of riders hiding behind a single brave soul breaking the headwind on the dual carriageway section (the only really unpleasant part of the route .... although the scenery remains fantastic).

·         Spend the fourth hour riding up Col du Telegraph, looking for shady patches tp provide relief from the midday sun... it’s about here that you see people dropping out.

·         Next 5 minutes: descend to Valliore – if you blink you definitely miss it

·         Hours five and six: slow trudge to the summit of Galibier.... As the road double backs on itself after about 10k you can see the train of riders above you, snaking slowly up the mountain side. Having ridden it a few days before I knew that it would be hard at this section but had the fromagerie (about 5km short of the summit) as the point at which it gets a little easier... that is until you hit the last 1km where the road goes over the top of the mountain as the cars get to sneak through a tunnel a couple of hundred metres below the summit. As the road winds it’s way to the top, you pass an increasing number of walkers as well as a few “broken souls” lying in the meadows awaiting either rescue or a second wind.

·         The next hour: no need to peddle here ... downhill all the way to AdH! Just need to watch out for overtaking cyclists and dark tunnels making sure that your sun glasses are safely attached by not blocking out the rather flimsy light.

·         Final 1½ to 1¾ hours: final ascent of the day up the 21 hairpins of AdH. Pelenty of support at the bottom and the top but in the middle it’s a bit sparse... however, at this stage, you are so close to the finish you just keep spinning and thinking about the end. I saw a mixture of people on my climb: A few that flew past me, chattering away (Italians mostly); a few that I rode past with best wishes exchanged; one man sitting on the wall, head in hands and another crying; one man lying flat on his back on the side of the road (I did check he was still alive before carrying on up the mountain)

·         Last 30 seconds: weave through the crash barriers and feel like a pro as you ride past the advertising hoardings ... a brilliant feeling but definitely well deserved.

Overall a great day of riding and a sence of achievement in completing Europe’s hardest sportive. One thing that gives even greater pleasure is that when the tour visits this part of France in a couple of weeks, the so-called pro’s do an easier stage that La Marmotte.... but it does only take them 3 hours!

So, it’s now time for me to sign off, but not before saying thanks to all those that have helped me along the way:-

·         Adam at Citrus Cycling in Spain for the training week in March

·         Al & Gerard for coming up with the idea

·         Dave, Brian and Al for being great company and especially to Dave for driving our training plan

·         Miranda for being so supportive and being interested in something that she really doesn’t see the point of

·         Al, Gerard, Dave, Rich and Matt for a great week in the French Alps

.... thankyou all.....

So is that it? In terms of my blogging career, I think so.

In terms of cycle challenges, probably not. I’ve been back from France for a week and already feeling the need to get back out on the saddle and into the sunshine.... worryingly, the Haute Route event is looking (for some reason) strangely attractive......La Haute Route: the world’s hardest cyclo sportive....

http://www.hauteroute.org/en/

Freinds Re-united

This week’s stats look pretty good: 155 miles, 4100 metres of ascent.

This was primarily aided by my participation in the Action Medical Research Peak 100 Sportive yesterday. Not only was this ride perfectly timed for a final long haul ride pre-Marmotte, but was also a chance to catch up with some of the chaps from Yorkshire after a couple of months daan saafff.

Originally planned as a 40^th birthday celebration, we had a slight change of personnel with the birthday boy (James) and the youngest member of the original gang of 5 (Ash) claiming to have not done enough training to do the event (tut tut tut). That statement I would put down as one of the biggest understatements of the year.... doing 10 miles with your 6 year old son as your only two wheeled outing since Christmas DOES NOT COUNT as “training”!!!

Anyway, the youngsters were replaced by men of more experience in life (and in the saddle) and it was a pleasure for Al, Ian and I to hook up with Dave and Brian again. Dave and Brian argued over which one was going to be more convincing Ash impersonator (20 years their junior) but overall it gave Dave a chance to scare us a little more about how hard the Marmotte will be and share a few more of his jokes.

Dave takes time to share a joke

The five of us set off under grey skies and a light breeze, but as the day went on (and on and on) the weather brightened. The route planners provided a ride that had plenty of climbing (900 metres more than advertised!), quiet roads and some great scenery across the entire breadth of the Peak District... and a fantastic lunch stop (which didn’t do much to give us record breaking times). What they didn’t give us was any flat roads... however from a positive point of view, this provided great preparation for the weekend after next (eek).



Ian - never misses the chance for a spot of marketing ... you see Bernie, bike time IS corporate time



Al - something borrowed AND blue? Good job Paul doesn't read my blog!



Our gang of five contracted and expanded throughout the day. After 5 miles, Ian decided that it may be more prudent to form a splinter group given his lack of miles in comparison to the rest of us. Al gallantly joined him under the pretence of keeping him company. At the first feed station our numbers swelled once again and 3 became 5 as two more riders joined us. We got up to a bunch of about 9 at one point as a number of riders (us included) overshot a turning and then spent about 15 minutes wondering how to rejoin the group. After much deliberation we took to the A6 (which was a little busy) until we saw a group of riders crossing ahead and rejoined the official course.



This led us up some really lovely climbs and quick-but-not-too-scary descents (maximum speed recorded 45mph before applying brakes as self preservation kicked in). In fact, the entire route seemed to try and fit in every climb possible in the entire National Park and the total ascent was over 3500m. Most climbs were reasonable in incline and a good length – as good a preparation as one could ask for given the challenge that lays ahead. In fact, it was so well planned that after 98 miles, we hit Froggat – 5 miles long, average grading 4% .... a perfect practice for Alpe d’Huez if a lot less steep and a lot shorter.

At this point we were back to our trio following a brief teaming up with another 3 riders who kept us company for 10 or 15 miles. However, Brian had clearly received insider information about the large crowd awaiting us at the top of the Froggat climb .... Al, Ian and Miranda (Al and Ian’s miraculous leap frog is explained a little later).

For the previous 95 miles he had fooled Dave and I into thinking his legs were tiring as he fell a couple of hundred yards behind us on most climbs ... but with hindsight I guess he was just trying to avoid Dave’s jokes, or just didn’t want to be seen with us.



Photographic evidence that Brian wasn't always in front



As we neared the summit, Brian found a second wind a broke away from the back of the goup(ette). Dave kicked down and followed him but I was happy to keep my pace steady and let a gap form.... or I was at least until we rounded the bend and saw our supporters shouting encouragement. Miranda was armed with a cam-corder and can quite clearly be heard saying “where’s Dave?”. My claims of being the victim of foul play and glory seeking fell on deaf ears. However, we rejoined shortly after filming had ceased to cross the line together under blue skies. We were greeted by a solitary, half-hearted half-clap from the chap who was collecting our chips.... I expect more a week on Saturday!

So how did we do?

Well, Ian and Al came 33^rd out of 166 alleged 100 milers... however, they did a 35 mile short cut by opting for the 100km route.... judging by some of the times posted on AMR’s website it looks like a few others did too.



While I may not be fast I have decided I am at least consistent with a ride time of 8hs 8 minutes ... strangely EXACTLY the same as the ride in the Dales a few weeks before. Our total time was 9hrs 20 minutes (aided by a rather large lunch and a whole load of faffing when we got lost). This put the three of us joint 99^th.... probably not quite good enough for a silver medal time but a thoroughly enjoyable day out with good company and kind weather.

So, how has it affected my mood and my confidence in achieving the goal of completing La Marmotte?

I think I’d now move Maurice back up to “feeling good”. I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s ride and believe I am far more suited to longer, gentler inclines rather big nasty steep ones.... although I’m under no illusion that the ascents next week will be particularly gentle, but it’s all relative. While I might not have been fast I felt pretty good for most of the route.



I am now sure that if I get to the bottom of Alpe d’Huez I will have the resolve to finish it, even if I have to pedal until dusk. My new worry is getting to the bottom of Alpe D’Huez, it ain’t the North of England: there’s the heat... and the altitude.... and the scary descents ... and the ridiculously long climbs.... but I’m now as ready as I’ll ever be. I spent a large chunk of today preparing my bike so that at least I’ll look the part when I’m not moving (which could be rather a lot of the time!!)

......keep my chip, pedal all the way; keep my chip, pedal all the way; keep my chip, pedal all the way; keep my chip, pedal all the way; keep my chip, pedal all the way; keep my chip, pedal all the way; keep my chip, pedal all the way;



(Left to right) Pheng, Me & James enjoying one of the many quiet roads







16 days to go

Just 88 miles and 1000 metres of climbing this week, but the Peak 100 Sportive is this weekend so will be the final checkpoint for Maurice to assess state of body and mind......

The mantra for my few remaining training sessions: keep my chip, peddle every all the way;keep my chip, peddle every all the way;keep my chip, peddle every all the way;keep my chip, peddle every all the way;keep my chip, peddle every all the way;keep my chip, peddle every all the way;keep my chip, peddle every all the way.....

Countdown is progressing....

Exactly four weeks from now it will all be over, whatever happens. The countdown has moved from weeks to days and the event now feels incredibly close...... 27 days and counting.

The weather over the last few weeks has aided my race preparation in a couple of ways.

The rather windy end to the month of May meant that most training rides consisted of a healthy does of strong headwinds. I have managed to persuade myself that this is not a bad substitute for ridiculous mountain passes given Wiltshire’s lack of 2,000m peaks. A 50 mile ride into strong south westerly head winds nearly all the way to my parents house a couple of weeks back was probably the most significant training session of this period. ... I also managed to find 1000m of climbing on this route, which while not really alpinesque, when combined with the wind made me feel like I was trying despite the awful weather... the rain made it hard to see anything and my phone also drowned so it was not quite the ride I had originally envisaged in late May. My just rewards after a 3 hour + battle against the elements was a large slice of home-made chicken pie and a warm bath.

The return of warm sunny weather last week helped me develop a more appropriate cyclists tan to help me at least look the part in amongst the French & Italian riders who will be making up the majority of the field four weeks from now. While my tan may be more ‘farmers’ than Mediterranean,  my arms and head are really quite brown. My legs, however, still remain firmly planted in the dulux range of whites. A week of exposure may have moved them on from pure brilliant white, to white with a hint of pink but they are still quite offensive (and perhaps even downright dangerous) to other road users. Hopefully we will continue to see fine weather in the UK over the next few weeks so I can at least work on the colour if not the performance of my legs.

As the “one month to go” point arrived, I decided to celebrate it with a decent length ride dropping on and off the ridge line of the Cotswolds encompassing three climbs that I’ve been promising to do since my arrival:-

1.     From Wickwar back onto the ridge via Wotton-Under-Edge (5km, 175m ascent, 3.5% ave, steepest point 14%)

2.     Crawley Hill (appropriately named) out of Uley back onto the ridge (2.7km, 155m ascent, 5.7% ave, steepest point 15%)

3.     “The W” from Nailsworth onto Minchenhampton Common (2.3km, 153m ascent, 6.7% ave, steepest point 16%)

Following this ride, Maurice is struggling to gauge my current level of preparedness. While I have made significant improvements over the last six months – completing the 60 miles and 1250m of climbing in this ride at an average pace of 16mph, I wonder whether this is really going to be good enough in a few week’s time. The weather was probably 10 degrees cooler than France in July will be and the total ascent achieved was just a smidgeon more than the final climb up Alpe d’Huez....

This is enough to focus on training over the next few weeks with the Peak 100 on 19^th June – my final check on long-haul sportives. Success here will be a silver medal time.....

The stats for the last 4 weeks look OK, if not perfect.....

                                     Target                     Actual

Ave  weekly mileage      125                       123

Ave wkly ride time          8 hrs                 7 ¾  hrs

Ave weekly ascent          2,500m              2,360m

..... hopefully this, plus the next two weeks will prove enough.......

 

Etape du Dales Report

The dry spring came to an abrupt end in the Yorkshire Dales in 15^th May. The weather forecast suggested a cool day with some drizzle later. As many lycra–clad middle aged men approached the rugby club at Grassington at a ridiculously early time that morning that was what was promised. The air was crisp, the breeze was cool and the sun was shining. Many discussions around what to wear were to be heard across the rugby pitch that was acting as a temporary car park.

I opted to leave my full waterproof in the car, a decision that was to be regretted about 45 minutes later. We set off as a group of 7 riders and were down to a group of six within the first mile. Paul’s desire to set a good time was demonstrated by the unwrapping of his energy bars before a single pedal stroke had been made. His cries of “who’s coming with me?” were declined by the rest of us.

The Etape du Dales website gave warning that this was going to be no easy ride: “Please do not treat your entry lightly, remember to respect the challenge.  The Etape du Dales route is an extremely difficult 112 mile ride and requires an excellent level of fitness.  It takes in the major climbs in the Yorkshire Dales and that means steep and technical descents as well..”.  We certainly respected the challenge that was ahead of us and watched Paul head off with a quick looking bunch. Paul completed the ride (measured as 110 miles and 3200m ascent by my Garmin) in gold medal time of 6h48mins, finishing a very respectable 22^nd in a field of 810 starters (and 739 finishers). But then again, Paul knows what he’s doing which in my book is very definitely cheating.

Note: the weather conditions certainly played a factor in the times posted in this year’s event. The quickest time was 6h19mins with only 49 riders achieving a gold medal (sub 7 hour time). In 2010, 75 riders (in a much smaller field) attained Gold and the fastest time was a very impressive 5h43m.

So, back to the story of the day...

As we rolled out along a flatish section of the course, it started spitting. This was actually quite pleasant as we hit the first climb of the day, Fleet Moss as that certainly got body temperatures on the rise. However, after that, it got cooler, windier and wetter and what should have been some stunning scenery was hidden behind a blanket of cloud and mist that stayed with us for the duration.

I enjoyed the first 2 climbs and felt good at them– Fleet Moss and Buttertubs. We were rewarded by fast and relatively not-shit-scary descents. At the end of each descent we regrouped so that the group remained in tact.

Third up was Tan Hill. Al had described this as hardly noticeable but long -  he had ridden it with 2 of our Marmotte gang (Gerard and Dave O) in glorious conditions a couple of weeks before. On this day it was different – very different: cold air & colder rain (further cooled by a mightily strong head wind) made the ascent to the pub at the summit a slow drudge. Looking ahead you could see strings of slow moving cyclists battling against the wind. The pub at the top played host to the first “proper” feed station. A variety of sandwiches and hot coffee was a welcome site for all of the bedraggled riders taking shelter in the barn of the pub. At this point, despite the cold, my spirits were high but for some of our group the day was not going according to plan. Cold feet and long faces were the order of the day at this point as we all regrouped .... we had only ridden about 40 miles at this point.

My low point was to come though. This happened about 30 miles later at the top of the Coal Road climb. A vicious enough climb averaging 10% over 3km with, kicking off with a 20% gradient. I have ridden this a couple of times before and it’s not easy with fresh legs. After 70 miles, it’s a different prospect again. The sight of people ahead of me clicking out of their cleats and walking made me more determined to pedal every inch of the day’s route. A friendly chat with a fellow rider took my mind off my burning thighs as we crept over the summit. However, at this point, both of my legs cramped up and each attempt to turn the pedals led to lockout. I got off my bike and stretched out my legs and as they started to feel normal again, the rest of our group summated. At this point I just wanted to get down into the valleys and into relative warmth (or less cold) so that my legs could loosen up again.

As we rolled along the summit towards the descent, we tested our brakes as we knew what was coming – a series of 5 steep switchbacks. I felt a moment of smugness as my Dura-Ace brakes did what they were supposed to (50% better braking in the wet apparently) as the other guys complained of brakes that didn’t work. As a result I was quicker down in to the valley and felt warm once again, but not warm enough to wait for those who have a more prudent financial approach to bike kit.

At this point I knew that the hardest part of the ride was done and the next 40 miles between me and a hot shower were do-able (although there were still 2 big climbs to go). I decided to go it alone at this point. Confidence grew as I passed other riders looking equally bedraggled and cold and the last 40 miles were almost a pleasure.

The last 20 were fast, slightly downhill and assisted by a tail wind (at last!). I caught myself thinking that I was a proper cyclist. However, Maurice was always there reminding me that the closing miles of the Marmotte would be rather different. At the 10 miles to go sign, I asked myself whether I fancied climbing Alpe D’Huez ... you can guess the answer. But that’s still 6 weeks away and it won’t be as cold (I continue to block out the possibility of ridiculously HIGH temperatures).

Stats for the day: 110miles, 3200 metres ascent

Ride time: 8hrs, 8mins (ave speed 13.4mph, max speed 45mph)

Total time: 9hrs, 8 minutes (well, there was a fire at the pub at Tan Hill and about 15 minutes of wait time while we regrouped)

Position: 491 / 810 starters

So, how would Maurice rate the chances of success at La Marmotte? With this ride under my belt in horrid weather condition and 6 weeks to go I will bravely move it up to “Feelin’ Good” status .... it may be the only time! My target of peddling every inch of La Marmotte and keeping my chip to the end now seems a reality (although definitely not a foregone conclusion).

Back on track?

They say that moving house is one of the most stressful events in life. I’m not sure whether that’s really the case (getting chased by tigers, being in a plane crash and agreeing to a ridiculous cycle ride in which people have died etc..  are less likely but surely more stressful). However a house move is certainly hard work and time consuming. This has been the reason for my relative silence over the last few weeks but more importantly it has impinged on my training targets over the last couple of weeks.  It had been 13 days since i spun my wheels in anger (or at all for that matter) until today when I got out for a short spin on a sunny, but blustery Wiltshire morning.

However, all is not lost! While I have missed out a bit in late April / early May I have the luxury of another 7 weeks of training uninterrupted by the requirement to attend paid employment. A 2 year break from the glamorous world of Supermarket accountancy feels good and over the next few weeks my new life of “practice” retirement coupled with extreme property refurbishment will start to become the norm and as my own boss (sort of) I can work my “job” around my training rather than vice versa..... that’s the plan for now anyway.

While many good things will come out of my return to the South West of England, I shall certainly miss my cycling buddies who have proved to be great company and motivation on our regular jaunts. What’s more they have even been reading my blog, but have complained vociferously about the fact that they seem to be overlooked in my ramblings. While the purpose of this blog is to share my state of mind and level of preparation for a major European Sportive, that excuse falls on deaf ears. So here goes chaps.... what I shall miss about you guys?

Dave – your expert knowledge of all things cycling, your route planning, leadership and your witty banter

Brian – your well honed skills to always ride at the back of the bunch, your scepticism of Dave’s route finding & distance estimating capability and your witty banter

Al – your laughter, your unbridled enthusiasm that it will all be OK in the end, your ability to talk non-stop for 70 miles and still really say nothing and your witty banter

While my Sat Nav is going to be providing me with accurate and varied routes in my new home, Garmin have yet to produce a device that talks random bollocks for 5 hours, tells crap Jokes for 70 miles and complains incessantly when the route is 15 miles longer than published...

However, this is much more “a bientot” than “au revoir” as in 6 days time we will all be meeting up again at some ridiculously early time in the heart of God’s Own Country to take part in the Etape du Dales ... 112 miles up hill and down dale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales (3500 metres of up to be precise). We are riding as part of a gang of nine, 3 of which will be joining Al and I in the Alps in July. This will be the first real test of whether the training that I have put in so far this year is going to stand me in good stead for La Marmotte. Hence, Maurice has decided not to make an appearance in this week’s blog but he will report back next week once the ride is over.

While I may have taken the idea of tapering training rides to the extreme, up until the house move, things were going well. Longer, harder rides were more of a feature than in previous months as we benefitted from some glorious weather in April. While this has been great it has led to a new concern about the challenge we face in July – the heat. I find that about twenty degrees is just about right, however, thirty degrees plus is a reality. I am taking the ostrich approach to this little problem at the moment while Al has decided he will put his turbo trainer in his sitting room in front of a roaring fire with a few bin liners on to get the “feel” of it a bit.

April’s  stats were actually pretty good .... a few long hilly rides of over 70 miles each and one century ride – my first ever!

During April I managed to ride 489 miles, climbing over 10,000 metres and subjected my backside to 30 hours in the saddle. If I cheat (just a tiny bit) and divide this by 4 to get my weekly averages then I am pretty pleased with progress:-

                                                Target                   Actual

Ave  weekly mileage      115                         122

Ave weekly ride time     7 hrs                      7 ½ hrs

Ave weekly ascent          2,500m                 2,618m

Big rides                               2                              4

While this is great news, it is now 9^th May and I have clocked up precisely 30 miles and just over an hour and a half in the saddle.... watch this space for signs of improvement / despair (and mood sensing rodents!).

Dave’s Big Bumpy One – 9th April 2011

While riding with people who are significantly better than you may increase the learning curve and push you harder than riding on your own or with similarly inexperienced riders... it does mean that you rarely have a wholly enjoyable ride until it’s over.

However, Dave (co-founding member of the half a dozen or so cyclists that I join every other week or so) excelled himself this time. Ordinarily we’ll start out a ride in the lowlands of the Vale of York before heading West of North to slightly bumpier ground. But Dave was concerned that this would not prepare me and Al for our forthcoming challenge in the Alps or the more immediate one of the Etape du Dales. ...  you couldn’t really argue with that.

So, four of us decided that we’d head over to the North Yorkshire Moors and tackle the best (?) hills it has to offer. While this does nothing to replicate the long, steady inclines of the Alps it did give us a good flavour of the hills we’d face in the Yorkshire Dales in 5 weeks time. Dave’s Big Bumpy one was a 70+ mile ride incorporating 3 the significant climbs of: Boltby Bank (1 in 4), Blakey Bank (1 in 5) and the notorious Rosedale Chimney (1 in 3).

We were blessed with unseasonably warm weather which enabled us to dispense with the almost obligatory water proofs and don shorts and our Sunday Best lycra.

A short discussion regarding the pros and cons of shaved legs and in particular where you actually stop (somewhere in between an inch above the short line and the back of your neck I understand dependent on your personal preference) was rudely interrupted by our arrival at Boltby Bank. Having had so much climbing practice in the Spanish hills I set off confidently only to come to a grinding halt about ¾ of the way up. I had made the mistake of overestimating my ability and set off too quickly starving my leg muscles of oxygen.  

Here I learnt my first important lesson of the day: Don’t stop on a really steep hill as if you want to restart it’s rather tricky.

Determined to pedal every inch of at least this hill I managed to get going again at the third attempt not once taking my left foot out of the pedal cleat. The rest of the way up I was hard on myself at my poor performance and vowed to do better on the next hill.

Blakey Bank, the longest but shallowest of our three “classified” climbs was preceeded by a coffee stop. The smell of bacon sizzling away in the kitchen was too much for at least three of us to resist and I was shortly to learn the second important lesson of the day: While bacon butties taste a whole load better than energy bars / gels, they aren’t quite as good on the performance front... note, Brian, the rider in front of me in this photograph did NOT have a bacon butty and Dave (who took the photo) doesn't count!

Although the (more deliberately, but not all entirely by choice) slow climb up the 3km hill was lacking in any great tale of intrigue I can’t help but think it would have been a little easier without a bacon butty as fuel. The views where spectacular but my mind drifted towards the final major challenge: Rosedale Chimney.....

Before we arrived at the village of Rosedale we enjoyed the fruits of our labours with a beautifully long descent (with no scary bits) and some stunning scenery. As we entered the village,  we  turned right and without a second thought it was upon us. Here’s the blurb:-

“Almost certainly the steepest section of road in Britain, Rosedale Chimney Bank is often included in the Tour of Britain as it is a true 1 in 3 climb at one point. The climb is immediately steep – a sign tells you that you’re about to tackle a 1 in 3 hill. You encounter a cattle grid which doesn’t help matters, after which the road hits 25% on the first corner of a switchback, followed by the steepest part of the climb (33%) – a very steep second corner and unforgiving section after it. The climb then relents to about 20% before easing off at the top”.

Not much more to say other than that I made it ... whoopee. It may have taken me 11 ½ minutes to ride a single kilometre, but I made it..... I saw this picture on the t’interweb afterwards and Maurice stepped a few steps closer towards the summit of Alpe d’Huez. Third important lesson of the day: If you want to stop, just shout at yourself and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve... not sure whether it helped me but it certainly annoyed my pals (which is something that always brings a small sense of pleasure).

Overall it was a great ride and only made better by the weather and the company ... oh yes and the fact that our lead rider, Dave, failed to complete the ride. Unfortunately, this was not due to the fact that the we’d tired him out but he was hit by mechanical failure 5 miles from home.

Stats for this week vs new training regime:-

Mileage: 102 miles, ascent 2,920m ride time just under 6 hours... PLUS one big ride... acceptable

Marmometer moment: Successful ascent of Rosedale Chimney!

Marmotte Week minus 13 ...... Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

Having felt quite smug at delivering my Q1 targets of averaging 100 miles per week in the first three months of the year, I have realised that there is no time to be smug. Maurice (new name for my trusty mood reflecting Marmotte) has been moving up and down the Alpine col’s a bit over the last couple of weeks.

The low point of the last fortnight was definitely a ride in my soon-to-be-new-stomping-ground of Wiltshire & Gloucestershire. Not knowing the area well I tracked out a course on my Garmin led only by what looked to be pretty countryside between Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham. While the elevation chart looked rather nice and bumpy I failed to appreciate how steep some of the inclines were. While I did manage to appreciate the spectacular views I also had a bit of a panic moment in that while the targets for Q1 were mileage driven I had quite frankly failed to include serious hill training in the next phase of my training plan. As I tried to catch my breath and forget about the burning thighs climbing to a measly 300m Maurice hit a low point and was positioned quite unhappily at the bottom of the Galibier ascent!

The mantra of “failing to plan is planning to fail” is one I often quote in jest, but at this point I think that my Q2 plan needs firming up. So I am going to have to add a bit more structure to my Q2 training plan that has so far consisted of doing a couple of sportives (big ones to be fair) and putting in plenty of miles between time.

So, here goes:-

April:  115 miles per week average, min 7 hours a week ride time, 2500m ascent per week, 2 big rides over the course of the month (>70miles, >2000 metres)

May:  125 miles per week average, min 8 hours a week ride time, 2500m ascent per week, Complete etape Du Dales Sportive (15^th May) and don’t get off the bike (apart from to pee and refuel).

June:  135 miles per week average, min 8 hours a week ride time, 2500m ascent per week, Complete Peak 100 sportive (18^th June)in reasonable time.

July:  Rest.....

Marmotte Week minus 15 ...... That’s not fair!

Having returned from my week in Spain and burnt however many thousands of calories, I excitedly stepped on the scales with great anticipation at my newly improved svelte-like appearance. Imagine my surprise as the readout happily told me I’d gained 4 pounds. How could this be?

Now, when you go on holiday it’s fair to expect that you put on a pound or two ...... BUT NOT WHEN YOU DO WHAT I DID!! Having explained to my friends that it just didn’t seem fair I readily accepted their explanation that it was all muscle and nothing to do with the fact that I stuffed my face at the end of each day. This was supported when I put on my favourite slim fitting suit as I returned to the office on Monday morning... the waist was fine but I could only just squeeze my thighs into the leg holes.

Anyway, not to be deterred, I have promised myself to build on my good start and continue with

(a)    My blog updates

(b)   My training plan (which will gradually ramp up us the big event nears)

However, both will be shorter than my initial entries due to lower mileage and return to “normal” life. I have also decided to introduce my own Marmometer that is intended to demonstrate my current state of mind with regards to the event. The position of the little pesky fella will move up and down the course, but this will hopefully not reflect my eventual point of collapse come July 2011.

There are now only 15 weeks to go (eek) and my new plan will require me to get outside and ride on real roads (rather than in my little bedroom) if I’m to really get anywhere close to being ready for this. However, my faithful old turbo will still see a little use.

Adam advised me to take it easy at the start of the week to allow myself to recover, advice I followed with great focus. Despite this I managed to get in a good few miles and recount my stories of heroism to my cycling pals.

This weeks stats: 128 miles, 7.4 hours, 2300+ ascent

Marmometer moment: Took 5 minutes off my previous best ascent time on Alpe d’Huez VR ... woo hoo!

Mission Accomplished

Day 5: Thursday 17^th March

Distance: 75 miles / 120 km

Ascent: 1941m

Ride time: 4hr 58mins (within 18 minutes of expected ride time for proper cyclists)

Average speed: 14.7mph / 24kmh, Max speed: 63kmh

Weather: Sunny, 19 degrees, light winds

Coffee stops: 1

Gels: 1 

Woke up to clear blue skies and warm air – welcome relief following yesterday afternoon’s chilly, wet end to the day. My body was feeling the effects of the exertions from the week and legs felt like they were full of air – certainly much bigger than at the start of the week, but also somewhat more useless.

Today’s ride plan was to climb up the long descent we made yesterday (25km), loop round a lake and then head back from whence we came. The journey up was pleasant with great views of truly rural Spain, kindly gradients and warm sunshine. By the time we reached the top (after going up hill continuously for 68 minutes) I was beginning to flag so we attempted to find a coffee stop a little earlier than planned. However, this failed to materialise so we pushed on for Beniarres deep into rural Valencia. Refuelled by a full fat coke, coffee and the obligatory tostada we had about 35 miles to ride home. Knowing that the vast majority of this would be down hill on sweeping roads was enough to get be back in the saddle. The views of the nearby lake were lovely but were rudely interrupted by a short (1km) but nasty climb averaging 10% and topping out at 23%.

Once we reached the summit though it was pretty much plain sailing as we rode back down to sea level from about 2,000 feet. I knew my legs were tired as any tiny break in the descent was met with immediate leg pain and a sudden slowing in pace to what could only be described as snail-like. All the time, the final climb to the villa was gnawing away at me.

Determined to complete all planned rides, I took the final right hand turn into the urbanisation above Benidoleig and gritted my teeth for the next 16 minutes arriving at the villa a full 5 minutes ahead of Adam ...... however, he stopped for about 10 minutes to chat to a local builder.

Exhausted but elated at how far I’ve come since day 1 I flopped into a chair in the sunshine and took a few minutes to assess myself against the objectives I’d set.... overall not bad:-

1.       Get used to spending a long time in the saddle after the winter break ....  21 ½ hours in total covering 323 miles (517 km) -  delivered

2.       Climb some long alpine like col’s... total ascent 8,655 metres (>2800 ft) -  delivered

3.       Do at least one day of over 100 miles ... not quite – maximium of 91 miles, but then again it was raining and hilly!

4.       To get better at descending ... increased my confidence and the second set of brake blocks were looking decidedly less worn - delivered (but still room for improvement).

So overall, not bad – 75% is an A grade in anyone’s book.... if only my appraisal at work was as good!  Furthermore, it’s brought my Jan – March average weekly mileage to 98.9 miles per week, just 1% short of my initial target!

A brilliant week’s cycling and a great holiday to boot..... now just another 17 weeks to hone my new found skills and fitness levels .... watch this space.