johnstourdeforce

Rest day recovery

Woke at 06:38, got out of bed at 07:15, breakfast 07:30. For a change I was able to eat what I wanted and not just what I had been able to get my hands or which I just had to eat in order to have the energy for the day! You should have seen the frenzy a few days ago when the production of bread and pastries could not keep up with the demand. Each time a new batch arrived it was like adding fish flakes to a bowl full of goldfish (or should I say pihranas)!

I roomed with Guido last night who has also finished riding and is going home tomorrow, so we took a taxi to where we finished riding yesterday and then walked the rest of the way up to the top, where the Tour de France proper will finish. A good lunch at the top, followed by taking the train back down to Col de Ceyssat, from where we got the bus into Clermont Ferrand. Then back to the hotel for a rest and opportunity to start reverting to normal life after two weeks on a cycling bubble.

Before I post the photos I took, I’m taking this opportunity to say that my adventures with Le Loop are now over. I’ve had five magnificent trips since 2016, including two full tours. In total I have clocked up 63 stages, so that’s the equivalent of 63 stages, never mind the four I rode as individual etapes.

When I was mentally and physically in a good place a few days ago (so before my “jour sans” on stage 7), I decided that I was not going to get myself up for such a major challenge again, though I will always be interested in less strenuous and shorter cycling trips. I am finally at the point where my ability has matched my ambition rather than fail to meet it, but the tipping point has been reached. I have found my limit.

Taking this decision meant that I was able to really enjoy the mountain stages and all that followed (except for that infernal stage 7 and it’s headwinds) and to appreciate all that Le Loop has offered me, with no regrets that it was now coming to an end – I have achieved so much, probably beyond expectations. When you know the time is right to stop, then you know. I will miss the camaraderie with the team and the other riders, many of whom I have seen year after year, and will always follow Le Loop with great interest, but I will not be sad. Although next year’s course looks attractive with its start in Florence and finish in Nice, the year after that will no doubt look enticing too, and so will the next one after that. What I think I have learned is that I know when to stop, but only time will tell how that plays out in practice!

I have been pushed to the very limit now and am happy to reign it all in and to stop on my own terms. I am grateful that it is not illness, incident or injury that brings this chapter to an end and I have truly ended on a high point – the Puy de Dome, and in the sunshine!

Whatever word I used to sum up Le Loop would be a cliche, although all those words would be true (awesome, amazing etc – you know the form). All I can say is that the organisation, the charity and charities it supports is really quite magnificent. It gives us cyclists the opportunity to test ourselves while making a difference to numerous groups of young people who have not had an advantageous start in life.

Thanks for all the encouraging feedback received via this blog, the Bigfoot site, Strava and comments I have received via WhatsApp or in person. If the documentation of my meandering thoughts during long and often arduous stages (not to mention the Dad jokes in some of my photo captions!) have contributed to encouraging or inspiring someone to take a big step on their cycling journey (or indeed any other kind of journey) then this will have all been worth it and it has not just been a vanity project – though to a degree it is maybe just that!

Vive le Tour de France. Vive Le Loop.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 06:00

Transfer: 45 minutes

Start time: 08:00

Distance: 182.4km

Terrain: Mountains (3,201 metres)

Climbs: 1 HC (Puy de Dome), 1 Cat 3, 2 Cat 4

Finish: 18:39

Time in saddle: 9h14

Temp: Fresh early on, rising to high 20s

Drinks: 4 litres

Suffer scores: 5 out of 10

Local lowdown

The last time the Tour came to Puy de Dome was in 1988. Though it has been closed to traffic for some time (no cyclists allowed since 2012), the Tour will finish at the top this time. We will have to stop 4km before the top though, but will have the opportunity to return on the rest day that follows and walk the last few km to the top.

Tale from the Tour

A super day to end on. The countryside was glorious and the temperature just perfect for cycling. There was soon no need for a gilet and so for the first time in days it was great to ride in just a jersey (and bib shorts). The afternoon consisted of “sunny intervals” rather than full sun or cloudy, so o got quite a tan today. Should have used more sunscreen but I’ve thankfully got no sunburn.

Quite a lot of bellowing from the herds of cows that we passed. Sounded as if they were complaining about all the cyclists going through!

Our route through one town was slightly disrupted as there was a festival going on. We had to skirt round the Main Street to get past the brass band that was playing. Intriguingly, though there was no sign of him, Asterix the Gaul and some of his friends were used on the advertising for this event!

We could see the Puy de Dome from a long way out – this one with about 70km to go.

Although the climbing metres mounted up over the day, there was nothing that felt particularly strenuous until the end. Maybe that’s our conditioning after nine days of this! The last climb out of Clermont Ferrand was tough though. Not only did it start steep, but it was also very busy – and on a Sunday too! I’d hate to think what that might be like on a weekday.

When I got to about 4km from the point where we had to turn around and come down (we could only go as far a Col de Ceyssat) I started to see riders coming back down on the way to the hotel. This was great encouragement: “not far to go now”, “keep going John”, “you’re nearly there”. I returned the favour by shouting similar encouragement to those that I saw when I was subsequently on my way down.

On arrival at the hotel I handed over my bike which I won’t now see until I pick it up in London on Thursday. Thank goodness!

All that was left now was to get cleaned up and fed and watered. Sorting out the suitcase can wait as I have a whole day here on the rest day tomorrow on which I plan to return to the Col de Ceyssat and walk to the top of the Puy de Dome and also plan to revert to human form rather than a hunched over and weary cyclist!

This wasn’t a day for suffering. Perhaps 5 is harsh, though it was the steep ascent out of town and the busy roads that probably did for that.

I’ve got one more post to publish once I’ve completed today’s rest day and am on the train to London via Paris tomorrow, then I’m all done for this year’s adventures with Le Loop, which once again has been first rate.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 06:30

Transfer: 30 minutes

Start time: 08:08

Distance: 200.7 km

Terrain: Hilly (2,103 metres climbing)

Climbs: 1 Cat 3, 2 Cat 4

Finish: 18:20

Time in saddle: 8h37

Temp: cool, rising to warm in the afternoon once the rain stopped (18-28 degrees)

Drinks: 4 litres

Suffer score: 5 out of 10

Local lowdown

Wine country today, passing by the village of Pomerol, home to Petrus and other big names. We travel through the Perigord region and finish in Limoges, famous for its porcelain and ceramics.

Tale from the Tour

What a difference a day makes. I don’t mean 24 little hours, but the 9 hours sleep I had last night. I felt totally different this morning and thoroughly enjoyed the day even if it did rain for much of it.

At the first two feedstops there were local people keen to understand what we were doing and I was happy to chat and explain. They couldn’t believe that we were riding all the stages of the Tour de France, though for me that ends after stage 9 tomorrow.

At the first feedstop there was a number of bicycles that were used as part of an art work. This one says “Everything is possible. We think that you must always believe in yourself, never give up on anything, always see everything through right to the end. For example, our bike has been made more beautiful. Everything is possible.” I think that second sentence is good motivation for those of the group riding the whole of Le Loop.

We saw a lot more preparations for the Tour today – as usual there were many old bikes painted in the colours of the various leader’s jerseys on display. There was also an impressive artwork made out of bikes.

This made me think of the Steve and the crew at Bromley Mencap where I volunteer on a Wednesday. It’s a bike project teaching young adults various bike mechanics skills. They take many donations and the bikes they receive are either put back into working order or salvaged for parts. There is a stack of old bikes out the back, so maybe we could get Mr Dangerous, the Destroyer and Mr McNuggets to do something like this at Norman Park!

I spent a lot of today studying the trees as we went past. My wife Babs and I will be going on a painting weekend in November when will be taught how to paint trees (we’ve done landscapes and portraits). We can take our own pictures to use if we want so I took quite a few today. I don’t think any of them will really work, but here’s one I liked regardless.

We were still in the Dordogne region and saw many signs celebrating the fact that both the men’s and women’s Tour de France will be passing through the region this year.

The lunch stop was at a picturesque point, as was the final feedstop of the day.

And finally, it was my turn to be shamed by being awarded the frog today. I had stupidly mentioned to the current owner Nobby (forgetting that he had the frog today), that in the rain and with no one around me I practiced a skill that the professionals sometimes employ to avoid stopping when nature calls. One person said afterwords that I should have been awarded the chapeau instead! Enough said. That won’t be happening again, no matter how much I like to emulate the pros by riding around France!

Although this was my longest stage (it would have been Stage 2 but I cut that short) and it rained for most of the day, I was feeling very good today and completed the course with no difficulty. In fact, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day out.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 05:45

Transfer: 2.5 hours

Start time: 09:40

Distance: 169.9 km

Terrain: Flat (748 metres)

Climbs: 1 Cat 4

Finish: 17:41

Time in saddle: 6h37

Temp: mid 20s

Drinks: 4 litres

Suffer scores: 9

Local lowdown

Riding through Les Landes all day before getting to my “home” department of the Gironde. Should be good for shade with all the pine forests, but depends on how exposed the roads are. Passing through Roquefort (cheese) and Cadillac (cars?) along the way.

Tale from the Tour

Well I found today really tough going. I didn’t sleep well last night as I couldn’t get comfortable – my knees were hurting and as was the lower right of my back. I had no power all day and although this stage is ideal for saving energy by riding in groups, I found that my tiredness compromised my mental ability to concentrate properly. As a result, I thought would be a danger to myself and others if I got too involved in group work. This meant me riding long stretches on my own or with a small group. Thankfully Justin dropped off his group to accompany me on the final 30km of the ride. Early today we passed a sign for Saint Justin – he was that for me alright today!

On the subject of signs, although the stage was long and arduous for me, at least I did have some fun en route.

The South West of France is characterised by km after km of pine forest, which is what we saw for pretty much all of the day.

As we approached Bordeaux the landscape changed and we saw many vineyards, as you might expect

I was thankful to get a massage before dinner (two plates full of spag bol) which seems to have sorted out my back issue and I’m hoping that a good night’s rest will consolidate that.

A flat stage shouldn’t be more difficult than a mountain stage should it? But we had headwind all day which meant peddling hard for every km. Though yesterday was cold and wet at times, at least we had some “free” kms as going downhill doesn’t require too much effort from the legs.

It’s only just before 9pm here, but that’s lights out for me. Breakfast is at 06:30 so that’s some good recovery time.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 06:30

Transfer: None

Start time: 07:58

Distance: 144.9 km (we rode 159.2km – annoyingly short of a century in old money but I think I’ll add it to my list anyway!)

Terrain: Mountains (3,786 metres climbed)

Climbs: 1 HC (Col du Tourmalet), 2 Cat 1 (Aspin, Cambasque), 1 Cat 3

Finish: 18:52

Time in saddle: 9h21

Temp: 13-18 degrees mostly. Felt colder in the mist and drizzle, especially on the descents

Drinks: Probably 4 litres. Lost track.

Suffer scores: 8

Local lowdown

We are climbing the Tourmalet from the east this time around – memories of when I rode it as part of the Etape du Tour in 2014. It was ok going up even though it rained the whole way, but freezing coming down and so bin bags were being given out to help keep riders warm! Yet again I didn’t see the scenery from this side. So that’s four ascents of the Tourmalet in total, with good views only once. OK for me, but a shame for those who have travelled from afar to witness the beauty of these mountains.

Tale from the Tour

At first I thought there was something wrong this morning because my bum felt comfortable in the saddle! Normal service was resumed later (much later) but it wasn’t as bad as yesterday when I had to keep getting out of the saddle to give myself some respite.

Easy roll out as usual as we all made our way to the first feed stop at 40km in. I had just passed this wall painting when I asked myself the question I often ask on these rides “would I regret not stopping to take this photo?” The answer was “yes” (I really only have a few seconds before the moment has passed). So I stopped, and am glad I did!

Opportunity to get a Bigfoot team photo with Ken at feedstop 1. Sad to say that Ken let the club down by being awarded the frog for an act of ignominy, namely that he took a wrong turn and rode way up the wrong mountain! Some would say he deserved the chapeau for the extra elevation but life isn’t always fair! Readers of past blogs will know that I was awarded the blog for kit choice in 2019, which I thought unfair at the time. All part of the fun though!

Riding up the Aspin was lovely. It’s a steady gradient – a regular 6% with no naughty bits (i.e. pitches of 12% or more) until it rose to 7 and 8% towards the top, though again with no naughty bits. The last few km were shrouded in mist, so we only had views from lower down the mountain. This was to be the main factor of the day.

What was true of the Aspin was also true of the Tourmalet, as the photo from the top will attest. Actually those who know will be saying that this is not the top. True, it’s where our feedstop was but I had first ridden the final 200 metres to the official finish and which was just as obscure as the photo below.

I was properly dressed for the descent (unlike 2014), wearing all available clothing that I had stashed in my day bag) so did not suffer from the cold though it was chilly. Was able to remove some of that lower down.

I just loved the sound of the water coming very fast down the mountain – generally a very glacial blue.

From the last feedstop we had 16km fro the top, though we did get very close to our hotel with 5km to go, so stopping early was an option. But I took a brief pause just before that on seeing the Tour decorations that have been prepared already (appropriately wearing rain jackets!) ad that was another photo I wanted for the collection. An excuse for a rest really!

The final 5km to the finish line felt savage, though thankfully not as savage as the Marie Blanque yesterday. Started out with a few km at 10% average, then 8%. I had calculated that the final 2km should average 6%, which they did (doing the maths based on the road signs helps take my mind off the effort!). I was right in that, but the penultimate km which was advertised as 4.5% included some pitches at 20 or 12%. Proper naughty bits indeed!

Still, I made it to the top where I met up with Nobby. We put on all available clothing and descended back through the mist (some of it might have been actual rain but I’m not sure) until we got to the hotel. I was cold at the end, but not too cold in that I was still in control. I was, though, happy to strip off all the wet stuff and get myself sorted. Hopefully the kit will all be dry in the morning. I shouldn’t have any more kit washing to do now though, as I have enough to see me through to the end now.

Suffer score has to be an 8 on account of the amount of climbing and lack of views. A hotter, full sun day would have undoubtedly tipped it over to a 9 or 10. On the plus side, the score is perhaps tempered by my bum not hurting, not actually missing the views too much (I’ve been here before) and the general sense of achievement. A job well done, and had I bailed out of the final 5km and gone str to the hotel then I would have regretted it (though would have had an earlier dinner).

Long coach transfer in the morning to the start of tomorrow’s ride.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 06:30

Transfer: 1h15 at the end of the ride

Start time: 07:34

Distance: 162.7 km

Terrain: Mountains (3,366 metres)

Climbs: 1 HC (Col du Souder), 1 Cat 1 (Col de Marie Blanque), 1 Cat 3

Finish: 17:43

Time in saddle: 8h38

Temp: Temperate, mostly around 20 degrees

Drinks: 5 litres, no beer!

Suffer scores: 7

Local lowdown

Pau again, and not for the first time as this is the most visited town on the Tour. Indeed, it is remarkable when the Tour doesn’t come here these days. We were here in 2019 and the memorial to all previous winners of the Tour de France is still in place.

Tale from the Tour

And so to the mountains. After a warm up on some rolling roads, we were onto the Col du Soudet. It’s 21.7 km at an average of 7% but it really was a climb of two halves. First half average gradient about 4 or 5% and second half more like 9 or 10%, so it got tougher. But it was truly a beautiful and enjoyable climb even if the top few km were obscured by mist. We could hear the cow bells to the left and sheep bleating to the right, but couldn’t see them!

Lovely descent too, then a small climb before the final one of the day, the Marie-Blanque. Some will know this climb and the fact that 8km at an average of 8.5% is tougher than it sounds (and it already sounds tough!). The first 4km are OK and then the average for the last four are 10%, 11%, 13% and 12%. Really hard going and a great achievement. I wasn’t sure whether I had ridden this climb once or twice before. On checking Strava I see that it was just once, in 2014. But this time I was a few minutes quicker, which took me by surprise especially given that 2014 was a shorter ride and the Marie Blanque came early on. There’s life in the old dog yet!

This was climb was followed by another beautiful descent, ultimately passing through a French equivalent of the New Forest, with plenty of horses, donkeys and cows.

Massage, then bus to the hotel for shower, change and heading off to a Moroccan restaurant for a buffet dinner. Three platefuls of tagine, lentils, chick peas, peppers, potatoes, spices sausages, lamb chop. Probably forgot something. Oh, and a plate of Moroccan pastries etc for dessert. The beer slid down quickly too.

Beautiful scenery all day today and I post some photos below.

Went for a different score of 7. Was thinly of a 6 because the first climb (the first HC climb of the tour) was so enjoyable and I felt fine. Also my feet didn’t hurt today – I think because it was cooler and I had my shoes a bit looser so they could cope with any foot swell better. On the other hand, the final 4km of the last climb was so tough that I had to mark it up. It’s been a very satisfying day. Another day of mountains tomorrow.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 06:00

Transfer: Morning 1 hour, evening 1 hour

Start time: 08:19

Distance: 181.8 km

Terrain: Flat (1,499 metres)

Climbs: 1 Cat 4

Finish: 17:04

Time in saddle: 6h39

Temp: pleasant, rising to 36 degrees at one point but a cooling breeze

Drinks: 5 litres plus one beer waiting for the coach to transport us to this evening’s hotel

Suffer scores: 4

Local lowdown

I didn’t know, but there’s a racing circuit in Nogaro (our finish town). The professional tour will finish on the circuit, but for now we witnessed a motorbike racing round at extreme speed. Too quick for me to include him in the photo!

Tale from the Tour

Super day today and one for group riding as there were no climbs to speak of, just the normal undulations which add up. Fast train all day really.

Rode with a great group, including some who have excelled in Ironman competitions in the past. In fact I hadn’t realised that Tara had previously been crowned Ultraman World Champion – a triathlon event that takes three days to complete. No wonder I find it hard to hold her wheel at times, though no doubt she was taking it easy. I did manage to hold on to my cheese and pickle sandwich though – no chivalry there!

Little opportunity for taking photos, with the land being so flat and in any case I would not want to lose the group I was with – we were having too much fun, riding at around 30-35 kph for much of it (27 kph average overall). That said, being able to use photos that have been posted to our group chat has been very helpful.

There is a Cat 4 climb towards the end, but that’s more of a speed bump for the professionals who are going to have a very fast finish down into Nogaro. If I can hit 63 kph on the slight downhill then just imagine what they can do, with the teams jostling for position to put their sprinters in the right place for the finish on the racing circuit!

Apart from the feedstops, one other stop we made was to take a 100 metre detour off the route to see Notre Dame des Cyclistes.

The idea for the dedicating a formerly run down church to cyclists came from a priest whose parents had owned a bike shop, Joseph Massie. He had the idea to replicate an equivalent place in Italy near Lake Como.

Interesting order of things today: finish ride; have beer, transfer to hotel, eat from mobile creperie in car park, find room, shower, massage while also listening to the briefing for tomorrow, return to room to sort out kit some of which was still damp. Not doing any kit washing tonight as I have enough for a few days. Will need to do another one in a few days though. Oh, then blog and bed (though I started the blog on the bus today).

At the briefing James, from the Star Scheme charity that is supported by the Trust, told us about his ride and what he gets up to. The charity gives people like James who have had a troubled start in life to thrive, and he certainly does that with his rugby and the positive impact it has also had on him at school. And today he rode 117 km, which is 105km longer than any other ride he has done and the longest by a young person who has visited Le Loop from a charity. Chapeau to James, as we say in these parts.

Not really much of a suffer fest today. Riding with a group makes it much easier to cover distance though we did keep the speed up so it wasn’t a pootle around the flat lands of South West France.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 05:30

Transfer: 45 minutes

Start time: 08:04

Distance: 187.4 km (we rode 195km to hotel)

Terrain: Flat, if 2,465 metres climbing is flat!

Climbs: 3 Cat 3, 1 Cat 4

Finish: 18:30

Time in saddle: 8 hours 37

Temp: cool 19-22 degrees

Drinks: 4 ish litres? Plus Grimbergen

Suffer score: 6

Local lowdown

Transition today from the Spanish Basque region to the French Basque region. They share a language which is unlike any other – certainly different to the Latin languages spoken in the regions that surround them. Around here, rather than someone carrying a baguette under the arm it’s more likely to be a surfboard. Surfboards 2, baguettes 0.

Tale from the Tour

While I’d rather be hot than cold as I said yesterday, today was cool which was probably ideal! With some light showers this morning and a shower after some brief sunshine it was properly British weather with decent Spanish and French roads. What’s not to to like!

A word on riding in Spain. Vehicles are required to give 1.5 metres clearance when passing cyclists. This is the same rule as in the UK with the difference that in Spain vehicles must now cross the centre line to make sure cyclists have that space (when it is safe to do so, of course). I don’t think that would work in the UK because our roads are so much more congested. I’ve observed that motorists actually do observe that rule. The quid pro quo is that the police watch cycling groups very carefully to make sure that we are riding responsibly, which I would say we have been doing as far as I know. But we are in France now, so we are free of the close supervision that we have experienced over these last three days.

After a long transfer west from San Sebastián, we rode to the coast and then back east towards – San Sebastián. For much of the morning we followed the coast.

A word on the categorisation of climbs. Legend has it that it is based on what gear a Citroen 2CV has to be in so as to be able to get up it. So if it can get up in fourth gear it’s a Cat 4 etc. For those climbs that are so hard that they are beyond categorisation (HC), presumably the car would blow up!

San Sebastián was indeed a very attractive town, even if some of the rest of what we saw further on in the ride was a bit industrial.

Finally made it into France, crossing from Irun in Spain to Hendaye in France.

We had a long ride between feedstops 3 and 4 – just over 50km. I was famished by the time I arrived – my energy levels were really depleted. But it’s amazing how stuffing my face with Pringles and cream cheese on bread and getting a Coke down me can change things. We still had 24km to go and since that is often my average speed I though it would take me an hour to complete. But I was flying now, and averaged 30km to the end in Bayonne. Gave me plenty of time to deal with all the essentials before a beer and an excellent dinner of steak and potatoes.

After dinner we had a presentation from Star Scheme, one of the charities supported by the William Wates Memorial Trust for which we ride on Le Loop. It’s a rugby charity based in Bristol and one of the leaders has come out with one of the young people that benefits from this. They will be riding with us tomorrow and we will be sure to give them as much support as they need.

A word on the opening three days. I’ve ridden four “Grand Departs” now and this has been by far the toughest. Normandy had long but flat stages (2016), Düsseldorf started with a 14km prologue and then a flattish stage (2017), meanwhile Brussels had a full stage followed by a time trial (2019) which is basically a relaxed ride where we can stop for coffee. I don’t even want to go back and got up all the climbing that we’ve done so far! Hopefully after a flatter day tomorrow this will give us good legs for the mountains on stages 5 and 6.

Suffer score the same as yesterday – some of the short climbs of 5% average gradient had cheeky sections of over 10% and I rode further than I did yesterday (the whole route this time!).

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 05:30

Transfer: 1 hour

Start time: 08:08

Distance: 208.9 km (I did 170km)

Terrain: Hilly, 2,256 metres (out of 2,800 for the full route)

Climbs: 1 Cat 2, 2 Cat 3, 2 Cat 4

Finish: 17:30

Time in saddle: 7h23

Temp: cool first, 31 at midday and then mid 20s

Drinks: about 5 litres (plus evidence that I had drunk plenty yesterday …)

Suffer scores: 6

Local lowdown

We start in Vitoria, capital of the province of Alava and of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Many words feature a common letter. Txakoli (wine), Goxua (custard cake) and Pintxos (tapas) are just some examples. Do you want any x with that – made me think of the Two Ronnies (FUNEX? SVFX – may not be obvious to all!). We pass by many historic sites before arriving at our destination, the “pearl of the Cantabrian Sea”. I’ll see this more tomorrow.

Tale from the Tour

Interesting discussion on the coach with Beat, a UK-based Swiss chap with whom I rode in 2017. He is about my age, just proving that I am not totally mad to be undertaking this adventure. Or maybe we are both mad! The question (driven by yesterday’s temperature) was would you rather be too hot or too cold on a ride? The only answer is, I think, neither. It’s impossible to choose because both extremes are dangerous. In either case you risk losing control of yourself. I have been both and shaking with cold makes it hard to control the bike and being too hot can make you light headed and dizzy and if you don’t unclip in time you’re in trouble. I’d rather be hot than cold I think, but I would not want to be at either end of that particular scale.

Today I started still a bit weary and beaten up from yesterday. However as we rode along a plateau first thing, I felt myself slowly getting back into it and my spirits lifted. I was now just a bit tired rather than physically and mentally fatigued. A case of being on the up yet plateauing at the same time!

I was very pleased to see a donkey on the route today. “‘Ee aw to know better than ride the whole route today” said the donkey. So I took his advice and took a short cut to the hotel, missing out about 30km or so, though we will do a good chunk of that route in reverse tomorrow so I’d rather have the extra time to rest and recuperate.

Much more of a rolling day today and nothing silly in terms of gradients – even the bit I missed out wouldn’t have been too bad.

Highlight of the day was towards the end of the ride when we were held up three times by an official race going through. It was quite exhilarating to watch – there must have been 200 riders and any number of support vehicles and police outriders. The speeds were insane. There is no way we could have ever lived with that pace – though some of my group jokingly asked whether we thought we could jump on the back and get a tow! The photo doesn’t do it justice, though I also took a video.

Arrived at the hotel for an early massage and a chance to get myself sorted. Hopefully a goo night’s sleep and I’ll be fine tomorrow.

Generally a good day, not especially taxing but a reasonable amount of climbing none the less. Legs felt strong on the climbs – just goes to show how not being at risk of sunstroke or heat exhaustion can help.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 6 am

Transfer: None

Start time: 07:30

Distance: 182.0 km

Terrain: Hilly

Climbs: 3 Cat 3, 1 Cat 4

Finish: 18:27

Time in saddle: 8:48

Temp: Cool start, rising to 33 in the shade and 40 in full sun

Drinks: Not enough – possibly 6 litres

Suffer scores: 8

Local lowdown

Bilbao is home to the Guggenheim museum and a must-see attraction. On the route today we pass through Guernica, which suffered terribly during the Spanish Civil War in 1937 and is the subject of one of Picasso’s famous works, a denunciation of the bombing that took place.

Tale from the Tour

Good start to the day, though a bit misty at first so I couldn’t get a good shot of the donkeys as we went past. I don’t think the trip will be complete without one!

Rolled along nicely to the first feed stop, which was by a transportation bridge. Transporting what, I don’t know.

At the feed stop we had a bunch of somewhat grumpy Polizia paying close attention and even filming us! I think they were a bit fidgety because they were concerned about large cycling groups on the road. We were 116 on the road this morning, though had split into small groups so in the end they were happy an left us alone. It reminded me of 2016 when the Spanish Guardia Civil (a bit like the French gendarmes – we don’t have an equivalent in the UK) forced us to stop on Stage 9 when the route took us from France, through the Spanish Pyrenees and onto Andorra. That time the stand off lasted quite some time before they were finally happy for us to continue.

After that we were by the sea for quite some time and enjoyed spectacular views, all while the route continued to rise and fall significantly – to the point where the total elevation gain was just shy of 3,300 metres. For comparison, a Saturday morning club run would typically clock up about 1,000 for 60 miles and a ride of about the same distance as today could get to 2,500. With the heat as well, that made it really hard.

The beach was a popular one – so much so that we passed a line of parked cars that must have stretched for 2 miles! I think they could have done with one of those trains that ply the sea-front at home to take the drivers from car to beach (I assume they dropped their passengers and kit for the day at a sensible point).

We passed through the aforementioned Guernica – not too many photo opportunities.

Towards the end of the day the hills just kept on giving. A few times I needed to pull over on the shade and pour water over my head. I would say cold water, but that had heated up to. Still, it was a blessed relief.

The “best” was still to come. A matter of 8km or so before our hotel was a climb that hit 18% in places. Such a climb is always tough but I can do them – though coming at the end of such a brutal stage I just had to unclip and walk a short way else I’d have probably fallen off.

I’ve gone for a suffer score of 8 as an average for the day. Cyclists will know that when the average gradient is stated as 8%, it usually means that there are some beastly sections to deal with (the last climb today had an average of 10%, for example) as well as some easier bits. Well that was today alright!

Tomorrow we have another hilly ride – longer (in fact the longest of the Tour this year), but allegedly with less climbing. We shall see. It’s still going to be hot though and I’m hoping that I will soon be acclimatised, as happened in 2019.