Author: johnstourdeforce

Nope, not a typo but a witty suggestion from my brother Gareth in which I sum up my travels to and experiences in Bilbao before the hard work starts!

Bilbao Braggings

Well I won’t have the honour of being the first to arrive in Bilbao, but possibly the only one to arrive by ferry from the UK as only three foot passengers embarked in Portsmouth on Monday night.

Having been so busy recently, I quite enjoyed the enforced idleness of a full day at sea before arriving at Santander early on Wednesday morning. I did manage to have a quick go on the bike on the top deck though! Tuesday also gave me the opportunity to quietly think through all the things for which I am grateful – my wife and family, now including grandchildren; health and strength to undertake the challenge of riding the first nine stages of the route of this year’s Tour de France with Le Loop; the beauty of God’s creation, even though we didn’t get to see the whales and dolphins that inhabit the Bay of Biscay. Counting every blessing, as we sing on a Sunday.

The crossing was silky smooth. At times it was easy to forget that we were at sea – the occasional slight wobble while walking around being the only clue (other than looking out of the window of course!).

Banking on today being a good one

Wednesday morning started with an early morning wake up call before a quick breakfast and disembarkation in Santander. The next step was to get to Bilbao, but there were no trains that made any sense for a 90km journey (one route was allegedly 9 hours!). Maybe I should have tried to see if any of the motorists on board were going my way, but there were regular coaches that ran so I got the 12:30, arriving in Bilbao at 2pm. That meant I had the morning to explore Santander a bit, which was nice, as the most of the previous day I are been most sitting and reading.

I enjoyed walking around the park and through the market, picking out the occasional word that I have learned from using Babbel over the last several months. I even managed some short conversations when buying my coach ticket and leaving my bag with the left luggage guy!

Checked in to our hotel in Bilbao, where I soon met up with Greg and Jeff. Mucho bike chat over a good meal consisting of “an assortment of pork products” (or charcuterie, as we say in English) to start followed by some serious pork chops. More arrivals expected tomorrow and the sense of anticipation for what is to come starts to ramp up a notch!

Huevos las jueves

A decent breakfast this morning, though I know that some days it will likely be a real challenge as 100+ cyclists descend on the buffet like hungry locusts and strip it within moments! It may have been possible to get some scrambled eggs this morning but it’s likely to be a different story over the next week or so. As we are in this hotel for the next few nights, we should probably be ok for Friday and Saturday morning too and not just Thursday.

Ticking things off the tourist list today before bike faff begins tomorrow with the arrival of the team with all our kit. A fun time up the funicular for a fine view over Bilbao, a walk back along the river followed by a refreshing dip in the hotel pool. Guggenheim in the afternoon before an evening meal at Victor Montes in the casco viejo (old town) thanks to a recommendation from a friend back home (thanks Andy).

Faffaday

Actually not too much bike faff today. After a visit to the launderette to make sure I start off with everything clean after a few days away, I went back to the Guggenheim to see the inside. On getting back, quick swim to cool off and then found my bike safely arrived and stored in the bike room. Tyres seem OK, gears seem to work so all should be good for tomorrow morning when it all starts to get serious.

I rested up this afternoon because the app on my phone tells me I walked 10 miles yesterday (30,000 steps) and climbed 94 floors. Well there are 307 steps down to the old town (I counted, of course!) and I went there three times yesterday. The route down to town also includes some uphill too though – have they not thought of tunnels?!

I say rested up, but my visit to and around the Guggenheim still cost me 15,000 steps and 30 floors! Well worth it though and I enjoyed it more than I thought I might.

Y finalmente

Although we will be riding in Spain for the next three days, I don’t know how much opportunity I will have to use any of my nascent Spanish. But I do believe my experience here so far has been enhanced by what I’ve learned over the last few months thanks to Babbel. Although I could have navigated the launderette and the shops and cafes without any Spanish at all (including when I thought I had lost my glasses when in fact I hadn’t taken them out with me on that particular occasion – oh dear!), I pushed myself to give it a go and it was all rather fun!

Y asi comienza el Tour de France con Le Loop …

In the summer of 2022 I had the chance to catch up on trips that had been postponed from the previous year.

La Marmotte (June/July 2022)

Thursday 30 June

Great day’s riding in the Alps yesterday. Started with my best ever ascent of Alpe d’Huez in perfect conditions – it was early, good temperature and I was fresh, quite unlike previous rides which had either come at the end of a long day or in boiling temperatures. Then re-descended to Bourg d’Oisans where I had stayed the night before (stopping for a photo at bend 13 aka Geraint Thomas corner!) and then climbed again, this time to Villard Reculas where a group of us are staying for a few nights to ride the Marmotte on Sunday. Photos taken on the climbs never really do the topography justice, but the long shots show just how far we come!

Friday 1 July

Today started with the mountains wrapped in cotton wool – remnants of last night’s thunder storms during which the others turned up at the chalet. Still misty as we set off down the Alpe for a tilt at a new climb for me – Les Deux Alpes. Beautiful climb through some wooded areas to get to the top, and then back down again as there is nowhere else to go once you reach this ski resort. Then on to the Col de Sarenne which is a third way to reach Alpe d’Huez, climbing up the back of it before dropping down into the village where we received our rider packs for Sunday’s Marmotte. Not before taking a silly photo at the top of course ! And why couldn’t that Col be 1 metre higher? Seems cruel to leave us stranded on 1,999 metres! More evidence today of God’s wonderful creation.

Saturday 2 July

Today was a rest day. Well OK, so it involved riding to the top of Alpe d’Huez for coffee, but that only meant riding a short distance (5 of the 21 bends) to the village and back.

Sunday 3 July

What. A. Day. The weather for the Marmotte ride was brutally hot, in the high 30s most of the day and touching 41C – even in the high mountains! Made for a much slower time than I might have expected, though interruptions to training from two bouts of illness and two injuries this Spring played their part.

I had the dubious honour of DNS (Did Not Start), leading the race and also DNF (Did Not Finish)! DNS because I skipped the mayhem of the official start and joined the route a few km in by riding directly from our chalet to a point before the climbing started. This gave me at least an extra hour to complete the ride, which turned out to be a good call given the conditions as well as my lack of training. It also meant that I joined the route ahead of the lead pack, though it took just 30 minutes for the leaders to overhaul me. Meanwhile, I was concerned the gendarmes or security bikes would pull me over for my cheekiness but they weren’t concerned!

Saw my friend Pete en route too, who was staying with friends on the race route – a highlight of the day!

My friends who had gone to the official start caught me as I knew they would and we were at the feedstop on the Galibier together. Given my desire to be back at the chalet by 7pm at the latest, I decided not to bother going to the top of the Alpe d’Huez but to turn off a few km from the top and return directly to the chalet. Another good call, which gave me time to recover before our BBQ. And I was happy with my ride up the Alpe when I was fresh on Thursday anyway, so I didn’t feel the need to do it again! Lost track of how much liquid I consumed, but hydration was key today. I poured quite a bit of water over my head too!

Overall pleased with what I did given the circumstances, though without troubling the scorers – the first person home took 5h50, meanwhile I was out on the bike for just over 12 hours. My usual rule applies then – I take twice as long as the quicker people but then again I am twice their age!

Le Loop (July 2022)

Just three days with Le Loop in the Pyrenees this time, being all I could commit to what with catching up on the postponed Marmotte trip. But it was good to get back out on Tour – many of us are “repeat offenders”, so it was good to meet up with old friends again.

TDF Stage 16

Three hot days in the Pyrenees. Day 1 followed stage 16 of this year’s Tour de France and was HOT. Temperature climbed quickly to 41C (if my device is to be believed) where it stayed all day. First climb (Port de Lers) saw me stopping at times to soak my cap in cold water – it then acted as an air conditioning unit and stopped my brains from boiling. Second climb of the day (Mur de Péguère) is a steep little so-and-so that I’ve climbed twice before – but in today’s heat I took nearly twice that. How am I going to cope over the next two days? All in a good cause though, riding with www.rideleloop.com raising funds for the William Wates Memorial Trust, which I have been supporting for a number of years now.

TDF Stage 17

Day 2 in the Pyrenees wasn’t any cooler – I think my device goes straight to recording 41C and then doesn’t go any higher so that it doesn’t scare me by claiming to be any hotter! I took a lite option today by missing out the first two climbs – I didn’t think I could take another day like yesterday just yet. After climbing Col de Val Louron Azet it was a long descent to Loudanvielle where the climb to the final mountain (Peyragudes) started – or not, in my case. That’s because our final feed stop was located there too, so I opted to end my ride at 3pm, have a massage and then spend two hours in the spa! My whole focus was on being able to ride the whole stage tomorrow so I wanted to be in the best shape possible, given that I came into this somewhat undertrained despite my recent Alpine adventure.

TDF Stage 18

Day three was quite the challenge! Great climb up the Aubisque to the highest point of these few days (1,709 metres). At our feed stop there, Neddy was trying to sign in and snaffle a few more cheese and pickle sandwiches! Next climb was Spandelles and not one I’ve climbed before – unrelenting, tough and hot. Although the day had started cooler (and stayed in the mid 30s), my device registered 43C at one point – there was next to no shade, so the heat was really bouncing off the road. Cycled the top part of that more or less one-legged as my hip flexor was giving me trouble. But I was able to stretch that out at the top and I was then good for the final ascent up the Hautacam. I was determined to complete this ride, if only to justify taking the easy option (plus two hours in the spa) yesterday!

Again, I was supposed to be riding with Le Loop in 2021, riding the opening stages of the Tour de France route which that year started in Brittany. Instead, I rode around mid-Wales with a group of friends in July and then headed to Brittany with Pete in September. Well, I was determined to ride some of Tour roads that year! Again, the text is as originally posted on Facebook.

July 2021: Tour of Mid-Wales

Stage 1: Abergavenny to Newtown

The start of a bike-packing tour around mid-Wales. And a great pleasure and surprise to bump into my friend Hugh on the way too. Hugh was doing some challenge that was even more mad, sleeping out in the open rather than with friends and relatives!

Stage2: Newtown to Aberystwyth

Bike-packing going well so far, though the hills are much harder when carrying an extra 3kg on the back. Oh, and some of the climbs are VERY steep.

Stage 3: Aberystwyth to Aberaeron

Went the long way round up some wonderful climbs, past lakes and reservoirs, kites flying low overhead and many cattle grids to negotiate. Finished off with a pint at the end, just as the heavens opened. Jackets on and off all day but overall ok. Weather looks good for the long ride back to Abergavenny tomorrow. Saved a lot of money by staying with John’s family, so I’ll be contributing that to the William Wates Memorial Trust instead.

Fans of Little Britain will enjoy the road sign!

Stage 4: Aberaeron to Abergavenny

So, back to where we started to complete a challenging four days. Felt stronger today than the last two days and it was also helpful that most of the climbing was front loaded rather than lying in wait for us at the end of another punishing stage. Road surfaces are by and large good, though the constantly rolling nature is energy sapping. Mind you, the main climb today was the Devil’s Staircase – a long section at 25% gradient, so I was especially pleased to get up that in one go what with the extra weight and all. Great trip with a great bunch. And to cap it all, a meet up with Ian who provides such excellent support when we ride Le Loop. Here’s hoping for next year. This bike packing lark opens up a whole new world of cycling opportunities – much like the purpose of the William Wates Memorial Trust for which we ride, providing a whole new world of opportunities for those who don’t otherwise have such access.

Route maps

September 2021: Brittany

Tour de Bretagne Day 1.

Arrived in Caen overnight and headed straight for Lannion to ride the opening km of stage 2 of this year’s Tour de France with Pete. We will ride the rest of that stage over the next two days. I’d normally ride a whole stage in one day with Le Loop of course, but sadly not possible this year. Enjoying the Cornish and Welsh sounding (or even actual!) names – Tregastel and Caerphilly! So far three out of four cafes etc have asked for proof of double vaccination status and people are complying without fuss and just getting on with it. Best way to be. Bizarrely, my French App (Tousanticovid) worked in one place but not another, which was however able to accept my NHS App. In those same establishments Pete’s experience was the opposite! Staff as bemused as us, but no matter as they were still able to serve us cider and galettes so it’s all good!

TDB Day 2

Great ride today, maybe 20km too long but we did add in a few detours to make sure we saw the sea. Although it was broadly a coast road second half, we were inland enough not to see that much, though views improve dramatically towards the end. Mind you, at one point I thought we’d never get started because, what with market day and all, we struggled to get out of town despite the gps. Oh for a few yellow arrows on lampposts to guide the way! Obligatory cider at the end at our new favourite place before getting cleaned up and going for steak. We earned it today!

TDB Day 3

It’s taken 3 days (for logistical reasons you understand ), but we’ve now completed Stage 2 of this year’s Tour de France, making it to Mur be Bretagne and back from our base in Saint Brieuc. Glorious day today and it was great to see some places still decked out, celebrating the passage of the Tour in the area. You could say that I got by with a little help from old friends (see photo!). Cycle shop in Saint Brieuc is owned by former pro rider Seb Hinault (no relation to the more famous Bernard). Apparently the photo taken outside the shop means that I’m a sad man, says Pete who was wearing a disgusting yellow jersey today (by his own admission!) Do I care? Frankly, too great a photo opportunity to miss

TDB Day 4

Well, some days just don’t go according to plan. Started well enough, driving to Baud to visit friends of Pete whom he had not seen in over 30 years. One of their sons, who is about our age, rode with us to Hennebont along better roads than I had plotted – benefit of local knowledge. Pete and I then road along the coast to Carnac, broadly following the Tour route that I had plotted. At Carnac we detoured to the coast to see the sea – that’s north and south Brittany coast lines visited now. We also picked up more water as it was blisteringly hot – hitting 34C. Then it all started to fall apart. We decided to go off the route I plotted at Auray, just north of Carnac, to take a direct route back to Baud. Some navigational issues meant a lot of messing around before finding the right road out with the result that we got back to Baud at 6pm, an hour later than my worst estimate. We were having dinner and staying with other friends of Pete back up north, which would have been fine save for more navigational issues. Will spare the details, save to say that a convivial evening finally followed. I’ve doubled my lifetime consumption of oysters (now on 12) and might even try moules marinières properly for first the first time tomorrow. Might. All’s well that ends well. I’m sure I’ve learned something today, but it was a bit frazzling.

TDB Day 5

We have now completed our version of Stage 3 of this year’s Tour de France. Whereas our route on the opening days was more Tour-directed (we covered all but 30km of the route of Stage 2), this has been more Tour-inspired in that we were only on the route for about 30km. But we visited some of the key places (Carnac, Josselin and the finish at Pontivy) and certainly rode the right number of km. We are up to 480km or so now (300 miles). Great lunch stop in Josselin near the impressive chateau (that’s 10p, for those in the know ) which fuelled us to Pontivy where I had my first ever moules marinières – to my great surprise, I enjoyed them and there was no need to order an emergency pork chop!

Tip for thirsty cyclists in France: I have never noticed BioCoop before (see photo), but there are lots of these eco-friendly food shops around. They don’t sell water in bottles, but instead you can take your own to the dispenser and fill up with some nice cold water. There seems to be no charge, though I suppose they might have expected us to buy something …

TDB Day 6

Rest day. Well, rest, test and travel to be more precise, with no riding. Leisurely start, then a look around the town of Saint Brieuc before going for our PCR tests so that we can come home. Should get the results by text in the morning. Arrived in a somewhat eclectic place in the middle of nowhere, where our Breton host clearly relishes his many years in Ireland given that he has a bar selling Irish beer to appropriate musical accompaniment at all times. Monsieur also speaks very good English in a strong Irish accent. He seems a bit of a character. Actually we are staying in the middle of the loop formed by Stage 1 of this year’s Tour de France and we hope to ride a big chunk of the middle section tomorrow. Big storm last night and could be a soggy ride. If so, it will be the first of the trip so not bad, all things considered.

TDB Day 7

Yesterday’s storm cleared the air and today was a near-perfect day for cycling. Much lower temperatures and just a couple of rain showers that didn’t bother us much. Started off from our weird and wonderful abode (and even more weird and possibly less wonderful host) and headed for Locranon which the Tour riders would have skirted on Stage 1. Shame really, as it is one of France’s prettiest villages, with no traffic or need for road signs. Then carried on with a few more hours in the wooded countryside before heading back to Saint Brieuc for our last night (after staging another raid on the shop in Pleyben that we found last night to pick up some more souvenirs and the like). A few more ciders of course under our favourite tree. We seem to be popular there now as we were given one of the ciders for free!

TDB Day 8

Could have ridden a few km of Stage 4 into Fougères, but time was against us do to COVID admin. But we have nevertheless managed a week of great cycling and can be grateful for that. Also really grateful for the answers to prayer which I’m sure helped us get all our admin together. Stopped off at Dol de Bretagne (menhir, anyone?) and Mont St Michel on the way to Caen. Home tomorrow, with a bike and car to clean!

Overall, this has been a great trip and a reasonable substitute for not having been able to ride the route of the Tour de France with Le Loop. A big challenge was route planning, so even more respect to Sarah and the team for putting together the routes for the three week events. Hopefully next year we’ll be back.

Surely only in France would you find a baguette vending machine!

Postscript

I did not write this at the time, but it feels safe to do so now, 18 months on. The “COVID admin” referred to on Day 8 was a reference to the fact that Pete’s PCR test came back clear while I somehow had a positive result, despite the two of us having been together at all times and were outside for most of it! I also kept getting negative lateral flow test results. So on the day of our return home I took another PCR test and was promised that it would be fast-tracked so that I would be able to get the ferry that evening. In the end, the result did not come back until the next morning by which time I was already back in the UK, the ferry operative having been happy to accept my negative lateral flow tests. The PCR test result was negative, as if there was ever any doubt. Oh well, it made for an interesting end to a good trip!

The global pandemic put paid to many people’s plans, including the cancellation of various cycling trips I had intended to undertake though this was hardly the most significant of disruptions in the grander scheme of things. Nevertheless I do like cycling so some adjustments were needed and this impacted what I got up to during 2020-2022. I did not keep my blog up to date during that time but did post various thoughts and photos on Facebook and which I now chronicle here. For the most part, the text appears as it was written as I do like to maintain contemporaneous records rather than let the passage of time dilute or even alter my memory of events.

September 2020

Though my plans to join Le Loop again for one week riding the Alps were scuppered by the pandemic, all was not lost from a cycling point of view. When we got to September, restrictions had eased and so I embarked on a “Tour de Home”. This involved a strenuous week’s cycling on various out-and-back routes. Over the first five days I rode 470 miles. I was going to do another longish ride on the final day, but in the end opted for just rounding it up to a tidy 500! The weather had been kind, but the hills in the North and South Downs can be very draining!

There’s a lot to enjoy in the English countryside and although I had covered all the previous routes before, I had never stopped to take any photographs.

Monday: Tenterden

102 miles, to get the week off to a good start (and not too hilly!).

Tuesday: Surrey Hills

Leith Hill and Box Hill were the key climbs on this route.

Wednesday: Ashdown Forest

Kidds Hill is always a good challenge, bringing you to a good view at the top.

Thursday: Herstmonceux

Down into East Sussex. Always good to stop at Lime Cross Garden Centre for a bite to eat.

Friday: The “Ide Hill nonopus”

A real leg-breaker if ever there was one – nine ways up and down Ide Hill. Entirely my own creation, wanting to go one better than the Leith Hill Octopus!

Saturday: There and back again

Quite honestly, it was all I could manage to get out to the Darenth Valley and back! Just 29 miles today, but on my knees at the end.

I have managed to edit together some of the video clips I took while riding around France and have managed to come up with something which I think captures the essence of the event. Hope you enjoy it!

Also, you may remember that back on Stage 7 I mentioned that Babs and I were going on a painting weekend. Well, here are the results:

The comments in the captions are from our tutor, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts no less. Who am I to argue with her assessements!

My picture is based on a photo I took on Stage 11 (Albi to Tououse) and which features at the end of the movie. Also described as having a certain “naive charm”. I’ll take that!

 

It’s taken me a while to get my thoughts together since coming back from France. So, as the dust begins to settle, let’s start by looking at some statistics:

	2019	2017
Distance:	3,525km	3,635km
Climbing:	54,133 metres (6.1 Everests)	48,520 metres (5.5 Everests)
Ride time:	163 hours	161 hours
Average speed:	21.6 kph	22.6 kph
Cumulative Suffer Score:	92.5	97.0
Categorised climbs:	65	53

To the extent that it is relevant for this enthusiastic amateur, I’d say that in terms of overall performance, 2019 was fairly consistent with 2017. There was more climbing but less distance this year, which means that the overall difference of 2 hours is negligible. My time is still about double that of the professionals! Egan Bernal won in 82h57 this year and Chris Froome won in 86h20 in 2017 (though the professional riders lost about 3 hours’ racing this year due to mudslides in the Alps which we were fortunate to avoid). So that’s still slightly less than double their time.

What clearly stood out when I analysed my data in some detail was that I was finishing the day much earlier this time compared with two years ago. On average, by simply being more efficient at the feedstops I was saving myself 45 minutes per day. To put that into practical terms, it meant having far more time before dinner to do all the things that I needed or wanted to do rather than either rush things or be busy late into the evening. With dinner usually at 8pm, getting in before 7pm on 13 out of the 18 occasions when it mattered (time trials and Paris don’t count) rather than 9 out of 18 occasions in 2017 was hugely beneficial. Not only that, but the three times I came in later than 8pm were fairly spread out so there was no cumulative draining effect. This contrasts with three late finishes in a row at the end of 2017 when I had to go straight in to dinner as a sweaty, hungry, feral cyclist whose sole focus was on hoovering up the buffet without the opportunity of becoming human again first.

I mentioned in an earlier post that Steve back at Bigfoot had been analysing my data. Well, what an excellent report he was able to produce on the back of that. The main conclusion would appear to be that I am a machine, not being phased by distance or even by the climbing as such but just taking everything in my stride and, crucially for such hot temperatures, putting plenty of water in the radiator! That was definitely one of the keys to success and which I had identified as something I needed to focus on, so I’m glad I was able to achieve that objective.

Route reflections

It’s probably unfair to try and compare the two Tours since we had a great group of people in 2017 which made that year really special. Some of these are “repeat offenders” and were here again in 2019 of course and there are also quite a few who would have liked to have come back but could not for various reasons. Indeed, such are the bonds among the 2017 crew that we are still in touch, still ride together occasionally and still offer each other mutual encourgement on our respective cycling adventures. In effect, there were others accompanying us on our journey this year that no-one else saw.

So with that qualification, I would say that overall I enjoyed this Tour more than in 2017 for a number of reasons. I touched on some of these on our first rest day in Albi (better weather, better bike and the fact I have survived three weeks before), but in addition to that I loved the route and and had a lot of fun while riding it, including experimenting with taking videos while on the move (climbing La Planche des Belles Filles and the Tourmalet for example) as well as stopping to take photos when I wanted to, rather than just plough on to the finish each day.

The challenge is both physical and mental and I was thinking during the trip that I probably should have had separate scores for those. Had I introduced a “fun factor” for the mental side of things, then I would have scored stages 6, 8 and 21 as Very High (success on the Planche, hailstones day and Babs coming to Paris) and stages 7, 15 and 19 would have been Low (long flat and boring, time pressure, no upper body strength). The rest are evenly split between High and Medium. While the suffer score does not really count as hard scientific evidence, nevertheless a cumulative score of 92.5 was 5% down on 2017 and intrinsically feels about right!

Reading through Steve’s analysis on my performance, it would seem that I may have thought of certain stages as being harder than they actually were for me in practice. So it was interesting to then read an article in Cycling Weekly which comments that working on the psychological can improve our physiological performance. So maybe I’m on to something and should have a suffer score that reflects external factors such as poor weather or roads and a fun factor that records how much I’ve enjoyed the day for various reasons! That would perhaps stop the mind thinking that I should be suffering just because it looks like a tough day and maybe help me to tap in to those extra physiological resources that I have but are maybe denied just because my brain says they should be so denied.

What next?

I’m making no plans! For now I’m happy being back on the local roads and have taken an opportunity to put my Tour form to good use on hills that I’ve climbed many times. I smashed my PB on Ide Hill (4 mins 58 compared with 5 mins 48) and on Polhill I beat a time that had stood as my best since 2011. All meaningless really, but fun nevertheless. Give me a few more weeks and I won’t get near those times again!

My main goal on returning was to be reintegrated into polite society! The buffets were a bit of a scrum in the mornings – not quite survival of the fittest but you had to take your chances when presented with them! When we had them, the evening buffets tended to be more civilised, but again we were taking (and eating) far more than would be normal. I estimate that I was consuming up to 4,000 calories per day – all of which I would have burned off as my weight did not change during the period.

There are quite a few mountains that I’ve climbed many times now, so I probably ought to do something different. My current league table is Galibier 5, Glandon/Croix de Fer 4, Izoard 4, Planche des Belles Filles 4, Telegraph 3, Alpe d’Huez 3, Mont Ventoux 3, Tourmalet 3, Peyresourde 3, Ballon d’Alsace 3 not to mention those that I’ve climbed once or twice. All in France, though I have ridden a little in Spanish and Italian mountain ranges. 

Final thoughts

It’s been a huge privilege to be able to take part in Le Loop again and to play my part in raising funds to support local charities that give young people opportunities they may not otherwise have. In doing so, we were blessed once again by a fantastic team that made sure we had all that we needed during the three weeks and also by good weather. It truly has been the “Sunshine Tour de France”.

Thanks again to all those who have supported me. As I have written before, the Tour is now over but not so the work of those charities. It’s not too late to add your support if you wish to and you can find my fundraising page at http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/johngriffiths5.

Vive Le Tour. Vive Le Loop. Vive Le Sunshine Tour de France!

 

 

 

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 04:30. Transfer: 6h15. Start time: 12:58. Distance: 127km. Terrain: flat (632 metres climbing). Climbs: two Cat 4. Finish: 18:03. Time in saddle: 3h41. Temp: 29C. Drinks: water, champagne, beer, champagne, wine.

Hugs and kisses from Babs: at least three, probably more!

Man-hugs: loads! Special time.

Suffer scores: non-existent today.

Local lowdown

Rambouillet is the lucky winner of the annual battle to secure the rights to host the start of the final stage into Paris. Our route will likely diverge from the pro route simply because for them it’s just a short hop to Paris where they will then tear up and down the Champs-Élysées eight times. We will have a gentle meander through the Parisian suburbs before doing just one lap on a busy Sunday afternoon thank you very much! Then time to open the champagne, if any has survived from Épernay or Reims!

Tale from the Tour

On Stage 15 we had a four hour transfer before riding and today we set off at 5:30am from a hotel at Lyon airport in order to be able to start riding by 1pm! At least today’s stage wasn’t going to be difficult. The race distance is 127km, but with time pressure and a few extra km in the bank from previous stages, 85km was plenty for us and meant that we at least mostly followed the official route into Paris.

After lots of dozing on the coach, we had a relaxed roll-out from Rambouillet, going through pretty forests again as if we were still in the middle of France somewhere. The smell of the pine forest was lovely – much more so than the scent of the cyclists’ shoes in front of me. I’m probably just as guilty of contributing to that! A reminder that all my kit needs a good wash!

We had lunch after 35km, from which point it was time to make our way to the Eiffel Tower. I loved this part of the ride because I knew that at the end of this section I would see Babs waiting for me. Her arrival made the day and the Tour as a whole something really special and when we met the sense of fulfilment was so much more complete than when I rode this event in 2017. Plenty of sweaty hugs and kisses!

We hung around until all the riders made it to the Eiffel Tower and there was quite a throng of family and friends there to meet them. Then of course it was time for the obligatory group photo.

Enterprising vendors were hawking cold beer, champagne and wine to those in the mood to celebrate, which of course most of us were – but only to a limited degree as we still had a lap of the Champs Élysées to complete before reaching our final destination.

Cycle lanes have been installed on the Champs which made that circuit far less harrowing than it could have been (though the Arc de Triomphe roundabout is always a special challenge). So, down the Champs, under the tunnel and back up past the official finish line before getting to the hotel.

Shower, change and then some non-sweaty hugs and kisses!

Party time! Two coach loads of riders, friends and family taken to a Bâteaux Mouche for a celebratory dinner on the Seine. Much mutual congratulation in evidence, but I think we’ve earned the right to do that.

It’s been a special time with special people, with some of whom I have ridden this twice now. What a fabulous opportunity we have had and I hope that what we have done (raising £335,000 for the William Wates Memorial Trust) will really help to provide opportunities for those in not such a privileged position.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 05:45. Transfer: before 1h30, after 2h00. Start time: 08:24. Distance: 131km. Terrain: mountain (4,148 metres climbing). Climbs: one HC (Val Thorens), one Cat 1, one Cat 3. Finish: 18:01. Time in saddle: 8h34. Temp: 18-38C. Drinks: 6 litres (plus 1 litre beer at the end!).

Tarte Tatin: 1 (last night)

Magnum (almond): 1

Suffer scores: John 8/10. Wim 8/10 (probably).

Local lowdown

Albertville, home of the Winter Olympics in 1992. One of the great climbs from here is the Col de la Madelaine but we are not doing that this year. In fact, we rode up a different Col de la Madelaine yesterday. Confusing! Yesterday’s Madeleine was a mere Cat 3 rather than what would have been at least a Cat 1 if not a HC climb, so I’m happy that today we “only” have Val Thorens to conquer – the last of seven visits to the rarefied air above 2,000 metres.

Tale from the Tour

What a fabulous day to (almost) end on. Last night I ate well and slept well. Even though we first had another early start and a coach transfer, I was riding at 8:24am and soon realised that I was on a good day.

The first climb up Cormet de Roseland was a long one at 20km but a truly beautiful one. On the descent after that I realised that I was smiling while riding my bike again – the effort and concentration levels have been so high these past two days that they should be classified as Type 2 fun (i.e. in retrospect) rather than the Type 1 fun of today (i.e. in the moment).

Yesterday I was feeling weak and was slumped over my bike for good parts of the day, whereas today I was feeling strong. Indeed, the team were still setting up the final feedstop as I arrived at it – that has never happened to me before so it was a sign that I was going well.

I’m not sure whether it’s the Tarte Tatin that I had last night that made the difference, or the almond Magnum I had at lunchtime. Probably a bit of both!

Of today’s 130km, 60km comprised categorised climbs, so that’s quite a day to finish the Alpine section. The final feedstop came and although the end was in sight and we might use the expression “and it was all downhill from there”, in reality the last 33km were all uphill to the finish at Val Thorens!

The climb itself was not too bad in that the gradient was typically between 6-8%. It was never really higher than that except for the odd brief dig and occasionally the gradient was lower than that – with even a few bits of downhill. But 33km is a long way.

Halfway up I stopped to refill my water bottles at a fountain, but otherwise kept on going. Temperature varied from 38C at the bottom of that climb to 18C at the top.

Waiting for me was a massage for tired legs, beer which barely touched the sides as it slid down and a really good meaty dinner. Before then, I had estimated that I comprised 50% bread, 35% chicken and 15% lasagne, so this has redressed the balance a little!

The amount of climbing still made this a hard day, but mentally I was in a good place, so I’m scoring this less than the two previous stages but a bit more than other ones where I have not had to work quite so hard. Wim arrived just after me, having managed to miss the last feedstop though he was able to have a Coke at a bar halfway up the final climb. I think we had similar days, but I’m writing this on the coach on the way to our hotel in Lyon (ready for a 05:30 transfer to Paris tomorrow morning) and I’m too tired to go and ask him!

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 07:00. Transfer: none. Start time: 08:15. Distance: 123m. Terrain: mountain (3,308 metres climbing). Climbs: one HC (Col de l’Iseran), one Cat 1 (Tignes, but also above 2,000 metres), one Cat 2, two Cat 3. Finish: 17:25. Time in saddle: 8h04. Temp 28C (15C at altitude). Drinks: 4 litres.

Suffer scores: John 8/10. Wim 7/10.

Local lowdown

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is often visited by cyclists, in part due to its placement on the route of the Marmotte ride as it is the gateway to the Télégraphe and Galibier climbs (the latter we descended yesterday). That ride is a beast, being 174km long and featuring 5,000 metres of climbing, though that almost seems like a routine ride these days. Almost! Today we reach the highest point of the Tour at 2,770 metres and will end up in Tignes, which some may know as a popular skiing resort although apparently the original settlement here was flooded due to the construction of a dam in 1952. This is something that I saw in Spain last year too when we stayed in Riaño, which had been rebuilt in 1980s due to the old town being submerged for a similar reason.

Tale from the Tour

To begin with, I took the opportunity in my “unicorn” speech to defend the Bath Rugby jersey and to pour shame on Windy who had nominated me! Bit of fun really and we had some banter about it on the ride afterwards. I awarded the unicorn to someone who had dared to wear a yellow Tour de France leader’s jersey, which is an absolute no no and a breach of the unofficial rules of cycling (Velominati rule 16 if you are interested!).

A short day, but a tough day. The holiday is well and truly over and we really are at the business end of this Tour now. I first appreciated this yesterday, when it seemed to me that people were riding conservatively as we contemplated the big days to come.

Today we had as our main focus the highest paved road in the Alps – the Col de l’Iseran at 2,770 metres.

The first few categorised climbs before the Iseran were not especially taxing – I think that might not have been the case at the start of the Tour when we noticed all the smaller climbs a lot more. But after many days in the saddle, these days it’s sometimes hard to know what’s a Cat 3 or 4 and what is just an undulation. I’m sure more of the roads we ride on could be categorised if the ASO wanted to do that.

The Iseran wasn’t too bad a climb. Although it goes high, the start point was already high at around 1,800 metres. It had snowed here last week while we were in the Pyrenees but the roads were clear even though there was still some snow around. Contributed to a nice cooling breeze as we climbed up.

By contrast, the descent to the bottom of the final climb was truly horrid. Lots of tunnels to go through and the road surface was poor, so it was a relief to turn off and start the final climb to Tignes, where we are staying tonight.

There is another tough day tomorrow which means that there can be no let up in concentration. When I did this in 2017, the penultimate ride was a 20km time trial (aka cafe ride) around Marseille before boarding a train to Paris. Will be very different this year – details to follow!

I scored this a 9 despite the ride being shorter than yesterday and with less climbing. That’s because I was physically exhausted, not sitting very straight on the bike (no upper body strength) and also because of that descent which pushed the suffering up to 9 rather than 8. Wim is finishing strongly.

Cycling summary

Breakfast: 05:30. Transfer: 0h45. Start time: 07:40. Distance: 207km. Terrain: mountain (4,660 metres climbing). Climbs: two HC, both above 2,000 metres (Col d’Izoard, Col du Galibier), one Cat 1 (Col de Vars, but also above 2,000 metres), one Cat 3. Finish: 20:20. Time in saddle: 11h21. Temp: 30C (10-15C at altitude). Drinks: 6 litres.

Suffer scores: John 9/10. Wim 7/10.

Local lowdown

Could today be a tale of redemption? A good part of today’s route featured on Stage 18 of the 2017 Tour too and is memorable for me because I did not enjoy it nearly as much as I should have done. Essentially, I think I was just getting tired and this was the last of the mountain stages that time, rather than the first of three back-to-back big climbing days. The climbing starts early today and we rise to over 2,000 metres three times, so the trip to Valloire should be quite a different story this time round and hopefully will not be a time for tiredness and grumpiness!

Tale from the Tour

Well the good news is that redemption was achieved! I enjoyed today, even though it was by far the toughest physically. Mentally I was in a good place too and overall this scored a 9 rather than a 10 because compared to Stage 15 I got home in the light and in time for dinner!

After an initial ride along the lakeside, today was all about climbing and descending. I don’t remember the Col de Vars from two years ago, but Strava shows I’ve been there so that’s good enough for me!

Izoard was next up and this is now the third time I’ve climbed it from this side. Given that we were aiming to finish the ride by 9pm so that we could get dinner, taking more photos of the same thing seemed less important, though I still managed a few. Oh, and I beat my best time up there by 3 minutes (58 minutes total), so that’s pretty good going after the Tour we’ve had so far.

Then it was time for the Lauteret. This is the second time I’ve climbed it, but this time into a strong headwind, so unsurprisingly the 24km climb took longer than before – a lot longer (20 minutes)! Never mind, a quick pit stop for an espresso, a full fat Coke and a Mars bar and I went well up the last 8km to the top of the Galibier. After that, it was just a 20km descent into Valloire for shower, food and bed.

One final thing. On tour, as well as the “rider of the day” award given out by our lead rider Emily, there are two other awards that are decided by the riders currently holding them. So the chapeau is awarded for noble acts while the unicorn (an annoying squeaky toy that has thankfully lost its squeak) is awarded for stuff such as acts of stupidity or bringing cycling into disrepute. Last night the unicorn was passed to me on the basis that I had been wearing a Bath Rubgy cycling jersey! The logic for it made no sense to me so I shall exact my revenge when I pass on the unicorn, which couldn’t be tonight as we are using more than one hotel and people are coming in late. I should explain that the person who gave me the unicorn was awarded it because of the horrific nature of his own Bath Rugby kit while mine had attracted a lot of positive comments when I wore it in Pau!

Anyway, you decide:

Regardless, I have taken it on the chin and sported the unicorn on the back of the bike all day!

That’s the end of the long stages though not of the mountains. Two 130km stages to go in the Alps before we can dare dream of Paris.