Day 6 : 24th June : Prades to Angeles sur Mer

The sun was shining for this final 70km dash to the Med. We were to stop after 40 clicks at Thuile before getting the group together and doing a steady roll into Angeles.

Lunch stop in Thuile

Fast 40 kph ride to Thuile on lovely smooth flat road. Very enjoyable. Coffee and then the final roll to the Mediterranean.

Can't describe the feelings as I rolled to a halt with the beach and Med stretching before me. 448 miles on my speedo trip computer and 12000 metres of serious climbing. This was a fantastic trip, hard at times but imensely rewarding. Seeing the donations coming in to help Steve made it all the more gratifying.

On way to brain surgery now to have my brain rewired to stop me doing these crazy things !!!!

Chris

Day 5: 23rd June : Tarascon to Prades

Despite feeling good yesterday (apart from an increasingly sore rear end !) I realized as soon as we set off that the cumulative effect was taking it's toll on my legs. On the flat everthing felt sluggish and I even thought I had a slow puncture.

This 120km stage was going to be tough. Still as it was the final day of climbs I was determined to give it a bit of stick.

Andy, Neil & Vinny on the Col de Marmare

After a short 5km roll we started climbing up the Route des Corniche, a steady 6km climb. Once I got going the legs seemed OK so I pushed on and went away from my normal group. A steady descent followed which seemed to drag and after a short refresh stop we started up the Col de Marmare. This is quite long at 14km but the gradient is steady and consistent at around 4-5%. Set off just in front of Andy, Neil and Vinny who went passed me and up the road by about 200m. Really felt good on this climb and gradually closed on them and rode the last 8km with them. Well pleased as they are normally well ahead of me.

At the top of the climb it was very wet and misty. The descent to our lunch stop was cold and miserable.

After lunch we set off toward the last climb, the Col de Jau. This looked very tough at 18km with gradients of 8-12%. I was following Bob who was following Neil, who was following Manny and we all missed a right hand turn and ended up going off piste for 15km.

Looking back down the Col de Jau

Whether it was this, the cumulative effects of the last 4 days or the weather which had turned wet and windy but when I got onto the lower slopes of the Jau my legs decided to get the train home ! Jau was not exactly my best climb. Just ground it out and finally made it to the 1800metre summit. As we broke the tree line at the summit the crosswind blew me from one side of the road to the other! At the support van Pete told us to get some layers on and go and get drinks and food in the bus shelter - yep a bus stop on top of mountain pass !



The descent was not that nice, cold, wet and bumpy. Hands went numb ( no, not a heart attack!) and my arse was feeling every bump.

Only 70 clicks to go to the Mediterranean tomorrow and no hills to climb !!!!

Day 4. Bertran to Tarascon

This stage is 130 km with three climbs totalling 1700m. Seen by most as a light day with shorter, lowish gradient climbs of the Col des Ares, D'aspet and Col de Port.

Nice 10km ride to the Col des Ares. If you saw this hill coming on a normal Sunday ride you would quietly curse, turn round and go home ! but by now I saw it as a minor climb !! Ripped up it about 6th in the group and when our tour leader, Chris Balfour set off on the descent I was on his wheel and we had a superb descent and I found myself at the front of the group. Well pleased that only 4 guys passed me up the slightly harder Col d'Aspet which again I was pleased at my consistency on.

After an easy 20km we stopped for lunch and then set off up the longer Col de Port. Joined up with Andy and we rode up together and even had a sprint at the top which he won. It was drizzling rain by now and we were all wet and a bit cold. The open fire in the cafe was very welcome. Waterproofs went on for the descent.

 

A pleasant roll in to our hotel for 20 clicks - sorry, picking up the cycling slang - a click is either a kilometre or kph. Arrived about 4.30 so we all decamped to a bar. I had been abstaining from alcohol up until now but treated myself to a Panache - A shandy and a "croq monsieur" which is ham and a soft cheese sauce on toasted bread. This supplementary meal went down well.

Followed this snack with the best meal of the week, Double helping of vegetable soup followed by Salmon and Lemon Sorbet. Then a main course of Duck l'orange and a desert of apple pie.

Looking forward to the last climbing day.

Day 3 : 21st June : Luz St Sauveur to Betran

This stage is 110 km (75 miles) with 2 big climbs. The first is the Col de Tourmelet, the best known iconic climb of the Tour de France at 17km long to an altitude of 2115m.

My legs are now showing some cumulative effects. In particular the quadracepts ( big muscle that runs down the front of your thigh which is balanced by the Hamstring on the back of the thigh) which are now tender to the touch. Once you start pedalling though, they are fine.

Early slopes of the Col de Tourmelet

From the hotel we rolled along for about 20km to the base of the climb. The sun was getting stronger - this is going to be a hot climb. Started steadily and found the going OK for the first 5km.

Some of the stunning scenery on the Col de Tourmelet

The gradient ramped up then but still felt good. With about 7km to go things started to get very tough. No shelter from the heat but with a couple of ¨"confidence" stops I made it to the top in 2hrs 11mins. Nice rest then a long fast descent. You don't get the chance to do over 40mph on a bike for 10 miles very often so I went for it. Exilerating, reached 47mph a couple of times and had one slide round a corner which I went into a bit hot which was a bit of an adrennelin rush !! (Still alive Chloe).

Me at the top of the Col de Tourmelet

After lunch we climbed the Col d'Aspin. A shorter but quite testing climb which I ripped up. Well impressed with myself !! The descent was awesome. Fast, scenic and with lovely combinations of corners. Also there were loads of other riders so spent the whole descent in overtake mode. It's immensely rewarding getting your line right and outbraking slower descenders into corners. Caught another fast rider and we had a great "race" to the bottom which I won, and shook hands.

The group got together and we set off on the 40km ride to our hotel in Betran. Big headwind for first 10km and the quick guys on the front set off at a cracking pace. Us mere mortals just hung onto the train at 25mph. It's best to keep in the tow even if you are going this quick as toiling into the wind is a lot harder. Riding 10 inches from the rear wheel of the guy in front gets the adrenelin pumping and you need to be alert.

Dropped off the peloton after we turned along with a few others and we formed our own peloton for the remaining 30k to Betran at about 18mph.

The wind was a sign of a weather front moving in and we started to get some light rain as we approached Betran. Expecting some dodgy weather tomorrow.

Slept better and was well up for Day 4. Definitely finding my climbing legs.

Chris

Day 2 20th June : Gurmencon to Argeles Gazost

This stage is 110 km (75 miles). This is the Pyrenees proper with 2 big climbs. The first is the Col de Marie Blanc, a 13km climb to 1035 metres followed by the Col d'Aubisque, a 15km climb to 1500 metres;

Smiling faces before the ascent of the Marie Blanc

Kevin, the guy on the front in the picture went off at a fair pace. I got into my rythm and gradually rode away from the rest of the group, caught and passed Kevin, finished strong as well. Well pleased !! It's about 13km with about 3km near the top of between 10 & 13% gradient - a tough climb.

First long, fast descent was a buzz !!

Without realising it I think I had burnt quite a bit of energy on the Marie Blanc and the Aubisque was a lot tougher. Still, made it and after a break set off on the descent with 2 other s in our group, Bob and Dave. The Col de Soulor barely regestered and then we had a 40km ride to our hotel. The last 20km was dead flat and I enjoyed the "train" with each of us taking a turn on the front at about 23mph. Great fun.

Chris

Cycling the Pyrenees Day 1 19th June : Bairritz to Gurmencon.

The day of departure from Biarritz arrived and we set off at 8.30 - 100 miles with 2 Minor Cols - St Ignace and Osquich. Very hot day so consumed 8 litres of water. St Ignace was the first col and was a gentle intro to what was to come at "only" 3.5 miles long. Gradients gentle and I was far from the slowest. Osquich a bit more testing and found it quite tough. Going to be learning how to climb better !!

Just to let you know that you are nothing special these young guys were giving us some lip at the top of the Ignace !!

The 100 mile distance of the first day was very testing and felt quite tired with aching legs, so was a little apprehensive about my recovery as we had 2 major Cols to climb the following day. Also had an issue after the coffee stops when I experience cramping on the inside of my thighs for the first mile or so. After that all was OK but this separated me from the bunch and I had to work to catch up - into a headwind. There are some really quick guys here.

Lunch stop - mine is the white Specialized

Chris

The day of departure has arrived

Been putting the final touches to the training with a full on anerobic session and a circuit.

Just before doing the circuit Gary put me on his "Body SCan analysis machine" Stand on this in bare feet and hold onto handles and it sings a wee song whilst passing some sort of current through you which does a full fat, muscle weight analysis of each part of your torso.

The results showed how the training programme had affected my physical makeup. We set out to achieve 3 goals in the 6 month programme:

• Reduce overall weight (less to lug up hills - all the best climbers are light).
• Increase Leg strength
• Improve core stability (Thats your 6 pack to us vain humans)
• Reduce fat content
• Improve lung capacity
• Raise aerbic threshold - the point when you start to run out of oxygen in the muscles)
• Improve anearobic tolerance

The results from the body analysis showed that we achieved all these goals.

• Overall weight down 2.6 kg to 74.5kg
• Leg strength up to over 100
• Core stability better (not tested by machine - done by working out on core board and hemi ball
• Fat down to lowest its ever been at 13.5kg
• Lung capacity up
• Aerobic threshold now over 150 bpm
• Able to run heart rates of 175 - 180 for 30 mins now so anerobic tolerance improved

Had a bit of physio an a slight hamstring strain which is all OK now. Went for a nice massage yesterday and packed rucksack and bike.

Will do as many blogs as i can during ride with some photos. taking a heart rate monitor which should be interesting - probably scare me !! Also I have a video head cam so will put together a short video after the event and post it on u tube.

Chris

Another 100 Miler

I entered my 2nd 100 mile "preparation " ride, the Durassic Beast in Dorset. This was the toughest ride I had ever done with many very challenging hills and a strong headwind to contend with. I was quite pleased to do it in 6hrs 53mins. Doing these long rides is about gaining experience and learning from mistakes so on this ride I ate and drank about twice as much as on the previous 100 mile ride. Felt queasy after 60 miles so switched from the Viper electrolyte drink tto water for the rest of the ride. Sick  feeling gradually subsided and I finished strong. Recovery drink, a warm down and a good meal (2 in fact) in the evening meant recovery was much better. Felt fine the following day. Hope this works in the Pyrenees !!

Had a flu type virus the last couple of weeks which was a bit of a blow but at least it happened now and not halfway up a mountain.

Of on the 17th with the ride proper starting on the 18th with a 160km (100 miles) ride from Bairritz via 3 Col's (Passes) climbing 1900 metres (6000 ft).

The hotels have wi-fi so although i won't have my laptop I hope to be able to send blogs and pictures each day - that's if I'm not completely knackered each day and just want to sleep !!

Chris

PS  Overwhelmed by the donations. Deepest thanks to those who have donated. Apart from helping Steve I hope you can take inspiration from this crazy ride.

The first 100 miler - The Chiltern Big Dipper

Hi everyone

The riding at the weekends has been going well, weather has been great, warm and sunny. Built up nicely to the 100 mile "Chiltern Dipper" on 17th April. Lovely day, started steadily which turned out to be sensible as there were 17 climbs about half of which were significant with inclines as much as 20% in places. (1 in 5 in old money). Long distances are not my thing really so welcomed the company of a (quick) lady rider who I caught with 30 miles to go. The route was poorly signed and i had been off route twice (as had many others) which we were less than impressed with. With 15m to go we were directed down a single track road with more craters in it than the moon and gravel down the centre and i had a small "off" when the front wheel went from under me, sliding in gravel,on a corner. Grazed arm and a bit bloody, got breath back and carried on. Finished in 6hrs 38m - average of 15 mph. Got patched up by St John's Ambulance - no probs.

Then I learn't a big lesson !! Given my past as a runner and my knowledge i should have known better. Although I had a recovery drink I did not warm down and we went for a curry that evening (not the best recovery food). Did I suffer the next day !!  Tired, lethargic and aching legs. Can't afford this to happen in Pyrenees so discussed with Gary. Concluded that I am still not eating or drinking enough on the ride and I must warm down and eat a high carb with decent protein meal afterwards.

Doing another, even tougher 100 miler this weekend and will be taking 3 litres of Viper carb/protein/electrolyte drink, 6 Mule Energy Bars, A Peanut Butter sandwich and some chocolate. This is more than double what i had on the last ride so hope this will help me recover better.

The camera on the bike (or helmet) is working fine but it is a bit of a pain as the battery runs out after about an hour and the microphone has to be in a windsheild (which i have made out of some foam) and then put under my jersey. So far i have not got any decent results but think I've got the set up sorted and will try and get a decent file for Amy and Steve to edit and put up on Utube.

Signing off for now

Chris

More training and completing my first 100 mile ride

Sorry for delay in getting this next instalment done, been having problems getting onto the blog site.

Since last blog the "training" has changed a bit. In the gym with my personal trainer, Gary he has introduced some evil "oxygen debt" sessions to complement the heavy leg exercise sessions. The idea is that by pushing the body into oxygen debt you increase your aerobic threshold and tolerance of lactate build up due to oxygen debt. It's tough cos it hurts !! and you have to focus to go through pain barriers. Pain now should translate into less in the Pyrenees. If you want to have a go at what I am putting my poor body through this is a 1.5 hr "oxygen debt" session :

Concept 2 Rowing machine on resistance level 5

1000m Warm Up - about 4.30

1000m in 3.42, rest 3.30, 1000m in 3.40, rest 3.30, 1000m in 3.38
Then lie on floor groaning and gasping for breath !!  yes it is that tough. The first one is hard but controlled, the second one gets tougher - muscles are begining to want more oxygen than your lungs/blood can supply. The 3rd one is all about going for it and digging deep. After the first 500m the legs and shoulders are in oxygen debt and aching, At 1000m you don't think you can keep this up but you make it to 500m on target and then its all in the mind - concentration, controlling the breathing, maintaining technique and just plain hurt !! I did 3.41.9, 3.40.0 and 3.38.1. When you stop your lungs explode and I just collapse on floor for a few minutes. Gary says " not bad for a warm up" !! now for some intervals on the multi gym (Life Fitness 2000). Concentrating on shoulders and chest (still recovering from the row) we did heavy then light reps of Chest press, lateral pull downs and seated rows. Strangely, I will be going back - I think there is something wrong with the wiring in my head !!

Definitely noticing the difference on the rides. Invited to go out with a cycling club on their Saturday ride whilst in Birmingham. Turned up and clocked the bikes, they were serious pieces of racing kit, some costing upward of £3000 !! This was clearly the "elite group" This was going to be quick and i thought I would be out of my depth. Had to keep up though as i had no idea of the route or where I was !! Set off and straight away they were on it. Glanced at my speedo to see 27mph !! When riding in a bunch you get a huge tow but you have to stay glued (about a foot away) to the wheel of the guy in front. Stayed with them until it sped up with 5 miles to go and i lost the wheel . Still well pleased as I did 48miles at an average of 21 mph, much quicker than i have ever done.

Let you know how the 100mile Big Dipper ride goes

Bye for now

Chris

The going is getting tougher

I did not realise how long it has been since my last blog. Must admit that finding time to work, train be a normal bloke and do blogs is probably the reason.

Everthing is going to plan so far. However, having to change the mindset from "exercise for fun " to "training" has not been easy. It's like going back 30 years !! Gary (my personal trainer) at Physical Wellbeing has been ramping up the gym sessions and the results have been evident both in the gym and out on the bike. For anyone who wants to try out just one of the exercise routines I am doing - try this "Gym Triathlon" : 15 mins warm up at 10km/hr on (Life Fitness) runing machine then a 2000m row (Life Fitness Rower resistance level 5) 100m steady, 100m hard - Overall time 7m 39s. No rest - straight onto stationary bike (Lemond) 30mins hills on level 9 - 9.6 miles. I get to stretch for a couple of mins then back onto running machine level 5 for 15 mins - 2.6k. You are soaked in sweat and know you've worked hard after that !! Thats the cardio workout - this comes after 3 heavy weights sessions working legs, Chest and Arms, Shoulders and back.

On the two weekend rides I am working within heart rate zones. On saturday its the interval session - 6 x 30second sprints with 4-5 mins easy riding in between. Heart Rate goes to 90% of my max 158-167 bpm. This is tough as you go anearobic very quickly and your legs just ache ! Do a gentle 30min ride to warm down - very important as you need to get the lactate out of the muscles. Sunday is the endurance ride 3 - 5hrs at 65% - 116-133 bpm. I cover 45 -75 miles. Taking in the right fuel while you ride is vital and you get lulled into a false sense of security as the first 25miles or so are very easy. Did a 5hr one on Sunday and did not eat enough during ride and experienced what cyclists call the "bonk" (like the marathon runners "wall") at about 60 miles. Need to take more energy bars next time, reckon one for every 25miles.

My first test was the Surrey Ramble - a 75mile sportive through the surrey hills. Went well, the hills were definitely easier but the overall time was spoilt by first a puncture and the missing a turn and doing an extra 7 miles. Still 82 miles in 5hrs 12 mins was better than I expected.

Next test is the Chiltern Dipper ride on 17th April. This should be tougher. Its 102 miles with 17 climbs, 8 of which are category 4. For a climb to be categorised it must be at least 500m long with an average gradient of 3% - Category 4 is 4%.

Chris

The Journey Begins

Linking this awsome challenge with fund raising for Steve means that I have got to make it !! I have vowed to cycle all of the 443 miles and 11800 metres of climbing so I'd better get some preparation under way.

I owe it to Steve to be in the best physical shape possible for the challenge. Also I want to be able to enjoy this ride and not risk my health in the process so work done in the next 5 months will be vital.

To put things into perspective I used to be a 400/800m runner so 443 miles is well out of my comfort zone.I can't afford to waste my time in the Gym or on the Bike so I am working with my friend and Personal Trainer, Gary ( http://www.physicalwellbeing.co.uk/ ). With his knowledge, physiological testing and structured training coupled with my time on the bike we should be able to get this 55 year old body into shape.

At present Gary is working on my Strength, Leg Power and Fuel (thats food and drink to us mere mortals !!)  That's some heavy weights in the Gym twice a week. At the weekend I used to do a decent pace "leisure ride" with no particular structure or route. Anything from 20 - 50 miles. Never did back to back rides on consecutive rides so despite the miserable weather I have started a more structured approach to work on my endurance. Saturday - Brisk 90 - 120 min ride at 17-18 mph average and Sunday a longer 3 - 4 hr ride at 14 - 15 mph average. I'll keep this going for about 12 weeks to end of March ramping up the mileage on the Sunday to 100 miles then change the Saturday ride to more intensive intervals 30 secs flat out with 30secs recovery - 4 - 6 times and some reps up hills.

So far its been going well but just this week I had a difficult weights session on Thursday and after my Sunday 50 miler I felt unwell and have gone down with a fever so having to rest a few days. my first "test" on the bike will be the Surrey Rambler - a 76 mile timed ride with 1200 metres of climbing. I'll let you know how I get on - I'd like to get under 5hrs.

The picture is just me showing off - sorry about that. I'm not holding the traffic up, I've just overtaken them !!

All the best and if you are inspired to get the bike out and work the heart and lungs a bit, let me know - I can give you a few tips to stay injury free and fuel well. Don't be put off - my first ride was 4 miles and I was knackered !!

Chris

Cycling the Pyrenees for my brother Steve

Re: Cycling4Steve


There seems little point spending all this time and money keeping fit without putting it to use so after 2 triathlons and cycling from Birmingham to Oxford as challenges over the last 3 years I am setting out on my biggest challenge yet this year.

On 18th June, 2011, I am travelling to Biarritz, joining a small group of other lunatics and with the organisation and support of the guys at pyractif ( www.pyractif.com ) cycling coast to coast from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. You may have realised that to do this there is the small matter of the Pyrenees to negotiate !! This is a 7 day trip with 5.5 days in the saddle and several tough mountain climbs, many of which have featured in the Tour de France. Go to "Cycling Packages"/Classic C2C to see what I have foolishly gone for!

My brother Steve who has been suffering from Parkinson's Disease since 1996 had been researching a new treatment at a clinic in Mexico is short of funding. I then thought that linking my C2C to raise money for him would realise his dream (and treatment) much quicker. I then partnered with my sister-in-law Amapola (Steve's wife) who had had successful fundraisers in the past, and who also happens to be a webmaster. She will be taking care of all online activities. I am also meeting with my relations to see who has enough time to devote to this Cycling4Steve project. 


We're on our way Steve!