Conclusion

I take my hat off to anyone who rides the route of the Tour de France. I only know of one rider referenced as having ridden it on his own, with no support. It was in Paul Howard’s book, “Riding High”. At least, I presume this rider finished it. He was actually doing it the really hard way; camping.

What happened next

It was all well and good, finding me a mobile home for the night but, I didn’t have any towels, as I was relying on hotels for all my overnight stays. And so, having ridden 232kms that day, I washed as best I could and walked into the small hamlet looking for food. Nothing was open. Luckily, I had packed a pack of Adventure Food and so, from a vacuum packed silver bag, I consumed a cold Chilli and rice and went to sleep.

Stage 1 (and a bit more)

Le Passage du Gois

After cycling from the hotel in Challans to the start of Stage 1, I made my first mistake. I forgot to re-start the Garmin, after stopping to take a couple of photographs. By the time I had realised my mistake, I was 50kms into the stage. The stage started off really well. I joined a local rider and after chatting to him for a while, I sat on his weel for about 10kms. Shortly after we split up, the heavens opened. It was one of those showers with huge drops of rain. I was soaked in no time, but it did clear up shortly after.

1 day to go

Today was a much better day than yesterday. I still had the headwind, all the way, but riding in dry conditions is so much better than in constant rain. Having said that, there were a few showers but within a short while, you were dry again.

These were turning fast

Talking of headwinds, these things were facing the same direction that I was travelling in and they were turning fast.

2 days to go

My ride today on Garmin – Strava

Today didn’t really go that well. Hardly slept on the overnight ferry to Saint-Malo. The first 50kms of the ride was done in the rain. Although it cleared up for the next 60, the last 25 were also done in the rain. On top of that, the whole ride had a head wind. Not a good start.

3 days to go

It’s too late to change anything. The time’s 14:20 and all final adjustments have been made and the bike is fully loaded. In a little while, I’ll be off to the Station to get the train to Portsmouth Harbour where I’ll be catching the overnight ferry to St Malo.

My Week in Training – Week 33

Date	Kms	Time	Type	Avg Speed (KPH)	Links
Mon, 15th Aug 2011	84	2:53:15	Road	29.0	Strava – Garmin
Wed, 17th Aug 2011	76	2:43:39	Road	28.1	Strava – Garmin
Fri, 19th Aug 2011	76	2:48:52	Road	27.3	Strava – Garmin
Sat, 20th Aug 2011	40	1:22:11	Road	28.9	Strava – Garmin

On Monday, I took it nice and easy. I also took the oportunity to test the new wheels, the Miche Reflex Wheelset, which I’d bought the previous day from Evans Cycles for £121. For the price, they are really good. I took the Fondriest out and so, can only compare them to my Mavic Carbonne SLs. They are definitely less twitchy in a cross wind although, they don’t have that gyroscopic effect of the Mavics, or the road noise effect. The Miche are slightly heavier than the Mavics and not as fast but then, the Mavics are 6 times the price of the Miche. All in all, I am very pleased with them and and look forward to using them in France.

One week to go!

Nearly there, just one week to go (Until I leave for the Vendée, that is).

I’m slowly getting all the kit together. There’s only been one slight problem which has been resolved thanks to Zyro.co.uk, the importers of Altura panniers. A little while ago, I bought a Altura bar bag with the intention of using it on this trip. The trouble is that I no longer have the receipt and have never used it until now. It comes complete with a Map Flap which is sealed by the use of velcro strips which have come away from the plastic pocket. A quick phone call to them and they have very kindly agreed to put a new one in the post for me, at no charge. So, thanks again Zyro.co.uk.

My Week in Training – Week 32

Date	Kms	Time	Type	Avg Speed (KPH)	Links
Tue, 9th Aug 2011	84	2:48:08	Road	29.7	Strava – Garmin
Thu, 11th Aug 2011	40	1:28:33	Road	26.6	Strava – Garmin
Sat, 13th Aug 2011	84	2:46:45	Road	30.2	Strava – Garmin

207kms this week. I must admit that this week has been a bit busy, hence just 3 rides, with just 10 days left for my Big Ride.

My Week in Training – Week 31

Date	Kms	Time	Type	Avg Speed (KPH)	Links
Tue, 2nd Aug 2011	78	2:45:11	Road	28.5	Strava – Garmin
Sat, 6th Aug 2011	84	2:59:40	Road	28.0	Strava – Garmin
Sun, 7th Aug 2011	84	3:03:14	Road	27.5	Strava – Garmin

Tuesday was another still, hot day in the Massif Central. I had previously mapped out a ride taking me part way along Stage 9 of this years Tour route (Issoire to St Flour). This section runs from Lempdes to Massiac, along the Allagnon River with a very slight uphill gradient but the roads are fantastic. Most of it had obviously been resurfaced for the Tour with such smooth Tarmac, the reduction in rolling resistance was really noticeable.