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.

Another problem, which was resolved last Sunday was that the rear wheel I had intended to use was so corroded inside the bearing cavity that it probably wouldn’t have lasted the distance. So, a quick trip to Evans Cycles Warehouse in Gatwick was called for and a pair of Miche Reflex road wheels were purchased for the very reasonable price of £121.

This morning, I loaded the .TCX files for each stage onto my Garmin Edge 800. This means that the whole route is now programmed in and ready to go. This not only includes the route but the turn by turn directions as well. I had to remap three of the stages as the turn directions had somehow corrupted. The idea is that on the morning of each stage, I load that day’s route into it and follow it. Getting from the finish town to the hotel will be done by using the SatNav functionality of the Garmin and typing in the hotel address.

This afternoon, I printed off all the Hotel confirmation emails in order to have hard copies of everything. I will have them on my phone as well but just incase….

I’ve slowed down on the intensity of riding for these last 2 weeks. I’m riding at a slightly slower pace than previously and will be Carb Loading in the days leading to the off. The 2 days prior to the actual start on Saturday 27th August will be spent riding from St Malo to the Passage de Gois with a 120km ride each day.

As far as Sports Nutrition is concerned (Energy gels and powders), I’m not going to be taking that much with me. Decathlon are a large chain of sports supermarkets, in France. They are everywhere. I have made a list of their store locations near start and finish towns and will be visiting them as and when I need things.