Etape 10

Even if you aren't that interested in stats the stage profiles (showing the hills/mountains) are pretty cool

Etape 10 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 10 - Chambery to Gap (170km)

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The Climbs: Col du Noyer

After an Epic mountain stage the previous day that saw people drag themselves into the hotel in an often delirious state the 5.45am alarm was definitely something I didn’t want to hear. Today - Chambery to Gap.

An hour transfer took us to Chambery and everyone was grateful to hear that there was to be less climbing than yesterday. However, claims that this was in some way a 'rest day' seemed a little far fetched. We were going to cover approximately 179km with 3300m of vertical ascent...

The peloton rolled out at around 8.15 and after a nice long period of flat the stage took on the familiar 'lumpy' feel we were all now familiar with.

The biggest climb of the day was the Col du Noyer (Cat 2), a col with seemingly two ways up.... One short and steep and the other, planned route, long but less steep. As I and two others approached the col we were slightly confused by the signing and decided on our route up, only realising our mistake as we battled our bikes up some very steep inclines on a farm track in barren landscape with the wind buffeting us around. Beautiful nonetheless.

The descent down is supposedly one of the most dangerous roads in France and was very, very steep and wound tightly down the face of the mountain. An absolute blast!

The last little bump of the day took us over the Col de Manse (a col famous for Lance Armstrongs’ cyclocross efforts in a previous Tour). Now, personal hygiene is obviously an important issue on our Tour as all day in bike kit and moving from hotel to hotel every night makes keeping everything clean difficult. Hand washing in the sink can only take you so far. You know, however, that new levels have been reached when an unnamed member of the peloton has a swarm of around 80 flies follow him across the Col de Manse for a full 3km...

Rick even tried to emulate Lance by cutting the corner and riding his clean bike all the way across a ploughed field. Made for a good photo at least. Some good photos will hopefully follow

We arrived in Gap in good time and those that need to replace their bikes have headed out to the local bike shop to see what is available. Hopefully it will be all sorted...

Beard finally joined us again this evening and hopes to be out on his bike tomorrow morning (the ‘downhill’ day). His knee is not totally fixed, but you have got to try, right? With him he brought Williams’ new bike, hopefully it will do the job.

Yesterday’s stage has really taken its toll on people and many struggled today, hopefully tomorrow’s slightly easier profile will give them some much needed respite.

Tonight the Morzine-Avoriaz times were in. I got up in 56mins 30secs, a pretty respectable time considering I already had 185km and some climbs in my legs. Came in in second place, behind the fitness instructor on the Tour...

Good news. The Morzine hotel's insurance will cover all the bikes stolen.

We are half way! At least in the number stages, if not distance or difficulty....

S

Time: 8hrs 19mins
Distance: 177km
Av Speed: 21.3km/h
Total Ascent: 2948m
Av HR: 121bpm

Food intake.... can you put weight on whilst cycling the Tour de France?

Just for interests sake I decided to note down the amount of food I managed to stuff into my face on just one day (in fact one of the shorter days). We are eating soo much food all day, obviously we needed but it makes funny reading to see it on paper:

2 coffees
bowl of muslie
cinnamon swirl
pain au chocolate
croissant x 2
lemon cake
ginger cake
lemon cake
lemon cake
banana
handful of dates
banana
handful of apricots
handful of peanuts
malt loaf
peanut butter sandwich
jam sandwich
bourbon biscuits x 5
chocolate biscuits x 2
plate of pasta
energy bar x 2
cake
can of coke
cake
can of fanta
750ml of energy drink x 4
recovery bar
cold starter platter
steak and potatoes
cheese course
chocolate ice cream...

Yum!

Etape 9

Check out the profile on the link below! Some serious bumps!!

Etape 9 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 9 - Morzine to St Jean-de-Maurienne (204km)

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The Climbs: Col de la Colombiere; Col des Aravis; Col des Saisies; Col de la Madeleine

Epic! The climbs; the descents; the scenery. Totally epic!

Had a fantastic day in the mountains today, just totally brilliant. Today was a massive Alpine stage, taking in four big climbs including or first Hors Categorie! Definitely one of the hardest days of the entire Tour and our hardest day before the Pyrenees (my stats verify this...).

We set off from Morzine at the slightly earlier time of 7am today in anticipation of a long day. In fact, around seven of the more ‘relaxed’ riders in our group set off 45mins earlier than the rest in order to allow them even more time.

After a few bumps and a descent from Morzine we started our first climb, the Col de la Colombiere, a pretty tough Cat 1 with a kicker at the end of the climb. Once over this we shot down into the valley before shooting straight up the Col des Aravis, a relatively straight forward Cat 2.

After a short break just out Flumet I headed out up Col des Saisies the second Cat 1 of the day. Like the Aravis, it was a climb I already knew and I spent a lot of the way up chatting with a 60 year Dutch guy who was out on a trip training for the Marmot at the weekend. Generally any cyclists we have encountered have been very chatty and keen to cycle with us for a while.

After an awesome descent from the Saisies and a blast across the valley into a headwind we hit the base of the Giant of the day. The Col de la Madeline went on for 24km and took us up to 2000m. A heck of a lot of climbing. It was a long slog, but great to ride... had a blast! After so much climbing though a lot of people really struggled and it really spread out the group...

Roly put in an awesome show today, his first proper day in the Alps. He loved it and was totally back on form. His knee pain was manageable, and he stormed round. We rolled in together at 7pm, shortly followed by Davinia, although he had been cycling for a little less time.

Some people didn’t roll in until 9.30pm and looked totally vacant. Incoherent. Everyone is sleeping now...

Photos of all the Col signage below.

We have a 5.45am rise tomorrow. Eek!

S

Time: 10hrs
Distance: 209.9km
Av Speed: 21km/h
Total Ascent: 4662m
Av HR: 139bpm

Rest Day (Morzine)

We woke up this morning to some fckn bad news! What was supposed to be a relaxing day was about to get very stressful for a lot of people...

Overnight someone had broken into the bike storage room and stolen 10-15 bikes! Williams’ bike was amongst them... my heart was racing when I heard the news and rushed down to see if mine was still there. My custom built bike is pretty unreplaceable on any kind of short notice... not to mention the silly amount of money that it has steadily drained from my bank account over the last few months. Feel totally, totally gutted for the guys that are now without their bikes.

Someone must have watched a lot of serious kit rolling into the hotel (or received a tip off from the staff here) and rolled up with a van during the night, broken in through the back door and loaded them into a van.

Strangely a lot of the more expensive, high-end bikes (such as mine and Chris’ Cervelos, Phil’s Parlee and Rick’s Time) remained untouched. It seems that the thieves focused on brand names they recognised, so almost all the Specialized bikes got nicked along with some Felts.

Williams took it all pretty well I think and fortunately with Chris’ bike still here he can use that until Chris rejoins the group on Tuesday. Chris is bringing out a new bike for Mark when he gets out. Most of the morning has been trying to sort the logistics of this... At least he will be on a bike tomorrow.

Outside of that trauma, today has been a relaxing day and a chance to catch up on some sleep and admin (including a much needed trip to the laundrette). A swim in the pool and watching the football (thank god we are not in the country for the next two weeks, maybe all the fuss will have died down by the time we get back).

Morzine is absolutely rammed with hairy, smelly downhill mountain bikers this weekend as there appears to be some sort of convention or event going on.

Tomorrow is one of the four biggest days of the Tour and takes in a couple of huge climbs, an early night and an early start await us. I have done the majority of tomorrow’s route at various points previously and it is as beautiful as it is epic!

S

Etape 8

Not surprisingly my heart rate for the last climb of the day is pretty high.... working hard!

Etape 8 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 8 - Les Rousses to Morzine (195km)

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The Climbs: Col de la Ramaz; Morzine-Avoriaz

First real mountain day today as we left Station des Rousses and headed for Morzine-Avoriaz. The day started with a long descent almost to the shores of Lake Geneva that took in some fabulous views.

The focus of the day was the two Cat 1 climbs at the end of the stage, but first we had to pedal 130km+ on a route that was getting steadily lumpier. Again we were blessed with the weather (although cycling in the baking heat does mean that drinking lots of water and taking on electrolytes is really important and a lot of people were suffering by the time we got to lunch).

We had lunch at a lovely spot by a lake right at the foot of the Alps as we all prepared for the next 70-80km that was going to take in the Col de la Ramaz and a final climb up the Avoriaz from Morzine (and then an additional descent back down to our hotel in Morzine). The Ramaz was going to be the harder climb of the day with a steep and narrow ascent, the first third being relatively straightforward (except for the suffocating heat), but the middle four were relentlessly steep kicking up to 10.5% for the last km into Summet and then flattening out a bit.

A cheeky little climb into Les Gets preceded the final climb from Morzine. On arriving for the final stop in Les Gets we were told that there was a surprise waiting for us at the bottom of the climb.... on arrival we were told that we were being chip-timed up the climb. Not a particularly pleasant surprise as what was going to be a gentle climb up the last hill of the day now turned into something that it was at least necessary not to embarrass yourself on. With 185km already in the legs people really struggled up the hill. I tried to push a little and hopefully put in a respectable time... On arriving at the top the heavens opened and I hid in the van until it calmed a little before attempting the 14km descent back down in the rain. The descent back down took me past a lot of people on the way up...I was met with lots of vacant/pained looks.

Even as the first person up the last hill, I didn’t get down to the bottom until 1945... some people didn’t get back down until very late, others had a lift down from the top and some people even weren’t even allowed up. Fortunately all of the 15 that are doing the whole thing got up and down.

Once again, we had a few extra kms compared to the real Tour...

Amusing story of the day was Williams climbing into Les Gets when some old French dude flew up behind and then slowed to a tenth of his speed to engage in conversation. He asked Williams what was going on and he told him that he was heading to Morzine, the Frenchie seemed unimpressed. Williams then told him he had cycled 160km so far today; still unimpressed. We are cycling the whole Etape 8 today; nothing. We are cycling the whole Tour; ‘Whatever’. Williams was aghast and asked what the deal was... apparently the old guy had cycled the thing for real some forty years ago. Sure the tassels on the bike didn’t help with Williams’ credibility!!

Afforded myself several pints last night, the first drink I have had for some time. Deserved it!

Thank god it is a rest day tomorrow.

S

Time: 9hrs 25mins
Distance: 213.6km
Av Speed: 22.7km/h
Total Ascent: 3703m
Av HR: 131bpm

Etape 7

Even guys on the Tour that thought stats were pointless are now talking about their heart rates at water stops.... stats are important!

Etape 7 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 7 - Tournus to Les Rousses (170km)

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Today we got the first real sniff of the mountains. After 40km of relative flat, the fun began with the route going up and down a succession of ridges in the Jura Massif, before hitting our first two big climbs towards the end of the stage.

The first of these was the Category 2 ‘Col de la Croix de la Serra’ which was immediately followed by another Cat 2, the ‘Cote de Lamoura’ which took us up the mountain top finish of the Tour route. We, as we like our extra kms, had a further 16kms in addition to this to get us to our hotel and after what was a glorious day it absolutely hammered it down for the final burst home. The rain actually stung as it hit you – guess that is the nature of the weather once you hit the mountains.

Along the way we stopped in a small town with a fountain for one of our snack stops. Upon parking up our bikes, everyone just stood in the fountain thigh deep in cold water to help with the muscles – right in the middle of the town square. We got some rather quizzical looks from the locals and one old couple came out with a photo of them and Lance Armstrong, who had been in the village two days previously doing a bit of a reccie on the route. Nice photo below.

Roly got himself on some codeine today (which a worryingly large number of people are happily popping). It seemed to really help with the pain and he perked up a lot. Good to see him back on form.

Best story of the day is that Williams was cycling up the last climb when he passed a French guy holding a bottle of water when he felt some water splash on him. Pretty affronted Williams slows, turns to the guy gives him a look at a few choice words at which point the French dude looks pretty confused and makes off pretty quickly. Williams then proceeds to pedal a further 50m up the road before he realises it had started to rain... he will be riding with the tassels tomorrow.

TGS jerseys were out today.

There also seems to be a worrying trend amongst the peloton. Grown men are shaving their legs.... I know it helps with massages, but c’mon guys have a bit of self respect!

Love cycling in the mountains; working hard to climb and then flying down the other side with fab scenery all around – doesn’t get a whole lot better! The Tour proper has started...

S

Time: 8hrs
Distance: 181.1km
Av Speed: 22.6km/h
Total Ascent: 3325m
Av HR: 137bpm

Etape 6

I like stats, they are important...

Etape 6 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 6 - Montagris to Gueugnon (220km)

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Well today was a long one indeed! 248km to be precise. Longer than we were expecting and a good 21km longer than the Pros. Bonus kilometres are becoming a regular feature; every day so far we have come in at least 10-15km over what we were originally told.

In total we were cycling for almost 10 hours, making it a very long day!

Today a little of the extra distance came from diversions due to the resurfacing of numerous roads in preparation for when the Tour itself passes through. Whilst the diversions added distance (and in one instance an additional categorised climb) we did benefit from a lot of the new road surfaces, so it wasn’t all bad. Hopefully we don’t find routes closed for work once we get into the mountains... generally there is only one way up and over the Cols, so not being able to pass could be a disaster!

My bike today sported the glimmering handlebar tassels and the comedy horn (picture below), and I took every opportunity to toot passersby.

The route today, again in glorious sunshine, took us into the heart of rural France through the Saone-et-Loire and into the Bourgogne region. It was a rolling stage and took in some very scenic climbs as we gradually approached the foothills of the Jura Massif.

Knowing there was worse to come I spent the first portion of the day conserving energy and just tapping away at the pedals. Yesterday was done at a slightly manic pace...

Mark’s repositioning of the cleats on his shoes along with the additional insoles seems to have sorted his problem, or at least he wasn’t complaining as much today... Roly also seems to be in some discomfort with his knees and Achilles. Hopefully nothing too serious. On a brighter note, Beard has booked flights and trains to get to Gap to meet us there and hopefully pick up where he left off...

Tomorrow really sees the start of the Tour proper as we finally enter the mountains and meet a few ‘proper climbs’. We have a very early transfer tomorrow, with the coach leaving the hotel at 0615. It is going to be a massive day and a chance to really stretch our climbing legs; I think this is when people are really going to start to suffer. The peloton is really beginning to stretch out over the routes now, and the hills will only compound this!

Generally, I have had a look back at some of my blog entries, and they don't always make a whole lot of sense. I blame the tiredness; this is the last thing I do before bed and by that time I am struggling to hold conversations let alone type coherently. This is only going to get worse...

S

Time: 9hrs 54mins
Distance: 248km
Av Speed: 25km/h
Total Ascent: 2532 m
Av HR: 124bpm

Etape 5

More stats; check out the player option

Etape 5 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 5 - Epernay to Montagris (194km)

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Another glorious day on the bike that took us through the Champagne vineyards, the Fontainbleau Forest, through some very picturesque French countryside and villages and passing through the Brie region.

After a relatively easy day yesterday and a more relaxed evening the legs felt stronger despite the stage itself being slightly ‘lumpier’ and longer.

The England game was kicking off at 4pm local time and it was possible that we would arrive in Montargis in time to catch some of the game. This carrot meant that today was by far the fastest stage to date as we rattled along with an average speed pushing 29km/h and limiting the amount of time we spent at stops. So fast, in fact, that we again caught the van out ahead of us putting up the directions and had to wait at a roundabout to give them a head start.

The final 40km was done at a blistering pace and I and two others broke off the front and were flying along through a small village when we passed an old French guy out for a pedal on his velo. We flew past him at 42km/h, but when we turned round he had joined our train without even looking like he had tried, he then pedalled the remaining 20km into town just tapping the pedal and leading from the front. The guy was 72! (picture below) He seemed impressed with what we were attempting, but when we arrived at our hotel with him he was insistent that the stage finish was 2km further up the road and that we should ride that. He then offered us a lift to his house if we wanted to watch the football. Amazing.

Thankfully the rush to get back was worth it with England qualifying. Just.

Williams put an extra set of insoles in his shoes today and moved his cleats back a little and the toes didn’t start to hurt until 160km. Hopefully the moaning will stop soon....

The sun is giving me a rather silly tan....

The bad bit of news today was that Beard headed home... Understandably he was pretty down about the whole thing but felt that spending his days in the support vans wasn’t going to help his knee. He managed to get a lift all the way back to London and hopes to see his physio before trying to get back out for either the Alpine stages or in time for the big Pyrenees stages. Hopefully some time to recover will see him back here soon. Gutting!

We have been giving out two awards at the end of each day, one is the Tourmalet Pig given to someone who has performed an extraordinary act during that day and the other a set of handlebar tassels and a comedy horn given for.... well for anything. Today I got the tassels for being the ‘Prettiest Boy in the Peloton’; apparently taking photos of yourself whilst riding is frowned upon?

Longest stage of the tour to cover tomorrow, so the extra rest an early arrival has afforded us will be needed. The longest, but by no means the hardest.

Feeling good!

S

Time: 6hrs 43mins
Distance: 191km
Av Speed: 28.4km/h
Total Ascent: 1198m
Av HR: 133bpm

Etape 4

Daily stats...
Etape 4 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 4 - Camberai to Epernay (150km)

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If you count cycling 160km a day of rest, then today was a rest day! Despite an early rise and a coach transfer to the beginning of the stage we were only on the bike for six and a half hours today. The extra three hours saved have made a massive difference!

The day itself was a relatively flat stage with a few rolling hills, so was a real opportunity to rest the legs. The route took us down through the Champagne region of France and the weather was absolutely glorious – sunny from the outset.

I spent the majority of the day on domestique duties for Williams (just about the right pace...) and listening to him talking about his toes all day! He is, apparently, in some discomfort...

I took the opportunity to ride in amongst the main group today and really took my time at the rest stations. After some bike admin (a proper clean and mechanical stuff) back at the hotel and a massage I feel fresh again for the first time in days!

Dinner is slightly earlier today, and there is no transfer in the morning, so will have the opportunity to get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s stage which is, again, one of the ‘easier’ ones.

We don’t know yet whether Beard will be leaving sandwich making duties and rejoining the peloton or not tomorrow.

Some nicknames being banded about. One for the rest day.

S

Time: 6hrs 24mins
Distance: 159.4km
Av Speed: 24.9km/h
Total Ascent: 1604m
Av HR: 125bpm

Etape 3

Route, speed, HR and the rest...
Etape 3 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 3 - Huy to Arenberg (207km)

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A day of two halves really. We started off in Belgium (Wanze) in the pissing rain again and continued along some rolling countryside for the first 100km. But as we approached France the sun began to creep out and the day ended in glorious sunshine.

Generally today was a flatter stage than yesterday, but the harder part came at the end of the day with 7 sections of cobblestone roads totalling over 13km.

The Pave was really the main feature of today’s stage; roads really only fit for tractors with cobblestones all over the place, loose, uneven, cambered and generally just a mess. They really were challenging and shook us all to the bones – a challenge to hold onto the handlebars.

Even though they came at the end of a long day I really enjoyed the experience. Certainly put Paris-Roubaix in to some perspective; how the pros can race on those things is beyond me.

Unfortunately Beard was the first casualty of the Tour. His knee was giving him problems from yesterday and he started the day in some discomfort. The pain got progressively worse and by the time he rolled in for lunch we all decided (for him) that is was probably best not to continue and attempt the Pave and perhaps have a rest tomorrow so that he could recover and hope for the best. Hopefully some good news will follow.

I expected the days to be dominated by cycling, naturally... but with approx 12hrs a day out on the roads (incl. the feeding stops) and the level of bike admin necessary as soon as you arrive at the hotel. There is barely a minute to even think about anything else. My day is dominated by cycling, eating and sleeping. I am not doing enough of the third, but plenty of the first two. In fact the amount of food consumed is verging on the obscene... more on this tomorrow I think.

Tomorrow is another 5am rise. Joy! It is a shorter and easier day than the three previous days though.

S

Time: 9hrs 12mins
Distance: 220.5km
Av Speed: 24km/h
Total Ascent: 1255m
Av HR: 125bpm

Stage 2 - Brussels to Spa (201km)

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Another 6 am rise to head out of Brussels. Again we headed out in the wind and rain along a cobbled city centre, resulting in several punctures for the group within the first 10km.

Once out of Brussels things get a little less flat and the terrain started to turn into rolling hills.

The GoF headed out pretty quickly for the first half of the day, but with the water stations coming approximately every 40km. It was only every a matter of minutes before other groups started rolling in. Lesson learned - no point going off ahead of the group (unless going up a hill).

Today's route was a little bit of a nod to Leige-Bastogne-Leige and took in a number of its key hills, making today the first day of the Tour to see categorised climbs. The most impressive of these was the Col de Stockeu, on which Mercx famously always attacked, which hit 23% at points. Seriously steep! At the top is a monument to Mercx (photo below).

Due to a slight mapping error the stage ended up being 20km longer than expected, which really hit hard at the end of the day compunded by the fact that our hotel was at the top of a 14% climb in Spa.

Pretty beat, and have a 5 am rise tomorrow for a transfer to the start of the next stage.

Longer and more hilly than expected!

S

Time: 8hr 56m

Distance: 216.3km

Av Speed: 24.2km/h

Total Ascent: 3037m

Av HR: 134bpm

Etape 2

More stats... and a pretty map!

Etape 2 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details

Stage 1 - Rotterdam to Brussels (219km)

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So we are off! After getting in late to Rotterdam due to a slight train mishap which unfortunately resulted in us missing the dinner briefing (but fortunately the football...) and some serious bike admin we had a 6am rise for a 8am ‘Grande Depart’!

Approximately 20 of us set off, with around 15 attempting the whole tour.

The majority of people in the obnoxious pink jerseys, we set off from Rotterdam after a brief lap of the park (a nod to the prologue) under grey skies. Pretty soon, and for the majority of the day, we were cycling along in rain and wind!

The pace was nice and easy as everyone spent some time getting to know each other and chatting along in pairs. A few too many stops and a few people getting lost all contributed to a fairly slow paced first half of the day.

Holland, as we all know, is pretty flat which was a blessing, the big crosswinds and headwinds that result from this were less so. The cycle path system in Holland is also amazing; you even get right of way over rond-a-bouts!

After lunch the ‘Gang of Four’ (hope you like that af) decided to up the pace a little and led from the front for the remainder of the day. At the last water station of the day as we headed off as the others were arriving we left to jeers of ‘off go the pros’. I fear we have rather set ourselves up for a fall at some point... Almost immediately after we caught the van that had been out ahead of us putting up our directions.

In the end we made pretty good time and arrived in the hotel in Rotterdam with some time to spare before the group dinner in the evening.

Generally, the standard is good and I think everyone who is planning on doing the whole thing will get there. Think that Beard, Williams, Chuter and I are definitely up there..

Overall a great first day, everyone riding seem like top people with some good banter. Looking forward to tomorrow already.

Time riding: 8 hours 32 mins
Distance: 219.1km
Av Speed: 25.6km/h
Total Ascent: 718m
Av HR: 128bpm

Etape 1

For the stat geeks.... Etape 1 by sgcbrown at Garmin Connect - Details