Doing it again?! (Part II)

Having done this before, I come into the challenge of doing the Tour de Force 2013 with my eyes very much wide open, but for those of you that were unfortunate enough to miss the blogging back in 2010 (or being subjected to approximately 80% of my chat for that entire year), it is worth setting out again exactly what it involves.

The Tour de Force is a charity event created by and for the William Wates Memorial Trust and is their main annual fundraising event. It offers mere mortals the opportunity to cycle all 21 stages of the Tour de France route, staying 7 days ahead of the professionals and finishing approx. 3500 km later, in Paris. The majority of cyclists participating ride a ‘Tour Taster’ package of between two and nine days – a true test of stamina, on average burning 7000 calories a day – with stages ranging from the shorter, flatter time-trial stage to those with 30km climbs, 12% hill gradients and up to five mountains! A smaller number of cyclist (‘lifers’) will take on the staggering challenge of completing the entire route.

The Tour de France 2013....

I was a lifer in 2010 and know first-hand what an awe-inspiring, and rewarding, challenge that is! However, having completed the full route in 2010 I was originally looking for new (cycling related) challenges. I had signed up for the Cent Cols Challenge (Pyrenees) in 2011, but the move to Hong Kong made it a logistical nightmare. There were a few trips that I contemplated in Asia, but the opportunity to travel to so many amazing new places, and not enough holiday, meant that beaches and diving holidays largely trumped cycling holidays. A UK return date during 2013 had meant that I was seriously considering having a crack at the Cent Cols Challenge (Dolomites).

All the while a good friend and Hong Kong cycling mate, Dan, was in my ear about perhaps getting involved in the Tour de Force 2013, if not for all of it (as he planned to do), then at least for a ‘Taster’. I wanted to get involved, but equally wanted to try something different (and doing just some of it after having done all of it previously felt like a bit of an easy option), so I sat on the fence for a long time.

Ultimately, the decision to commit to doing as much of the Tour de Force as possible was made shortly after Dan's sudden and tragic death last October, where his heart stopped just a metre before the finish line of the HK international triathlon. This cause is personal to me (and to each of the Hong Kong pariticipants) as having not only been there on the day, and seen just how sudden and unexpected it was, Dan was such a fabulously great and generous guy with so much more to give. Losing Dan has been an indescribable loss for all of his family and friends and somehow taking part in the Tour de Force in his memory, and raising money for the charity set up in his name (more on which to follow), seems fitting. A large contingent from London, including his brothers, will also be riding in his memory.

A good group of Hong Kongers, with a diverse mix of cycling pedigree, have all committed to taking part in the Tour de Force to varying degrees. Vicky, Caroline and Nic will be doing the final stage and will ride into Paris and take part in the final day celebrations. PT and Janice will be joining from stage 18 for the trilogy of mountain stages and the finish in Paris. JK (Dan’s girlfriend and my principal training partner in Hong Kong) and I will be starting in Givors for stage 15 and riding all the way to Paris, taking in Mt Ventoux and the Alps along the way.

It is really only work commitments (plus a two week honeymoon!), and some uncertainty at the time about my potential return date from Hong Kong, that prevented me committing to the entire thing again (not being inclined to do things by halves where possible) - however, things being as they are, of all the Tour Tasters available Tour Taster 8, the one JK and I have gone for, is definitely the most challenging. The Tour is all about the epic mountain stages, right?