Over and Out

Well, it's about time I bought my Etape 2009 blog to a close. A new route has been announced and I've decided to have another go. So, I'm about to start a new blog: Etape 2010 - Pau to Tourmalet!
It's all a bit empty at the moment but will soon be filling up with Etape information and how my training is going. I hope that you will continue to read about the next adventure.

It's almost two years since I first started this blog and it's been an amazing time - Etape 2008, the discovery of the heart problem, recovery, and then finally my personal victory on Ventoux. That day in July really has changed my life; somehow, I feel different inside. I struggle to articulate what the difference is; each time I write it down, it just sounds like a load of hippy rubbish. All I can say is that I feel strong, right in the middle of my chest - it's almost like I have become aware of my soul. I know, it sounds like nonsense but that's the only way I can describe it. Well, whatever the change, it feels damn good!

Thanks to everyone who has been reading and commenting - it's been fantastic :-)

I leave you with a picture of me, a happy woman on the top of Ventoux.

First Cyclo-Cross Race

On Saturday, I tried my first cyclo-cross race. I had always fancied having a go, saw that there was one happening not too far away from my house and decided to go for it. I don't have a cyclo-cross bike so I had to make a few adjustments to my mountain bike - I changed the pedals (currently flat one side and spd on the other over to double-sided spd) and took off the clamps for the child seat and the tow bar. I didn't have any suitable shoes so I got a bargain in Evans - some Scott carbon soled MTB shoes reduced from £160 to £89! I was thinking about changing the tyres but decided to wait and see what a cross race was like before spending any more money on upgrades.
It was quite pleasant and somewhat luxurious to have an organised ride planned for the day and not have to leave the house until 1pm. When I arrived at the venue, I unloaded, got myself ready and went in to register. It cost me £13 to take part as I didn't have a Racing License and so had to pay an additional £3. I rode over to another MTB rider and had a bit of a chat and then moved off onto the course for a bit of a recce. Flippin' 'eck! within 100 metres, I was off the bike, climbing a flight of stairs with my bike under my arm then it was over some very lumpy grassy land. I was in the granny ring, legs pumping away and getting nowhere fast. We went down a tree covered descent, rocks helpfully painted white, and I was just laughing out loud. What the hell had I got myself into?? I wasn't sure where the start was so went up the stairs again, over the lumps and was then directed to the left where riders were all lined up and ready to go. The organiser gave a little speech and a blow of the whistle started us on our way.
It was fast and furious, right from the start and from the off, I was in last place. I couldn't have put any more effort in but I was going nowhere. I didn't use my Garmin, as I was worried about it getting caked in mud, so I had no idea of my heart rate, but my perceived effort was very high. I had to keep pedalling for the entire course, even on the descents, or I ground to a halt. I was soon on unfamiliar parts of the course and good grief, it didn't get any easier. One section was on a very narrow grass verge, the smooth tarmac tantalising close but sectioned off with tape. For me, this was the worst part of the course - my tyres soon filled with mud, essentially becoming very fat slick tyres. I had no grip and my back wheel was going everywhere. Shortly after the finish line, there was a steep but short hill - I saw some people dismounting but I thought I'd have a crack at it - mistake! I came to a stop, struggled to unclip and then fell slowly to the left. Lap 1 was not going well. It wasn't all bad though - whilst climbing the stairs, I overtook a lady on a mountain bike (who I later found out had to stop to be sick) and then another girl on a cross bike a bit later on. The effort was high and relentless - within half and hour, I was asking spectators how long we had to go. I just kept plugging away, getting lapped by the fast guys whilst trying not to slow them down too much. I didn't enjoy it too much - sometimes the guys shouted that they were going to overtake and gave very little room; I felt I was going to be forced off into the wooded areas. At one time, a guy shouted "on your left" and then another came whizzing by on the right, just as I was trying to move into that space to avoid the guy who had shouted up. Towards the end, I just stayed well to one side, even if that meant going over more difficult terrain.
I was really glad to finish. After a really tough hour, it was nice to have a chat with the other riders - I met Amy (Trio) and her partner Ali. I also spotted Tom (who I first met on the top of Ventoux) and Andy (from bikeradar forum).
Later that night, once the bike was cleaned (took ages) and I'd had a nice hot bath, I started to look back on the day quite fondly and even started looking on ebay for cross bikes. I will do it again - not until I've changed my tyres, but I will do it again. Hard work but fun (I think).
Here's a link to some pictures from the day - http://www.flickr.com/photos/26379578@N08/4000523917/in/set-72157622561174766/

The Cat & Fiddle Challenge ride, 4th October

I'm getting a bit blasé about sportives now. In June and July, I would have my "pre-flight" countdown - three days of carb loading, a planned ride pattern for the week prior to an event, weeks of weather checking, outfit planning, nutrition strategies etc. Come October and the Cat & Fiddle challenge, things are a little more relaxed. I did a ride on Wednesday, ate a bit more cake than usual on Saturday and at about 10pm Saturday night, thought about checking that I'd got some washed kit for the following day. I checked the forecast on the morning and it looked reasonable - rain forecast for the afternoon but I'd be home well before then.
The ride starts from Brian Rourke's shop in Burslem, Stoke on Trent. On the drive over, there were a few spots of rain but the sky was bright, the temperatures cool and it looked as though we were going to have a lovely autumnal day for it. As I was unloading my bike and getting kitted up, it was noticeably colder than anything I'd ridden in recently. My ill-chosen mitts left my finger tips cruelly exposed to the elements. After registration, I hung about at the start, waiting for someone to get us all of and running, but it never happened. Riders seemed to be slowly meandering off onto the road, with no fanfare, and as soon as I realised what was going on, I joined them.
The first few miles were an escape from the built up streets of Burslem and Tunstall. I used to go out with someone from that area years and years ago (my first boyfriend in fact) and it was quite interesting to see the area again. The vast majority of the route was on A roads, roads that I would normally try to avoid. It was early on Sunday morning so traffic wasn't a problem. In fact, it was an interesting game of join-the-dots to see how the quiet routes that I usually take are linked together by these busier roads.
Rain started around Congleton so that by the time I got to the foot of the day's main climb, the Cat & Fiddle, few kilos of water were swilling around in my shoes. I don't think the Cat & Fiddle is a climb to be feared - the start is a quite steep with gradients up to 10% ish, but you get some flatter sections higher up and even some descents. I made it up, even overtaking the odd one or two on the way (also overtaken a lot), and then it was straight over the top and a descent towards Buxton before a right turn saw us climbing back to Leek. I found this climb much more difficult - it seemed steeper and it felt cruel to making such an effort to regain the altitude that we'd lost so easily on the last descent. From here on, it was a bit of a roller coaster, some nice long descents and some tiring long drags up. Nothing as big as the Cat, but plenty to test the legs. I'd originally hoped that this ride would be a renaissance of Colin's interest in Cycling, and I'd promised not to drop him and ride all the way round with him. In the end, a problem with his back put him off joining me. As I rode around, I thought that it was possibly a good thing that he didn't choose this as his comeback ride - the rain made the Cat quite miserable and those long drags, which seemed to keep coming right up to the finish, well, it might have been a bit too much for a first ride back since Annecy. I know I found it a bit of a challenge after a few weeks of lighter riding.
Back to the community centre where sandwich and tea had been promised earlier. I did a double-take when I saw the spread on offer. I wondered if the food was meant for some other group of hungry people. Picture the scene: two long tables laden with plates piled high with sandwiches, salad veg, oranges, pork pies, sausages, cakes, cakes & more cakes including my favourite, caramel shortbread. I opted for a few sandwiches, a cup of sweet tea and a caramel shortbread. I took a picture to show Colin what he'd missed out on.
All in all, it was a good ride - the route, while on busier roads, was certainly challenging with some quite picturesque sections. The signage was good and there were a few marshals out on the route. There were feeds stops at the top of the Cat plus a few other locations - stocked with water, energy bars and some home made cake. The highlight was definitely the hospitality at the end - other sportives could learn a lesson or two from the Cat & Fiddle Challenge. When you've done a challenging ride in wet conditions, there is nothing to beat a nice piece of cake and a hot drink.

Think I've finally decided on a bike

My search for a new bike began around two years ago. I had narrowed it down as far as frame material: Titanium, but that was as far as I got. Then I was extremely fortunate to be given an aluminium Felt Z65 as part of the Team Cycling Plus experience and my search was put on hold. I was browsing through www.royles.biz the other day when I noticed an amazing bargain http://www.royles.biz/product/2888/Litespeed_Icon_Ultegra_TiWhite

When I looked through last weeks Cycling Weekly, the bike received a glorious 10/10 review: "It goes into my All Time Top Five", "If the Litespeed Icon can make that much difference to a half fit old duffer like me, what would it do with a half-decent rider on board".

I then checked out the review on the Bikeradar website: "The best bit, though, is when the road heads up – the Icon is a fabulous climbing companion. You find yourself halfway up steep hills barely realising you’ve started.
Or you stay seated on a climb that usually has you out of the saddle and cursing everything that’s sacred. It’s guaranteed to put a grin on your face."

Last weekend I decided to go and take it for a road test. Unfortunately, the sizing was all wrong. Although ML is a 56cm frame, like my Felt, the headtube is much smaller, meaning I was in a ridiculously racy position. However, it felt amazing. The road outside Royles is like the surface of the moon, but the bike just seemed to absorb it all - it was like riding on velvet. The very helpful guys let me try out a Look carbon bike too and there was no comparison. Although I was sitting much more comfortably, the ride was terribly harsh. I went away happy that I'd tried Titanium and it was more than I ever expected it to be, happy that I loved the bike and think this could be "the one" but a little disappointed that a bargain wasn't to be had.

Since returning home, I've been checking the geometry of the large size frame compared to my Felt and there's not much in it. And....drum roll.....I've decided that this is the bike I want. Now I've settled on this, I know it's going to be very hard to be convinced of any other view. The only problem is that it costs the best part of £4K! I've been trying to work out how much it would cost to buy the individual parts and then build it (would need help from Mr Payne if he's reading - or the bike shop). The bike is spec'd with Ritchie everything - I could opt for slightly lower spec bars/seatpost/stem etc. I already have a fab pair of Fulcrum R1 wheels so don't need any more wheels. I'm looking into all options to bring the cost down a bit. I knew I wanted to spend a bit on a bike, which I hope will last me for many years, but that seems just a bit too much (probably more than my car).

Now I've settled on the frame, the next dilemma is Compact or Triple: my compact has served me well and I've managed some huge climbs with it. However, I'm aiming to do the Fred Whitton next year and a compact will not be low enough for that. Plus, there are always moments when I wish I had a bit of a lower gear (like on Ventoux!). It would be good to have those extra low gears in reserve.

Thoughts welcome :-)

BTW, I've signed up for an intensive mechanic course at Edinburgh Bike Shop - I wonder if they go into building a bike on that?

Manchester 100 Miles

Just over two years ago, I finished my first century - the Manchester 100 miles. Those were the pre-Garmin days, where I didn't record my mileages, heart rates and times, but I distinctly remember my ride time being 6hours 35 mins. I stopped at every food stop and made other stops to add and remove layers of clothing - I think my total time was around the 8 hour mark. When we got home, I had a bath and then just collapsed on the sofa, absolutely knackered and barely able to function.

I had hoped to enter last year but the heart problem put an end to that idea. So, two years and one etape later, I thought I'd have another crack at it and hoping to go under 6 hours total time. The start line is about 3 miles from my house so I got up early and cycled over to Wythenshaw Park. Cars loaded with bikes were flooding in and the car park was already packed. I hadn't pre-registered so it was straight over to tent to pay and pick up a number. Cyclists were already lining up to start and many were milling around. It was all very well organised, lots helping out & it wasn't long before I had my number pinned on and was on my way.

I saw a guy in a Seamons jersey and decided he was going to be the wheel I'd try to hang on to. A group soon formed and the pace was great - 20mph and above. I found myself struggling on the inclines (not that there are many or anything very severe on this route through the Cheshire countryside) probably due to my increase in weight since our holiday in France. The flats were easy though and we were motoring along through roads that are very familiar to me. When we got to the Weaverham/Northwich area, we came across a red traffic light and unfortunately, the group went through - I waited. I completely lost touch with them, couldn't even see them. I pushed on with a couple of other riders, tried to get somewhere near and hoped that another group might come from behind and sweep us up. I was in no mans land for a while but eventually caught some up and then jumped onto a faster group that went speeding by. I went along like this until I reached the 55mile feed stop in around 3 hours.

I remembered from 2007 that the food stop was loaded with stunningly good cakes, not that I saw them this time around. For me, it was just a bottle fill up and a peanut powerbar - these are actually really good and feel like you're actually having a bit of a treat. I saw a handy looking guy moving out of the feedstop so I got myself together and followed him out. I soon found that my legs were so heavy and really quite painful to keep going. Waves of cramp-onset were passing over my quads and calves. I had to back off and found myself riding alone again for a long stretch. A huge boost came when I joined back up with the 100km riders - most of them were riding mountain bikes and despite the sore legs, they were just so easy to pick off. I love that - I don't care who it is, even old grannies on shopping bikes, I love punishing them with my speed! ha! Towards the end of the ride, other faster 100 mile groups started flowing past again - I recognised the Seamons rider amongst others. I tried to jump on but my legs were still very heavy and sluggish and so I continued alone, pretty much until the end.

In 2007, the final stages were really hairy - loads of slow riders on busy residential roads. This time around, it was much quieter, probably because I was finishing so much earlier. I finally crossed the line in a total time, including stops, of 5 hours 36 minutes. My average speed was 17.9mph - just dropped below 18mph on a very congested section in Wilmslow where I was forced to stop. I'm over the moon with that time and I hope to be back next year to perhaps get closer to the 5 hour mark.

I hung around at the end for a while, chatting to a friend and fellow cyclist - Chris - before cycling back with some neighbours. A quick bath and I was up and taking kids to a party where I managed an okey-Kokey! A great day on the bike with a good result.

Here's the details:

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Manchester 100 Miles

Cycling in Annecy 2009

If you should ever require a same day passport service, you will be told that it will take 4 hours, 4 hours, 4 hours. There are no exceptions. So, with an 8.30am appointment, a 4 hour wait, an 8 mile drive to the airport and a 12.45pm last check in time, I knew that I was going to be cutting it extremely fine. By a huge stroke of luck, the official we saw at the passport office marked our collection time as 12.0pm - if it weren't for that, we would never have made it. With just 20 minutes to spare, we checked in and made our way through customs and onto our plane to Geneva.

Being with my daughter,(not to mention the wine and cider I downed in Weatherspoons), made the plane journey bearable. The sight of the Alps on the descent into Geneva, was a very welcome distraction. When the wonderful wall of warmth hit as we stepped off the plane, the holiday had officially started and within a couple of hours of landing, we were at our apartment and looking out onto this view: awesome!



The Cycling

The cycle path runs out from Annecy along the west side of the lake. From our base in St Jorioz, we were able to join up with the path and cycle 9km into Annecy. The path was fabulously smooth tarmac, with a dividing line painted down the centre. All kinds of cyclists were using it, slow families like us, racing roadies and everything in between. Despite the differences in speed, the route was shared very safely and responsibly. On our first ride out, we came to a point where a road crossed the cycle path - I told my daughter to stop and wait with me while the car drove through, but NO, the car waved us through - CYCLISTS HAVE RIGHT OF WAY!!! The next revelation came when I noticed the signs that said walkers must stay off the path and stick to the "gutters" and that dogs weren't allowed, even if they were on leads. Paradise or what??? The path itself was flat and perfect for family cycling and we did 3 rides over the week. My son was on a tag-a-long behind me, my youngest on a Hamax seat behind her dad, and my daughter was on her own bike. Considering that we only removed her stabilisers a few months ago, she did really well to finish the 18km round trip. We cycled for waffles in town, for lunch and a swim at the lake and again into Annecy for further explorations. It was a brilliant adventure, which we all loved and enjoyed together. The MTB was a good choice.

Most mornings I cycled into the centre of St Jorioz to pick up the days groceries. The boulangerie was stunning and was well used by the Popplewells. Each day we would get a couple of sticks of bread, croissants, 5 pain au chocolat (at least) and a selection of cakes for lunch. I put on about 6lb over the 7 days that I was there, but those calories were definitely worth it.


On one such trip to St Jorioz, I noticed a signpost - Col Leschaux, 11km. I ditched all my finely laid plans to do the time trial course and decided just to have a go at the local Col. I didn't want to be gone too long so a 22km round trip sounded just about right. As soon as I made the right turn, it was a steady gradient up with very little respite - nothing like the gradients of Ventoux, but on a mountain bike, it was ridiculously hard work. It was hot and I was blowing within about quarter of an hour. I started to wonder why the hell I'd decided to do it when I could have been sitting by the pool. Sweat was pouring off me and as I'd forgotten to pack water bottles, I only had a tiny kids bottle that held about 300mls of water. I had soon run dry and was just hoping to come across a small town or a little shop. I resisted the nagging urge to turn around and coast back home and was eventually rewarded with a couple of cold cans in a tiny village restaurant. What a boost! I was back on, my speed increased and soon up to the top of Col Leschaux! I don't know what was going on with me on the previous week but I'd also forgotten to pack helmets, so I took the descent back to St Jorioz very carefully. I was enjoying the scenery so much that it was great to ride it slow and take it all in - mountains definitely stir the soul.

We did drive the time trial course one morning and there were stacks of cyclists riding it on road bikes with all the gear. I enjoyed every moment by the pool with the children and I loved the family rides, but when I saw those cyclists, I definitely yearned to be out there with them. So, I resolved that next time I would take both bikes. The course was gorgeous and, if we had the right road, it had a nasty little climb in it - would have been great to ride it.

If there was a downside, it was the expense due to the poor Euro rate at the moment. Most nights we would spend around 90 Euro (~ £80) on food. An orangina cost just under 4 Euro. One of the bolts for the tag-a-long got lost in transit and I had to buy another from the local bike shop - they laughed at my French accent and then charged me 5 stinking Euro! Merde.

All in all, the week was fantastic. Lake Annecy is beautiful. There is so much to do there - most sports seemed to be catered for, the food is superb, the scenery breathtaking, the cycling couldn't be better. I could go on and on about it and would still come nowhere near to describing how great it is. We are already planning to go back next year for a longer stay - maybe fitting it around the Etape or the Marmotte? (or if dates allow, perhaps both - even though I know that is crazy)

Annecy - bit of a disasterous start :-(

I should be in Dover now. In a hotel with the kids, pleasantly stuffed after a nice pizza and a couple of glasses of wine to toast the start of the holiday. Instead, I'm still in Timperley with holiday plans scuppered by a basic and idiotic error on my part! This morning, after a quick trip to boots to pick up the last few bits and bobs, I came home and started to pack the final bag for the trip. All the documentation was printed and in the front pocket of my Etape rucsack. Only the passports remained.....you can see where this is going. Unfortunately, when I opened up my Daughter's passport, I saw, to my horror, that it ran out about 2 weeks ago. OH MY GOD!!! Frantic phonecalls & an unsuccessful trip to Liverpool passport office followed. We thought we might risk it and go down anyway but then decided against. Colin and two of the kids are going tomorrow in the car - with only my MTB by the way (it is a family holiday and will be good just to do stuff together - I think they've put up with a lot already during my preparation for L'Etape). I have an appointment first thing Monday at the passport office - my daughter and I will then fly from Liverpool to Geneva, meeting the others there. We're going to be cutting it fine - our flight is 13.30pm and we need to be there at 12.45pm. Our appointment is 8.30am - hopefully, we will have just enough time to make it. Otherwise, we're off to East Midlands airport for a later flight. To confirm our booking to Geneva, we need to provide Passport numbers - oh hell, it's a bloody nightmare and it's all my own fault. I could just kick myself right up the arse! The worst bit is that I have to get on a plane. Bloody Hell.
I just hope that when we get there it will all be worth it.......