Ascent of The Tourmalet

On waking, I did what I always do on holiday and went straight to the window to peak behind the curtain and check the weather (sad brit eh?). Overcast - perfect for climbing a mountain.

We had breakfast in the hotel with all the other brits who were on etape duty. We were all very polite and there wasn't an awful lot of chat - probably nerves ahead of the big day. I got kitted up, loaded up the car and off we went.

As we got closer to Lourdes, the sun was peaking through the clouds and by the time we arrived at Campan, the mountains were bathed in hot sun - a little worrying because that always notches up my HR a few beats but it felt really lovely and warm and it was really enjoyable to be in France again on my bike.

As I cycled up, I could hear a noise coming from the rear. I wasn't sure if it was my gears or crickets in the fields. Soon, all became clear as a guy, dressed like my dad when he does his gardening, came squeaking past me on his heavy mountain bike. I always feel a bit of a fraud when I'm sat in all my gear and I get passed by people wearing clothes covered in paint! There was nothing I could do about it, I was doing 4mph, my HR was already over 120 and I was getting a bit hot. Just keep it steady woman and you might just make it up here.

Colin did a great job as my rider support - he went ahead and stopped at regular intervals, taking pictures, offering loads of support and occasionally dousing me with water from mountain waterfalls which you could get to from the road. My HR wasn't behaving though - I was really struggling to keep it low, even when I was cycling at 2.5mph. You can see on the graph that it really does go up very suddenly over 200 on a few occasions.

I love the elevation line on that graph. The climb was amazing - just constant gradient all the way. Completely unlike Alpe D'huez, with it's small areas of flat at each hairpin. I was really enjoying it but with those huge HR spikes, I was starting to fear that I'd have to surrender. My breathing started getting very laboured at one point and I had to take a breather - my HR stopped registering and started to think seriously about calling it a day. Flies were all over me and I just felt so low. I stood there just trying to compose myself and get my HR down again but it took a long time. As I came to a snow shelter type thing, the clouds started to come onto the mountain very quickly. I could see Colin ahead, ready to take my picture again and I waved at him to stop. I was crying and I didn't really want a picture of that. With 6km to go I realised that it would be better for me to stop than risk the HR going up again. So after 9 miles and two hours climbing, Colin packed the bike in the car and we drove to the top. I slumped in my seat, eating a go bar (yuk) and finishing my drink.

The Tourmalet was just unbelieveable. The road in La Mongie was so steep and it just seemed to wind up and up, steeper and steeper until we got to the cafe at the top. The views up there were stunning. It was great to be there and for Colin to see what he would be doing the following day. As we stepped out and took the obligatory pictures next to the statue, a guy came up from the other side of the mountain, fully loaded with touring gear!

We drove back to Pau and I was in a low mood. At that moment, I hated bloody France! I had a long shower, lying down in the bath holding the shower head onto my own head and just sat and warmed up and started to feel a bit more normal again. We had lunch in Pau in a superb restaurant and I started to feel a bit more like myself again. We sat next to a bunch of brits who were riding the etape the following day. They declined beer and coffee as part of their preparation-now that is dedication. Colin prefers to live life on the edge :-) so it was a grande biere for him.

In the evening, we visited Neil Pedoe from Cycling Plus magazine who was going to be riding on a bike he'd never used before! clearly another risk taker. We sat next to another group of cyclists who were glugging a couple of bottles of red - theory being that their normal Sunday runs were based on a foundation of good red wine so why change the habit of a lifetime. Good on 'em.

Our own night was spent searching for pasta but ending up with carpachio and prawns, getting locked out of the apartment and then struggling to sleep with the thunder and lightening. With the alarm set for 4.45am, we eventually hit the sack and tried to get some sleep before the big one.

Arrival in Pau

What a drive! We set off at 6pm, arrived in Calais at 9.30pm and then over to France by about midnight, local time. Colin did really well driving for such a long stretch. I should have been sleeping but I really struggled - not even Paul Mckenna relaxation waffle on my ipod could send me off. By 1ish we were both knackered so stopped in a french service station and had a few hours kip. At 3.15am I felt ok to start off again and I drove for around 4 hours until we stopped for breakfast. After that, I fell asleep with no problems and then we got into a rhythm of driving and sleeping for the 1000 mile journey to Pau. Each time we stopped for a driver change, the temperature on leaving the car got warmer and warmer. By the time the pyrenees came into view, the car temp guage was showing 30 degrees. Oh, how wonderful that heat feels - not great for cycling but the forecast had shown rain and cooler temperatures for the big day so we knew that it wouldn't be like that on Sunday. Sometime around 3pm we arrived in Pau and to our hotel. The room was fantastic - ground floor, 3 rooms with doors out to the car park so we could easily load in the bikes and kit. I will definitely be using Cyclomundo for next years Etape.

18 hours driving had taken their toll on us and we went straight to sleep for a few hours before heading out to explore the Etape Village.

I registered so that I could get my bag and tshirt but I handed over my transponder there and then. I explained to the lady in french that I had a problem with my heart. They asked if I was sure I didn't want to start the race and I was tempted but with a tinge of regret, I said non.

The village was great - loads of really gorgeous bikes and kit, lots of cyclists milling about; now it was really starting to get exciting. We ate in Pau near to the Chateau - a wonderful place full of narrow streets and ancient buildings with a stunning view of the pyrenees - before retiring early to bed. I had my own little battle to prepare for in the morning.

Ready for off

I've had a bit of a dodgy tummy for the last few days (well, bit more than that really - spent Sunday night slumped in the bathroom and now feel like i've been hit by a train) so I've missed a few days training. I went out yesterday for a quick spin round the country lanes and had a few incidents in the hour I was out - feeling very vulnerable as cars and vans passed very close to my left elbow as I stood waiting to turn right on a very busy road and then later, while trying to overtake a lady on a shopping bike, my heart rate went up to over 240! I didn't feel like it was that hard and I got a shock when I looked down at the monitor. Not doing the etape is such a good decision as I just can't resist trying to overtake (or at least keep up).


We're driving down to Pau, planning to arrive midday on Friday. It's going to be an epic trip but hopefully much easier than when we did it with four children, just a few weeks ago. I think I'll be doing the midnight stretch of driving so that Colin can stick to as normal a sleep pattern as possible.

I'm really looking forward to getting there. On Friday, we'll go out for a couple of hours gentle spinning around Pau. Saturday, I'm going to make my attempt of the Tourmalet starting from Campan (I think that's the place). I'm preparing for the cold this time and will be taking gilet, arm warmers and a coat. On Sunday, I hope to watch the start of the race, take lots of pictures and then I'll drive to a gite at the foot of Hautacam where I'll spend the day picnicing and watching the action - courtesey of our tour company, Cyclomundo. They have been absolutely superb and I will definitely be using them again next year. Monday will be an early start and I suspect that I might be doing most of the driving.

Colin has not had the ideal preparation to the event and this final week couldn't have been worse for him. He has a cold and has also had a bit of the dodgy tummy as well. I think I may have said it on here before but I fear for him. His strategy is to do as little as possible in the run out to Tourmalet, hiding in groups wherever possible (although, as Colin and I are larger than the average cyclist, we do find that people shelter behind us). He'll just take the Tourmalet at his own pace - the Alpe D'huez experience should come in useful here - and then have a rest on the descent. The ascent of Hautacam will be the crunch as he'll be entering into new mileage territory for this year. I fear that his legs may give up at this point but I'm looking forward to having my fears proved completely wrong. Colin has done some big rides before when I thought that he wouldn't make it so he's definitely made of strong stuff. Another tactic is to refuse to stop if he's being waved to the side of the road. I have been told that you can be stopped on the ride at any point - just flagged down and your timing chip ripped off - even when there are many other cyclists continuing on past you. Just. Don't. Stop!!!

Good luck everyone.

Thanks to my parents, my sister and my auntie for looking after our children while we're away. I feel sad to leave them and I'm going to miss them very much.

In Zone

yehhhhhhh! INR = 2.2 so I'm in the required zone. So, I now have to stay around that number for 4 weeks and then they can reboot my heart.