Guildford Peloton Etap Reccie Trip to Ventoux

There are 10 riders and one driver booked on the Whitsun Bank Holiday Guildford Peloton Etap Reccie Trip (11 riders now, just had a late response). The hotel and a van is booked, and I assume so are everyone’s flights. Local Picon distilleries and Pizzarias have been advised of the visit.

Judging by correspondence a number of groups are going to be in the area that weekend including GPM10/Cyclefit. The road up the Ventoux is going to busy.

I have circulated an email to all the associates of the Guildford Peloton. Things are hotting up on the organisation front. I have asked the usual questions of the participants, any dietary, medical or other requirements, passports and insurance details, next of kin and disabilities (last year another group in the same hotel incurred an fatality) which I need to advise the hotel of or need to be built into the logistics. No doubt there will be the usual nil return then everyone will tell me on the aircraft and expect me to have a photocopier etc to hand, but I might be plesantly surprised.

I have also asked for peoples entries and excuses and reasons as to they qualify for any of the following categories:

• slowest rider
• best excuse
• most unfit
• best dressed (Rapha suits are banned both on the bike and at meals)
  worst dressed (baggy lycra gives extra points)
• most camp / only gay in the peloton
• most drug fuelled (Fishermans Friends don't count in this category, only the category above)
• worst steed
• flashest steed
• babe on a bike (not that we are sexist but only the two girls qualify for this unless there is something one of the boys has not told us?)
  

I have already had excuses like broken ribs, chest infections, athletes foot and late delivery of new bikes.

We will also include the usual Yellow Jersey, Polka Dot Jersey, and Green Jersey competitions. These are wide open this year with the absence of Lance Armstrong, Carlos Sastre, Nicole Cook and the Guildford Peloton Club Champion.

These competitons are all in the spirit of good club ribbing and humour and the organising committee will consider submissions on the flight out and will verify the result on the way home. Prizes will not be awarded, only titles.

*Usual rules apply to this trip, NO YFronts under your cycling shorts

April 24th - I have my Etap Number 3778

The numbers are now coming up on the Etap site thick and fast (go to the French site not the English to find your number, there is a search facility under "Inscriptions"). I suppose that is it, I am committed now.

A friend of mine sent me an email re training in the gym. Now I might not be doing things right but here is what I replied to him.

I went to the gym last night. Majority opinion here is not to train by wattage but to train by heart rate. Most people are looking to do at least two hour sessions (some are doing up to 4 hour sessions) at around 130 bpm with a cadence of 85-95 (that should burn you over 1000 calories). At the end of the session take a note of the wattage (machine usually summarises with avg power) and compare it to a previous session (taking into account how you felt on each).

Don't worry what other people are doing, what works for you?

Training in the gym is very boring so make sure you have a radio, TV or iPod to keep you entertained, and have at least one full bottle of water if not two.

If you go too hard in the first hour you will suffer badly in the second.

I did two hours last night in the gym (boy are those gym bike saddles uncomfortable), my first sesion for a while. I must admit my heart rate was up at 138 avg. The first hour my wattage was about 180 and the second hour I dropped the wattage to about 168 because I was suffering (that was level 8 then level 7).

I suggest you consider doing a spin class at the gym before your session to break up the boredom. When the spin class finishes then jump on the regular exercise bike and do a steady ride to complete the session.

I must admit that I did 5000 metres on the rowing machine before I started the 2 hours (so overall it was a 2 hour 21 minute session).

You might consider incorporating rowing into your fitness regime. The rowing machine is very complimentary in that rowing is a leg sport and oarsmen always perform well at cycling, but it is non-impact, strengthens the lower back and upper body without adding heavy muscle (I have read that cycling neglects these muscles and can lead to problems over time). You will need to get an oarsman (rather than a fitness instructor) to teach you how to row properly on the machine (there are some good instruction videos on youtube such as www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVmMd7FdAA), set the resistance low (about level 3 or 4) then do sessions of 5,000-10,000 metres (20 to 45 minutes) at a rating (strokes per minute) of 20-22 (top right hand box on Concept II) and wear a heart rate monitor and keep the heart rate between 120-140 bpm. Don't try to race, just to get smoothness and posture. It may feel easy to start but you will be surprised how hard it gets after 10 minutes.

As for the Etap. Treat it like an adventure. If it is your first then trust me you will be back so your aim should only be to finish. If you achieve a silver or gold great but don't go looking for them because it will ruin it for yourself. The first 80 miles is hilly/undulating and will take a toll on you but you need to have something in the tank for the last 22km (which is going to be the hardest two hours of your life) but once you are on that last 20 Km there is no point in not making it. Look to enjoy it, don't ride too hard for the first 80 miles, and just stay ahead of the broom wagon (something I might find difficult this year).

The Etap is a memorable experience, there will always be people faster or slower that you no matter how fast or slow you are. 8000 people riding makes the roads very busy and if it is a nice day very much a party atmosphere.

Take into consideration that every 100 metres you climb the temperature drops 1 degree so climbing Ventoux the temperature will drop 15 degrees between to bottom and the top!


It seems to take over your life, doesn't it?

April 21st 2009 Wot, no fitness?

I did manage two one hour sessions on the bike in the gym this week

Saturday the Guilford Peloton was riding out to Windsor. I couldn’t make it as I was on family duty.

As you will have gathered from my earlier posts it was my son’s birthday last week and as a present we gave him a Specialized Hardrock. He just fitted on the smallest adult size. During the week he had ridden around the block on it with his mother running behind but he hadn’t ridden it in anger. For this reason (and because it was sunny) we decided to take him to Richmond Park where there is a seven mile long cycling and walking track around the perimeter of the park (well, just inside the perimeter actually). I cycled to Ladderstile Gate whilst my wife and son went up in the car. We then rode our bikes on the track down towards Kingston Gate and all the way around (via Ham Gate, Richmond Gate and Sheen Gate) to the café at Roehampton Gate. We arrived at 10:15 AM just after the London Dynamos who had just finished their usual Saturday morning four laps of the park. There was some 70 or 80 of them all in the Dynamo kit drinking tea (despite being a member I didn’t have my kit on, I was wearing Corridori kit). We sat down with coffees and enjoyed the sunshine with them.

There was a plan in my madness. The Guildford Peloton was meeting here at 10:30 to start the Windsor ride. We got the opportunity to say hello to them before they set off. We then returned around the park to Ladderstile. All total my son did about 10 miles on the new bike so I deem that a success. The bike worked really well for him but I must say though, it was hard work cycling up Kingston Hill using only one hand whilst pushing my son uphill on his bike with the other!

Although I had those two sessions in the gym it made no difference to the pain I encountered getting home on Sunday. Sunday was bright and sunny but there was a cold wind. I met M in Thames Ditton and we cycled the 16 miles through Cobham to Shere to meet the rest of the Pelotooners. We had a steady ride to Shere via Cobham and arrived in plenty of time to get a coffee at the Duck whilst waiting for the others. Whilst waiting we got a text to say that there had been a delay with the trains and those arriving from Central London (via Guildford) were going to delay the peloton. As M and I were on a lunchtime curfew we decided not to wait and pressed on. We went out of Shere up to Peaslake, over to Abinger, up Leith Hill, to Coldharbour, Dorking and up Box Hill (we missed out Ranmore). As we went past the National Trust Tea Shop at the top of Box Hill we were suffering a bit. We parted further on with M heading back towards Leatherhead whilst I went on towards Walton on the Hill and Tadworth.

No sooner had we parted than I bonked. We had done 45 miles at this point and I had to stop for a gel and a drink. I then struggled painfully home the last 10 miles. It only goes to prove the old cyclist myth that you should never ride past without stopping at the National Trust Tea Shop at the top of Box Hill. In fact Big G confirmed that the same happened to him on Saturday when he tried to ride past without stopping.

I managed to get back home before curfew. I showered, bolted down some pasta and meat The Wife had prepared for me then rushed my son over to Tolworth where he was due to march up and down the High Street with the Beavers, Cubs abs Scouts for St Georges Day with a church service. Whilst he was in the church service (thankfully parents were not allowed to attend) I sat in a café holding my head (I was still recovering from the 55 miles) and drinking tea preparing for the next trial, my sons birthday bowling party for 20 nine year olds. Once the parade was over (actually I pulled him out of the parade before they reached the end as they were running late and I had to get him to the party on time) we rushed over to the bowling alley to meet his mates and bowl, followed by burgers and cake.

By the time I got home after the party I was fit for nothing, and he was as bad. My son and I lay on the bed and watched the recording I had made earlier of the Grand Prix. I picked Sebastian Vettel for my fantasy F1 team last year and he came of age, this year he is my main driver so I was pleased to see him win. Now all I have to do is engineer an introduction for him to my daughter so that I can get F1 tickets all the time. He is about the same age as her and he will be rich, and he has a nice smile, what more could she want?

April 14th 2009 Wot, no training!

I have been so anxious about work that I haven't had the inclination to train. I have been very tired and not able to focus on training on the bike or in the gym (not helped by constant lunchtime meetings in my diary about integration). If I don't do some training soon I will be caught by the Etap sweep van very early.

Not this weekend just gone, but the previous weekend (Saturday April 5th), I cycled to a holiday home on the coast at a place called Bognor Regis, a 58 mile ride with 750 metres of climb over the North and South Downs. At 37 miles I was exhausted and had to stop for tea and cake before struggling the last 20 miles against the wind. I should have been able to do that in my sleep even on the little amount of training I have done recently. Very disappointing. I didn't have the inclination to even attempt to cycle home from there on the Sunday after staying overnight.

This Easter weekend I was tired and stressed all weekend. Good Friday I did a two hour bike ride in the garage on the Tacx then we had some friends and their kids over. Saturday we went to Bognor (by car this time), cycled about a bit along the sea front then had a nice dinner with a school friend, his wife and sons and his parents. Sunday was church, swimming then gardening whilst my son played football in the street with other kids. Monday was my sons 9th birthday so we went with friends and family to a local National Trust property called Polesden Lacey (those of you cycling in the Surrey Hills have probably like me seen signs for it but have never thought to go there) and did the Easter Egg hunt, had a picnic and played on the lawn and in the trees (the weather forecast was rain but it turned out a glorious day). Then they all came back to our house and created havoc.

Next weekend we will also be busy with dinner at friends on Friday night, and St Georges Day Parade and church service with the Cubs on Sunday followed by my son’s birthday party for his school pals at a local bowling alley (twenty hyper screaming 9 year old boys!). Maybe I will get a ride in on Saturday but I am aware that I have a pile of rubbish now in the garden in Bognor that needs to be taken down to the local dump and that might take priority.

I did manage an hour on the gym bike at 184 watts today lunchtime but the heart rate was up in the 150s. This was the only gym session in a good while.

March 31st Is it spring yet?

You will all be waiting with baited breath for the result of the West Suton little League League Cup Final Result. My sons team took an early lead only to find themselves 2-1 down a little later in the game, they turned that around to 3-2 up with one minute to got - then disaster the opposition equalised outside of the run of play. The poor parents had to suffer another half hour of tense and close play only to see our team loose 4-3 in extra time.

My training has been intermittent. I didn't ride at all last weekend (March 29th/30th). After doing 150 miles the weekend before (March 23rd) and have only done one 2 hour session in the gym in the last fortnight.

My motivation is lacking at the moment. Other people in my group are off with various illnesses and injuries and things at home quite busy and quite tense. I am looking forward to getting away to the reccie weekend at the end of May because that will make it real and give an impetus to training. It will also give me an indication as to where the others really are (you can't hide your performance when riding up French mountains)

Someone asked my why the Etap has categories for racers, spotivers etc. You probably are not aware of them if you booked through Sports Tours but the company I got my entry through (www.Etape.org.uk) asked us what category we thought we were which influences our race numbers. Also if you look at your number on the Etap site you will see you have been categorised. I have no idea about the organisation for the Etap or why there are different categories as it doesn't seem to make one jot of difference to your start number as far as I can see. I just accept the number I get given because I can't influence it. I am not worried about the first 80 miles - just from there to the finish scares the life out of me.

At least it is getting lighter and warmer here in the UK (so I am told as our office has no windows that let in light, we do have great big picture windows which look out at the ground floor of a 42 storey building 10 feet away so we can't tell whether it is light, dark, sunny or rainy, all we see is the odd pigeon trapped until it rises out of the dark).

On Saturday March 22nd in the morning I did family stuff at the garden centre. We then went to Corridori, the bike shop in Banstead as I wanted to get some energy gels and other bits. Whilst we were there we ended up buying a bicycle (no, not for me unfortunately) for my son’s birthday. We got him a Specialized Rock Hopper. He just fitted on a small adult size but it is considerably lighter than his current bike. He doesn't know we got it and will be (hopefully pleasantly) surprised on his birthday.

As soon as we got home Big G rang me. He had popped into the cycle shop to pick up some bits and they told him I had just left. We then arranged to go out that afternoon. We did 51 miles fairly fast over Leith Hill, probably fastest G has done it on the Bianchi recently anyway (he has been faster on his Look 595 bike). I was really feeling it on my legs.

Sunday I did a 100 mile ride between Reading and Basingstoke and back, a big loop, with a friend and his mates that were raising money through sponsorship for a mate of theirs who has been disabled in an accident. I left the house at 5:30 AM and drove to Reading. There were three of them on aluminium or steel hybrids and me on my carbon racing bike. We set off at 7:15 am at between 14 and 15 mph. The first major stop was just under 6 hours later when we had covered 62 miles (100 km). We stopped at a pub for a roast dinner and treacle pudding and custard (energy food). We then proceeded to finish off the ride with the average speed dropping to 10 mph. The last 20 miles was a real struggle for them and at one point I wondered if they would finish, but energy gels and Ibuprofen (for the knee problems they were suffering) got them through. They did really well and finished the ride at 17:30 some 10 and a quarter hours after starting. The M4 on the way home was a nightmare and I didn't get home until after 8:00 PM. Big trouble with The Wife.

The week after was very busy. On the Monday I was out last night with Big G and a couple of old friends from Barclays Rowing Club. Thursday I drove up to Leicester with my son to see my daughter at university and to visit the National Space Center - bet you didn’t know the UK had one, I didn't! Friday night I was out at drink up for a secondee I have been buddying for the last 6 months. The wife is not happy at all with me being out so much, more negative brownie points. Really in the doghouse badly, desperately need some brownie points but can't see any opportunity this week.

Mothers Day? Was it March 23rd: Oops! It was Mothers Day on the Sunday March 23rd in the UK (different date from the US and Australian Mothers Day) and as I had not seen my mum for a long time I should really have been seeing my Mum and my wife rather than cycling around Berkshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. Next year , maybe.