A great moment with Sir David Brailsford...

28th November 2013: Cycling Sport Gala Dinner, Hurlingham Club, London.

A truly great surprise and a very special moment indeed, a signed centenary 'maillot jaune' from Chris Froome presented by Sir David Brailsford.

To be involved with such a great team at Action Medical Research is quite a privilege, a special thank you to Sarah, Toby, Oly and the whole team at Action, Keith Reynolds and Nigel Mitchell at Brtish Cycling, Fran Millar and Kelly at Team Sky for their support.

Here's to longer roads and higher mountains ahead...'the road is what you make it'.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance




With Sir David Brailsford at the Champions of Cycling Sport Gala Dinner

Director's cuts...anecdotes from the road!

Here's what the crew didn't report from the road (one crew member missing from the photo and strangely no photo's of him in France either, he was there, his name is David, we'll hunt down a photo!!)

''So, ok the bits we didn't report live from the road but felt compelled to share with you....''

.....riding Stage 1 (of the 2014 Tour due to start in Yorkshire) gave rise to a total of 7 punctures in one day, in fact in less than four hours, the final puncture just before Leyburn meant the rider walking for nearly two miles before being rescued by John Hook of CycleScene,York, an unintended but welcome member to the Ride 21 crew (forever in your debt John, thank you again!) #theroadsinyorkshirearenotgreat

...throughout all the Stages in France and over 1900 miles of riding, two bikes, not one single puncture!!!!! thank you France #theroadsinfranceareamazing

.....on arrival at the hotel at Nice airport rider and crew enquired about the transfer by courier of the two bike boxes to the pre-booked hotel in Paris, the receptionist that evening, and the following morning gave an abrupt, somewhat unhelpful and very definite 'Non' that this type of courier service wasn't available in France. Feeling somewhat desperate as time drew close to hitting the road on Friday morning, one crew member mentioned that the rider was riding all 21 Stages of the Tour, to which the receptionist gave an immediate 'Oui' that this service was not a problem at all - life is full of surprises, and proof that cycling counts for more things than suffering alone! #frenchpeoplecanbesohelpfulwhentheywanttobe!

....possibly suffering the immediate effects of lack of sleep one crew member called out several times in their sleep that ''the crew had to make the beds every night'' (unsure why, we can confirm that we failed on this every single night, and continue to do so back in the UK!)

.....still the early stages of the challenge ahead and less than half way through, one crew member (possibly the one mentioned in 'Night 1' above!?!) awoke again during the night and, sitting bolt upright, pronounced with some force, and not much grace (sorry Mnsr J Bobet) that 'we' needed to take the D908, ''WE NEED TO TAKE THE D908'' the crew member shouted waking room 27. In the moment and through further follow up the following morning we decided that we had no idea where the D908 was and put the whole thing down to fatigue!!!) #lackofsleepandresponsibilitycanhavestrangeffectsonteenageyears

.....throughout the entire challenge of riding 21 Stages, the rider wore the same pair of lucky socks (no washing machines available, other than the stone trough half way up the Peyresourde but this doesn't count!)

....by the third day in France the rider resorted to wearing two pairs of bib shorts, one pair cut down to a mankini style worn inside the other, the comfort of two layers of bib shorts is something that can only be experienced, not explained!    

....heading towards Montpellier, the mistake of trying to ride all the way into the centre of the city and onto the hotel proved a big mistake, on and on and on the rider and support car went, at least 30km beyond a spurious '12km to Montpellier sign' with the rider finding himself riding along a motorway for around 5km, not pleasant, not pleasant at all! from then on we avoided those last few km's into city centres... 

  

.....Stage 8, after a long soul breaking ascent of the Col de Pailheres the final 250 metres of road were blocked by wild horses that roam the mountain, along with a few other riders and determined not to get off the bike we found ourselves momentarily forced to do track stands, not to be outdone by we carefully rolled our way through the maze for a sprint along the final 50 metres, job done!    

....Stage 9, after wild horses at the summit of the Pailheres we found our way blocked again the next day at the summit of the Cat 1 La Hourquette d'Ancizan, this time by a large herd of free roaming cows, made more free roaming than usual by the sudden change in weather, from super hot clear blue skies to dark skies, thunder and lightning, torrential rain and a road turned into a river, there was no way round the naturally imposed blockade, after a long day in the saddle, tough climbs and a tough ascent in torrential storms there was no choice other than to follow slow moving 'peloton'!   

....on Stage 14, on the ascent of the Cat 3 Cote de Thizy-les-Bourges a Dutch motor managed to side swipe the rider, the thinnest of contacts which, combined with some sudden and strong arm movements, gave rise to a loud and continuous squeak as the contact between arm flesh and white plastic rolled out a somewhat strange and unexpected melody! Unaware of the near miss the motor home carried on into the distance...this turned out to be the only 'road situation' on Ride 21, lucky!  

....the only 'very real' mistake between rider and crew, for a number of reasons to do with a crew member losing a phone, rider and crew mis-reading road signs,  it meant that the crew took one road to the summit of Ventoux and the rider the other, nearly 20km of climbing without water! A few frank exchanges between rider and crew helped the simple point of taking different roads to be missed, one of those 'in the moment' sitiuations but for all the wrong reasons. Errors aside, Ventoux & Stage 15 were conquered and looking back something to smile about! 

And so, from the Ride 21 crew & rider ''we did this to raise awareness and funding for Action Medical Research, a quite small, but genuinely great & hard working team of people and an incredibly worthy cause www.action.org.uk ''

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

''Imperfection allows interesting things to happen'' 

''You know not what's round the corner, for the road will decide, it's not the destination but the glory of your ride'' (we made this up sitting in a cafe at the summit of the Col de Pailheres)

  

''Et fini' from the Palais to the Arc and....'

Arc de Triomphe, dodging the traffic!

Versailles, beginning of the end....

After our final early start and a long drive from Annecy we arrived in Paris, our final destination for Ride 21 and the 21st Stage of the Tour. 
The final ride was 'relatively' easy albeit along the busy avenues of Paris
A short 15 mile ride from Versailles to the Arc de Triomphe, riding three times around the Arc to celebrate the end of Ride 21, not quite! 



We then met up with the 500 riders taking part in the Action Medical Research London to Paris cycling event, to all ride together to the Eiffel Tower, a fitting end to Ride 21.

..motionless, Trocadero

Arc de Triomphe, end of the road for Ride 21

Ride 21 Blog has truly been a beautiful experience, an incredibly tough challenge - possibly the biggest yet and hopefully what proves to be a 'training ride' for bigger things to come, to 3,0000 miles across the USA. Here's to longer roads and higher mountains ahead....

Champs Elysees, meeting 500 riders on the Action London to Paris ride, a perfect end!

So, as we sign off from Ride 21 in Paris, something about cycling and a few words of thanks:

''The pleasure that cycling gives you is delicate, intimate and ephemeral. It arrives, takes hold of you sweeps you up and then leaves you again. It is for you alone. It is a combination of speed and ease force and grace, it is pure happiness''  

Taken from the book 'Tomorrow We Ride' written by Jean Bobet brother of Louison Bobet three times winner of the Tour de France.

Thank you to everyone who has followed our progress, please spread the word, the Blog and the fund raising site www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance, and watch this space for the next two challenges that are being planned.

Some special mentions go to: 

Action Medical Research for giving Ride 21 purpose, this is the reason we put Ride 21 together, 9 months of planning, a young team, lots of commitment beforehand and what took it, and us, through the hardest moments, Ventoux, the Pyrenees and the Savoie.

Keith, Kelly and Nigel at British Cycling and Team Sky for their support (it was magical to see the team ride through Serres leading the yellow jersey, unforgettable. And then Paris, again, there are no words, it was in the moment!)

Supporters & sponsors (so far) of Ride 21, Longcross Construction Ltd, CBRE, Renewable Resources Ltd, Lawmax Electrical, Motion, Team Energy, CTS Ltd, IPT Ltd, Scott UK, British Cycling and Team Sky, CNP Nutrition, there are others to add when we update the Blog further.

David, James and Megan, the crew of Ride 21, young age is no barrier to commitment and responsibility, you guys did an amazing job, not one thing wrong in over 3000 miles (Mont Ventoux without water was the fault of the rider!)

Keith at Scott UK, the two bikes were amazing, Foil 20 for the mountain stages, Foil 10 for the flat stages. 

Clifford Davison, a remarkable cyclist, for saving me 25 miles into London to Paris 2007 and for inspiring me to ride, this is the reason for cycling! 

Matt Haigh and Graham Ginn for the hard rides through Essex (and Italy)

Bev, Meg and Sarah for their patience and support without which Ride 21 would not have been possible, and for all being in Paris at the end, this is what makes it special.

Mum and Dad, for exploring and caring, everything flows from this.

And thank you to everyone who has followed Ride 21....check the Blog from time for the next two challenges that we are working on, both of which are quite unique and very different to RAAM and Ride 21, but just as challenging...and in support of Action Medical Research.

Quite possibly the most beautiful road.....

Quite possibly the most beautiful 125 kilometres of road I have ridden, Stage 20 from the shores of Lake Annecy looping through the region of Haute Savoie is stunning, worth watching this Stage of the Tour on TV for the scenery alone, the racing will only enhance the beauty of the region.

Leaving our overnight stop over on the outskirts Annecy meant a short ride down to the edge of the lake to follow the road out of town along the Western shore, in fact, following one of the familiar cycling 'road ways' in many French towns and city's. 10km out of town led to a turn into the mountains and the first Category 2 climb of the Col du Puget, beautiful villages stunning views of Lake Annecy below and of the high mountains in the distance. Warm up over and straight into the Category 3 climb of the Col de Leschaux that led to what can only be described as the most beautiful 50km of cycling, this was one of the most stunning areas of the whole Tour, the landscape alone lifted you to just ride on, again, as with Stage 15, riding with wings, one of the moments that is just there on the road, and left on the road. Riders from all over Europe take part each year in the Etape du Tour (Stage of the Tour) what a privilege for this to be Stage 20 (Sean from South Woodford, I know you were there!!).

Onto the second Category 3 climb of the Col des Pres after a brief stop in a cafe in  Aillon le Jeune for cake and tea with the locals, incredibly proud of 'their' region and with invitations to come back to the area to ski (we'll see how this works out), they showed so much interest in Ride 21, it was good to talk to them if only for a brief time.


On the road Stage 20

Riding on, passed by two local riders who offered greetings and 'good cycling' (I think) were three distinct words picked up in that single moment of passing, 'maillot jaune' and 'magnifique', let's hope that the second British rider in two years, Chris Froome, will bring home the yellow jersey in Paris in such a special year, he seems to be well liked in France, he seems to be well liked everywhere!

The moment passed as the riders moved into the distance, lucky to ride together, lucky to be able to draft! I was happy to push ahead unassisted, gliding (for a short time) towards the distant mountains and then a tough end to a beautiful route.

Onto the penultimate climb of the day, the Category 1 climb of Mont Revard, a long long climb around 20km. After finally reaching the summit the reward of a long 20km descent was a torrential storm, hail, freezing wind and a road turned into a river.

The Ride 21 crew, 25km away in the valley knew nothing of the adverse weather (lucky crew). It would have been easy to give up, but just 20km from the end of the Stage with the toughest challenge yet to come, the Hors Categorie climb to Annecy-Semnoz, an 11km climb at 9% gradient, it hurt,it hurt a lot, but after an hour of slow climbing we made it, job done, Stage 20 over, exhausted.!!



Summit of the Semnoz, Stage 20

And so, as we write this Blog post we are on the motorway half way to Paris to ride the final Stage of the Tour and the final leg of our Ride 21 challenge.

All being well, the final stage will be a ride from Versailles to the Champs Elysees joining up at the Trocadero with 500 riders taking part in the Action Medical Research London to Paris ride, it should be quite a day.

Ride 21 crew and rider, nearly there, riding for everyone that has followed our progress and for everyone at Action Medical Research, it has been quite a journey!


www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

'whatever you can do, or think you can do begin it, there is no road to which there is no end'






From chaos to serenity....

As with most of our days, a very early start leaving Les Deux Alpes to head back through Bourg d'Oisans and on to the route of Stage 19, heading North East to Le Grand Bornand just East of Annecy, taking in just over 200km in distance, 2 Hors Categorie climbs before finishing with a Category 2 and Category 1 climbs, a tough day ahead.

Straight from the off, it was made tougher, we almost expected it after yesterday, queuing along roads through Bourg packed with even more motor homes and vehicles trying to get onto the Alpe, into Bourg, out of Bourg, through Bourg, into fields and it appeared almost anywhere just to 'park'. To make up for the delay we drove into the course, riding from a few kilometers before the first HC climb of the Cold du Glandon, it was a tough start to the day, 22km at 6% gradient, but back to the serenity of the quiet mountains, a far cry from Alpe d'Huez. The Glandon was spectacular, a reservoir near the summit and low lying clouds made for great photography (we think!), check some of the earlier tweets. The descent was equally stunning, watch it tomorrow on the live broadcast of Stage 19, nearly 30km straight down to la Chambre, sheer drops at the top.

We were on our way, next stop the HC climb of the Col du Madeleine 20km climb at 8% gradient, a long long climb that took nearly two hours of hard effort, the climb surrounded by woodland, meadows and nearer to the summit a small ski resort.
 

Madeleinem, above the clouds!

Another long 30km descent followed (again, watch this on the live broadcast, sheer drops and unguarded, we were on our guard rider and crew.

We were then forced to drive a short distance due to the now familiar 'route barrie' signs that appears in readiness for the Tour, we made it to the foot of the Category 1 climb of the Col de l'Epine, 7km at 6%, but now bard to traffic meant a lone ascent on the bike, without the support car the plan to ride onto the final climb 10km further along the road was gone, care of the the Tour.


At the foot of the Col de l'Epine was the most amazing roadside mechanical Tour decoration, hope it get's shown in all its glory on tomorrow's live broadcast.

Amazing roadside Tour decoration!

Two locals seemed to be making last minute checks as half the village looked on at a large white bicycle and cyclist mechanically moving along zip wires suspended across poles between, what appeared to be, the houses of the two locals, amazing piece of creativity and engineering, just watch it live on TV.

The climb to the summit of the Col followed local teams involved in the 'Tour de Fete', similar to Ride 21, following and riding Stage of the Tour, it was a nice way to end the Stage.

Riding with 'Tour de Fete'

And so, to the last big day of Ride 21 before reaching Paris on Saturday, an early start from Annecy to ride Stage 20, 125km along the lake and into the mountains for a finish on, you've guessed, another Hors Categorie climb.........

From the crew and rider of Ride 21, mixed emotions as we draw closer to the end of our challenge, that we put together to celebrate the 100th Tour de France, to push ourselves to new limits, and most importantly to support Action Medical Research, we had hoped to raise £10,000 though our efforts as a team.



www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

'impossible is nothing'

On the way to 'Dutch corner'.......

Early start from Orcieres for Stage 17 and 18, leaving our overnight stop over an immediate 25km descent to Gap, riding out to Chorges and back to cover the 20mile route of the Stage 17 time trial, nothing much to report, chilly descent and dodging the early morning traffic around Gap.

The riding started properly following the route of Stage 18, directly North from Gap towards Bourg d'Oisans and on to an ascent (or two) of Alpe d'Huez and the Col de Sarenne.

On the road to Bourg d'Oisans

Following the N85 out of Gap took in another ascent of the Col de Manse, and early leg warmer! before passing through small towns, wide sweeping valleys and grand views of the Alps ahead. A relatively gentle ride for much of the way until with a Category 3 climb along the way before leaving the main road to head onto the quieter roads heading to the Cat 2 climb of the Col d'Ornon. Dodging the rain, darker skies and rumblings of thunder heading from the South we headed through the valley surrounded on all sides by high mountains and onto the climb which was already lined with hundreds of all to familiar motor homes, waiting in anticipation for Stage 18 to pass through the next day.

Riding into the Col d'Ornon

Passing the summit the descent into Bourg d'Oisans was spectacular, 25km along (a slightly cracked and rutted road!) tight bends, road edged with low walls looking straight down into deep tree covered valleys straight through to main road leading into the centre of town, a quick stop for food and a chance to get the other bike repaired (thank you to Au Cadre Rouge www.aucadrerouge.fr for great service and for not charging us!).

The centre of Bourg d'Oisans was packed with riders from all over the world, maybe 10,000 or maybe 50,000, never seen so many riders and bikes!

Had to get off the bike!

Onto Alpe d'Huez, the chaos began, the roads through Bourg were now well & truly packed with drivers, walkers, scooters, runners, cyclists and many more trying to get onto or along an already packed mountain road or to the town at the summit, we were told by locals that by today there would be over 1 million people in Bourg and Alpe, it seemed that they were already there, never has a mountain pass and every bend been so packed with people, quite incredible!


The first two legs of the climb seem steeper before a slightly more gentle gradient into the famous 21 bends each of which gave a few seconds of relief as the road flattens (temporarily) on the bend, ride it wide cut in and you almost get a few metres, a few seconds of flat, marginal gains, marginal benfits, every little helps!

The first of what was expected to be two ascents of Alpe d'Huez was truly chaotic, dodging motor homes

Bourg d'Oisans

already parked, a constant line of new vehicles heading up the mountain, drink fulled revelers (sorry, Dutch cycling fans) joggers, scooters coaches etc etc etc made the experience of climbing the Alpe less special compared to what had been imagined, combined with darker skies and light rain the experience fell short of the Pyrenees and other more beautiful stages, all that mattered now was reaching the summit.

Summit Alpe d'Huez

Reaching the summit, we spent no more than 5 minutes before leaving the masses to their festivities, dropping down to pick up the 'rough' road to the Col de Sarenne and a final descent towards Bourg, cutting out the last few kilometres to avoid now packed roads and what would have been a less than pleasant second ascent of Alpe d'Huez. After the serenity and simple beauty of the Pyrenees and Ventoux we were happy to leave Stage 18 behind us, roll on the Tour for all those expectant fans, it will be quite a day. Each corner of the climb now seems to have become home to each country of supporters, the bright orange of 'Dutch corner' was certainly in full swing, possibly so for some days.......

Ride 21 crew and rider, supporting Action Medical Research, just about to begin Stage 19, one step nearer to Paris. 500 riders on the Action Medical Research London to Paris challenge now on the road, good luck!

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

''to have their names written across the highest peaks, they must cross these summits to glory on the high roads to victory''

        

We finally meet the Tour, to see Team Sky leading the yellow jersey....

After a very late arrival at our overnight stop over in Orange (plus a treble course at McDonald's at around 10.30pm (necessity over choice to re-load the calories burnt on Ventoux) crew and rider slept, unsurprisingly, incredibly well! Thank you 'Premier Classe', which is actually the exact opposite to the descritpion!

Riding out of Vaison

Today was the day that we expected to be challenging, not so much for riding the relatively gentler course of Stage 16 but more to do with finally meeting up with, and crossing over the Tour, we weren't to be disappointed!

Tour 'Official'

An early start with a short drive into Vaison la Romaine found the town and Tour in full swing, the whole region seemed to be in town, markets, fairs, Tour carnival, team buses and cars, marshals and organisers, the works, then the fun begins. Trying to stick together to ride and drive out of Vaison following the parcours of Stage 16 proved the biggest challenge so far, support vehicle sent off in one (completely wrong) direction and rider sent off in three different directions (GPS support from the device we relied so heavily on with the bike is a long forgotten thing, more on this when we finish), the Gendarmes don't quite seem to have the controlled support and passion for Tour supporters and riders looking for assistance, just a case of pointing in the most obvious direction. Having ridden an unnecessary 40km in various directions rider and crew were finally re-united to follow a different route of similar length and profile to the Tour route heading towards the town of Serres just beyond the half-way point of the 168km course, a long but fairly gentle ride.

The maillot jaune, unforgettable!

Our luck was in at last, arriving in Serres with 10 minutes to spare we stood alongside the small roundabout in the middle of the town to watch the whole race pass through, leading group, peloton and of course the men in black from Team Sky leading the race leader 'yellow jersey' of Chris Froome, what a sight to see the whole peloton pass through and how great to see another British team and rider leading the way, a very uplifting moment. See the tweeted photo's from earlier, @chrisarmishaw. It was also good to meet other riders from the UK on the roadside, John (Read?) of Colchester Rovers Cycling Club, not far from home in Essex, we'll catch up with him somehow when we get back, nice to meet you John.

The Tour passed through Serres in a matter of minutes, roads re-opening as soon as the last Tour vehicles had passed through, so back on the bike for the last 45 miles to Gap, a gentle ride with only the sting at the end, the Category 2 climb of the Col de Manse with a 500 meter descent straight into Gap, job done.

Orcieres, facing into Stage 18!

Our plan was to also ride the short 20 mile course of tomorrow's Stage 17 time trial from Embrun to Chorges, time didn't permit with the drive up to Orcieres for our overnight stop over. Stage 17 is the first order of the day tomorrow with another very early start followed by what can only be described as a brutally tough Stage 18, from Gap to Alpe d'Huez taking in 172km in distance, 3 Category 2 climbs, 1 Category 3 climb and for the first time in Tour history to celebrate the 100th Tour, Alpe d'Huez (an 'Hors Categorie' - beyond categorisation climb) not once but twice, it should be an incredible challenge and no doubt another very late finish for crew and rider. At least by this time tomorrow we should be on plan to be one day ahead of the Tour as we edge closer and closer to Paris and our plan to meet up on Saturday afternoon with the 500+ riders who will take part in the Action Medical Research London to Paris ride, to ride the last few miles together to the Champs Elysees.

From the crew and rider of Ride 21, supporting Action Medical Research thank you for following our progress. Good luck and safe riding to all 'London to Paris' riders.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

''why do it, because it's there''

Riding with wings.....Mt Ventoux

 

20km from Ventoux.

We left our overnight stopover in Lyon (20km South) for an early start in Givors, three Catgeory 4 climbs before the heat of the day kicked in, fortunately along flatter sections of what was to be perhaps the toughest stage yet. Our attempt to ride ever mile was made problematic by a big, big road closure around Romans, it seems that as soon as the Tour had passed through the day before up went the 'barrier & diversion' signs that meant an unplanned diversion of 60km for the support car, it made sense to stick together which meant not being able to ride around 35km of the mid part of the 242km course, there was nothing we could do about it. The diversion was around a long length of a dual carriageway through Romans, every road across it for miles had been closed, it seems that provision had been made for the Tour to pass through before the 'grande'diversion, judging by the confusion and amount of slow traffic it seemed that everybody had been caught out and now living post Tour frustrations.

Suffering on Ventoux

Riding on from Nyons, two thirds of the way through, the route was stunning, tail winds, flat roads, edged by lavender fields and vineyards made for a magical moment, like riding with wings for 40km.....there are some moments on a bike that are best left to the moment.

Summit of Ventoux, no words!

Reaching the town of Malaucene meant the start of the toughest climb to the summit of Mont Ventoux, 21km no let up, average 7.5% in places 12%, 2 hours and 10 minutes of agony. To ride it gives a sense of just how incredibly quick the professional riders scale such heights. After so many miles of riding to be faced with such a challenge is mentally and physically draining, there is no margin for indecision, the climb is relentless, mile after mile after mile, the single longest hardest moment ever on a bike. There really are no words to describe the suffering and, one would hope to have been able to say, the elation at reaching the summit, it doesn't happen like this, or it didn't on this day, exhausted, simply and utterly exhausted, it took time just to collect any reasonable thoughts and focus, the ride to the summit will stay with me forever and I will go back to ride Ventoux again, for sure. Days later, after talking to other riders, I feel privileged to have been able to tackle the climb and to reach the summit, on other days, the weather and strong winds alone seem to make this impossible, often closing the mountain.

We had passed the Tom Simpson memorial, spending a few minutes to share thoughts and to pay our respects, it was a special and touching

No words, just thoughts.

moment. After so many miles, reaching the summit seemed to be the hardest challenge ever faced, a mountain that stands alone owning its own space and dominating everything around it, so incredibly high looking down through the clouds that it gives you the sense of having ridden (again)with wings. There is something about this mountain, something very special indeed. 

And so, utterly exhausted, unable to manage the descent, the choice was easy, go with the safety of the support car on the descent.

We will write more about this stage as we reflect on such a special day, for those who have not ridden this mountain there are few words, it is for you alone, a combination of force and grace (and suffering)!

Ride 21 crew and rider, exhausted, we've said it a few times already, but trust us, exhausted.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

'If you get one shot at something big ask yourself whether you would take it, impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion'

A 'depot de pain', first malfunction and UCI approval of ibuprofen

Just when we thought it was about to get tougher from a riding point of view (which is tough enough!) Chris had two hours sleep last night, shivers and shakes and an unplanned course of ibuprofen, we checked with Ride 21 rules and UCI protocol to find that neurofen is allowed (only kidding here!), it has no performance enhancing effects other than to deaden pain, which was the order of the day!

Another early start on Stage 14 from Saint Pourcain followed rolling, forest covered hills and wide
sweeping valleys heading South East to Lyon.

Pain and suffering! 

Five Category 4 climbs in total with two Category 3 climbs in the middle of a 190km route. One bike suffered a mechanical malfunction half way through and will be off the road until we find a bike shop, nothing serious, just one of those little things that you find you don't have the right tool or widget for. The first Cat 3 climb Cote de Thize-les-Bourgs was tough even with the assistance of ibuprofen, just before the climb and feeling very jaded we passed a sign for a roadside cafe signposted 'Depot de Pain', it was very apt and only served to heighten the sense of suffering and pain on what should have been a more straight forward day. Two choices, dig deep or give up.



Green with suffering on the day!

The roadside Tour decorations continued, if only to rub salt into the wound of suffering today's decorations were themed 'green jersey' conjuring up thoughts of maximum power, maximum effort on a day that proved to be about digging deep and just staying with it, whatever it took, at times there was no real power.

Sun baked roads, humid tree lined forest roads stained the blue 'Ride 21' jersey with heavy and noticeable salt marks, much more than normal, it would have been easy to just get off the bike! Feeling quite weak at this point and still relying on ibuprofen meant struggling over a long climb up the second and final Cat 3 climb of the Col du Pilon (it reminded me of the lower part of the Peyresourde in the Pyrenees, which now seems a lifetime away), it was worth it as the summit of the Col opened up to a 35km descent, looking down over a vast pine covered valley, it was amazing, long sweeping bends to the bottom of the valley and virtually effortless, it save the day. Just three short Cat 4 climbs followed as we approached Lyon, leaving the last 10km to the traffic to get back into the support vehicle to head onto Givors, our overnight stopover and start point for Stage 15 tomorrow.

 

Stage 15, a super long stage of 242km ending with one of the toughest and most legendary climbs of Mont Ventoux at the end. We will take inspiration from Chris Froome's win earlier today and also pay our respects to Tom Simpson as we pass his memorial, it will be quite a day, hopefully less reliant on ibuprofen.

Legendary!

As we finish writing this post it seems that France has finally started to celebrate Bastille Day, after deserted roads and villages we are now being lined up for a night time of fireworks and outdoor celebrations, unfortunately, we won't be joining in, ear plugs maybe called upon!

From the rider and crew of Ride 21, supporting Action Medical Research we hope to bring good news tomorrow that we managed to conquer Ventoux, not as impressive or as fast as Chris Froome but just simply to reach the same heights.



www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

''dream big', dare to fail'

Final flat stage before the punishing stuff begins....

Early start from Tours for Stage 13, 100 mile ride across rolling farmland to Saint-Amand-Montrond, heading South-East towards the Alps.

Not a particularly tough stage to ride (a transition stage in the Tour back to the mountains) looking at the profile, only one Category 4 climb around the half way point, but made tougher by the constant headwind which only turned into a more helpful cross wind Nouans-les-Fontaines, again, just before the mid-way point. The heat and blue skies were back with us but the afternoon heat was cooled by the shade of forest roads towards the end.

Again, lots of roadside decorations from the Tour that passed through yesterday (we are still one day behind the race until Monday!) and one stop for a photograph of a particularly creative decoration that led to a family appearing from a farmhouse to offer free coffee (and local cake). The photo will follow.

Nothing much else to report from the ride, cycling tan line is getting more pronounced (and daft) by the day, 'private' blisters multiply by the day, breathing is getting better and swollen left hand seems to be returning to normal, just in time for the mountains!

Tomorrow will be another early start leaving Vichy (our overnight stop over) for the start line at Saint Pourcain sur Sioule continuing to head South East to Lyon via five Category 4 and two Category 3 climbs, a little more challenging and a leg stretcher for Monday's punishingly long ride, finished off by the Hors Categorie (beyond category) climb to the summit of ,Mont Ventoux (the bald mountain!). Tomorrow is Bastille day, so celebrations everywhere and a big hope for a French rider to win Stage 15 on a legendary Tour climb.

So, as we leave the long straight rolling roads of the North West we gear up, crew and rider, for the punishing days ahead with every ounce of our effort and focus now locked onto Paris, we will give everything to cover every climb, every mile, every inch of the mountain stages (plus the remaining short time trial stage).

Twitter will be back up and running with photo's tomorrow, again, the electronic gadgets prove to be as challenging as riding all 21 stages.

From the crew and rider of Ride 21, supporting and raising funds for Action Medical Research, UK children's charity funding research into breakthrough cures for illnesses and disease that affect babies and children in the UK, this is the reason we wear the jersey.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

''whatever you can do, or think you can do begin it, there is no road to which there is no end''    

.

We've turned a corner...

Stage 12 completed, all went to plan, a somewhat uneventful  transition stage heading back towards the next big mountain stages in the Alps, with Mont Ventoux as a sweetener on Monday.

Riding through town, Stage 12

Today's schoolboy error was not using the sun protection that has proved so effective to date, with lower temperatures and the sun not so strong it proved a big mistake to spend 7 hours plus on a bike without sun protection, the result, a quite significant and obvious cycling tan!!!!! Breathing still seems to be a little odd after coming out of the mountains and the left hand still seems to be a little swollen, other than that all ok (apart from an increasing number of private blisters!!).

Route checking, Meg!

We are now only one day behind the Tour with many villages and towns keeping a range of 'creative' roadside decorations on show, many schools and shops are adorned with bike's, jersey's and garlands'! Today's stage turned a corner in a number of ways, beyond the half way point and also turning away from the North coast to begin the journey back South, the road went on for mile after mile after mile, we cut just short of the 138 miles of the official Stage to take a crew member to the airport for the 17.30 flight back to Stansted, well done Meg, great job! We welcome David back to the crew for the final punishing push towards Paris....

At Tours airport we met Chris a rider from the UK, heading back to Germany via the UK, who had read about our experiences of RAAM 2012 in Outdoor Fitness magazine, and also about Ride 21. It was good to meet up and to listen to his experiences of watching the Tour (great photo of Froome in the TT) and five days of riding in the region.

The Ride 21 article in Outdoor Fitness is due out in July (August edition) if we can get our 'library' of photo's back in time, another challenge!

Ride 21 crew and rider still on the road, still supporting and fund raising for Action Medical Research, roll on Stage 13 and the mountains.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

''if you're not hurting you're not riding hard enough, if you know you will succeed it's too easy'' 

  

Old French rider appears from the mist....

Early start for rider and crew this morning, partly driven by an appauling hotel on the outskirts of Nantes, no more detail on this, the experience is still quite raw!

All went to plan today, the weather was cooler than it has been in the South and the Pyrenees, in fact a lot cooler, down to 14c and just under half the temperature of the last few days, rider was back to three layers and sleeves and the crew an early morning change into warmer clothes.

Today's Stage started in Saint Gildas des Bois heading directly North to Saint Malo following a fairly flat to rolling profile, a lot easier (relatively) than the last few days. The effects of altitude may have had an affect, heavy breathing and swollen hands were the order of the day, legs felt ok which was the main thing! This morning's ride was through rolling farm land and small towns (similar to Essex!) covered in part by a cool mist which hung around until late morning when blue skies re-appeared.

Heading North, and losing temporary contact with the crew, led to an unplanned stop at a cafe in the small town of Gael, finding a (UK) Condor road bike proppped up on the wall outside meant one thing, another UK rider, a welcome chat, catch up on the Tour and strong caffeine shot, thanks for the coffee Johnny, hope you get to read this.....

After leaving Gael a short burst throiugh to another small town of St-Meen-le-Grand, birth place of Louison

Louison Bobet 1 of 3 yellow jersey's

Bobet, three times winner of the TdF back in the 50's and now home to the Louison Bobet museum. Spent 10 minutes admiring a whole range of jersey's, yellow, world's, classic's and many more, quite a collection and quite a remarkable achievement.

Back on the road, an elderly French rider appeared from nowhere, leading a sprint along a short climb before using my backwheel for the next 15 miles, occasionally pulling alongside to chat although neither of us could understand the other, it worked ok, until he found another short climb and sprinted off again, slapping me on the back and wishing me well (I think), he shouted something about Paris, maybe we'll see hime there!

St Malo ahead..

Another quick stop in the beautiful town of Dinan before heading around the tip of North coast and into Saint Malo, job done, at least on Stage 10!

A short drive along the coast to Avranches for Stage 11, a short 20 mile 'time trial' Stage for the professionals on the Tour and a gentle finish to a long day for rider and crew, at least that was the idea?? After a quick look around Mont Saint-Michel, the crew had the idea for me to race the bus from the island back to the car park, flat course, warm evening, a motor pace opportunity sounded too go to miss, with crew seated on the bus the fun began, 0.9 miles, avg speed 32mph, top speed 35mph, 53 calories, some confused American's and excitable French (still living the Tour) we hit the control gate on the mainland at the same time, Stage 11 job done, job defintely done!

Deep blue, it was hot!

Onto Stage 12 tomorrow, Fougeres to Tours where we part company with one of our crew, Meg 16 years of age, full on determination, fantastic company and a great crew member with James 12 years of age, age is no barrier to responsibility, you guys delivered! See you in Paris Meg, don't forget Sarah!

So on we go, still on the road, still pushing hard and getting through very long days, supporting Action Medical Research with the aim of raising funds to support the work carried out to find breakthrough cures into illnesses and disease that affect babies and children in the UK, that's why we're here.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter: @chrisarmishaw

'Take on a challenge that others will think of as madness'

The long drive North...

We left Bagneres de Biggore and the beautiful Pyrenees early this morning for the long drive North, 626km to the outskirts of Nantes, ready for a short drive to the start of Stage 10, Sain Gildas des Bois to ride 197km to Saint Malo, fairly flat after the last two days, first time we'll see the sea since leaving Nice.

After reaching Saint Malo it will be a quick turn round to ride the 20mile TT route of Stage 11 into Mont Saint Michel before heading down to Fourgeres for an overnight stop.

Not much else to report today, other than long roads, tolls and 7 hours in the car, it will be good to get back on the cycling road tomorrow.

We will try 'live tracking' again tomorrow and keep tweeting updates and photo's, the hotel networks don't seem to support the upload of photo's to the Blog, it's a pity, we have quite a library!

Ride 21 crew and rider still on the road, supporting Action Medical Research.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

The Pyrenees completed ''it reminds you not to settle for the easy option''

We bathed in a stone trough of cold mountain water...

What a day, what a b****y tough day, just when we thought it couldn't get more challenging in the Pyrenees  

Start of the climb... 

it did just that, a warm up on the Cat 2 climb of the Col de Portet d'Aspet followed by 4 Cat 1 climbs ending with hail, torrential storms and strong winds at the top of the Col de Val Louron-Azet.

Stage 9 started early from Saint-Girons, the ride over the Col de Portet was a tough climb in the morning sun and quite touching when passing the

Fabio Casartelli memorial.

memorial  to Fabio Casartelli, a young Italian rider who died on the descent in the 1985 Tour.

The Cat 1 Col de Mente was a 7k climb, with so many big climbs following on it was difficult to remember the detail, other than, yes, the heat and slight tree cover at the top, it was tough.
 

Col de Mente

Onto the Peyresourde, a regular in the Tour and a climb involved in many Tour battles, it didn't fail to live up to expectations, a long steady climb out of Bagneres du Luchon before reaching the exposed slopes, odd cafes closed for the afternoon. I rode with a French rider who
 knew the area well, just before the last junction he headed for a stone trough fed by mountain water, not just for a drink he sat half submerged, shoes and bib shorts, the works. I followed suit albeit head and shoulders, and re-filled  water bottles. The remaining climb was tough, still scorched by the sun with no let up until the top, open cafe and a gathering point from a growing number of riders on the mountain.

Summit of the Peyresourde

On we rode and drove, the support team mirroring every inch of the rider, to the Col de Val Louron-Azet, not such a tough climb as the Peyresourde (we thought!) until half way, dark skies, in fact very dark skies appeared before a torrrential storm, hail and temperatures down to 15c, 38c in the morning, the  photo's show the scene, roads turned into rivers, blue skies into black, the scenery lost to mist and rain. The descent was so dangerous, we drove down before drier conditions on the final climb of the day, the La Hourquette d'Ancizan, by which time opinions on weather conditions and tougness of climb had disappeared, it was now down to pure determination to reach Bagneres de Bigorre for the end of Stage 9 and our overnight stopover before heading North for Stages 10 & 11 on Thursday.

Louron-Azet, roads into rivers!

Wednesday is a rest (actually, driving) day. Rider and crew exhausted, in need of cooler conditions but really sorry to leave the Pyrenees, this is a truly beautiful region and incredible cycling country, on another day and with more time the Aspin and Tourmalet are a stone's throw away (don't tell Mrs A!).

On the lighter side, and to lighten our load, not that we wanted this, the sudden change in weather and horrific conditions saw off two of our Ride 21 magnetic car panels, lost to the mountains for ever!

Ride 21 rider and crew, still on the road, still fighting and still aiming to support Action Medical Research, thanks for following us.

Ride21, this is why!

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

'in cycling suffering is temporary, read about conditions of babies and chidren on the Action Medical Research web site...'

www.action.org.uk

Wild horses at the (highest) summit...Pailheres

Overnight stop in Albi, which is a beautiful town, didn't see much of it unfortunately, crew and rider looked forward to a well earned good night sleep but thwarted by Hotel Campanile's failed air con system, after a day in the sun and mid 30 deg's we suffered a sauna like experience until sun rise, it was pleasant just to get back outside in fresh but warm  air!.

Early start for Stage 8 which was long and flat until the town of Quillan after which the start of a very long climb through the gorge and up to the foot of the Hors Categorie ('beyond' category for non-cyclists) Col de Pailheres, a long steep climb along sun scorched roads, following the river which remained a temptation!

Start of a long climb...

The ascent just before the small town of Rouze was a leg breaker, possibly over 15%, can't remember exactly, other than the suffering! The final long kilometres to the summit are daubed with the names of the pro-cyclists that were here a few days ago, I guess they went along at a much greater pace but still the satisfaction of riding the same climb, and with more suffering! After one hour plus of leg breaking ascent the last 100 metres of road was blocked by wild horses content with the interruptions from one or two cars and a growing number of cyclists, possibly trying to catch the Tour, it seems that in the Pyrenee's and contrary to popular understanding that cyclists may well own the roads but they don't neccessarily own the summits!

The descent was incredible, the Ride 21 support car followed the bike for 18km, touching speeds of 83km/h through open roads and tree lined valleys, before heading into Ax les Thermes for the final Cat 1 climb to Ax Domaines, late in the day, drained of energy and ready for home, ok hotel, ok, not sure we can call it that, it seemed that the efforts and funding from the hotel owner went into the small swimming pool before the actual hotel, we didn't even have time to test the water! Our accomodation throughout has, and will continue to be basic, but derelict was definitely below our minimum expectation, you live, learn and survive!

Don't ask, it's still raw!

Overnight stop in Saint-Girons before an early start for Stage 9, a tough route through the Pyrenees with four Category 1 climbs, rider and crew exhausted at the thought, well, exhausted anyway.

Big push tomorrow before our only rest day, free from riding and crewing, but a long drive to the Saint Gildas des Bois in the North West for Stage 10.

Ride 21 crew and rider, fund raising and supporting the UK charity Action Medical Research....

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

'Run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must'


ps hello to the family we chatted to at the top of the Col de Pailheres, that was one huge RV you managed to drive up there, it was bigger than the RV we had in the US last year for RAAM!!!

ps2 we persevere with the Garmin and iPhone for 'live tracking' but the two combined have proved less than reliable, compatible or friendly, the family above witnessed our ascent of the Pailheres which ended in what can only be descrined as an impetuous 'Froome like' hill top sprint finish, the miles are logged but difficult to maintain through live track, either the network drops out, or one gadget drops out!

Blistering heat, blistering rear end!

....38 degree's again, very very long day, we cut the end short by 30km to make up for the additional km's yesterday and to avoid a potentially long stop start drag into town, as into Montpellier. Stop over is in Albi which is a beautiful town, as is the whole of Languedoc, stunning scenery, beautiful cycling country and beautiful towns. Penzenas is definitely a destination next time round.


38 degree's in the sun!

The ride towards the first climbs of the day was made tougher by the heat and the constant head wind, stopping in small towns to re-fill water bottles and to sneak the odd few ice lollies (avoiding 
the temptation for local ice cream!) and stopping at times just to get off the bike and into the shade, trust me, it was needed.

We know it's the right road!

The blistering heat and headwind was just the same as yesterday on Stage 6, the Cat 2 climb over Col de la Croix de Mounis just after mid day was tough, really tough, no shade at all, not once in 27km. The next climb over Cote de la Quintane was different, later in the afternoon but still just a hot, but shrouded by trees virtually the entire climb, what a difference, what a relief.

A quick stop for cold drinks, water and a bite to eat (turned out that the only shop/ cafe in town was serving anything you wanted as long as it was a roasted leg of duck or tabouleh, quite fortunate given that one of the Ride 21 crew is vegetrian. A leg of duck seemed a little odd but the protein intake was greatly appreciated. The combination of extreme heat and very long hours in the saddle are already having an effect on the rear end, a growing number of blisters are now being treated by copious amounts of chamoise cream and two layers of bib shorts, a case of persevering in extreme pain!

Got some great views of roadside decorations in place for the Tour, every region and every town seems to have its own creativity and 'unique' ideas, may be next year there should be an 'off the road' Blog of all roadside Tour decorations. 

4 jersey's!

The road closure signs for the Tour were still out, although it's now two or three days up the road, seems like the locals leave the signs out to keep the roads free of traffic, it is Sunday but incredibly quiet on the roads. 

Onto Stage 8 tomorrow, probably the toughest stage so far, a long ride in the morning towards two brutally tough climbs at the end, HC Col de Pailheres and a mountain top finish on the Cat 1Ax 3 Domaines, weather forecast, you guessed it, just the same!!!!

More tomorrow, from the  rider and crew of Ride 21, supporting Action Medical Research.

www.action.org.uk/tourdefrance

Twitter @chrisarmishaw

ps. Happy Birthday to Sarah Armishaw tomorrow, 14 years old, have a great day, lots of love x

ps2. Two layers of bib shorts tomorrow to protect blistering rear end, no more detail needed!