Carlos and Tommy do the Tour de France - July 2022

Wednesday 6 July 

After a busy few days at work, the long weekend to watch Le Tour was about to start.

Thankfully, we had enough time to enjoy a lovely slow-cooked beef dish at Casa Parsons before we loaded up the Volvo with essential kit and bikes and leave Leeds for the 269 miles to Folkestone where we had a 01:20 train booked.

Knowing there was a small possibility of making an earlier train, the surprisingly quiet UK roads quickly helped us make the call to press on as much as we could while the going was good. Four and a half hours later, our first stop on the trip was to get our passports stamped at customs as we joined the queue for a 23:20 train.

Thursday 7 July

On French soil just before midnight, we again made the decision to press on as much as we could, taking turns to sleep while the other drove. The strategy was a roaring success and we enjoyed an 0600 pain au chocolate in the beautiful town of Dijon. After a quick wander, café in a square, obligatory mustard purchase, we were back on the road driving towards our accommodation in Belfort, 15 miles from the Swiss border.

Belfort is in a natural gap between the Vosges and Jura mountains, and as such has been a natural target for most advancing armies. To aid its defence, it is shadowed by an impressive Citadel, designed by Sebastian le Prestre, recognised as one of the most important military engineers in Western military history.

To recognise the town’s courage during the 103-day siege in the Franco-Prussian War, the citadel is now fronted with an enormous red sandstone Lion. At 22 metres long and 11 metres high, it is still France’s largest sculpture, and designed by non-other than Frederic Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty… It’s amazing what you can learn while waiting for lunch to be served in a town square!

Friday 8 July

After a petit dejeuner of croissants and pain au chocolat on the balcony of a fantastic Airbnb on the river, we packed the car ready for a rapid post-stage evacuation, and set off on the bikes to pick up the route of Stage 7: Tomblaine to La Super Planche Des Belle Filles, this year’s first mountain top finish.

Exiting town on the impressive cycle paths was super easy and we quickly found ourselves on the stage route. Excitement was building, tarmac was painted, and fans of all ages were cycling to The Plank of Beautiful Girls! Only one problem: access to the climb was closed off by some very aggressive gendarmes. Our GCSE French was enough to learn that the road was closed to cyclists and if we wanted to ascend, we had to leave the bikes at the bottom and walk up. However, this wasn’t what we had come for, so we decided to bypass Bergerac and his goons by finding an alternative route onto La Planche. 

After riding on for 800 metres, we embraced our ‘inner cyclocrosser’ and scaled the side of the mountain up a 45° slope covered in trees and rocks. With bikes on shoulders and a major struggle climbing the steep slope in cleats, we were helped up onto the road by French fans impressed by our goat-like abilities, appearing half a mile up the climb out of sight of the Pink Panthers!

Not long after we started riding the 7km at 8.8% gradient, Snips was out of sight as I plugged away, regretting my decision not to lose weight or train for the weekend away! Despite the hurt, being cheered on by thousands of expectant fans made it all a little easier, and for fleeting moments you get a glimpse of what it must be like for a real rider to race up the hill… most likely it’s twice as loud and twice as fast… but I bet they didn’t enjoy a Flammekuerche and sausage with a few beers the day before while reading about a rock lion!

Once at the top, we downed a beer with lunch before finding a good spot to watch the pros pass…with a cheeky Heiny to help pass the two hours to race arrival. 

It is now custom that on completion of a mountain stage, the racers don a jacket, grab a whistle (a trend started by US Postal) to warn beer drinking fans, and whizz back down the mountain in search of their team bus. Once the voiture balai had passed, we hopped on the bike and joined the pros and fans whistling down the mountain. Managing to get on the wheels of a Lotto and Movistar rider who were clearing the way with their whistles, it was amazing to get incredibly close to the riders and see how good they are on their bikes. We thought we were descending like demons, only to look up and see they were riding one handed, sipping on recovery shake and chatting about the stage, all whilst weaving in and out for drunk fans.

Back at the car, we loaded up and drove four hours to Morzine, arriving the right side of midnight and clocking 1000.5 miles since leaving Leeds.

Saturday 9 July

Waking up to the sight of the Alps was glorious, and after a quick breakfast we met up with GK who had flown in the day before with his Lytham cycling buddies and joined them for a ‘short’ 50-mile loop before returning to Morzine via the Col de Joux Plane.

The first two climbs of Col d’Ecrenaz and the Col de la Renaz were tough but we had the pleasure of a glorious view of Mont Blanc on the descent. The thought of a nice lunch in Taninges before the final challenge of the Joux Plane kept us going. But, we’d barely sat down in a quaint restaurant by the river before slow service was spotted and we were back on the bikes in search of a supermarket. This turned out to be a genius move, as GK who was coming back via a slightly easier pass still hadn’t been given a menu 30 minutes later.

Half a ripped pain, stuffed with ham and cheese slices, moistened with squeezy mayo (butter is impossible without a knife) in the carpark of Taninges SuperU wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it might just be the best sarnie I’ve ever had.

The Joux Plane… Christ almighty that is some climb! 11.6km and 1,691m of ascent. Snips once again engaged his natural power and was quickly out of sight, dancing up the climb at an average of 285W!!! For a man the same size two Alberto Contadors he shouldn’t be able to ride uphill as fast as he does and I’ve already been in contact with the UCI to instigate a doping probe.

The struggle was over in just over an hour for Snips, before I collapsed at the top ten minutes later. After a beer at the top and big ring engaged, we averaged 29 mph back to Morzine down a beautifully flowing road with lots of wide-open corners peppered with few hairpins that got brake discs so hot they sizzled when our water bottles dripped on them. See https://videos.kinomap.com/en/watch/6zsnjk

Sunday 10 July

The Lytham lads had a guide for the day and set off bight and early for what would be a brutal day on the bike. Thankfully, Snips and I had an easier day, despite needing to ride 25 miles with 3,225ft of climbing to get to the stage finish at Châtel. In our way was the Col du Corbier, a pesky 2.86 mile climb averaging 8.6%. Yesterday’s ride had broken us, so, soon after summiting we found a lunch spot and devoured a fantastic burger washed down with Orangina before riding the final few km’s to the finish line.

After a second lunch our cycle down the mountain to a viewing spot was prevented by some very forceful gendarmes, so we settled for an elevated slope at around 1km to go. Snips, always looking for corporate social responsibility activities, decided to help with Châtel in Bloom’s endeavours and de-nettled a large piece of embankment before sitting down to wait for the race to arrive.

The caravan took great delight in firing goodies at the two English blokes, perilously clinging onto a 45° slope, now only partially covered in weeds…little did they know we had honed our climbing abilities on the Planche des Belles Filles and managed to acquire a bountiful supply of casquettes and washing powder samples. Snips had spotted a fan’s walking poles when we got into position, and in his finest Frenglish, bartered two sachets of washing powder, an Asterix colouring book, and a Total Energie key ring in exchange for the temporary loan of one of the poles, creating what can only be described as the finest flag in France.

The pros soon arrived, strung out in single fine accelerating to the finish line and Yorkshire's Tom Pidcock was losing the wheel, until that is, he saw a man mountain, waving the white rose over the road shouting “play with his balls Pidders”. This was all the encouragement young Tom needed and he quickly closed the gap.

Race over, Snips led me back to Morzine for a snooze by the pool before enjoying the finest bars the town had to offer… where we decided the next awayday was going to be the Strada Bianchi Sportive 2024. Save the date chaps.

Monday 11 July

A long day in the car was made possible by selection of classic French road snacks before crossing the Channel and driving back up t’Yorkshire, reaching Leeds at 0100 Tuesday and me back to Ripon for 0200. A long but thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

A Weekend ‘Down South’ – May 2022

En route to our weekend base in Lymington, Heyddie, Jan and The Prez popped into El Caso Quintana in Amersham to meet our training guide Niallo for an afternoon exploration of leafy Buckinghamshire and Herts.

 

Bidding farewell to MariAnna Vos and aspiring MTB rider Finncenzo Nibali, we enjoyed a 55km ride with 632m of ascent in fine weather, some steep descents to test The Prez’s nerves once again, but a fine warm-up ride expertly led by Niallo. Beautiful villages and some great looking pubs mean that we’ll be riding this way again.

An evening of excessive rehydration followed, accommodated in the circular pods of The Lion of Beaconsfield in Knotty Green, ensuring that the senior GRAC team were in quiet recovery mode as we sped south to Lymington on our second day together. A ‘hair of the dog’ lunch at the Angel and Blue Pig, a short walk followed by a long nap, and then some excellent carbo-loading at Rivaaz ensured that we’d all be needing some fresh air the following day.

 

So, the main event has arrived. An early ferry to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, readying us for our circumnavigation of the island. A chilly day this, with cross-winds expected for much of the ride, but thankfully no rain forecast despite thunderous cloud building on the mainland. Very busy roads eastbound needed our full attention, as did the various coastal towns on the north coast, and the lack of coastal views on this section was disappointing. 

 

But, as we turned into the wind south from Ryde, we hit the coast and the views improved considerably. A lunch of fresh prawn and crab sandwiches took forever in the ‘Best Dressed Crab’ café in Bembridge (waitress: “we’re not McDonalds”…yeh, thanks for that, but a 40 minute wait for simple sandwiches was somewhat trying). Roads were still busy but lightened as we passed through Shanklin and encountered some decent climbs as we headed west through and beyond Ventnor.

And now the riding really improved. Long stretches of quiet, well-surfaced roads took us swiftly westwards, parallel to a fine clifftop coastal path, and we were able to form a proper peloton with nice views to the sea in brightening weather. A final climb up from Freshwater Bay led us northwards again, and suddenly we were back at the port. 95km in all, ride time 4h 17m, with 1385m of ascent. 

 

Of course, the final evening with the WAGs had to be done properly and a good dinner, disco fizz and some fine wines at the Kings Head Inn nicely concluded the weekend. Thanks to Heyddie and Mrs Merckx for organising, and commiserations to Alberto and Mrs Johntador who had to retire from the weekend proceedings before they really got started.

A Weekend in the Wolds

Time for another GRAC Seniors gathering, this time hosted by Mr & Mrs Johntador at their lovely home in Sheriff Hutton, north of York.

A splendid warm up ride on Day 1, albeit with a strong, gusty wind from the east to contend with as we made our way back from the turn point of Easingwold. 38km, +338m kept us nice and toasty in the chilly wind. Followed, of course, by a modest rehydration session in the local pub and back at Chateau Johntador. Immortal words from the Prez: ‘I don’t want to drink too much today.’ Hmmm.

 

Our second day saw us heading off early to York to take part in the ‘Yorkshire Classic’ sportive, joined by Academy member Alanssandro Prattachi, who had some difficulty remembering how to ride a bike. 

 

A beautiful day, although the wind was still blasting us from the east, which made our initial north-easterly track towards Malton heavy going at times. Some good hills were enjoyed (except, strangely, not by Alberto), especially the climb east from Leavening, with ramps of up to 14%, and the shorter but steeper climb west from Kirkham Abbey. Some great views to the Yorkshire Wolds and north to the Howardian Hills and the North Yorkshire Moors in the distance.

In total, an 80km route, +815m at a leisurely average pace of 22.5km/h over 3.5h.

Back to Chateau Johntador for lunch, a long nap, and then off to the pub for a richly deserved rehydration session. And a lot of red and pudding wine with a delicious and entertaining dinner back at the Chateau. 

 

A great weekend in fine company.

Gran Canaria 2021

Tenerife and the distant volcanic eruption on La Palma viewed on our descent into Gran Canaria

This was the senior team's first visit to cycle Gran Canaria, and this time accompanied by their good ladies for the sake of longer term marital harmony!

Using a TUI package we stayed at the RUI Palace Oasis hotel in Maspalomas, with our cycling adventures orchestrated by the highly capable team at GC Cycling, Deborah Malin and Knut Steffensrud. Always ready to help with anything, armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Gran Canaria and both highly capable cyclists, they made our exploration of the island a challenging but wholly enjoyable experience. Our grateful thanks to them both.

Find them at GCCycling.cc They'll be re-starting full operations from October 2022.

Heyddie and Jan covered almost 400km during their eight outings, with over 7000m of ascent. The Prez’s performance was a little more modest, just 300km with 6266m of climbing, reflecting a bad throat and personal dislike of riding in very hot conditions. Not to mention he's over 10kg heavier than his compatriots...

So, what of Gran Canaria? Spectacular inland topography, huge views and with locals tolerant and respectful to cyclists are huge points in its favour. October was maybe a little too warm for comfort at times, and it appears that the cycling season really operates from November through to February/March. The quiet roads, challenging terrain and cooler climate attract the Pro teams like Ineos to GC each year for their pre-season training.

A big week for all involved – the excellent rides and the ladies having to decide what to order at the poolside bar – ensured we all needed a holiday upon our return!

Plaudits issued for Jan, two in fact – The Sartorial Elegance Award and Most Improved Rider. Two for Heyddie too – Most Combative Rider and Worst Socks Cup. And Grumpiest Rider of the Week, of course, goes to The Prez.

Our week on Gran Canaria. Graphic excludes two 'rest day' rides and one coastal section.

Day 1

Our warm up ride, 65km with 1038m of ascent in 3h 16m moving time. An out and back route to Soria, including a section along the south coast. Very hot in some of the sheltered ravines at higher levels, reaching 35ºC at one point. To set the tone for the week, Heyddie and Mr Super Slim, the highly trained Jan, forged ahead of The Prez, aka ‘Sicknote’, who was already suffering from a throat infection (and did so for the rest for the week…but this will be the last mention of this pathetic malady in this blog though…). Stunning scenery, generally good surfaces and impressively polite driving by the locals set the scene nicely for a good week ahead. Just don’t mention bananas to Heyddie.

Day 2

A four-hour ride today, covering 77km with 1452m of ascent. Starting direct from Maspalomas, we ascended a wide valley leading to a narrow defile before descending a narrow and spectacular road to Fataga. Then a long, hot ascent to San Bartholomé de Tirajana on great surfaces, with massive views to the south coast. A coffee and cake stop in the pretty town, before a long and sometimes blustery descent via Santa Lucia de Tirajana to join the main coastal road at El Doctoral back to Maspalomas, a busy section of rolling hills and, by now, unpleasantly hot.

Day 3

Probably the toughest day for us all, with a transfer to the start at Degollada de Cruz Grande before a steady climb up to Ayacata. From here the slope steepened to take us up to the rock pinnacle of Roque Nublo, before a short wooded ascent ahead of a long pull up to the highest point of the island, thankfully shaded by conifer forest in places, the Pico de las Nieves at 1949m. Then a long, spectacular descent to a coffee and cake stop in Tejeda, with more loss of altitude back to Ayacata. Awesome views throughout the ride, and very hot, with temperatures over 40ºC recorded at several points during the day, notably on the final 10km climb back to our start point. 

47km with 1257m of ascent, cycle time 3h20m – beer was definitely earned today!

Day 4

A short ‘rest day’, although one only enjoyed properly by the Prez, whilst Jan and Heyddie took themselves off to the hills again, if only for a couple of hours. A very attractive ride up to Ayagaures on quiet but well-surfaced roads. In all, 32km, with 527m of ascent.

Day 5

A tough day this one, with a 30 minute transfer west to the outskirts of Mogán to meet up with a guest rider for the day, Albert, a member of Heyddie’s home club, Beaconsfield CC.

An easy climb started the day’s proceedings, with a 4km detour to the viewpoint at Veneguera, then back the same way to start the ascent of the Strava segment known as Serenity. 

Immediately steep and very tortuous all the way to the pleasant wooded plateau at the top, this was a good test, and the only one where the Prez just managed to keep up with Heyddie and Jan.

Much hilarity today, mainly directed at Heyddie’s dubious choice of cycling socks.

The descent from Serenity was fantastic, technical with a very steep camber on many of the bends, but a delight and quickly despatched before joining the main route back down to Plato de Mogán. A pleasant lunch by the sea was enjoyed by all.

The plan had been to catch the ferry from here back towards Maspalomas, where we would have completed the day by riding the final 10km along the coast road. However, ferry times were a little uncertain, so the decision was made to transfer by van to the nearby town of Taurito, where the team (minus the Prez who was, by now, too hot), set off on a TT back to base, taking just an hour or so to cover some 26km with 364m of climbing along the undulating coast road.

Day 6

The final full day of riding started with a transfer to El Doctoral, and an initially steady pull up a wide valley, over a ridge and then into another valley system to the north-east. Fine views down to the east coast, shared with locals and motorbike enthusiasts all out to make the most of their Sunday. And another day of woeful socks worn by Heyddie...

A final, steeper slope brought us to Santa Lucia de Tirajana for a coffee and sandwich stop. By now, the temperature was very high, with little breeze to offset it, so the climb out of Santa Lucia towards Santa Bartholomé de Tirajana was somewhat testing. Our reward was a long and enjoyable descent on empty roads to reach the base of our final climb, a high road pass with precipitous drops to the right, breached via a narrowing road with steep switchbacks, an impressive finale which the GC team have named  'Cowboy Valley.' Then a fast descent along a  good road down to Maspalomas. 1412m climbed today, over a distance of 66km, in 3h 43m.

Day 7

Only Heyddie and Jan again today, repeating the ‘rest day’ route on day 4 whilst their ladies did all the packing ready for departure!