#10in10 First Reflections....

Dave 'The Broom' at Work...!

One of the Great Meals prepared by Lorenzo...

It's now just over a week since we returned from the Ten Countries in Ten Days (10in10) ride and I thought that it was about time I started a short series of posts here at Purpletraveller looking back on the ride and various aspects concerning it's success's and failure's.....plus a few facts and figures...

It must be about five years ago now when after seeing a programme on television concerning cycling I first became aware of the Cyclists Chapel at the top of The Ghisallo climb near the shores of Lake Como in Italy..... I can remember after watching the programme turning to Anne and saying "I would love to go there...I would love to cycle from the UK to visit it, what a ride that would be." Anne replied  "Well do it then."
A seed was sown....it became another ride on my to do list filed in the back of my mind....but it wasn't until last October when I completed my 10,000 mile self set mileage target that everything clicked into place to make 2013 the right year to do it.....

I had made a comment on twitter concerning reaching my 10k target and asking for suggestions for another cycling goal to work towards.... @JonJoynes who at that time I had never met replied with "What about ten countries in ten days" I liked the idea and the more I thought about it the more I realised that it would be an ideal way to fulfill my dream of cycling from the UK and completing the Ghisallo....

Jon and I met up, as the more he thought about it the more he felt that he would like to do it too...The plans were set...Dave Vaughan was recruited as support driver having been involved in a number of my previous supported rides...John Donoghue expressed an interest in giving it a spin and also a friend of his Lorenzo Maraspin said he wanted to do it too.... 

Eight months later...it's done!!

Two big thank you's to be made.......

I must say a big thank you to Dave Vaughan for all the back up he gave the team.... Logistics on this sort of project is always difficult but it was made easier by having Dave support us....Indeed at the point it became obvious mid way through the ride that the team would need to split into two sections in order to succeed, without his support the 10in10 attempt would probably have ended  there and then.

The other big thank you must be made to Lorenzo who took on the role of Team Chef from the middle of the ride...
The meals that he managed to produce for us were the best that I have ever had on any cycling trip  I have been on...... Pasta...Rice...etc all the right kind of food that we needed to keep us properly fuelled for the task we had taken on....

Over the next few postings I will be looking at our nutrition in general...as well as training for the ride...the Highs and Lows of the trip....plus more photos etc........

10in10 The Ghisallo Climb.

Today was the finale addition to our 10in10. A ride around part of Lake Como .....a ferry trip to Bellagio....and a climb up to the cyclists chapel on the signature climb of the Giro de Lombardia.
The temp today was well in excess of 100f and sadly I was the only one of the team who cycled to the top.
The others were picked up by Dave and taken to the top to meet up with me.
In the chapel we left a photo of Joanne Rutherford who sadly died of cancer earlier this year....we had carried the photo from the UK especially to leave in the famous cyclists chapel.
After a visit to the chapel we then visited the cyclists museum next door.
Today was for me a dream come true....to cycle from the UK and then ride this famous climb in the searing Italian heat....with the sweat pouring off me and all over my bike was the ultimate cycle memory....
I will share more of this and the rest of this great adventure when I get back to the UK.

Stage Ten.

We did it !
We crossed over the Spurgen Pass  and  into Italy mid aafternoon. Quite a bit of snow on the pass.
We are now at Lake Como and were out for a celebration meal and a few drinks this evening.
More info over the next few days and a full review will follow upon return to the UK.
Ten countries in Ten days.....I still can't quite believe that we have done it......

Stage Nine

Famous last words from the last posting about the easy 90 mile day we had in front of us.....we didn't take into account today's heat....33c for most of the day. We found it energy draining .
JD had an accident today...he hit a rut in the road which caused him to go over the handlebars. He hit the road with a thump but other than cuts and grazes on his elbow and knee he is OK . Minor damage to bike.
We completed Austria and Liechtenstein today so just need to reach Italy tomorrow. Just one little obstacle in our way....the mountain range seen in one of the photos here. Our route is up the Splugen Pass....we were speaking to a local club rider today and he told us a week ago it was covered in snow but should be ok for us tomorrow. We are all very worried about the climb.I will give you more details about the climbs and facts and figures plus more photos when I get back to the UK..until then tomorrow will be success or failure for our 10in10 objective.
Oh one last thing...we found ourselves mixed up with the Tour of Switzerland mobile village today....quite exciting for us bike riders and again photos when we get home.

Stage Eight

This morning started with a big climb. We had allowed ourselves 3hrs to do it and actually completed it in just over 1hr. I didn't count the switchbacks as I went up but I can tell you the views were spectacular and the cycling was absolutely brilliant. In actual fact today was the best days cycling so far.
We are now in Switzerland as can be seen in the photo of Jon at the border. We crossed over the river into Switzerland at a wooden bridge shown in the other picture.
We are currently camped alongside Lake Instances.
Tomorrow we have an easy day of 90miles and only a total ascent of 1700ft over the entire days distance.
The following day....day 10.... well that's going to be a totally different story......

Stage Seven

<p>Last nights rain had cleared by the morning and although we had some clouds it remained dry. We decided to take a middle route and are now in the Black Forest at a place called Simonswold.
Gradient today were killers at the end of the days ride. Tomorrow we start off with even steeper gradients and an even bigger day.
This ride isn't in the bag yet and the next three days are crucial to us completing this within the ten days limit.
Photos today show the view from our site and Jon checking the route.

Stage Six

Today was a day of decisions. JD and Lorenzo decided that they were unable to continue without compromising the success of the 10in10. They felt that although they could continue riding they were unable to maintain the pace required in order for us to achieve our objective of 10countries in 10days.
Both the guys will continue to ride about 50 miles a day but will not continue with Jon and I.
They both have new tasks though to assist in our success. Lorenzo is producing fantastic meals for us and JD is now helping Dave with navigation and logistics.
Obviously if Jon and I do make it,to Lake Comp OK we will reform as a full team to ride around the Lake and up to the Chapel....
Today the weather was very very hot. Energy shaping heat!!. When we arrived at the campsite the weather blew up into a frenzy with strong winds and then rain.
We are currently camped about 10 miles west of Strasbourg.
Tomorrow we have another decision to make...over a mountain with a shorter distance....or follow a river for almost twice the distance. It depends on weather....so we won't decide till the morning.