DONE IT......!!

When I was a youngster, many moons ago..I remember chatting with school mates, who all seemed to be football obsessed and stating out loud that I reckoned one day a British rider would win the Tour de France. 


Well needless to say I got shouted down...rubbish I was told...it will never happen. They all told me that we were a Soccer nation and that I was wasting my time being interested in cycling and I should be like everyone else and go buy a pair of football boots.... 
Since that time apart from the World Cup win in 1966 and all the money that is paid to the modern day professional soccer player, we don't appear to be very good at it, despite what my school mates believed. Even just a few weeks ago we had to suffer most of our regular TV programmes being set aside so that the nation could watch a lot of highly paid footballers lose yet again... 


Mind you it has taken a huge chunk of my lifetime for me to see my schoolboy statement come to pass, but to day it happened....BRADLEY WIGGINS, A BRITISH RIDER , HAS DONE IT..!!......WON THE TOUR DE FRANCE... 


It is being hailed as probably the greatest British sporting achievement of all time.....and as a lifelong cyclist and being aware of what a truly tough endurance event the TDF really is I have to agree, even if I do have a biased opinion...


I have to keep pinching myself to make sure that I haven't just dream't this...


After waiting so long for this to happen it has been done in true British style..not satisfied with just winning, the second place on the podium was also taken by a British rider... Chris Froome proved himself to be a superb right hand man for Wiggo..... very strong in the mountains and showing himself to be a possible future TDF winner himself....Then we have Mark Cavendish..the Manx Missile...Wow! 
Three stage wins and that last one in Paris was timed to perfection.... 


I have watched every live minute of this event on TV, including all the evening highlights and I have enjoyed it all...


I will finish with my favorite image (apart from the riders crossing the line and the podium shots) and my favourite quote from the TV coverage. 
Above is my favourite clip....three donkeys in their TDF cycling jerseys, one green, one polka dot and of course one in the yellow jersey... 
and my favourite quote comes from the man himself  Bradley Wiggins during a recent interview...
When asked how he felt about being in the spotlight, he said  "It's nice to be recognised for achieving something in life - because so much of British culture is about being famous for not achieving anything". 
That is something that I really have to agree with.....
There is so much more that I could say about this TDF, but for now I am just going to let it all soak in.

TRYING TO KEEP GOING.....

THE TIFOSI ON A RARE  DRY AND SUNNY DAY

I am trying to keep going... I am not referring to watching the TDF,  that is all running along quite smoothly.  Each stage live and then the highlights in the evening.... I have seen it all and my appetite for it is as strong as ever....No I am talking about something a bit closer to home.... 


I was riding along the other day on the Tifosi nice and early, getting a ride in before the heavens opened once again, when it crept through my mind........this thought.....


Let me explain....... 
Last year I set myself the target of riding 10,000 miles in the year. 
I failed to achieve it...not by much, but a fail is a fail. 
Yes, I had to stop riding for a month due to a medical problem but the weather was pretty good for most of the year making almost every ride an enjoyable experience....
I even had the trip back from Gibraltar to help boost the mileage but with all of that I still failed to reach my target. 


Because of failing to reach the target last year I set it again for myself this year. 


This year the weather has been atrocious....we have had so much rain, breaking rainfall records almost every month since April. 
I have had some dry rides....on the ride back from Edinburgh for instance it was dry every day except one, but it seems that in the main on every ride recently I have managed to get caught in the rain. 


Now I don't mind getting caught by wet weather on the bike now and again, but the amount of rain that we have been having this year has become really tiresome.....


So anyway as I was saying...I was riding along the other morning when the thought entered my head... Why bother...why bother keep going out and riding the bike chasing a target. If it was a nice dry summer....a proper summer....a summer when every ride is a good ride, that would be great.... but this summer...why bother? 


Now that was the first time this year that I have had a thought like that and it took me by surprise....It even unnerved me a bit.....
To be honest it made me feel that maybe I won't reach the target after all because my commitment to the task was starting to show cracks.....I managed to suppress the thought but obviously the continued bad weather has started to get to me.......


Oh look! It's just started to rain again and it's time for my ride.........

PEDALLING...DRUGS......

After a rest day on Tuesday the TDF  riders continued pedalling their bikes today. 
Today's stage was between Macon  and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine. 
Riding after a rest day can often have a strange effect on the riders, but at the end of the ride there was no real change to the top GC listings. 


Wiggo's  TT ride on Monday was absolutely stunning and I have to say he did look good on that bike....everything seemed to go right for him from that very first pedal stroke....that's the type of ride that Wiggo does best and it was a real pleasure to watch..
But!!! 
There is still a lot of riding yet to do and it will not be easy...there is so much that can go wrong. The stress of watching this stuff is enough to make a man turn to drink!!


It always happens...the timing seems almost planned for the middle of the TDF...I am referring to the spectre of drugs... 
French rider Remy Di Gregorio was arrested at the Cofidis team hotel. 
He has been accused of being part of a drugs ring although not within this years TDF. 
Apparently the Cofidis team continues to ride this years tour with  no finger being pointed at them. 


I have also read that in the USA a Trainer and two Doctors have been banned for life because of involvement in an alleged doping conspiracy...The guys are apparently former associates of Lance Armstrong who has also been charged with being involved. 


For years people have been trying to connect Lance Armstrong with drug taking in the sport....he has always denied it, pointing out that he must be the most tested cyclist ever.....I trust that this latest development doesn't prove positive!! (sorry about that)


Lance Armstrong has been one of my sporting heroes.....indeed when I was undergoing cancer treatment myself,  his book 'It's Not About the Bike' was a real source of strength and hope for me.......
His LIVESTRONG organization has done a huge amount of work for cancer and it would be such a pity if it transpired that he had lied to us all....a lot of people would feel very let down...I really do want (and need) to believe him.

DAY NINE - UPDATE.....

CRABBIE'S BLACK RESERVE GINGER BEER

It is now day nine of the TDF.....so here is an update. Not on the TDF as that seems to roll on with all the action and drama that every first week of the Tour has....but an update of the action in and around Purple Towers. 


Paul from the  'I Love My Brooks Saddle' blog left me a comment asking what beverage I was using during these tough early stages of the TDF. 
Above is a picture of my answer....
Although I started  watching the Tour in the company of various types of ale I have now decided that what is working really well for me is Crabbie's Black Reserve Ginger Beer....This stuff has a great taste and at 6% volume I seem to be able to last each stage quite well. 


Of course living in these parts there is another really good reason why I would choose Ginger Beer to drink.....
As a kid I remember reading the 'Famous Five' books written by Enid Blyton as well as seeing Famous Five films at the regular Saturday morning kids cinema. Those stories were often based in the area of the Purbecks that I regularly ride in. 
On my rides I  pass the hotel where Enid Blyton would stay when visiting this area and where she is reputed to have written the stories...
The kids in the tales she wrote would have "Lashings of Ginger Beer" and go cycling, so I am carrying on that tradition although I doubt very much if their ginger beer was as strong as this great stuff I have been drinking......


The weather over this past week has been abysmal.....on just one day we had the amount of rain that we would normally expect during the whole of an average July.......trying to fit in my riding without getting washed away has been a bit of a trial, indeed my weeks mileage was considerably lower than previous weeks.....still on course though. 


With all this bad weather and no end in sight Anne and I intend on taking a holiday throughout August in the hope of finding some nicer weather. 


Since the start of the TDF a number of cycling items have been delivered by our happy and smiling postman....I won't tell you what they are yet but I plan on doing reports on them once the TDF is finished. 
Tomorrow in the TDF is a 38km time trial stage from Arc-et-Senans to Besancon and then on Tuesday there will be a rest day......at least that will give me a chance to top up my'Famous Five' supplies.

.

MY TDF GOING WELL.....

I thought that you would like to know that my TDF is going well......


I am managing to hang on in there each day and have managed to complete the first four stages without any major mishap.....although I did manage to knock over a bottle of beer during the sprint for the finish of stage two. 
I blame Mark Cavendish for this.....seeing him just clinch the win caused me to indulge in a lot of arm waving and jumping up and down and the result was 'one bottle over'.. I had to drink an extra bottle just to get over the stress of it all. 


Not so good today for Cav though. 
He got caught up in a crash which had him hit the deck. Luckily he wasn't too badly hurt but it did put him out of the running for the sprint finish and stage win... 
All this just stressed me out yet again so I had to have yet more extra bottles just to help me recover...... 


I'm not going to write any more today as the TDF highlights are just about to start and I need to see it all over again........

CAN I LAST THE DISTANCE.....?

JUST PART OF MY TDF KIT

Well it's started....this years Tour de France that is. 
I had thought earlier in the year that I might travel over to France in order to watch some of the TDF and soak up all the atmosphere, but then I decided that if I was going to do that I would rather go next year when it will be the 100th tour. 
So I have settled for watching it this year on the television at home thanks to ITV4... I won't be getting the full TDF experience with all the atmosphere, but I will be able to follow it every step - or should that be spin of the wheel- along the way.


Obviously this now means that for the next three weeks my daily rides will have to take place earlier in the day....on some days much earlier. 
My plan is to get out early and get the miles in, returning home in time to have lunch and settle down in front of the TV to enjoy the entertainment of the Tour until about tea time. Then in the early evening I plan to watch the 'Tour Highlights' programme again on ITV4. 


One thing that I would like to point out to everyone is that unlike the Football and the Wimbledon Tennis, which is shown on the mainstream channels and on which the 'normal' programmes are pushed aside on the wrong and misguided  assumption that 'everyone' must love those sports, the Tour is tucked away on ITV4 and no one will have their favourite programmes shoved to one side in order to make way for it.... 
I will be able to sit at home and enjoy my favourite sport in the knowledge that for the many people out there who have no interest in it whatsoever, I will not be stopping their entertainment in order for me to enjoy mine. Just a little gripe of mine!! 


I have all my TDF kit ready...books....charts....maps of the route....details of the teams....magazine supplements....reviews of previous tours..etc..etc. 
.....and beer....plenty of beer!! 


The problem I face is, will I be able to last the distance? 
Will I manage to hang on in there right up to and including that final 130km flat stage from Rambouillet to Paris on Sunday 22nd July? 
After all I will be getting up and riding earlier in the day compared to normal and I will be consuming more beer than normal.
I tell you there are lots of hardships ahead in pursuit of my sport.....!!   
I will let you all know how my tour is going as it unfolds.

MORPHING INTO A CYCLIST

NOTE THE YELLOW MITTS MATCHING THE BIKE

On Monday morning we had a brief glimpse of summer......the sun was shining and it actually felt quite warm.... an ideal day for a nice bike ride. 
I had arranged to drive over to my daughter's house and go from there on a ride with my son in law Scott. 


I hadn't ridden with Scott since January when he ran out of steam about half way through a thirty mile loop on the Purbecks. 
Since then he has been out on a number of rides with a friend of his who is a bit of a keen sportsman, the odd solo ride and he also  did a 42 mile short sportive a few weeks ago. 


The sportive represented his PB in terms of mileage on a single ride that he had achieved to date. Interestingly the first thing that Scott asked me as we were about to set off was "how far will we be riding today?" I just told him that I had a good route in mind and that it wasn't too far. 


The route I was intending to do was a loop of about 51 miles that meanders through some really lovely inland Dorset villages along some nice country lanes that encounter very little traffic. I thought that the route would be a good one for him to do, as although a bit lumpy, it would stretch him a bit but wouldn't be so tough as to drain him totally.

LUNCH STOP IN THE VILLAGE OF ASHMORE

After all the rain that we have been having it must be said that the route wasn't as tidy as it normally is. A lot of dirt and muck had been washed off the fields and onto the lanes meaning some extra care was required on corners and faster sections. 

One lane near the village of  Farnham was quite badly water logged but still passable although a few days ago it would have been impossible to cycle along it on a road bike due to flooding and all the mud.......We stopped for a short lunch break in the village of Ashmore.....

 

Up to this point Scott had been riding well and I even had to suggest to him that he ease back a bit on his average speed as I didn't want him to 'blow up' early in the ride. 

As it was Scott completed the ride pretty well. 

He had certainly improved since our last ride together earlier in the year and has all the makings of a good cyclist if he can put in the time and effort in training...which is always difficult for a time strapped young family man. 

I dropped him on a few occasions during the second half of the ride, but that is only to be expected as 'going the distance' in endurance terms is the area that he is working on as he builds up his ride mileage. 

The ride was another PB for him as the 51 miles covered was the furthest on a single ride that he has done and he managed to complete it at an average speed of 15.5mph which considering the terrain was a pretty fair average. 

As his performance is improving he is also morphing into a cyclist in terms of the look.....He now has yellow and black cycle mitts to match his bike and he also told me that a yellow cycle jersey has also been ordered to help complete that look. 

It won't be long before he has the full ' Bene in Selle' (looking good in the saddle) as the Italians like to call it........