So, the training program says I should do 100k easy. I did 175k not so easy 🙂

It was the second Londres-Paris training ride and was supposed to be 110k. We got lost so it ended up being 130k.

Not only this but..

hippy: “Crap, is that Group 2 leaving?!”

wayne: “Yeah, think so”

hippy: “Okay, see ya, have a good ride”

…

hippy: “Is this Group 2?”

rider: “This is Group 1”

hippy: “Ahh sh1t! Oh, oh well”

Guess who now appears to be riding Group 1? I hung on for the entire ride (wheelsucking skills coming back fast!) and even contested the sprint at the end! Fscking stoked!

Big thanks to Mark Sinclair (?Previously we have had involvement with the professional peloton but it’s key to adidas that we support cycling at the grass routes level too,? commented Mark Sinclair, Senior Sports Marketing Manager for adidas, ?I rode the event myself last year and was really impressed by its level of professionalism and the creative way it’s structured, we?re very pleased to offer our support to the London-Paris Cycle Tour?) without who’s pep talk at the start I would’ve bailed and waited for Group 2.

I’d give you a ride report (Devil’s Punch Bowl figured) but this is weeks overdue so I can’t be bothered now. Suffice to say I was well chuffed with the ride and the G1 peeps were loads friendlier than I imagined. Also, my “cheap” ?3k bike didn’t break as much as the more expensive ones 🙂

All the other guys I’m riding with stepped up a group level as well so it was a good day all ’round.

Day 1 takes a new 185km route away from the Hampton Court through Kent, ?the Garden of England?, arriving at Dover for the end of day ferry crossing to Calais. Riders will tackle the short sharp ascents of Capel le Surn and Goudhurst Hill, the latter being familiar to race fans as a King of the Mountains climb in this year?s Tour de France.

Day 2 provides a massive 209km route that will test the mettle of every rider as the event swings north east towards the famous cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, cycling?s ?Hell of the North?. Wheel and tyre choice will be crucial on sections like Mont Cassel, a 1.3km cobbled uphill and the challenging, rolling roads of the Collines l?Artois before arrival at Amiens.

Day 3 leaves Amiens and winds south to Paris covering 201km in the true spirit of the Tour de France, cycling past the Arc de Triomph and finishining at the Eiffel Tower in the capital, a fitting spot at which to end the challenge of the 2008 London-Paris Cycle Tour.

www.londres-paris.com – 2008 route

(many thanks to the Purdys for the photos!)

A 50k 3-man team time trial which Ed, Louis and myself competed in on Saturday, near Princes Risborough.

I was the slower rider although now more trained up than last year, a sub for a LSE student who couldn’t make it. That was going to be my excuse for any failures on my part.. along with “I’ve not raced for ages” and “I’ve never done a TT this long” and “I’ve never done a TTT” and “I have a cold” and “I have no aerobars, no funny hat, no overshoes, no HED3, no disc wheel” and “I’d be eating pies right now if I wasn’t doing this!”. You get the idea. 🙂

Met Louis and Ed at Marylebone station and also found Jayne and Simon from Willesden there. Ed ate (and drank more coffee than even I’d like to consume), we chatted about how poorly we’d do, we set the train alarm off accidentally (as you do) and at Princes Risborough jumped out and rode to the HQ at a local school to collect our numbers.

Jayne and Simon were first off at around 1.30pm and we were off 30min later at 2pm. I drank my isotonic stuff, stripped down to my new Willesden skinsuit (Michelin Man special edition) and headed out with the lads to ride up and down the road to warm up.

We saw the Willesden duo off and then swapped some turns and got a bit of blood flowing into the legs. Back to the start line we sat waiting for our start time (3 minutes between teams in case you were interested)..

“2 minutes” – swig of GO.

“1 minute” – started my Powertap.

“30 seconds” – crap, I forgot to change into the big ring, too late now!

“3..2..1.. GO!” – let the fun begin!

Ed, Louis then I shoot off down the road and quickly bunch up. With Ed on the front my HR goes up up up. Ed swaps out and Louis is in front as Ed goes by and slots in behind me. Louis moves over and slows, allowing me to ride up. I check my speedo and make sure I’m doing over 40kph, 42kph fine.

We were going to do 30-45 second turns but I can only see power and HR on my Powertap. Fuggit, I do what I think is a reasonably large turn and move over. We continue this process and I quickly realise that this is gonna hurt.

My HR when I was on the back wasn’t going down much and I was worried about not being able to drive at the front again. For the first half of the first 24k circuit I was okay with 40kph+ on the front. This was the speed that would beat their time for last year. The only problem was it was windier than last year and once we turned into the wind I was starting to struggle with keeping that speed. It was down to 38kph and if there was a bump I really suffered and couldn’t rise above say 35kph. I wasn’t at all happy with this but if I’d dug any deeper I then wouldn’t have been able to hold onto the wheel in front and I’d screw everything up. The time is taken from the 3rd rider so you HAVE to finish together, unlike a track pursuit where you can afford to shed one rider.

I can only remember random stuff now: pain, slowing, Ed asking if I’m okay and me just glaring at him, struggling on any little bump and realising I never ride this hard for this long or at least I haven’t since racing in Melbourne. A couple of times I had to get Ed to slow down so I could get back on, so did Louis.. Ed is a machine! If he was suffering he was hiding it well while I looked like I was choking on my own tongue..

On the second lap we were held up by a truck stuck trying to get past an oncoming car on a one-lane bridge. Crap!! We were behind it for 10 seconds perhaps but the whole slowing down to a stop and then accelerating once clear must have cost a lot more time than that and taxed the legs more than we would’ve liked.

We passed a group at one point. I’m not sure if they were our 3-minute men or what? We were also passed by a very serious looking Oxford team – Cervelo P3’s, disc wheels, aero front wheels, aerobars, helmets, etc. The full works! But once they caught us they seemed to slow whilst we maintained and then on a downhill stretch at 50kph, we passed them back! Later this is what Louis said did him in – the surge to catch the Oxford team. They again passed us and we were now struggling with a red team up the road as our next goal.

I remember telling Ed “Louis and I are trashed, we need to do shorter turns” and with 5mi to go Louis was in a bad way and I wasn’t able to ride at the front at anything like our first lap speeds. At least Ed was now counting down the miles to go. I was annoyed earlier that the Powertap reported total distance for the day which left me mid-race with no idea how much longer we had to go! Doh! I need to sort this out if I TT again. Having Ed count down was quite helpful for me.

We got Louis in between us and Ed drove on. I recall shouting something like “hold that wheel” to Louis, trying to encourage without sounding like a total bastard. I’d run out of drink too early – half a bidon isn’t enough for 50k at TT pace. I also remember trying to catch the red team, Ed yelling something like “catch the reds up there. I HATE them”. That’s my kind of inspiration. 🙂

Ed and I spotted the finish line and we’d agreed before the race just to sprint for it, forget formation. I passed Ed while he grumbled about it. hehe For the win! 😛

Over the finish line Ed rolled on towards HQ. I was chatting to him but now I could no longer sit down and could barely pedal. I’d pulled my backside hip flexor muscles which meant I was really struggling when it came to pushing on the pedals or any sort of squatting movement. I remember doing this in a Steel’s Creek 36k TT back in Melbourne.

Got off the bike and almost collapsed. I couldn’t stretch the muscles because they’re that trashed. I try anyway – something has to help. Louis rides up and we have a chat about how shattered we are. I try in vain to make my legs stop hurting, give up and get back on the bike, riding it standing up out of the saddle to use different muscles.

Back at the school, Ed’s probably finished 10 coffees and some cake.. he was about to send a search party out for us 🙂

I struggle to put my leg warmers and shorts back on. I literally cannot bend over or sit down without screaming pain up both legs. Nice.

After some eating, drinking and chatting with the team and the Purdy’s we leave for the train. Again, I’m standing up to avoid bending my hips. The train ride involves all kinds of awkward positions.. Ed’s real impressed. Louis and I talk about doing Hillingdon 10s. Uh oh.

We ended up completing the course in 1hr 20min. Sigma Sport won with 1hr6min (I’m sure they all had aerobars though – the cheats ;)).

1:20 is actually 2 minutes slower than Ed and Louis went last year.. I’m a cycling anchor! The guys assured me it was the wind that slowed us combined with a first lap that was too fast, killing our legs before the finish. It was all pretty good fun though for me so I’m not bothered about it at all. Maybe they’ll have me back for another go?

Read Ed’s fantastic race report here.

CTT Results – 2008 Antelope 50k 3up TTT

Full Results (33rd out of about 60)

(Powertap wonderstats coming soon)

and I eventually dragged myself out to Richmond Park when most of the snow had melted..

and two weeks later I still have the cold from this weekend.

(view from Ditchling Beacon)

“Lets increase your weekend kays” she says.. “not a social ride a training ride” she says.. “gears” she says.. At least the last point reduced the pain somewhat 🙂

Since I wasn’t going fixed with the londonfgss.com crew, I had planned to leave quite early and pass the Hyde Park Corner start before the others got there. Late night = this didn’t happen. I actually caught the fixers somewhere in south London, where they were waiting (surprise surprise!) for someone. They moved off and I stuck with them since they were actually moving along quite well. None of this “p_nct_re every 5min” rubbish!

At the first climb after Croydon(?) we were waiting for someone (50×14?) and I decided to leave the group and set my own pace. I had brett’s route directions with me and blow me down if I didn’t navigate all the way to Brighton with them! I wish they worked as well going back to London, oh well 🙂

So, the weather was nice. The lanes were a little wet but nothing like last week’s L2P training ride. I was setting quite a reasonable pace and feeling good. I didn’t get lost, climbed over Turners Hill, saying ‘hi’ to some other riders, then carrying on to Ditchling.

The Beacon wasn’t as easy geared as I recalled, I think because of the pace I’d set getting there combined with the fact I was running low on fuel. Climbed over it steadily (I don’t do uphill + fast) in about 7 minutes. Rode the long descent into Brighton and arrived at the pier. Decided against chips or a hot jam donut and u-turned straight back up the hill towards London. Not the smartest move, I would later admit, as I really should have stopped for a breather and fueled up.

Slogged back up the hill and once clear of Brighton it was not only uphill but a face-smacking headwind to contend with. Damn!

Finally made it back to Ditchling and did a bit of cautious descending as I’d never ridden down it and the downhill road surface was very crappy. Before the Beacon turn off I saw some of the fixers – Dale leading the charge I think and mikec whos fast legs I’d later meet at Rollapaluza. A bit further along, the rest were stopped at that last corner, fueling up for the Beacon attack. Stopped and said “hi” although by now I was feeling pretty sh1t and just wanted to stop and eat something! Continued..

I eventually stopped at a Tesco somewhere – Ditchling, Turners Hill, I can’t remember and in 30 seconds scoffed a cinnamon scroll and two of those sweet things with nuts on top. Also bought a bottle of Lucozade and a Snickers. Should’ve bought more to drink.

The return trip had now turned completely. It was into a headwind, I’d used up almost all my food and drink, I was obviously tired, morale was low and then I noticed the sign. The sign that said “London – behind you”. Huh? Carried on a bit and saw another sign.. I was heading towards Lewes and AWAY from London.. Away from London WHAT?!?! NOOOOOOO!!!!!! FAAAAAARRRRK!!!!!!

I was spitting! Idiot!! I must have missed a turn. Arrgh! The rain that had now started falling was hitting my face and evaporating with a hiss from the pure hate I was now radiating.. this was not good. I noticed a sign “Ashurstwood” and “Forest Row”. I was now on the A22 instead of the A23 (don’t even think about finding brett’s course again!) trying to get back home. I’d managed to veer 15k off course and by the time I’d recovered I was off the route sheet and had added 30k to the trip! Not a huge amount but when you’re in a low mood already, you don’t need crap news like that.. GRRRR!

I now hammered towards London in the pissing rain in that feeble ‘no energy just anger’ way I do when I’m shattered. For another hour maybe I was riding in crap weather with nothing much left. I found a train station. Did it go to London? Did it fsck! Not a happy camper.

I kept going, cursing my decision to ride back.

What’s this? Light at the end of the tunnel? A sign for Caterham! I know this place. We dropped poor Desi off at the station when he broke his collarbone on the last L2B ride. I could find the station and recover some of the distance I’d wasted with my wrong turn, also avoiding the A-road return journey. Decision made. I found the station, paid my ?5 and jumped on the train. It even had a special holder for my bike with velcro straps for the seatpost. Awesome.

I arrived into London Victoria and the weather had got worse. It was FREEZING now. I was riding north past Hyde Park and getting pelted in the face with hail while a freezing wind bit at my legs. But, now I’d had a rest and I was close to home. The maniacal grin appeared and all I could think about was Paris Roubaix and how all those pros would laugh at conditions like this.. I was on mechanical autopilot.. living tissue over metal endoskeleton.. all I cared about was getting home and doing it quickly and if you got in my way, god help you!

Dragged my sorry carcass through the door and said ‘hi’ to a worried Malwina.. game over. 🙂

Powertap Stats:

The clocks going forward meant my 6am wake up was in effect 5am. Ooh, that hurt. My legs were feeling yesterday’s ride. Maybe Des was right about it not being such an ‘easy’ one. 🙂

Decided to take the Ribble (should now be known as the “Rubble” with its mass of failing parts!) due to the rain forecast and colour of the skies. This meant I missed all that precious, precious Powertap data. *sob* 🙁

I rode to easily to Richmond Park and met Wayne and Tom. From RP we rode to Esher (pronounced “eeesher” not “esher” like you’d think!). We were cutting it fine but arrived mid-briefing though thankfully before departure.

Wayne, Des and Tom elected to ride Group 4, with the plan to move up if they found it too easy. I decided to ride Group 2 with the hope of being told to move up to Group 1. No such luck.. yet 🙂

So, for me it was a wet ride in a bunch of maybe 20? 2/3 combined. The lanes were pretty cool to ride down although I wish more people had mud guards – seems everyone came out on their nice bikes and I was one of a couple with a rear guard. Face full of muck. Not sure how far in we were but Sven said “at the top of this hill we’ll regroup so smash it up!” or something similar. As we’d arrived late I missed my chance to have a leak so I busted off the front and hammered up the hill. Who would’ve thunk it?! ME riding up a hill in front of people! Ha! One guy joined me when I ran out of steam and then near some cafe I lightened my body weight a little..

We rolled on further and the group started splitting up a little bit. Myself and oddly enough another ‘big’ guy were up there along with typical skinny buggers (guy from Edinburgh, also on a blue Ribble). There was also a Dutch guy (sorry mate, I’ve forgotten your name! Marcel??) who’d only been riding since November!

So that was how it went. We (a bunch of about 6 or 8 of us) split off the front and formed Group 2 I guess. I was pretty comfortable with it all which is good. Climbs were tougher as the day went on, the guys setting the pace would put the pace up on the flat and it would rise and there was just no letup! Show’s what training and being 20kg lighter could do for me! 🙂

The steepest climb we hit was probably Combe Bottom.. it climbs along normally for a while, you make a left turn and then it just kicks up to finish you off. Nice..

There was a great view from the top, but I didn’t want to break the descent to camera-phone it. Luckily it’s been done for me..

At one point, after catching our breath atop Combe Bottom, we actually came across a flooded section of road. Water was covering the road for 20m and I was tempted to take a photo as a van created a bow wave just driving through it. We all stuck to the middle of the road and were fine.

At the end Bernard was struggling a bit so I went back and collected him. We rolled into Carluccio’s and sat outside to chat and drink nice coffee (and eat chocolate cake!). Bernard and Marcel(?) know each other through their kids and it looks like they’ll be riding Group 2 with me (unless I get faster and get bumped up..).

Bloody Wayne, Des and Tom the slackers didn’t rock up for another 1.5 hours! Still a good showing considering they’ve not done that much bunch riding or such big hills for that matter!

Tom and I rolled home to Ealing, splitting off from the others in heavy (VW-dense) traffic. I can’t remember what I did then.. oh yes, Mal helped me clean the 4kgs of mud of the Rubble.

While doing so I noticed that the bottom bracket has LOTS of play in it and the chainline is worn to hell. I don’t have the newer tools required for outboard Shimano BBs so I’m thinking of just dropping the thing off at a shop (Quest or Sigma) and saying “please swap this with a new bike, thanks!” 🙂

Cool Surrey Hills images stolen from www.herneweb.com.