Saturday Club ride

Untitled by l2pstuart at Garmin Connect - Details

Rubis Jersey Annual Town Criterium & Road Race

We have just had our biggest annual cycling event in Jersey, giving me an opportunity to see first hand just how slow I am! On Saturday I joined the weekly club ride round the Island, which proved a little more interesting than usual. We normally form three or four groups not to upset the traffic too much. I set off in the second group to be followed in the fourth group by 5 of the Team UK Youth including Magnus Backstedt. We all met up at Gorey as usual on the east coast to regroup, but having had too much liquid intake before I set off, needed a pit stop. Climbing back on the bike I now found myself at the back of the group with the UK Youth Team just starting up the hill. Not being the most able at cleating in, I was looking down at my right foot when I felt a hand across my back, then whosh! I was being pushed up the hill faster than I can normally ride. I can barely manage to take a drink if I'm climbing! Magnus and one other then turned off about 5 miles later but the others continued with us until the 'splash'. They had already competed earlier in the morning so this was their warm down ride before the town criterium the next day. With just a glimpse of how strong these riders are I had to go and watch. I arrived a little after the start to see the ladies race, which was one by a 16yr old Lucy Garner of Team Motorpoint. One to watch for the Olympics I'm told. The men's support race was just as exciting with 1st and 2nd places going to the other local cycling club 'Caesarean'. For the men's Elite race I was offered the chance to go round the course in the sweep car. Although I missed the race to the finish i did get to see at close hand just how fast the top athletes can ride (30mph + with inclines).

This morning was the Road Race, which being only a short distance from where we live I decided to go and watch. My wife now thinks I've gone totally cycling mad! Some 60 miles at speeds I can just about mange on a steep descent. A great spectacle and looking forward to next year already. Today was supposed to be my rest day but being so enthralled I went for a cycle with my wife. Considerably slower but fired up! Looking forward to my second sportive in two weeks.

160k Sportive

Well, that's another one out of the way - that's about all I can say about today's ride. Strong winds (again) made it very difficult as did the relentless climbing. I am told that 1912 metres of elevation gain is pretty serious - it certainly knocked the wind out of my sails. I had hoped to beat last weekends time and I enjoyed a good start riding in a big group that covered 20 miles in the first hour. However, when the hills arrived, and kept coming, I felt at times that I was going backwards.

Ended the trip in a total ride time of 7 hours 10 minutes at an average moving speed of 15.2 miles. Given that there was an extra 500 metres of climbing I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed to be 20 minutes slower than last week but I am rather concerned about how tired I feel after the ride. Right now if someone asked me to ride 110 miles tomorrow and 110 the day after I would think that were a complete lunatic. I have lots to do but I guess I won't be overdoing it at a dinner party the night before L2P as I did last night.

Dropped my bike off at a repair shop yesterday and they have made a few changes to improve my riding position and I must say that I felt more comfortable on the bike today which is good news. One of the guys who works in the shop is in the support crew for L2P and has been involved for many years. He confirmed what we already know that it is a top event and the last leg into Paris is so moving that this year he will be taking one of the support bikes and riding the last few hours with us. On groupings he advised us to avoid G5 - last year they were so slow that they missed the ferry from Dover and finally arrived at their French lodgings at close to midnight - not a good start!

I hope you have all managed to get out on your bikes this weekend.

I am at home today due to an impending exam next week, so I do apologise if everyone has already been emailed the route/profiles for the ride. Anyway, please see link.......

http://www.londres-paris.com/site/html/the_tour/2011_routeoverview.php

Although I wasn't expecting a walk in the park, that does look like a more than "interesting" set of routes they've planned - I'm particularly intimidated by the official clmb at the 150km point on the first day (I give you all expressed consent to give me a push if I look tired at this point!).

I'm following Sven Thiele (spelling?) on my twitter acount and his last update was, "not as flat as we think - 1800m/day". That's over 5,000 feet per day - better get back on the bike, bad leg or no bad leg! Incidentally, thanks to those that have given me tips and/or shown concern over the injury - seems as though the team spirit has come early. As a general update, I've rested it for a week and a half now and it seems to be nicely on the mend, so here's hoping.

The secret diary of Peter Land, continued...

Mon 16th May

I have realised that I’ve been unfair to Mrs Land. I’ve detailed her scepticism, her dismissing me as foolish, her refusal to overcome her fear for me enough to support me enthusiastically, how keen she has been to find jobs for me when I wanted to get out riding. What I’ve omitted is how she has at other times arranged days around my training rides, put herself out, worried for me and put up with a mountain bike on a rolling road in the corner of her kitchen – not to mention the loud drone it makes when I’m on it. So there it is, I’ve evened up the comment.

I don’t know how to put this, but I’m beginning to feel confident. After putting in the long runs, many short ones and back to back ones I now truly believe I can do it. I can cycle at 15mph all the way to Paris. Tough, but (I tell myself) doable. The miles on the road, plus the miles on the rolling road, are working. I feel curiously jolly!

Tue 17^th May

Potential disaster. Whilst performing one of my regular and no doubt disconcerting stretches by the coffee machine, my left knee seems to twist. Nothing too unusual there, but a growing pain all afternoon is worrying. Feels horribly like when the cartilage burst a couple of years ago, requiring surgery and rehab. It’s probably just a twist; hopefully it’ll have passed by this evening.

Wed 18^th May

It hasn’t. I slept with my leg up on a large cushion and it does feel a little better, now I’m going to load up on drugs and if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to do what I always do and take Leanne’s advice. That confidence has suddenly evaporated!
The only good news is that one of my clients and generous sponsors has jokingly compared me to Mark Cavendish, who I confess I had never heard of but apparently is Britain’s current best rider and winning stages in an Italian race. I reproduce it below – LOOK AT THE SOCKS!

Take that, Leanne, who’s laughing now?

Sat 21^st May

A tentative 18 miles on flat roads gives me mixed messages; the main problem knee seems at least half better but generally I am slow and feeling miserable.

Sun 22^nd May

Tried a longer run – 38 miles in strong winds and quite hilly. Knee painful and I find myself comparing one pain to another and trying to decide which is tolerable and which not. Not a great ‘swing thought’ as we golfers say. Turns out this pain is tolerable, but only for the couple of hours I’m out today. Needless to say I end up very very miserable, I hate potholes and winds; I hate roads, cars, bikes and hills and I hate cycling.

Fri 27^th May

Recovered my mood a little ahead of the Whitsun Bank Holiday (aren’t we having that a week early for some reason?) but I want to play golf, not cycle. However I will have to cycle and reluctantly I’m going to work out a longer route for Sunday. I have contacted the local cycling club but they haven’t come back to me, they obviously don’t want me as a member – can’t blame them, I wouldn’t want someone as miserable as me either. On that basis, I’m on my own and finding out about riding in a group will have to wait until I get to the big ride itself. Maybe do a short one tomorrow and a longer one on Sunday if my knee holds up? Hope there’s no wind, otherwise I’m going to play golf instead.

Geoff Thomas and friends talk about the charity and the challenge

David Pegler: Another epic climb - Alpes d'Huez 1850m

Today's ride started with a 25km steady warm up to the base of one of the most famous classic climbs of the Tour de France circuit - Alpes d'Huez. A team of 7, including myself, started at 700m and steadily climbed the 21 hairpin bends to a total height of 1850m, taking about 80 mins to cover the 14.5km (I understand the pros do it in less than 40mins!)
Once refreshed we made the descent down in about 15mins - what a buzz!
Another recovery day tomorrow followed by the big day when we attempt about 5-6 further climbs.

Pearson 150

View Stuart's route on Garmin

Finally managed to sort out the privacy issue with my Garmin!

Having seen all the other blogs I felt guilty not having written for a couple of weeks so here goes. The end of April was my sisters big birthday (18th century costume) in France. More drinking and eating than cycling but I did still manage to cover a few miles between St Malo and Cancale. The following week was the usual round the Island cycle on Saturday with the Velo Sport Cycling Club but some intensive trips after work with the crew from Big Maggy's . The first one nearly killed me as I was expecting a gentle cycle of 25 miles. I had been out with a client for lunch having had a most enjoyable fillet steak with a glass of wine. No problem I thought until I turned up at the shop to meet a couple of Group 1 standard cyclists who would be joining us!!! Oops. All I will say is that the steak was very nearly consumed a second time. Having said that it was the most exciting of all my rides to date and at a blistering pace. My legs were all but finished at 40 miles and I could no longer maintain the pace. Fortunately they slowed down for the last couple of miles before I collapsed at home. The following week I was at the HOO meeting with David and Stephen comparing notes with a couple of visits to the local cycling shop. Like Stephen I managed to clock the miles over the weekend 40 Friday, 40 Saturday and a charity 50 mile event on the Sunday. All good training for my first Sportive due the following weekend. Also like Stephen this would be my longest ride to date at 150km.

I was very fortunate to join the Big Maggy's team of 8 going to Weymouth on the fast ferry. Unfortunately the fast ferry was late to depart as it was only running on three of its four engines and the others were restricted to half power. The slow ferry arrived 4 hours late but spirits were high. The Hilton Hotel in Croydon very kindly allowed us to take our bikes into one of their boardrooms over night for safety. Just as well as the bikes on the roof of the Skoda were worth twice as much as the car. In bed late and an early start were not ideal conditions and I missed meeting up with Bradley due to the rush to join the L2P start. The ride pace was about right for me, being more used to a faster pace but shorter distance. My only concern was if I ran out of puff at the end. I was determined to keep in the pack no matter what. My loss of weight was a big advantage on the hills but this was nearly always given up on the run down the other side. My fear of going round corners at speed meant I was constantly on the brakes and then having to catch up at the bottom. Something to work on! The feed station just out of Brighton was a swift affair. By the time I had managed to eat a couple of slices of Swiss roll and visited the WC the group behind were in the queue to top up the their drink bottles. Next thing I heard was we're going in 60 seconds. Fortunately my second drink bottle was full so I quickly joined the first group. Those left left behind formed a second group but never caught up. I was with only one other from the 'Jersey 8' but we managed to keep together for most of the way. I did get dropped with a few others a few Km later thanks to the b*****y traffic lights. Two or three minutes is a long way to drop behind and I had finally given up the chase when about 2/3 minutes later a very purposeful looking team '316' in red lycra came flying past. I plucked up courage and I decided to catch a ride. The pace was much quicker and 5 minutes later we had caught the leading group 3 riders. Phew and thanks team 316! Other than a small strain in my left leg I finished none the worse for wear, despite the wind and the odd shower. I too feel much more confident and look forward to my next sportive in France in just under 3 weeks.

David Pegler: The hardest day of my life

Total mileage was a respectable 130km and over 6 hours riding (excluding food and water stops). The mountain climbs (about 3 big ones) were killers. One in particular went from 600m elevation at the base to 1,700m at the top over a distance of 13km. When I finally got to the top (2 or 3 athletes actually gave up) I thought the most experienced riders would say that worse is to come later in the week, however they were convinced this was more difficult than most if not all of the mountains on the Tour de France circuit. Hearing that news at least spurred me on to complete the ride and make it back to the camp in one piece. For the last 20km we drafted behind each other and managed to clock an average 35-40km/h.

Tomorrow is thankfully a recovery day with a short swim/run session, an easy spin or recovery ride and a trip to the local Decathlon store.

Having a great time, although getting a little worried about my flight home - another ash cloud problem!

Moe, Curly and Larry try the Stratford 100

I can't remember the last time a sporting event has been at the forefront of my mind as the Stratford 100 was. I had taken advice on nutrition, hydration and equipment and I was still unsure on how I would cope and if I would finish. what would I do if I didn't. I had to be at Stratford racecourse by 700am so my alarm was set for 5am. I woke at 4am!

Stephen and I were introduced to 2 of Geoff's friends, John and Matt, triathletes conveniently, and after a bit of nervous banter we set off. I could not get "99 bottles of beer on the wall" out of my head. We were over taken by a large group after about 8 miles and Geoff shouted that we should hang on to them. At an average clip of 32kmph this was a struggle and we were soon strung out. I decided to stick with Geoff and John as they were experienced cyclists and we ploughed on at a good rate. However after 40 mins or so the lack of other cyclists was concerning and we stopped. We had gone off course, badly. We were off the map and had a choice to either retrace our steps, which, given we were unsure where we had gone wrong was not a popular option, or try to rejoin the course further along. We headed for Cheltenham, had some very nice banana cake, a cup of coffee and made a phonecall to Matt who was at the 50 mile stop. Having already cycled 48 miles and we were 20 miles behind him and the executive decision to go off piste again. Eventually we rolled into Stratford having joined the course 3 miles outside, promptly took a wrong turn into the racecourse and never even crossed the finish line. However we did complete 94 miles and I felt strong at the end so from that point of view it was a success. I did ask Geoff which group I should plump for and he suggested 4 on the first day and if that was too easy move up to 3 in France. Sound advice methinks.

I did not bike it into work on Monday as both the kids were up during the night and, to be honest, I was knackered. I had just sat down at my desk on Monday morning when 2 wags asked if I had just finished or had I gone via the Cheltenham office first? Could take a while to live this one down.

I was keen to try another 100mls this coming Sunday but with it being our wedding anniversary it was always going to be difficult one to swing and I received a very firm "no chance!"

However I do feel more confident than this time last week.

A good week

Untitled by bluemoonrising at Garmin Connect - Details

It's been a good week on the cycling front. After my 60 & 40 miles last weekend I cycled to work and back 3 times and today have completed the Wheel Hero's 100m Cotswold Sportive. All that lot adds up to 280 miles over the last 8 days - and the aging body has held up pretty well!

I was looking forward to today's 100 miler as it would be the first time I have ridden that distance since I was 16 and also this would be my first trip with Gordie and Geoff. For a whole variety of reasons things didn't quite work out as I had planned. We all meet up at the start and stayed together for a very brisk 10 miles before getting separated (actually I couldn't keep up) & I never saw them again until the finish - I will leave Gordie to explain the embarrassing details! That left me cycling on my own for 90 miles in very windy conditions. It wasn't quick and at times was very hard with strong headwinds. Also note the two very big hills at about 40 miles. However, I enjoyed it and I was amazed how strong I felt at the end. Consequently I am feeling more confident about the L2P distances.

Next weekend I have a 150k sportive with Solihull C.C. and if the conditions are better I would hope to cover the ground at a slightly better pace. I will also try and squeeze in a few more rides to work but the distance at just over 1 hour each way is a little longer than I would want. I gave up on the road after I was nearly wiped out by a West Midlands Travel bus on the way home and have now found a good alternate route via the canal tow path. The mornings are great but you have to keep your wits about you on the evening run home given the amount of yobbo's and drunks hanging around. Both canal rides so far have not been without incident - one puncture and a trapped chain and I can see that a momentary loss of concentration could easily see me in the drink!

I have attached my Garmin record of today's run. Looks like I need to check my cadence sensor as it wasn't picking up much on the first half of the ride.

Finally, I was given a selection of GU Gels which Gordie and I both used. We both felt great after the ride and whilst some of that will be down to the training, we both thought that these Gels were really good and helped keep our energy levels at respectable levels. GU is an American company but they do have some suppliers in the UK and a lot in Ireland. I will be buying some more!

I hope your weekends went well

Stephen

Injuries......

As the title of the post suggests, my first injury has struck (first injury of the group?). I've been somewhat injury prone since about the age of 20 in other sports - mainly football - and it now seems that it is not just contact sports that cause me problems!

I've had a sore achilles for the last 3 or so weeks, however it only ever bothered me when I was pushing hard up steep hills - even then it wasn't particularly noticeable. It wasn't getting any worse so me being me, I put it down to just a few aches and pains that comes with extra training. It all seemed relatively fine until the beginning of this week, culminating in a spinning class on Monday evening that was less than comfortable!

Although it's self diagnosed, I have all of the symptoms of achilles tendonitis (or one of the many variants of the same thing that has come up in my research). I spent a lot of Monday evening looking up recovery techniques, recovery periods and symptoms and the unfortunate conclusion I've drawn is that complete rest, RICE, massage and gradual re-introduction to cycling are the only things I can do. Although I'm absolutely gutted that i've picked up the injury, I'm hoping (nay praying) that i've caught it early enough to make a decent recovery in time for the L2P. From what I gather, recovery is very much down to the individual and obviously the severity of the injury, however having done all of the above and more (not walking in bare feet, buying heel inserts for my shoes etc) for the last 2 days I must say it is feeling much, much better - that isn't me being mr.denial either. I should probably get myself to a sports injuries clinic, however a lot of past experience has taught me that I'll be paying for someone to tell me something I already know.

Regardless of any of the above, I am absolutely determined to make it to the start line in London so keep your fingers crossed I can shake the injury!

From "Legend" to "Hero" in 7 days - Hopefully!

I guess no bike stolen and no bits dropping off is a positive step forward although I did have a front brake cable snap and 2 punctures on the same day last week. However, touch wood, nothing has happened since to make me consider hurling the bike into the canal which was an option for a moment. I was able to mend the brake cable myself, which given my mechanical dyslexia, is remarkable.

I have been able to get out on the road twice over the last 2 weekends for 4 hour rides around 65 miles which I am quite pleased with. However the last hour is hard work, not so much on my legs, but for my back which is still giving me gip. I do feel that after a rest I could go again which is encouraging. Indeed last weekend I had been invited to play in a Worcester “Legends” reunion game. Given I had hurt my knee about 6 weeks ago and the L2P is in 5 weeks, I could not afford to injure myself again I declined to play but took my 3 year old to watch. I could not however just watch. I bribed Ava with a packet of Maltesers to sit with the subs, borrowed some kit and trotted on to the pitch for the last 15 minutes. This was after my 65 mile ride that morning!

The real test for me will be this Sunday when Stephen Jones and I are taking part in a 100 mile "Wheel Heroes" event with Geoff starting in Stratford. There is a rumour Geoff has invited a female pursuit world champion to join us which I am sure will be a great honour for her, not to mention enormous physical challenge attempting to keep up. I will state now in print, there is no way I will go slower just for her. Sunday will also give me a good opportunity to determine which group to join in the main event. I had plumped for 5 automatically but there is now some peer pressure to move up to 3! I am not so sure.

A colleague of ours has just finished a 4 day L2P which he said was an amazing experience, despite one entrant turning up on a full suspension mountain bike. I have been interrogating him thoroughly since his return and as the song goes “If I can give you one piece of advice, wear chamois cream – lots of it!”

This Week's Questions

What is defined as an old tyre?
Why does my left foot go cold?
Given the intake of fluid, how do I stop p**ing every hour?
One from Mrs H; when do I stop spending money?

The secret diary of Peter Land, part four...

Photo: Stephane Tougard

Fri 6^th May

The weather forecast for the ride this Sunday is dire: cold, wet and windy. I canvass opinion from my fellow riders and get two useful responses, apparently I need a cape, neoprene overshoes and waterproof gloves. Shouldn’t be more than £50. Best not tell Mrs Land.

Sat 7^th May

Skipped golf to go to my local bike shop. I think I’ve mentioned before that the owner’s bonkers, cycles everywhere, all the time, any distance, any weather. Apparently I don’t need any of the stuff that’s been advised, not in the summer. It’s more important to keep warm than dry, so a good base layer shirt and tights – neither of which he sells – will do. I leave more confused than ever and decide to try just cycling in my normal shorts and top, they were expensive so they must be good.

Sun 8^th May

The great day dawns and the BBC are all wrong; it’s breezy but dry after a very early shower. I cycle eight miles to the Village Hall where we are meeting and am dry again by the time I get there. Sign in, collect free banana, energy gel and recovery drink mix and we’re off. Encouragingly, the cyclists are a mix of local clubs – ‘Watton Wheelers’, ‘Datchworth Dirtkissers’ etc – and families. I start off tailing someone who looks as if he knows what he is doing and soon realise, to my surprise, that I want to go quicker than him. And another – and so on. In the end, I go straight past the first two rest breaks and stop only after 35 miles. I complete the 50 miles in a little over three and a half hours, except I got lost twice so I reckon I did 54 miles, so I’m very pleased with myself. At home – another eight miles – I realise that I’m completely bushed, there’s nothing else left. Worrying as on the big trip I’ll have to do exactly the same, plus another 50% in the afternoon – and then the next day the same, and the next. I’m getting a bit scared.

Mon 9^th May

I’ve been thinking about hills. I realise that when I first started cycling, I loved downhill parts, for the obvious reason that they’re easy. Now I hate them because I know every time I go downhill, somewhere I’ve got to go back up again. Funny thing, my brain.

Tue 10^th May

Apparently food supplements are the thing. Some of my fellow riders are emailing details of their favourite energy boost gels, potions and powders. Apparently they all work, but where to start? Thankfully, my secretary Leanne is on hand and she’s going to brave Holland and Barrett and, apparently, ‘sort me out’, preferably with something legal (!). I can’t wait!

Sat 14^th May

Now my Mother’s sponsored me as well. Damn, that means it’s definitely too late to pull out.

Sun 15^th May

Yesterday and today I’ve done 30 mile runs both days, first time ever I’ve tried that. Surprisingly the recovery seems almost complete by the time I set out on the second day, which is good, but I find I’m getting bored, which isn’t. I have however at last got to the stage where I’m not thinking about cycling as I poodle along. Maybe that means I’m becoming a cyclist for real? Unfortunately, I don’t look like one as the short socks have all disappeared (into my daughter’s drawer, I suspect) so I have to shame myself in the long ones again, pending another excursion into the sports shop.

Back on the road again!

Well, it has been three weeks since my last blog and three weeks since I have been on my bike! Not ideal preparation but a nasty bought of tonsillitis laid me low for a fortnight and I required a further weeks respite after NOT running the Stratford upon Avon half marathon - more on that later.

Last week went in a flash and the Bristol Heads of Office meeting provided Sasha with the perfect opportunity to get on my case, highlighting my lack of training and poor fund raising to date. I accept that on the training front I will generally only do the bare minimum to get by but I do now have to up the ante if I am not to let my colleagues down. The sponsorship is under control and I will start marketing over the next few days.

Anyway, back the the running. Readers of my earlier posts may recall that I had half marathons planned a month before L2P and one a few weeks after. Unfortunately, my running training has been non-existent over the last 2 months and consequently I had all but written off the Stratford run. However, on the Thursday evening before the race I decided to check whether I could run the distance and to my great surprise found that I was able to jog 14 miles home from work. I didn't feel too bad the following day & played in the AIB golf day - not a good idea. The problems began on the Friday night when I started to stiffen up and after a long drive to North Norfolk on the Saturday I almost had to winched out of the car. To cut a long story short I had to write off the week as my body slowly recovered from my foolish exertions.

With Sasha's cautionary words ringing in my ears I resumed training this weekend but with important Cup Final matters to attend to on Saturday & client entertaining at Arsenal on Sunday my normal cycling routine was disrupted. I decided to go out on my own and did 2 early morning rides of 60 & 40 miles. A 100 mile weekend should be good preparation for the Stratford 100m event with Geoff Thomas and Gordie next weekend and a 150k sportive I will be doing with my cycling club the following weekend. I have also resolved to try and ride into work over the next month and if I can manage not to get knocked off this will add a few more useful miles.

To wrap up I must acknowledge the power of positive thought and prayer. I did much of this during my Saturday morning ride and was delighted that my prayers were answered when my team finally lifted a trophy at Wembley. I didn't think the weekend could get any better after that but Villa's win at The Emirates rounded off a perfect football weekend - and the cycling is back on track. Take note Sasha!

COACH4tri Training Camp - May 2011

On Saturday 21st May I am guaranteed to be both excited and a little nervous to be travelling to my first triathlon / cycling training camp. It was a decision I made last year and prior to finding out about the L2P charity event but actually it is certainly well timed and should help me build my fitness for the forthcoming season.

I just received the full details yesterday so thought I would post the days activities for all to see:

Saturday 21st May, 2011 – Arrival Day
· Meet and greet with Master Coach Mark Tickner, Coach Michelle Colvin and Coach / Sports Massage Therapist Nigel Burnett at camp through the day from lunchtime.
· 3:00pm approx: 2-3hr group ride with Coach Mark, Michelle, Nigel and group leader Jon, including 2 moderate hills (up to 1000m).
· Evening meal at café / restaurant at 7pm (paid for by athletes) with an overview talk of the weeks training ahead.

Sunday 22nd May, 2011
· 9am: Athlete’s breakfast
· 10.30am: Group Ride 2-4+hrs over rolling terrain inc. 2 moderate climbs.
· Option for a short steady paced transition run after ride
· 5.30pm: Lake swim practices and easy swim set (plenty of opportunity to stand up if needed as many parts shallow)
· 7pm: Dinner + overview of today’s and tomorrows training, Q+

Monday 23rd May 2011
· 9am: Athlete’s breakfast
· 10.30am: 2-5+ hr ride (shorter route includes Col de Cabre 1180m), (longer route includes Col de Cabre, Station de Valdrome ski resort 1350m and Col de Carabes 1261m) + optional short 15-30min steady paced transition run
· 5.30pm: Lake swim time trial over 1000-1500m (plenty of opportunity to stand up if needed as many parts shallow)
· 7pm: Dinner + overview of today’s and tomorrows training, Q+A

Tuesday 24th May, 2011
· 9am: Athlete’s breakfast
· 10.30am: Swim to run aquathon interval training (wear race kit / trisuit for this session):
o Sprint / 70.3 distance athletes - lactate threshold intensity reps of 45-60min duration approx.
o Ironman athletes – longer tempo intensity reps of 60-90min duration approx.
· 1pm: Recovery ride up to 90mins flat to rolling ride inc. pacelines, drafting, cornering, descending skills (road racers can ride longer)
· 7pm: Dinner + overview of today’s and tomorrows training, Q+A

Wednesday 25th May, 2011 – ‘Le Tour’ Day (setting off in 2-3 groups at 10min intervals and takes approx. 90min to drive)
· No food provided today due to being away from site all day and the early start. Please make sure you buy some food for breakfast and lunch (although lunch will no doubt be on the bike!). The evening meal is a group affair in the village of Bourg D’Oisans at the foot of L’Alpe D’Huez after our Epic rides!
· 8:00am: Drive to L’Alpe D’Huez
· 11.30am approx: 2 – 5hr ride
o Option 1: L’Alpe D’Huez long course (115km + extra 20km descent) or short course (30km route + extra 10k warm up + 20km descent) Triathlon route finishing at the top of this world famous climb (with fast descent back to village).
o Option 2: Les Deux Alpes & L’Alpe D’Huez (approx. 65k total).
o Option 3: Col du Galibier (approx. 110km starting / finishing in La Grave with drive back to Bourg D’Oisans for evening meal with group).
· 5pm approx: Evening meal out at Bourg-D’Oisans (town at foot of L’Alpe D’Huez) at athlete’s expense
· 7pm: Drive back to camp
All times today are approx due to the logistics and different cycle routes taken by athletes

Thursday 26th May, 2011 – ‘Chill Out’ / Recovery Day (saving energy for tomorrows epic ride!)
· 9am: Athlete’s breakfast
· 11am: 45 – 60min trail run inc. team drills and exercises (fun based training) – 1-2hr Recovery ride for road racers
· 4pm: Lake ‘pool’ swim (pool type intervals… but in the lake)
· 7pm: Dinner + overview of today’s and tomorrows training, Q+A - (get a good night sleep for tomorrow!)

Friday 27th May, 2011 - The Epic Day!
· 9am: Athlete’s breakfast
· 11am: 3-6+hr long ride inc. Col Bayard 1248m (ave. 6.8% for 7.5km), Col de Manse 1272m (ave. 4.9% for 8.5km), Orcieres Ski resort 1840m (5.9% for 11km) and the epic Col du Noyer 1664m (new climb in 2010 Tour de France – ave. 4.5% for 14.5km). Save something for Col du Noyer… that’s all I’m saying!
o Option 1: The Tour Ride! (150km including all climbs above!).
o Option 2: The Challenge Ride (100km – ‘The Tour Ride’ route minus Orcieres section from Gap)
o Option 3: The Tour ’10 ride (90km - Col du Noyer and back, ridden same way as 2010 Tour de France)
o Option 4: Anything you like from this ride menu!
· 5pm: Optional 5-10km transition run (perfect Ironman athlete’s race build phase session) after ride at Ironman pace
· 7pm: Dinner + overview + a few drinks!

Saturday 28th May, 2011 – Optional day (based on athlete’s leaving times)
· No food provided today due to many athletes leaving at different times, some very early.
· Optional training depending on when athletes travel back

The secret diary of Peter Land, part three...

Tue 19^th April

A friend shows me an article in the Evening Standard magazine entitled ‘The hottest thing on two wheels’. I anxiously turn to the inside pages to see – have they got hold of my blog? Turns out to be about Victoria Pendleton.

Friday 22^nd April

My first puncture - now I am a proper cyclist! I don’t know how it happened, I’ve only poodled around on the bike a couple of times this week and now I find the rear tyre completely flat. Anyway, it’s not a problem for me as Andrew showed me how to change the tube and it only takes about two minutes. First he put the bike up on a frame, except I haven’t got one of those, so I’m reduced to turning the bike upside down and trying to reverse everything he told me. It’s completely straightforward, of course, and two hours and one broken tyre lever later it’s all done and I’m back on the road. However, I’m not sure how confident I shall feel next time I’m sprinting downhill at 40 mph, knowing that it was me that fixed the wheel back on – have I done it properly?

Mon 25^th April

At last a day to train. That’s what bank holidays are for, although not according to Mrs Land, who is eyeing her empty hanging baskets and dropping hints that I’m making sure I don’t pick up on. So, full of the remnants of a bottle of a decent red from yesterday’s barbeque, I squeeze into my gear, put up with the laughs from my house guests who are just surfacing, and get out on the road. I was going to travel north to Cambridge, but the bike needs a service and after the puncture I want everything checked. So, it’s off to the bike shop, which happens to be 26 miles south, next to my office. Despite dozy pedestrians, belligerent traffic lights and third world roads, I’m there in just over an hour and a half, almost exactly 16mph, my best yet. At that rate I qualify to travel in the slowest group to Paris, hurray!

I can’t help thinking about roads, though. In the built up parts of Britain they mark off the area on the left of the carriageway that is not maintained and is therefore too rough and bumpy for cars to travel safely and they call it the cycle lane – because obviously, on wheels 1 inch thick with tyres inflated to 100 psi, bikes are apparently better suited to such dangers. Do they do the same in France?

Wed 27^th April

What goes up, must come down. And now the bike’s repaired it has to be cycled home, so I collect it from the bike shop and negotiate with the security chap to park it in the garage (forgot my padlock again) so that I can wait until 6.30pm to leave the office. The time is carefully calculated to be late enough for some rush hour traffic to have cleared, but still early enough to get me home before dark, as I don’t have lights on the bike. So off I trek and within 400 yards I’m lost, cycle round a bit and find the Old Street roundabout, twice round it as I can’t see the correct exit so in the end just take the one that feels as if it’s pointing north. I know it’s north because the wind is whistling down it. Turns out to be wrong again but I figure I’m going roughly in the right direction so keep going. I enter territory where all the kebab shops seem to be called ‘Arsenal Delight’ or ‘Gunners Supplies’, not the most diplomatic move on my part as I weave between traffic with my Spurs rucksack on my back. Eventually find myself by Finsbury Park, not pretty and two miles west of where I was aiming but at least I know where I am. And the rest of the journey is easy! Except it’s not. That north wind that blew through Old Street badgers me all the way home, I’m really aware that I’m struggling to make progress into it. It hadn’t ever occurred to me that a wind could make so much difference. I am now beginning to doubt the ride from two days ago – did I find it easy because I had a helping wind then? Certainly this run was a lot slower, even allowing for the detours I reckon 14 ½ mph was all I averaged. Let’s hope there’s a north wind in late June, that’s all I can say. Anyway, I reckon I deserve a break from training so I’m off on a 4 day rugby tour to exercise my liver.

Mon 2^nd May

On my return – don’t ask as what goes on tour, stays on tour is the only answer I am allowed to give – Mrs Land has pointed out how untidy parts of the garden are so my day is full. Late on, I have the chance to nip down to join the rest of the family at the swimming pool, only an 11 mile round trip so I decide to get my old mountain bike off the rolling road and back on the real road, rather than getting all lycra-ed up. Having not ridden it for many weeks, it’s a nightmare! I can’t believe how hard it is – the gears are all wrong, it’s heavy and unresponsive, it’s as if I have lost all my power or I’ve forgotten to release the brakes. I get back as exhausted as if I’d done 30 miles, so perhaps that’s a good thing for my training, although not one I’m in a hurry to repeat.

Tue 3^rd May

Discovered that a female former colleague is also doing a Paris ride! That’s encouraging. Obviously I’ve never seen her cycle, but my impression is that she’s just generally fit rather than cycling super fit. I mean she’s tall and lean, looks as if she goes to the gym and so on, but if she thinks she can do over 100 miles a day at the expected pace, I’m confident I can too. I think. We exchange emails and plan to meet for a training ride together in a couple of weeks’ time.

Wed 4^th May

Booked for my first proper ride with proper riders on proper bikes. It’s 50 miles and starts about 7 miles away from me, so that’ll be a 64 mile round trip, this coming Sunday. Bang goes any lie in but it should be a good experience. Also good is the sponsorship, cheques and pledges coming in steadily and I am impressed by the generosity of everybody. I’m busy writing thank you letters, I just hope I don’t let them all down.

Reading list

The Independent has published a great top five cycling books should you require some bedtime reading.

I'll be ordering Talking Heads genius David Byrne's book:

Since the early 1980s, David Byrne has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes, and starting taking them on tour. Byrne’s choice was made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation it provided. Convinced that urban biking opens one’s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city’s geography and population, Byrne began keeping a journal of his observations and insights.

An account of what he sees and who he meets as he pedals through metropolises from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Istanbul to San Francisco, Manila to New York, Bicycle Diaries also records Byrne’s thoughts on world music, urban planning, fashion, architecture, cultural dislocation, and much more, all with a highly personal mixture of humour, curiosity, and humility. Part-travelogue, part-journal, part-photo album, Bicycle Diaries is an eye-opening celebration of seeing the world at bike level.

Pocklington Pedal Sportive

I completed my second sportive this weekend in a British Cycling organised sojourn around the North Yorkshire countryside. I again went for the medium route, which was a very hilly 65 miles. Although the sun shone brightly and the sky was a clear blue, mother nature decided that it was a great day to turn the entire North of England into one large wind tunnel (I knew things were bad when I was forced to pedal on a moderate downhill to keep my speedo above 15 mph). In fact, it was so windy that to be quite honest I can only remember one climb of note, when to the contrary my Garmin told me we had climbed over 4,500 feet. As a side note, I wore my HR monitor for the first time on this ride, which showed my average HR was 177 bpm - I'm still unsure whether a) this reading is correct; b) I should be 'heartened' by the fact my body can work that hard for that long or; c) visit my GP - 5 hours of 177 bpm surely cannot be medically advisable!?

This was the first year the sportive had been run and unfortunately you could tell. Although the route was signed and the signs appeared tamper proof, to say they were confusing was a bit of an understatement. As a back up I thought the Garmin would save me in the instances when there was an orange sign pointing one way and a yellow one pointing the other (no idea which I was meant to follow) however it transpired they had made slight amendments to the course at the last minute, rendering the GPX download of the route a complete non-starter. Anyway, although wind-swept I managed to finish in slightly under 5 hours at an average speed of 14 mph. Not the fastest but given the conditions I am reasonably happy that things are progressing nicely. Details of the ride below (click on the "view details" tab if you're a stats nerd like me).

'Ups and Downs' Sportive with the new carbon 'Stallion'

I took part in a very hilly Sportive organised by www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk earlier today, which started at Dorking and took in a lot of the beautiful Surrey Hills. The plan was to complete the Epic 100 miles ride but my navigation skills were a little poor and I missed one of the longer loops - anyway I was still pleased with 83 miles in just over 5 hours, especially given that some hills were killers - the last one most of the competitors were walking.

I am pleased to say that my new carbon stallion (pictured) was amazing - when it came to climbing it was more billy goat than stallion - no walking up hills for me! To be honest I was mad to even ride it as I finished the build at 9pm the night before and its first outing should have been a little less taxing and nearer home just in case of mechanic issues - anyway, despite some early tinkering with the pedals it was all good and I am really pleased with the way it performed. Now all that is needed is to work on the engine!

Please find my ride stats by clicking on the link below - no HRM data this time - I thought it too uncomfortable to wear a HRM belt for 5 hour plus.

Untitled by dbpegler at Garmin Connect - Details