Last weekend before the Tourmalet - 10/11th July

With a week to go the Wayfarers Wheelers were split again. Chris had a family commitment on the Sunday so did a 42 mile ride on the Saturday in the very warm and windy conditions. The route consisted of a ride up the valley to Lambourn, up the hill at the end and then back via Hungerford and Kintbury. On Sunday, the other three; Simon, Steve and Pete went on a slightly longer 50 mile ride to Wantage and back.

Watching the Tour de France stage up to Avoriaz on the TV made worrying viewing as some big names were cracking under the strain of the climb and the heat. Tourmalet is much higher and longer and the forecast is hot!

Oh well ,we can't do anything now but rest and prepare for the big event on Sunday. The bikes leave on Thursday and we leave via EasyJet from Bristol to Toulouse on Friday morning.

Everyone has new tyres, chains and various other bits of kit. All we have to do now is get there.

Thanks to all of you who have followed our blog.

The next post will be after the event.

Saturday 3rd July, the final big training ride - A hilly Hampshire loop

For the first time in weeks the Wayfarers Wheelers Etape quartet of Chris, Pete, Simon and Steve were together again for what will really be the last big ride before the Etape. Chris had been off time trialling in recent weekends while the others had been doing fast shorter rides.

The route had been carefully planned to take in just about every hill we knew, mostly in ascent but some to descend too! This really was a Wayfarers Wheelers "classic" having been attempted before but never finished, there had always been an excuse not to do the final few hills.

After a Hilly start up White Hill out of Kingsclere and then up to Hannington there was some fast descending and a relatively flat section before the pull up Stoke Hill out of St Mary Bourne. Steve didn't make a great start to the climb as he slipped and fell off on some loose gravel at the turn before the hill. Then there was another downhill and then fairly flat section until the long ascent to Chute Causeway started. This out of the way, the route meandered towards Shalbourne, with a brief stop to take on board water, then Ham and probably the steepest climb of the route, Ham Hill.

After this it was onto Linkenholt and then a few further climbs; up from Coombe, down to Faccombe and back up to Faccombe again, Pete was heard to say "this is masochistic" at this point! then the final climb to Ashmansworth with a fast descent to North End and home.

This took a total of 4:52, so a pace of 14.8 mph for the 72 miles and 5229 feet of climbing.

We are as ready as we will ever be for the big challenge on 18th July!

Saturday 26th June - Team photo shoot with CN Sales

CN Sales of Highclere sponsor the Wayfarers Wheelers arm and leg warmers. They are likely to come in handy on the cold descents in the Pyrenees. Here are the team with Neil and Christine of CN Sales

Sunday 13th June - The Magnificat Sportive, Newbury - 127 miles

This was the big one, longer but less climbing than the Etape, only 2800m compared to 4500m!.All four of the Wayfarers Wheelers set off in the first group and covered the first 2 hours at over 17 mph. At the first feed station, Pete peeled off to complete the 81 mile ride in a very respectable time of 5:11 and Chris, Steve and Simon carried on to complete the 127 mile course.

Chris and Pete are pictured on Conholt Hill

It was tough and the guys had to "grind out the ride" over some tough climbs near Petersfield before returning to more familiar territory and finishing with climbs up to Hannington and Ashford Hill.

Steve and Simon both posted times of 8:44 and Chris trailed in at 9:08.

A tough day out for all!

Highclere Village Fete - the Turbo Challenge Saturday 12th June

Great fun and lots of interest from children and adults alike in our "Turbo Challenge"

We raised £60.15!

Even Sir George Young had a go and the Mayor of Basingstoke!

Sunday 6th June - Dented pride, by Chris

Training today took the form of a veteran's road race, my third since getting back into road cycling again and yet another disaster!

I will let the others(Steve and Simon) tell their stories, if they can be bothered but thought it was worthwhile recording my experience on the blog.

I had cut back on training all week so not to be tired and did a "motivational" ride on Saturday covering over 30 miles in two hours and racing up three hills trying to replicate road race speed. After that, I was reasonably happy that I might be able to stick in the bunch, if not to the end then for a few laps.

We had a unusually leisurely start for a Sunday morning bike event, to drive down to Farnham for the 10am race which was to be over 50 miles, comprising 7 laps of an "undulating" circuit. There were up to 120 riders taking part in various age groups from 40 upwards.

The weather was kind to us and contrary to forecast turned out to be dry and sunny as we started behind the lead car. The first couple of miles were unusually easy at speeds up to 20mph but then after a sharp left the dawning realisation of my abilities or lack of them became clear. The road climbed up, levelled off and then climbed again. The pace was just too much and I started to slip off the back of the bunch. I could see Steve and Simon ahead of me also dropping away.

Yet again, I was faced with a solo ride to try and catch up but it was to no avail. I was caught by the older age group on the second lap and stuck with them only to lose contact again on the same climb. The fast start and trying to stay in contact on the climb took its toll on my legs.

After hammering round for a couple of hours and being lapped by the race leaders, on the sixth lap I decided enough was enough and carried straight on to the race HQ and handed my number in, becoming a non-finisher.

Steve and Simon turned up shortly after in a similar despondent mood to mine having carried on to try to complete the course only to be turned back as the finishing line had been cleared away!

After a big boost training in France last weekend an abysmal performance in a road race was a real "come-down" I can't train any more than I do but over three road races have been dropped each time very early on. The riders are in a different league to me! I guess it's just time and perseverance?

All focus now is on the 126 mile Magnificat sportive next week and the the Etape du Tour, six weeks away today. As for road racing, I have entered one more next month but think it is the type of event I will aim to ride next year now I have the cycling bug, which luckily wasn't destroyed, only pride dented by today's experience!

In search of Lance in the south of France! - 29th/30th May - by Chris

The long awaited trip to Antibes, for some intensive pre Etape hill training finally came around.

Together with our wives, Simon and I flew to Nice on Friday with our bikes neatly fitted in their bike boxes. We arrived at our hotel in Antibes, The Beau-Site while it was pouring rain although this soon gave way to warm sunshine.

After a superb meal on the Friday evening at a great waterside restaurant, Le Cesar, we agreed to depart the following morning at 8am. Through Twitter we had picked up that none other than Lance Armstrong was staying locally and training in the same area. We resolved to get a photo with us and him together if we could.

Our planned route headed out of Antibes and finally made its way into the hills climbing up to the town of Vence and the over the Col de Vence (985m) before descending to Greolieres. After this there was another slog uphill to Greolieres Les-Neige at over 1400m. At this point and after a long stretch at a gradient of over 12% we both agreed the climbing for the day was over. We quickly turned around as dark rain clouds threatened to make it a tricky descent on wet roads.

The ride back to Greolieres was at speeds up to 46mph as we out ran the rain shower. A quick drink stop was taken before a more lengthy descent down the eastern side of a spectacular gorge. We eventually made our way into the outskirts of Antibes after approximately 30 miles downhill!

The final climb to the hotel in Cap de Antibes hurt, but it was two happy cyclists who soon rolled up alongside our sunbathing wives. We had completed 85 miles at an average pace of 12.5 mph. The total ascent was 2100m.

Saturday night saw us enjoy another very pleasant meal on the beach at Juan des Pines. This was followed by a deep sleep!

On Sunday we headed out of Antibes again, to the spectacular town of Grasse via Valbonne. A navigational error led to a small diversion to the village of Cabris but we were soon back on track at Saint Vallier de Thiey and climbed to the Col du Ferrier (1039m). There were lots of large groups of cyclists out, all immaculately dressed in their team kit as only the French can do!

After the Col, our legs were tired but we still managed an even steeper climb up to the Observatoire de la Cote D'Azur at 1265m. After this it was a fantastic descent first to Gourdon and then on to Valbonne again at very high speeds, breaking the record of previous day at 47mph. The speed limit was 30 mph!

After Valbonne, tired legs still allowed some fast riding, almost like a road race - 21mph uphill at one point! The ride had been shorter at only 65 miles but at an higher average speed of 13.4 mph and 1735m of climbing.

All in all, a great trip. My assessment of the benefit of our exploits sitting by the pool afterwards was that "The Etape won't be easy and the climbs will have to be ground out at our own pace, but baring injury, crashes and punctures should be within our capabilities" We'll see!

As for Lance, he was out training in the area and seen on the Col de Madone, but nowhere near us!

Another long, lone ride - Saturday 22nd May - By Chris

A family day out meant I had to miss the usual Sunday group ride. After a Friday night out in Manchester seeing Peter Kay (excellent!) I sat in the car the following morning until Warwick and then was kicked out by my wife and pedalled the rest of the way home.

My route followed a pretty direct course through Banbury, Woodstock, Witney, Wantage and up over the Ridgeway to skirt around Newbury to the west via Winterbourne, Stockcross and Marsh Benham.

The terrain was pretty flat in places but with some stiff 10% climbs near Banbury and then the final pull out of Wantage, all done in very hot conditions - 27 degrees C and almost no wind.

All in all 90.6 miles in 5 hours 42 minutes an average speed of 15.9 mph.

Within 20 mins of arriving home I was off out again to a "boys" night out watching the Champions League final. The first four beers went down in one gulp. After a long ride I figured I deserved it!

South of France next week.

Wayfarers trio win vets prize in 3-up 25 mile team time trial - By Chris

After an easy 25 mile ride on Saturday for all four Tourmalet riders, including Pete, finally back after his knee operation, this weekend finished on a high for three of us - Marwood, Simon and myself.

On Sunday, the three of us won the veterans prize of a bottle of fine Italian wine each for our efforts in a 3-up team time trial held on a fast but windy 25 mile course on the A3 near Liphook, Hampshire.

As Simon and I know all too well, it is easy to get psyched out at the start of these events while observing the impressive time trial bikes, skin suits and aero helmets used by the serious riders. As we got ready most of the participants were warming up on their turbo trainers and the sweet smell of embrocation filled the air. But not to be deterred we had a short warm-up ride and made off for the start.

There was a fair bit of piss-taking here by the three starters;

"Hey, these guys have got spokes in their wheels" one said (most riders in TT's now have disc or mag style wheels).

The name of our club also confused them "With a name like Wayfarers Wheelers are you going to stop off at the cafe?" said another. Ha ha, I thought.

Anyway, we didn't post a fast time but at 1:08:56 for the 25 miles, it was 10 minutes faster than my most recent solo effort over the same distance. And, thanks to our combined efforts, enough to win the vets prize. We achieved an average of 21.7 mph so it was also faster than the standard time expected for riders of our age.

Plus, as it was a new course, Marwood pointed out that we must now hold the veterans course record!

It was a very pleased but sheepish trio who went up to collect our wine at the presentation immediately after the event as we were all aware of the mind bogglingly impressive times posted by more experienced riders. But at least now we know what we can aim at and there is no way we would ride flat out in training in the same way, the element of competition clearly drives the pace.

The actual Hampshire Hilly 100 - Teamwork and Palpitations - By Simon

Having abandoned Chris to a solo and rather wet ride on Saturday, Simon, Steve and Stuart made an early start for the Hampshire Hilly on Sunday morning.

The event is one of the more popular rides on the circuit and had sold out weeks earlier. So, thinking ahead we had decided to arrive early to beat the queues for registration, unfortunately the 700 other entrants had the same idea! So after a rather lengthy check-in process we headed back to the car to don wind-proof jackets, leg warmers, arm warmers and winter gloves for the ride. The forecast North-Easterly was already setting in for the day, so much for a warm Spring day!

The three of us set off together, planning to spend the first half of the ride as a team before separating for Stuart take the shorter route. Stuart had been out for 4 weeks due to work commitments and an extended (thanks to the Icelandic volcano) business trip in the US, and sensibly opted for 60miles rather than the full 100. More on the ‘shorter route’ later.
The first 2 or 3 miles were the usual stretching and ambitious goal setting for the ride. With the first hill hit Simon and Steve pushed the pace slightly planning to ease off to let Stuart catch-up at the top, unbeknown to us, Stuart had taken an early puncture and was struggling to make a quick repair halfway up the hill. Being ‘team players’ we turned back and helped him make a quick repair and crack on….. No, I have to be honest, we did slow down slightly, but when he didn’t appear we abandoned him and pushed on – sorry Stuart!

So two became three for a while, until we were joined by another rider, ‘Mr. Bianchi’ who joined us. Having sat on our rear wheels for a couple of miles he kindly offered to take the front. This was a mistake, the pace quickly built-up to 20++mph with little let off on the hills! With only 10miles or so completed it was a mistake to push quite so hard at an early stage, we were to regret this later. ‘Mr. Bianchi’ soon realized that his temporary partners were not going to stick with his pace and he headed off with a new pair ‘Mr. Pinarello and Mr. Colnago’. Back on our own we started taking better note of our speed and pushed on towards the first feed station.
Refueled buy a great selection of cakes, bananas and energy drinks we cracked on into the stiff breeze managing to maintain a 16mph average with some strong through-and-off in the mid 20’s all good training for July.

The first third of the route had taken us along pleasant but unknown roads to the West and South of Winchester, It’s always more challenging when the hills are unknown and for me 40-60 miles is always a tough sector, so this was time to put your head down and push hard. Once we entered Alresford and started heading for Overton we were on familiar roads which made a huge difference and gave us both an extra boost.

We arrived at the control point in Hannington where our timing chips were read and we took a slightly longer break to take on liquid and more of the great selection of energy snacks.
Refreshed we headed on now very familiar ground over Sydmonton Hill and down along the Test Valley back towards the finish. Despite being passed by a few more ‘Mr Bianchis’ we were feeling pleased at holding a steady pace and confident of respectable finish times.

The last refreshment stop at 80 miles was very brief as we had both decided to make our final stop at 85miles to test our secret weapons, a Lucozade Alert Plus for me and a Red Bull Energy Shot for Steve. Taking note of the warnings ‘may cause heart palpitations’ ‘only one per day’! We knocked them back and carried on for the final push home.

It was with 15miles to go that we saw a familiar figure ahead, pushing a big gear head leaning to the left, it had to be Stuart, he’d had a tough ride, apart from the puncture, the ’60 mile’ route turned out to be a 78mile route which had just joined up with the 100 route that we were on. A baptism of fire for Stuart after missing 4 weeks, so well-done to him for battling round and finishing in a very respectable time. We decided to ride in together as a team……. briefly. The chance of a PB for a 100 miler and the buzz from the energy shots got the better of us and we pushed ahead, sorry again Stuart!

The last few miles were uneventful and completed at a surprisingly high speed, despite the final few hills that we had to contend with. All in all a great ride, with all of us making good times and getting another chunk of miles under our belts as July 18th looms closer.

The Hampshire Hilly 100 - a day early! - by Chris

A Confirmation service to attend and the last match of the Premier League season at Molineux meant I had no choice but to do my long weekend ride on Saturday.

The selection of a route was an easy one. I had signed up weeks before to do the Hampshire Hilly 100 mile sportive on the Sunday which I would now miss, so why not ride the course the day before?

And so I did, all on my own, in the rain and wind. Naturally, none of my usual group were interested in joining me, they were either in the actual Hampshire Hilly the next day or had other long Sunday rides planned.

The Hampshire Hilly route came within 3.5 miles of home, so just shave 7 miles off the course and I would have a perfect 100 mile ride. After a quick call to Garmin support I downloaded the route to my GPS and was very pleased with myself - all I had to do was follow the arrow on the screen. Little did I know this assumption would be short lived and within 5 miles or so the GPS would be telling me to do a 'U' turn and a few miles later would keep pausing and then switch off all together! The impact of this, in addition to my annoyance was that I would cover more than 100 miles.

In the end, while out on the road, I deleted the route from the GPS and carried on with the general map and time/speed/distance functions. I did however manage to follow the Hampshire Hilly route very closely, although I ended up well of course in Stockbridge at one point and circumnavigation of Winchester took a while. The rain here at it's heaviest.

Anyway, my route basically made a big loop around Winchester to the south and then back home via Alresford, Micheldever, Overton and Hannington.

I ran out of drinks after about 75 miles and had to wait until I reached Overton and a busy supermarket, where I received some strange looks in my wet mud stained kit, to replenish by bottles.

The last long climb up to Hannington required me to focus on other thoughts as the rain came on heavier again. The GPS at this point was showing 90 miles but my legs and in fact whole body told me it was longer.

I finally rolled into my drive after over 7.5 hours in the saddle. My GPS showing 7:08 for 100 miles, much slower than previous weeks. I calculated I had actually covered at least 110 miles taking into account the fact I hadn't stopped when the GPS was either off or paused. Good training though and character-building stuff. The total climb was 6500 feet, the greatest climbing total yet.

A welcome rest from long rides next week but more competition with a 10 mile time trial on Wednesday and 3 up team time trial on Sunday. I will let the others tell the story of the actual Hampshire Hilly!

The Sunday ride on a Saturday! By Chris

The forecast for tomorrow is so bad we brought forward the weekly "big" ride to today. The "we" being me, Simon and Steve.

During the week there had been many exchanges via Twitter about doing a 100 miler and so we did!

Basically, we followed the same route I used with Steve a couple of weeks ago. The good news is that we did it much faster. Just over 100 miles in 6:28, an average of 15.5 mph compared to my 14.6 mph previously. This was due to Steve and Simon keeping a good pace going with lots of thru 'n' off, especially in the closing miles- up to 23 mph and strong ride up to the top of Chute Causeway, quite impressive with the long ride "in" our legs!

We managed to avoid the rain too, it just started as we neared Highclere at the end. The ride was also almost puncture free, with Simon the only victim this week.

All agreed our best training ride to date; 100.5 miles and over 5000 feet of ascent. A few well contested village sign sprints but many left alone as we saved ourselves for the long ride.

Big challenge next weekend - the Hampshire Hilly 100 mile Sportive. Sadly, I might not make it due to a Confirmation service to attend. Small matter of a Bank Holiday 25 mile time trial and a 10 mile TT on Wednesday evening though. We'll see!

Sunday 25th April - "A lost hour" By Chris

Sunday morning and it was raining! A bit of a shock to the system having got used to the dry and pleasantly warm conditions and the fact we hadn't been out in the wet for weeks.
The previous evenings forecast had warned of this, but only showers, not persistent stuff and mist as well. It was commented upon as the four of us(me, Steve, Simon and Mark) rolled away that punctures could well be a problem again. How true this would be!

I had in fact entered a road race but elected not to ride as I couldn't face the thought of another drubbing by people a lot older than me and a 90 mins drive each way to Epsom! So, I had "sold" the plan to do at least 80 miles and get lots of climbing in to the others during Friday's pub session. Everyone was more than willing.

Our planned route took us first to Burghclere, then Kingsclere, down a lane with a ford where the water was at least 2 foot deep so the footbridge did the trick and over to Brimpton. Steve wound up the pace big time for the Brimpton sign and took it easily as a car coming in the opposite direction made a last dash for me too dangerous.

We then dropped down to Woolhampton with another ferocious sign sprint - this time I got my own back. After crossing the A4 and a short climb is was onto Bradfield at speed - 23mph then Pangbourne and Whitchurch on Thames where Simon got the first puncture of the day and showed how not to use a gas canister to reflate the tyre, most of the CO2 escaping into the atmosphere and freezing his hand at the same time. A navigational error by me took us down a narrow, but fast lane which came to an abrupt end in a farmyard! We turned around and I punctured almost immediately.

The others were so impressed with my tyre changing prowess, particularly without tyre levers, I let it go to my head and completely forgot to check the tyre for other foreign objects. No sooner had I pumped the tyre up than it was hissing again and the procedure had to be repeated. What a prat!

Within a hundred yards or so there was a loud PISSSST! No one knew at first, but it soon became clear, Mark was the next victim of the dreaded road flints.

Mark confidently set about changing the tyre and gave a perfect demonstration, much to all of our amazement, of how to use a gas canister to reflate a tyre. It was impressively, almost instant. "Wow" we all exclaimed. But our amazement was very short-lived. Mark quickly noticed that his inner tube was bulging, like a small hernia, through a nasty cut in the sidewall of his tyre. We tried a repair but the same happened again and he decided to call his wife for a rescue, it would only be a matter of time before there would be a loud bang and another flat.

I totted up the cost of my "navigational" error in my head - 3 inner tubes, 1 tyre - about £50. Sorry guys - at least I had been a victim too!

We left Mark to be picked up as the weather improved to descend at speed into Goring, climbing up Streetly Hill(easier than last time!) then onto Compton, East Ilsley and Farnborough. At Farnbough it was clear time was ticking on and no one wanted to be out until mid-afternoon, so we took a left there to return towards home via Wnterbourne, Bagnor and Stockcross.

The last few miles were a bit of a grind and I felt empty. My hot cross buns that had worked so well during my 100 mile ride last Saturday just didn't do the trick today and nearly every time I tried to eat one I nearly choked. Steve's ham sandwiches seemed far better. Maybe also it was because I only had part of my important first feed, a banana which broke in half and did a lap of my front wheel before being jettisoned off behind.

Nevertheless, we did do 67.5 miles and nearly 4,000 feet of climbing so not bad. The "lost" hour faffing around with punctures would have seen us comfortably get over the 80 miles mark.

Weekend of 17th/18th April - By Chris

This was a weekend to savour! The forecast lived up to the promise of clear skies, light winds and warm days - over 18 degrees centigrade.

After all the concerns about Simon's knee injury and whether we would get a ride as a reserve team. Sadly, Steve, Simon and I weren't able to do the Antelope RT 3 up team time trial. Simon was delayed in Calais, waiting with thousands of others for a ferry following the closure of all UK airspace due to the volcanic cloud covering the country. The organiser had called me on Thursday evening to confirm our ride only to be told it looked unlikely we would be there due to the uncertainty about Simon's return.

I had already resolved earlier in the week that if we didn't ride the team time trial I would do a "big ride". So on Saturday morning I set off with Steve to ride a 100 mile route around Berksire, Hampshire and Wiltshire. First we completed a clockwise loop of Newbury ending up at Hannington and then St Mary Bourne At this point, about 45 miles, Steve peeled off for home as planned and left me to carry on heading south to Stockbridge and then west to Grately before turning north to climb up the Chute Causeway. The views were fantastic but I wasn't really in the mood for sight seeing after 75 miles.

I ran out of food(3 hot cross buns - half of one consumed every hour) and drinks after Chute and the shop in Shalbourne was closed. I had no option but to hang on and stop in Kintbury for an energy drink and chocolate bar. With only 13 miles to go to complete the Century I was reinvigorated and found the last part of the route fairly easy, completing the 100 miles in 6:50. Approx 14.5 mph, quite pleasing considering the 5500 feet of ascent.

Sunday was billed yet again as an easy ride and lived up to this although my companions, Steve and Mark persuaded me to climb up Walbury Hill to Coombe Gibbet and then the long ascent to Faccombe. My legs felt fairly fresh and surprisingly I enjoyed both climbs and in fact the whole 28 mile ride at an easy pace.

A good training weekend. Hopefully we will get the whole group out again soon with Simon now home and only Stuart not around - stranded waiting for a flight from Las Vegas. Can think of worse places to be stranded though!

Chiltern Big Dipper - 11th April

With the rest of our crew unavailable through injury I (Steve) was the only one fit enough to attempt the 100 mile Chiltern Big Dipper. This event is new to the calender and I can see it becoming a favourite. A good course on quiet roads and the dry spring weather helped. The organisers had a few teething problems at the start with some minor delays registering and the signage on the course could have been clearer, but I am sure they will learn from this for next time.
So how was it?.... The route is 103 miles long and includes category 3 and 4 climbs with a total ascent of 7505ft. I completed the whole route in 7hrs 36mins which works out an avg. 13.6 mph. Looking at the results I was in the bottom half of the field of 130 and guess I am a bit dissapointed with that. However on the positive side I did finish.... and my muscles aren't aching today (Monday).
The highlight for me was the spectacular chiltern scenery with red kites swooping above along the way. Low points were two close shaves with vehicles / pedestrians. In the first I was almost taken out by a car driver pulling out of their drive without looking. Thankfully we both took evasive action otherwise I would have hit the bonnet at >20mph. The second near miss was an old lady who decided to walk out onto the road without looking. She would have been toast if my 85kg had hit her at speed.
But the biggest frustration for me was mechanical problems with my bike. Both front and rear derailleurs need adjustment. My chain was thrown off the crank several times when changing up to the big ring and on the rear the chain was 'jumping' between gears. I have now read the Shimano maintenance instructions so will be sorting that out this week. However the scariest moment was when my rear brake lever came loose when I attempted to brake hard on the first big descent. After a serious wobble I managed to keep control and slow down using the front brake only. I don't like descending at the best of times so this really spooked me. I knew I would be unable to repair the lever quickly so took the rest of the descents very gingerly using the front brake.
The other 'learning' point for me was my physical preparation. A weeks skiing (with all the alcohol that involves), followed by a week entertaining house guests (more alcohol) was not ideal. I tried to manage my nutrition and hydration on the day but fatigue was starting to kick in at about 80 miles. I will have to be better prepared come July.
In summary this was my first ever 100 mile sportive and all the winter training certainly helped me get round. However my preparation ignored nutrition and bike maintenance. I won't be making that mistake again.

Sunday 11th April - A not so easy, easy ride!

Chris, Simon and Mark and elected to take an "easy" ride in view of the recent injury problems to Chris and Simon. Steve was out at the Chiltern Dipper 100 mile sportive.

The "easy" ride got off to a fast start. Although the Sydmonton sign wasn't contested, after forcing the pace over the next climb, the Kingsclere sign was a full on competition, taken by Simon. No evidence of the knee injury then. The summit had been crested at 19mph and after a fast decent there was a big sprint for the sign.

After Kingsclere, the route went up White Hill and then up to Hannington with a fast descent to Overton. On the road from Overton to Whitchurch there were a couple of flat out sprints with both Chris and Simon ignoring their injuries of the previous week.

The gradual climb up the St Mary Bourne valley then commenced. Simon peeled off home at Binley to leave Chris and Mark to continue up to Vernham Deane and then descend to Shalbourne. After that it was a slog into wind through Inkpen, East End and home with 50 miles covered in just over 3 hours.

50 kms Team time trial for Chris, Simon and Steve next Saturday and probably an "easy" ride again next Sunday. We'll see!

More injuries for the Wayfarers Wheelers Etape team! By Chris Boulton

You may have read about the exploits of some of the team members at the water jump on the ski slopes of Les Arcs last week and also have seen that I struggled home after the Bank Holiday 25 mile time trial.

Well, now I know why I came to struggle home!

By Wednesday morning my thighs had become very swollen and even more sore than they had been immediately after Monday's time trial. However, I soldiered on and still took part in a 10 mile time trial on Wednesday evening with my eldest son, Albert.

After an uncomfortable ride, by the following morning I decided I needed some medical attention so booked myself an appointment at a sports injuries clinic in Harley Street, just around the corner from my office.

On entering the physiotherapists room, I was asked what the problem was and explained that I was a cyclist and during an event on Monday I had developed a soreness in my inner thighs. I then showed him the swelling. His first question was "What have you been doing to get an injury like that on both sides, it can't be from cycling?"

I explained that I had ridden the two time trials and that the problem first seemed to appear halfway around Monday's course and then I had struggled home. "But what else?" came the question again. I responded that "I was skiing last week and did a water jump"
"Ah ha" he said. "That will be it, you have probably strained your groins leaning back as you went across the water and the cycling has made it worse". His subsequent examination and manipulation of my muscles confirmed this initial diagnosis.

Phew I though, nothing serious then. Twenty five minutes later, after lots of checks and stretching together with a massage on my thighs and £100 paid, I was on my way to Boots for some Ibuprofen gel, to take the swelling down.

"Just take it easy for 3 days and I shouldn't need to see you again" were the physios parting comments!

So the water jump of a week before had led to me having two rather uncomfortable rides and missing training for the whole week. I won't be doing one of those again. Luckily, the ski season is almost over so there is no chance!

Some of the Wayfarers Wheelers hit the ski slopes and get a little wet!

The ski resort of Les Arcs 1950 would be a great base for Etape training with a serious "hair pinned" climb from Bourg St Maurice. Sadly, Chris and Simon didn't have their bikes plus the road was covered in snow most days anyway, so the ski slopes provided daily exercise for the budding Etape cyclist's and the other Wayfarers Wheeler on the trip, Chris's son Albert.


Albert

Chris

Nothing much to tell apart from a (hopefully) minor knee injury to Simon and some fun on the water slide - see pictures and guess who got the wettest!

Simon

Suttie romps home as the Wayfarers Wheelers ride Bank Holiday 25 mile Time Trial

Only three riders from the Wayfarers Wheelers made it out today for the Newbury Road Club 25 mile Bank Holiday time trial - Chris and Steve, fresh from the ski slopes and Marwood. Others had better things to do on a Bank Holiday or are injured. Of the Tourmalet team, Pete has now been joined by Simon with what is hoped should be a minor knee problem after an off-piste wipe out.


The day dawned dry but with a blustery westerly wind. Steve and Chris set out to ride the 14 miles to start of the time trial near Aldermaston and were joined there by Marwood.


Given consecutive start numbers, the intrepid trio started off a minute apart. Steve first, followed by Marwood and then Chris. Of the Wayfarers Wheelers contingent, Steve romped home first with a time just of 1:12:05 followed by Chris with 1:21:39. Sadly Marwood punctured after only 6 miles but still put in a creditable 1:30:19. The event was won in a time of 1:00:22 so the guys still have some work to do to be competitive!



After the event, Chris and Steve left Marwood, who was headed north, to retrace their earlier route back to Highclere with Chris struggling with what seemed like cramp in his inner thighs! The pace was slow and into wind but despite a few threatening clouds the weather remained dry and the two completed a overall mileage for the day of nearly 55miles.



A big sportive next week, the Chiltern Dipper 100 miler!

Friday 26th March - Father and son ride out together

Although the weather forecast had been poor, Friday started off dry and Chris with his son, Albert decided to fit in a short ride in advance of leaving on the family ski trip.

The route took in Old Burghclere and then Kingsclere, climbing up to Hannington before descending to Overton. the roads were dry and the sun came out but there was a strong south westerly wind which made the going tough at times.

At Overton the main road was joined, just after Chris was nearly "taken out" by a City Link van. Chris had seen it sitting at the junction and as he approached it started to pull out, luckily both parties put on their brakes and a collision was avoided. Could have been nasty, Chris was doing over 25mph!

After Overton it was on to Whitchurch and then a pleasant ride back through Crux Easton and a fast descent into Highclere. Albert was told he would win 10 Euros for the ski trip if he won the sprint for the Highclere sign but Chris made sure this wasn't to be. A fast last mile or so at nearly 30 mph through the village ended a good ride.

30 miles in just over two hours.

No cycling for a week as it's off to the slopes for all but one of the Tourmalet team.