I just wanted to say that I did it, and what a fantastic event it was! The
atmosphere even before race day was thrilling - even on the ride to the host
village the day before to collect our transponders, some people we passed
clapped and took photos. In Mourenx there was a carnival atmosphere and
everyone seemed to be very happy. Such a huge contrast to how you would
imagine it would be in the UK where people would most likely moan about
hoards of cyclists invading their small towns and villages and their roads
being closed so cyclists could have their fun.
And fun it was. Everything I feared about the event - having to get up at
4am and wondering if my bowels and digestion would work, how sleep
deprivation would affect my ability to ride, handling reportedly 'dangerous'
parts of the route - none of this was any problem at all on race day. The
only problem was falling over a barrier as I climbed over it to have a quick
pee before the 7.00am off! That was embarassing!
At 7.00am the first riders started and, with a number in the 3,000's, I
crossed the line 10 minutes later. The route rose steadily over the first
50km, which I completed in 1h20, before reaching the first climb of the day,
the Ichere. This was a 600m climb, not too bad, that didn't take long to
despatch, with a quick descent and all too soon we reached the feared Marie
Blanque, passing a refreshment stop that I skipped. As expected, this climb
began relatively easy and then kicked up with about 4km to the summit
leaving everyone with their head down gasping for breath! Fortunately I
reached this climb early enough to be doing it with riders who were almost
all riding it - later on there were so many walkers that even those who
perhaps would have ridden it couldn't, because the walkers were spread all
over the road. It was amazing to me to see just how narrow these roads
over the cols are, and how close the spectators get to the riders - of
course, you see it on the TV when you watch the tour, but to experience it,
cutting a path through spectators applauding you and encouraging you on
(even though about 3000 other riders have already gone through before you),
is just amazing. Quite often on the climbs someone would shout 'Allez,
allez - go on, go on, there is a beautiful young woman waiting for you at
the top!' I couldn't help smiling as I thought 'even if there was I
wouldn't be able to do anything when I reached her'!
At the top of the Marie Blanque was a feed station, which riders descended
on like a pack of sharks in a feeding frenzy. It took more time than I
would have liked to reach a table and get a sandwich, banana, water and a
couple of slices of orange which I ate in a rather hasty and uncivilised
manner, ripping the juicy part off between my teeth and throwing down the
skin in a second or two. Then it was off down the road towards the
Aubisque.
Just before reaching the climb up the Aubisque we passed the elimination
point at Laruns. I was happy to note that I was an hour and a half ahead of
the broom wagon at that point (94 km). And then began the 17km slog up the
Aubisque. And what a slog it was. As the climb began I was happily riding
at around 18~19 kph. By the time I reached about 10km from the summit I was
down to 10kph! I thought to myself, 'well, at least if I can keep this up
it will only be another hour to the summit'. Unfortunately, at the 9km mark
I was down to 9kph, so there was still an hour to go! Then the same thing
happened at the 8km mark! It seemed that with each hard-won kilometre, I
was not getting any closer, in time, to the summit! It was always an hour
away!
Fortunately my speed in kph eventually exceeded the km markings in distance
to go and the summit was gained, with another feeding frenzy. On starting
the descent, my chain came off and jammed, costing me a few more minutes to
figure out why I couldn't turn the cranks when I lifted it back onto the
chainring - it had jumped off both the derailleur jockey wheels as well.
The descent off the Aubisque to the Soulor was spectacular, beautiful and
fast, the summit of the Soulor was easily gained and then a delightfully
fast descent off the Soulor. Perhaps they had improved the road since the
reports of the reconnaisance rides I had read, but I didn't see any problems
with the surface or gravel on the road. It was a joy to be able to use the
whole width of the road, at least to the extent that many riders just kept
to the normal driving side anyway, making it quite easy and safe to pass
people who were being more cautious than I in my descending.
The last part of the ride after the road flattened out was more difficult
for me - I got dropped from a faster group that I had caught up with, and
rode a good 20 or 30 km alone.. alone, that is, except for a few people who,
unnoticed until I turned my head round, had caught my wheel and were
following on behind me without doing any work! Since they didn't show any
inclination to go in front and I didn't want to slow down, things stayed
like that until a faster group passed and I sped up just enough to settle
down in the middle of them.
Eventually, after a couple more small climbs the end was reached - with yet
another uphill to the finish! I crossed the line after 7h45m, which was
well within silver for my age category, but quite far off gold. Before the
start I had decided that silver was always going to be the most likely
outcome, and reckoned my time was likely to be about 7h30, based on
experience in training rides and comparing distance and climbing involved
(particularly the Polka Dot).
So, now the only question is whether to do it again next year, or whether to
try something different? If I did it again I would want to be riding for
gold, and immediately afterwards I didn't think it likely I would be able to
shave 48 minutes off my time on such a course. But already I'm not so sure
about that.. it might be fun to try 😉
Thanks to Arthur Clune, who, when I posted a message here expressing
uncertainty about whether I had the necessary base to do such a ride said,
'just book it, you can work out the (training) details later'. I never did
get in quite as much training as I had hoped for, but this was by far the
most enjoyable hard thing I have ever done!
Rich