The 2015 TdF Route & Training so far

A few people have been asking me, how many days does the event take? how far are you riding each day? How long will you be in the saddle each day? etc. etc. (I think they just want to know how much I'll be suffering, before they sponsor me!). Below, are the headlines of each days stage and the distances, in future blogs, I'll add a bit more detail on each of the days route.

Saturday 27th June. Stage 1. Utrecht (prologue). 14km.

Sunday 28th June. Stage 2. Utrecht to Zeeland. 166km.

Monday 29th June. Stage 3. Antwerp to Huy. 154km.

Tuesday 30th June. Stage 4. Seraing to Cambrai. 221km.

Wednesday 1st July. Stage 5. Arras to Amiens. 189km.

Thursday 2nd July. Stage 6. Abbeville to Le Havre. 191km.

Friday 3rd July. Stage 7. Livarot to Fougeres. 190km.

Saturday 4th July. Stage 8. Rennes to Mur de Bretagne. 179km.

Sunday 5th July. Stage 9. Vannes to Plumelac. 28km.

Monday 6th July. Rest day. Tarbes.

Tuesday 7th July.Stage 10.  Tarbes to Pierre St Martin. 167km.

Wednesday 8th July. Stage 11. Pau to Cauterets. 188km.

Thursday 9th July. Stage 12. Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille. 195km.

Friday 10th July. Stage 13. Muret to Rodez. 200km.

Saturday 11th July. Stage 14. Rodez to Mende. 178km.

Sunday 12th July. Stage 15. Mende to Valence. 182km.

Monday 13th July. Stage 16. Bourg de Peage to Gap. 201km.

Tuesday 14th July. Rest day. Gap.

Wednesday 15th July. Stage 17. Dignes Les Bains to Pra Loup. 161km.

Thursday 16th July. Stage 18. Gap to St Jean de Maurienne. 185km.

Friday 17th July. Stage 19. St Jean de Maurienne to La Toussuire. 138km.

Saturday 18th July. Stage 20. Modane to Alpe d’Huez. 110km.

Sunday 19th July. Stage 21.Sevres to Paris. 45km. Finish on the Champs Elysees, and then its Paaaarty time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Training so far...

My training started as soon Christmas was finished, I've spent more hours than I care to mention in my "Pain Cave", which roughly translates to me, on my bike, fixed to a turbo (Static trainer) in the garage, with just a few tunes for company....its mind numbingly boring work, but vital training over winter.

Not only did I start bike training at Christmas, I also decided I would give up chocolate until after the event, I've been "clean" for 114 days now...not that I'm counting?!

I've also tried to mix the training up a bit, and have now ridden over 1100 miles on the road since Christmas, made up of individual rides and sportives, as well as Club rides and Time Trials with my club the North Bucks Road Club (NBRC).

Now the evenings are lighter, I'm also going out riding after work. The only thing left to add to the training plan are the dreaded "Hill reps", to try and replicate some of the mountains that I'll be riding in the Pyrenees and Alps. Basically, I find a local hill which takes a bit of effort, and go up/down several times until I'm knackered - you can get some very strange looks from the locals when they keep on seeing you go past, over and over and over again!

If you would like to sponsor me, and help under privileged kids, please follow this link: www.bemycharity.com/wickstdf2015

Wicks 1st ever Blog!

Right then, here goes - my 1st attempt at writing a blog!

What's it all about? well if you hadn't already worked it out from the picture, this blog will be all about my attempt to cycle the whole of the 2015 Tour de France route, in exactly the same way as the pro cyclists, except we start 1 week before them....and hope to finish 1 week ahead too!

I'm taking part in an organised charity ride called "Tour de Force" and there will be approx. 40-50 other nutters doing the same thing.

That's a total of 21 stages, and a distance of 3340kms - We start in The Netherlands, continue through Belgium (riding over cobbles) and then it starts to get really bumpy - I almost forgot to mention that we will also be going up and over both the Pyrenees and French Alps before finishing in Paris on the Champs-Elysees.

Tour de France 2015 route

 

Why am I doing this?? Good question! Well, apart from being a personal challenge and something to tick off my bucket list, I'm also hoping to raise £2500 for the William Wates Memorial Trust.

The trust provides funding and support to other charities, all with the aim of helping under privileged children, either through education, sport or the arts. I'd really appreciate your support in achieving my total...go on, the cost of a pint, or your morning coffee would go along way to supporting the charity.

www.bemycharity.com/wickstdf2015

I'll be updating the blog on a regular basis before the event, with more detail of my training, and further details about the event. Then once the event starts (technology allowing), I'll update it daily just to let you know how much suffering I'm going through for this challenge :-)

Hopefully you will want to come along for the ride (metaphorically speaking)