TdF stage 5 Arras to Amiens

This was the grand departe this morning, there are worse places to start the day. We were on the road before 8am and the temperature was set to soar!

 

The temperature topped the thermometer this afternoon at a sweltering 40c (104f), so while route wasn't too challenging, getting through the heat of the day certainly was, in fact the tarmac started to melt in places which didn't give you any confidence going round corners in case the road gave way under your wheels....on the plus side, the dodgy cyclist tan is coming on a treat!

 

Todays route took us from Arras to Amiens, "Just" the 189kms today (116miles)

 

There were plenty of memorials dotted all around the countryside remembering those who fell in WW1

 

This is a very unimpressive picture, of the very impressive Canadian war memorial at Vimy

 

Poppy fields a plenty - how apt

 

We will remember them!

 

Here are some of the TdF peleton in action

 

Some of the towns are really starting to make an effort ahead of the "Real" Tour de France, which will follow the same roads as us in just 1 weeks time.

 

Apparently Milton Keynes aren't the only ones with concrete cows...made me feel kinda homesick (and no, that's not a reference to Tish before I get misquoted!...I know my audience)

 

Click here for Stats du Jour

TdF Stage 4 Seraing to Cambrai

Today we said au revoir to Belgium and Bonjour to France, but the real tale of the day was all about the Pave (that's Cobbles for the uninitiated!). It was also the longest stage of Le Tour - the pro's will do 223kms (138miles) but as they use busy roads which will be closed for them, we had a slight detour which added an extra 9miles, so we did 147miles....oh good?!

 

The view from the river at Nemur, c'est bon!

The view from the Citadelle de Nemur at the top of a lovely (smooth) 3km cobbled climb

Citadelle de Nemur...Tres Bon!

This is what the day was all about, "Pave" not the nice smooth cobbles that you see in small towns trying to look nice, these are farmyard cobbles - laid many years ago and run over by many tractors since (including me!)

Looks scenic, right?

They don't look quite so great when you get close up! I was shaken to bits over the 7 sections of cobbles totalling 17kms

 

Today was brutal, for those of you who paid your sponsorship hoping to hear about my pain and suffering...you got your moneys worth today!

 

Apart from completing todays stage, the highlight of the day was meeting, and having dinner with Andrew and Sarah Wates. They are the parents of Will Wates who the charity I'm supporting is named after. It was inspiring to hear Andrew talk with passion about what it means personally to him, and the amazing amount of funds that are raised for under privileged kids in Will's name.

 

If you have already sponsored me, then THANK YOU so much, with your support, I've now raised £2771.49, if you haven't had the chance yet, its not too late and all the funds go to a great cause, click below to make a difference.

 

www.bmycharity.com/wickstdf2015 

 

Todays tale of the tape....stats du jour

 

 

TdF Stage 3 Antwerp to Huy

 

Today was a game of 2 halves!

 

We left The Netherlands and all of their frustratingly slow cyclepaths, and headed into Belgique!

 

I didn't get off to the greatest start when I managed to break my bike helmet clasp - luckily the team had a spare, so I was still in business. On the way to the 1st food stop (c25miles) I managed to get 2 punctures (thanks for the spare inner tube Matt!) and added some "Bonus Miles" ie: got lost!.

 

By the time I arrived at the feed stop everyone else was already leaving. I was determined to try and make some places up during the ride to lunch and sped of in pursuit of everyone, the legs felt good considering they had done 105miles the day before, so I went into time trial mode and managed to catch and pass a few before lunch.

 

 

The terrain was more "rolling" than the previous day, now we had moved into Belgium and the main event was the Mur de Huy - a steep hill right at the end of the stage (159km in).

                                         



 

The fortress of Huy, and the beautiful river

                   

              The graffiti artists have already been out ahead of the real Tour following along next week

 

Did I mention the word "Mur" means wall - they weren't kidding! Its only about a mile long, but its STEEP! 26% on one hairpin, cars struggled up it, let alone me on my bike!

 

                 

 



Moi, at the top

 This geezer to toddled up to the top about an hour after I did, fully panniered up, Chapeau sir!

 

The tale of the tape....

Todays stats

 

Tomorrows stage is the longest on the Tour 221kms, and 7 sections of cobbles..I cant wait!

 

 

TdF stage 2 Utrecht to Zelande

The story of todays stage starts last night. Id noticed that the band Kasabian were playing in Utrecht on the same night we were staying there, so a couple of phone calls later and we had a couple of tickets booked.

Great venue, managed to get a decent view (despite everyone in Holland being at least 6ft tall!), was a good gig, and I think ive managed to convert Simon into a fan...this is good news for me, on the basis that he's my roomie and his music taste is.... well, lets just say that the words music and taste might be the wrong description for it!

Todays stage started with a warning from the lead rider (Phil) that there was a sportive taking place in Utrecht and we may have some disruption for the 1st 25miles. The good news was that they had closed roads, the bad news was there were 14k of em riding around!

The support team had their work cut out today, riding mainly on cycle paths means a logistical nightmare for them as they try to signpost the route for us. so it was a bit stop/start in places but they all deserved a well earned beer at the end.

"Tour fever" is evident in places, as its only 1 week to go before the REAL TdF starts, lots of signs, flags, and some unusual pieces of art

Todays stage ended in the middle of nowhere, basically a strip of reclaimed land with a road linking them along with several bridges...oh yeah, and windmills - lots of em, but not the pretty ones

 

 

 

 

If you are feeling generous, and still haven't had the opportunity to make a donation, it would be great if I can get to £3k, im currently a £2.7k....go on, you know you want to!

 

www.bmycharity.com/wickstdf2015

 

Bon soir!

Tour De France Stage 1 Utrecht (prologue)

I was pleased to see that my bike had arrived safely in Utrecht, it was good to have it back! Firstly let me introduce you to my new home for the next 3 weeks or so....yes, it is as uncomfortable as it looks!

Me and me ol' mucker Simon looking all keen before we started, in our shiny new TdF gear

Stage 1 of the TdF for the Pro's will be a 14km Time Trial around the city of Utrecht - but for us, it was a slow ride around the open roads/cycle paths. Fortunately, I had my very own tour guide on hand, as Daniel from our team at RBS in The Netherlands came along to wave us off, and I persuaded him to ride the route with us.

Utrecht seemed a nice place, here are the obligatory pictures of everything Dutch

After 14kms of pedalling, its important to replenish lost fluids - i'll let you decide which one is the recovery drink?!

(its the one on the left!!)

 

Tonight we have managed to blag some tickets to watch Kasabian do their stuff, then its up for 6:30am brekkie and a 100+miler in the morning...what could possibly go wrong? 

1 week and counting....

Ok, so its starting to get serious now!

Only 1 week to go before I start pedalling in Utrecht, then c2100miles and 3 weeks later I arrive in Paris. I've now completed over 2700 miles in training, and nearly 1000miles (or Lands End to John O'Groats) in the last month.

Bike cleaned - check
Bike serviced - check (Thanks to Veloworx)
Tour de Force kit checked for waterproofing - check (gotta love the English summer)
New smaller sized North Bucks Road Club kit collected - check (Thanks NBRC, I will wear the colours with pride!).
Bike cleaned yet again due to the crap weather - check

Weather forecast said showers?!

6hrs and 123miles later, I think its safe to say the colours of the TdF kit don't run!

 

Finally, some thankyou's...

 

A massive thank you to all of my sponsors - I have now raised over £2500 towards the William Wates Memorial Trust, all of the money raised goes towards under-privileged kids

Tesco's - for donating a shopping voucher

MK Dons - for donating a family ticket (2 adults, 2 kids) for any Championship game next season (to be auctioned)

North Bucks Road Club - for donating a shiny new set of cycling kit for me to wear during the event

And finally to Tish, for putting up with me over the last 6 months whilst I've been out training at any spare moment - thanks Babe xx

 

Daily blog updates will be provided during the event, feel free to leave comments/feedback and I'll try to respond when I've got internet access

Only 38 days to go until we roll out of Utrecht...Gulp!!

Firstly, a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far, your generosity has taken the total raised so far in excess of £1800, and heading towards my target of £2500.

So, what have I been up to since my last blog? Well, those of you who know me, will be aware that I've spent most of it training! I'm now up to a total distance of 1783miles for the year so far, and over 78000ft of climbing (heading towards 3 times the height of Mount Everest).... that's the good news!

The bad news for me is that during the event I will be riding over 2100 Miles in 3 weeks, or 3340km if you like your stats in Metric...Note to self: I really must start using KMs - it sounds further! and by the time I roll into Paris, I will have climbed the equivalent of Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Ben Nevis, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest...Sacre Bleu!
My latest training event was the small matter of a Tour of the Peak District, which as you may know is known for its beautiful countryside and stunning views, although after riding 114miles up n over it on Sunday, i'd seen enough thank you!

There were 3 "named" climbs involved, the 1st was Winnats Pass, a steep climb of about a mile with sections of over 20% - a few expletives were uttered going up that one I can tell you!

                         View from the top of Holme Moss...bleak!

The 2nd one was Holme Moss, not as steep, but a longer drag of about 3miles and into a strong headwind (not a cyclists favourite!). The headwind made everything seem much harder, and everyone was trying to find cover behind someone bigger than them to keep out of the wind, which meant I was very popular, and had plenty of people sheltering behind me!
As I was cursing the fact that I didn't have anyone to hide behind another rider pulled alongside me, also cursing that he was having to ride into the wind. As I looked across I could see he was bigger than me and made his bike look like he was riding a kids toy, I was about to take shelter behind him then thought better of it cos he was in a bad mood - it was Martin Johnson the former World Cup winning England Rugby captain (all 6ft 8in of him, and still built like a brick sh*thouse !) after sharing our thoughts about the hangers on behind us "Johnno" as I now know him, disappeared backwards as we headed further uphill

Not someone to be messed with!

The final named climb (there were plenty of others that I had unofficially named, but probably best that I don't say what I called them on this blog..ha ha) was The Cat n Fiddle, an easier climb despite having 92miles already in my legs - the pub at the top was very tempting to stop and *ahem* "replenish lost fluids" but I resisted and headed for the finish. Just over 7.5 hours in the saddle averaging only 15mph, and over 12000ft of climbing...a brutal day out on the bike, but gave me a good reminder of what to expect when I get to the Pyrenees and Alps!

If you would still like to donate to the charity but haven't yet had the opportunity, please click on the attached link
www.bmycharity.com/wickstdf2015