Crazy Comical Cycling

On Tuesday I cycled to Brighton and on Friday I cycled back,  It is the furthest I have ever cycled and it is something that I knew I was capable of but it was reassuring to actually achieve this.  It took me 3hours 59mins to cycle 66 miles to Brighton and 3hours 17mins to cycle back because I only needed to cycle 56 miles!  I then imagine how much faster the Tour riders are going.  Well I averaged 17.3 mph (almost 28kph on the return journey.  The tour riders average 43-45kph on flattish stages.  Remarkable speeds!

I learnt some things along the way.  I learnt that I couldn't attack the hills as I do on 20/30 mile rides.  I found out I had no power left so needed to go through the gears and keep the tempo high (aerobic rather than power).  Thank you to my friend Matt Cooke for his advice.  This really helped on Ditchling Beacon and on the return through Westerham which is surprisingly hilly.  It meant that I mentally was happy just to get up rather than have time targets or trying to catch up with another cyclist and then the great thing was that I was able to cycle strongly away from the top.  I also learnt that you have to stay mentally strong, even when someone shouts from their car and makes me jump or when I fell over at traffic lights in Bromley.  It was the first time I had fallen due to using cleats. (which means that my feet are attached to the pedal)  Another comical moment was when I fell over my bike in the hotel and jammed the sprocket into my ankle leaving me with some fine looking wounds.

Which obviously brings me to the joy of watching the Tour de France.  Quite simply stunning!  This event operates on so many levels and I seem to learn more about it each year.  The team dynamics are very complex but they are remarkable teams.  This article from the Toronto Star described the beauty of the
team and significant the domestiques are.  The riders are absolutely superb athletes and often appear machine-like. I like the itv4 coverage, there is great commentary and wise use of the advert breaks - Thanks!. 

But having cycled over 100 miles in 2 rides this week I have one slightly different view of the riders.
They get paid to have that much fun!  Yes they are in pain but simply cycling for a living and being part of such a brilliant event easily makes up for that.