bike4bike

Well, it’s all over and Jonno has arrived in the Champs-Élysées, Paris today. He’ll update the news on the final three stages when he gets back to the UK over the weekend.

I’ve (website administrator) just spent 4 days cycling around Pembrokeshire doing about 50 miles a day and I’ve had enough so Jonno’s 100 miles a day up some of the toughest climbs in Europe is a major achievement.

Well done Jonno. We look forward to seeing you home soon.

UPDATE:

Awoke at 7am this final morning, strange feeling really that today is the last leg in this long journey for me.

Lots of flat and monotonously boring riding on the roads towards Paris gave me time to reflect a little on the past 3 weeks, the highs and lows of the ride, both of which fell into that final climb up the Alpe at the end of what will remain with me as the hardest day cycling I have ever done and probably will ever do.

As we neared the outskirts of Paris I had to negotiate the two final categorised climbs (Cat 4) out of a total of 56 throughout the tour.  Then came the arduous task of going through the suburbs and into the city.

I had to split from the team and navigate my own way onto the Champs Elysees asking people on route for directions.  Meanwhile the team had to face thir own challenge of negotiating the motorhome through the mayhem and chaos that was taking place around them.  As much as they tried they were unable to find anywhere to park (all underground car parks with height restrictions) and as such were circling the city awaiting my call!

I crossed the Place de la Concorde and onto the Champs Elysees at the far end, and I could see L’Arc de Triomphe - but before reaching that I had to cycle at least ‘one lap’ of this famous street.  I pondered along the edge of the cobbles trying to imagine what it would be like to be racing on a closed road on the final day of the tour with all the ceremony surrounding it.  Instead I was on my lonesome on a crazy manic road where hundreds of cars were jostling for position with lunatics on scooters obviously with a death wish.

I decided to end my tour at L’Arc de Triomphe as doing more than one circuit of the Champs Elysees was tempting fate.

As I reached the Arc I saw Pete Wood and his wife Janet who had kindly come over to meet me and photograph the finish.

After 2223 miles I now had to cross a six lane free for all roundabout to get to my finish and almost got squashed at the final hurdle.

At 3pm on Friday 12th September, I finished the longest, hardest cycle ride of my life.  Fortunately, Jilly abandoned ship and managed to join me for Peter to take a few photos of us at L’Arc de Triomphe whilst the guys were double parked.  We then had to jump on board the motorhome and head out of the city and find a small town to celebrate with a beer before heading to Caen for the ferry in the morning.

Thanks to everyone who has supported my challenge both beforehand and the many texts and phonecalls that Jilly and I have received during the ride.  They have been greatly appreciated and helped me through some tough times.  Thanks very much also to Steve who kindly set up this website for me - this has allowed us to maintain contact with friends and family.

Special thanks to Stuart and Mark who have been with me from start to finish, looking after me and catering for my every need - Stuart provided excellent nutritional advice and professional massages every day to keep my legs going, and to Mark for maintaining my bike and generally being the ‘man who can fix anything’.  They both provided encouragement when I needed it and the trip, I know, has been a challenge for them at times too.  A massive thanks to my wife Jilly, who not only was the third member of my support team for two of the three weeks, providing gourmet meals in a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, adding that well needed touch of glamour and helped us all de-stress.  But she also ran up and down the mountains on many occassions in true tour style, shouting at me as I passed.   She has also endured me talking about this challenge everyday for the past six months prior to even setting off …. She’s glad it’s over… and so am I !

NOW LET’S PARTY ………. For those of you coming to the Auction Night on the 26th September, get your glad rags out and prepare for a great night of fun and fundraising to reach our target and the whole purpose of this challenge !

Awoke at 7am this final morning, strange feeling really that today is the last leg in this long journey for me.

Lots of flat and monotonously boring riding on the roads towards Paris gave me time to reflect a little on the past 3 weeks, the highs and lows of the ride, both of which fell into that final climb up the Alpe at the end of what will remain with me as the hardest day cycling I have ever done and probably will ever do.

As we neared the outskirts of Paris I had to negotiate the two final categorised climbs (Cat 4) out of a total of 56 throughout the tour.  Then came the arduous task of going through the suburbs and into the city.

I had to split from the team and navigate my own way onto the Champs Elysees asking people on route for directions.  Meanwhile the team had to face thir own challenge of negotiating the motorhome through the mayhem and chaos that was taking place around them.  As much as they tried they were unable to find anywhere to park (all underground car parks with height restrictions) and as such were circling the city awaiting my call!

I crossed the Place de la Concorde and onto the Champs Elysees at the far end, and I could see L’Arc de Triomphe - but before reaching that I had to cycle at least ‘one lap’ of this famous street.  I pondered along the edge of the cobbles trying to imagine what it would be like to be racing on a closed road on the final day of the tour with all the ceremony surrounding it.  Instead I was on my lonesome on a crazy manic road where hundreds of cars were jostling for position with lunatics on scooters obviously with a death wish.

I decided to end my tour at L’Arc de Triomphe as doing more than one circuit of the Champs Elysees was tempting fate.

As I reached the Arc I saw Pete Wood and his wife Janet who had kindly come over to meet me and photograph the finish.

After 2223 miles I now had to cross a six lane free for all roundabout to get to my finish and almost got squashed at the final hurdle.

At 3pm on Friday 12th September, I finished the longest, hardest cycle ride of my life.  Fortunately, Jilly abandoned ship and managed to join me for Peter to take a few photos of us at L’Arc de Triomphe whilst the guys were double parked.  We then had to jump on board the motorhome and head out of the city and find a small town to celebrate with a beer before heading to Caen for the ferry in the morning.

Thanks to everyone who has supported my challenge both beforehand and the many texts and phonecalls that Jilly and I have received during the ride.  They have been greatly appreciated and helped me through some tough times.  Thanks very much also to Steve who kindly set up this website for me - this has allowed us to maintain contact with friends and family.

Special thanks to Stuart and Mark who have been with me from start to finish, looking after me and catering for my every need - Stuart provided excellent nutritional advice and professional massages every day to keep my legs going, and to Mark for maintaining my bike and generally being the ‘man who can fix anything’.  They both provided encouragement when I needed it and the trip, I know, has been a challenge for them at times too.  A massive thanks to my wife Jilly, who not only was the third member of my support team for two of the three weeks, providing gourmet meals in a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, adding that well needed touch of glamour and helped us all de-stress.  But she also ran up and down the mountains on many occassions in true tour style, shouting at me as I passed.   She has also endured me talking about this challenge everyday for the past six months prior to even setting off …. She’s glad it’s over… and so am I !

NOW LET’S PARTY ………. For those of you coming to the Auction Night on the 26th September, get your glad rags out and prepare for a great night of fun and fundraising to reach our target and the whole purpose of this challenge !

Early start this morning summitting the Category 3 Cole de la Croix du Sud at 2500ft just before 8am, having not quite woken up myself!  I’m not at my best this early, pedalling in my sleep.

Descended over the Cat 4 climb down to Cussett and then continued for 70 miles of undulating hills to Montlucon - end of Stage 19.

We then had a one hour drive to the start of the next stage which was the time trial at Cerilly.  I completed the 33 mile circuit in just under two hours which I was pleased with considering how I felt.

Set off to Etampe for the beginning of tomorrow’s final stage into Paris.  I am so relieved that I have been able to catch up on the missed stage and am now in a great position to cycle into the Champs Elysees.

Roll on tomorrow !

Felt a lot better this morning although legs still very heavy and chest still tight. Yesterday’s forced rest day did me the world of good and I am now ready for he last leg to Paris. Beautiful morning as I set off through long busy main roads towards Grenoble. Climbed category 3 Col de Parmenie in perfect sunshine and felt OK.  Heading out of the Alps now towards the Loire region. Crossed the Loire river into lush green rolling hills and traditional villages.

A category 2 and category 4 climb took me to the finish at Sainte Etienne. The team pushed me on today and I am really feeling the effects of the past 3 weeks and more so after Monday’s intensive day.

I need to complete stage 19 and the time trial stage tomorrow, so we have driven to Roanne this evening to allow an early start in he morning.

We arose at 5am, and after a short drive set off into the darkness at 6.30am with temperatures just above freezing. As the day dawned, after 26 miles, I began the long 23 mile ascent from Briancon to the Col du Galibier. First up was the summit of the Col de Lauteret at 6700 ft continuing up the 5 mile steep climb to the top of the Galibier at 8700 ft. On my approach I was again being watched by a magnificent golden eagle soaring just above me.  The sun came up and the weather remained perfect throughout the day.  Unimaginable blue skies affording magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.  The only thing with this was that it meant the descents were very cold.

A brilliant descent off the Galibier then took me through a number of towns before summitting the Col du Telegraphe and to the foot of the Col de la Croix de Fer.  There followed a 20 mile climb to 6780 feet , the last 4 mile I rode with a frenchman who commented that I would be crazy to attempt the Alpe today.  The Croix de Fer was a very tough climb with noticeable thinner air again, taking me over two hours to climb.  The descent off the top saw a quick detour to the top of the Col du Glandon followed by a long way down and along the valley road to Bourg D’Oisans.

I took a half hour recuperative stop just outside Bourg at a 120 miles into the day, before beginning the hardest climb of my life up Alpe d’Huez.  I have ridden up this iconic mountain a number of times but never after such a long hard ride or what I had just completed in the past 16 days.  At 7.05pm I set off, the first 2 miles averaging 10% were very difficult, and I was struggling to breath properly from this point, the effects of the high altitude and the cold air during the day taking its toll.  My chest was very tight and I had problems getting enough oxygen to power my legs.  I could have stopped at any point on this climb but as ever, Jilly was there supporting me every inch of the way, on the roadside on all 21 hairpins, urging me on with words of encouragement and running alongside me in true tour style.  The last 4 miles out of the 8, I completed in a poor condition, the thought of what I was doing this for keeping me going.  Stuart came out onto the road and cycled with me for the final 2 miles to the finish.  He was talking to me but it was all a blur to me and I almost knocked him off a couple of times as I struggled to keep my bike upright and in a straight line. I finally completed the climb after 1 hour 20 minutes to 6167 ft.

I was overcome with emotion after the physically hardest day of my life, cycling over 16500 ft and 45 miles up hill.  I collapsed with the effects of exhaustion, the freezing night air and the high altitude.  I was suffering from the effects of hypothermia and was struggling to breath.  The team quickly drove me down the mountain to Bourg D’Oisan and slowly treated me to stabilise my body temperature.  After a couple of hours I started to come round and went to bed feeling terrible.  Poor Jilly had to suffer the consequences of my body temperature returning to normal overnight, a hot fever all night.  I had never experienced anything like this and it was quite frightening for all concerned, thankfully by morning my body temp was normal again. 

Tuesday 9th September

This morning a decision was made by the team to take a forced rest day at Bourg D’Oisan to enable my body to recover and my breathing to return to normal before continuing on.  As we are updating this tonight I am improving greatly and hope to return to the saddle tomorrow to continue the challenge.  I plan to incorporate the time trial stage in with Stage 19.

Following our initial difficulties navigating through Cuneo this morning guided by our Italian map with a hit and miss approach to detail I set off on todays stage.  Second day in the Alps with two hulks of mountains on the menu.  First came the Col de la Lombarde at 7113 feet which began 31 miles into the ride and was 14 miles to the top.  The route was a steep ascent through a forest with fantastic gorges which opened up to provide views for miles as we rose above the tree line.

Strong head winds all the way up gave a high chill factor at the summit.  Layers on and off down the other side through the ski resort, Isola 2000 and down into the village for lunch.

Following a hearty feast of meats and cheese I immediately started climbing for 9 miles to the foot of the Cime de la Bonnette-Restefond climb, from where the 17 mile ascent to the summit at 9192 ft was reached.  The temperature dropped dramatically as I approached the summit after over 2 hours constantly climbing.  The effect of less oxygen in the air took its toll over the last mile or so, not only on me buth on my cycle computer which stopped and the motor home which struggled to keep going.  I would say that the final mile of this ride was the hardest of the tour so far.

There was an eagle soaring above me as I cycled on the highest road in europe onto the summit.  The surroundings were both bleak yet magnificent with mountain ranges to be seen all around.

The Bonnette is majestic but also lonely due to it’s remoteness.   The descent was only impaired by flocks of sheep and goats heading for lower land in preparation for the winter ahead.  The brakes of the motor home were tested to their limits with a few hairy hair pins..  Spent the night on a camp site outside Jausier, rest day tomorrow followed by the biggest stage of the tour on Mondqy.

The tour organisers describe todays Hor Category climb of Col d Agnel at 9000 feet as being brutally hard and after climbing 7000 feet in the first 35 miles of the stage I can only agreee.  This first day in the Alps was tough from the start but absolutely beautiful as I cycled through the Durance valley.  Some amazing gorges and waterfalls with dramatic mountain peaks.

I was blessed with fine weather and after reaching the summit of Col d Agnel we lunched in our panoramic restaurant on the french / italian border.  A 20 mile descent from the summit which Mark caught on camera, attached to his helmet.  He nearly fell off a couple of times due to it being on his head, but a small price to pay for some excellent footage!

A further 80 miles to the next major climb up to the ski resort Prato Nevoso, with a Cat 3 climb to warm me up before the ascent really began.  It was going dark as I began the Cat 1, 11 mile pull around hair pin bends to the summit, arriving just after 9pm.  Mark took to his bike to provide moral support to me close to the top.  The motor home illuminated my path blasting the chosen signature tune of my ride - theme of The Last of the Mohicans. 

This was a long hard day and we spent the night at the ski resort.

Found an excellent campsite last night right at the start of today’s stage. This gave us a well earned lie in until 7am. What should have been a steady 120 mile transition day to the Alps on gently rolling terrain with just 2 category 4 climbs turned into a really tough day with strong head and cross winds. This tested my resolve as those who know me, know i do not like flat roads with head winds! The day took more out of me than i had hoped prior to the 3 massive Alpine stages starting tomorrow.

After today’s finish we drove part of the 60 miles towards tomorrows start, parking on the side of the lake outside St Vincent. During the evening we encountered an attack from blood thirsty mosquitoes through a slight gap in the window which required a coordinated tea-towel attack by Jilly and Stu who defeated the enemy.

Following on from probably my hardest day mentally on the bike yesterday and black of energy, i had a good massage from Stuart followed by a top nights sleep and then today rode my best ride of the tour. Iv’e completed the 113 mile stage in 7 and a 1/2 hours feeling more energetic and much stronger finishing at 5:30 pm.

Today was another transition stage on the way to the Alps with quite strong head winds especially towards the end of stage.

It has been Stuart’s Birthday and Wedding Anniversary, and we’ve made sure he’d had a day of complete relaxation (not likely). The weather has been cloudy but warm and similar forecasted for the days ahead.

Up at 6 am and on the road by 8 having driven to the start. Felt rough all morning suffering from a bad stomach and little sleep-struggled with lack of energy and tired legs. Transitional stage today from the Pyrenees on the way to the Alps via Audd, Heralut and Gard regions. Fantastic  sunshine and scenery throughout the day cycling through fabulous gorges and miles of vineyards. The vineyards resulted in me loosing my team on several occasions as they called to purchase local produce (and taste a few on the way). Finished today feeling very tired having completed over 100 miles in high temperatures and on the back of over 1100 miles over the past 11 days. The old sweat soigneurs are also fatigued keeping me on the road and in the right direction but new member Jilly keeps going on a diet of ‘G n T’ and newly found ‘Fitou’ and ‘Corbiere’ regions wine, with a few deck chair moments thrown in. Campsite found outside Narbonne ready for tomorrows start.