Exit, Stage Front!

Weighing in
This week 98.5kg
Weight loss this week 1.9kg

Now that's what I call dehydration!

Miles last week 148
Longest ride 115 miles

75% of the First Time Etappers headed off the White Rose Challenge, the only absentee being Brett, who was spending another weekend in the company of his good friend, Beer. OK, he did have a wedding to attend, but we have his measure. (It's a half-pint, or perhaps a 'short')

A beautiful day was forecast and duly arrived. We registered fairly swiftly, and after faffing about for a bit too long, got started at about 7:45. The first sections are tough, but not too harsh, and Grassington was reached in a decent average speed (Mark & Mike were both well gone, though, by this point on their way to Silver and Gold respectively).

I gather that the upper part of Wharfedale, above Buckden is referred to as Langstrothdale, and it is without doubt one of my favourite places, and epitomises Dales countryside. It also gives me chance to test the new cameraphone, thus:

It's easy to let the average speed drop in such places, just to give yourself more time to look around. But with work to be done, Fleet Moss is soon upon you, and HRM's get noisy. On this occasion, for 3 minutes less than the Etape du Dales, result.

After Hawes, the WRC cuts across to the Coal Road, another climb I first experienced on EdD. I matched my 21 minute ascent, but that's where the good news ends. On the descent, I lost a contact lens near the top. Deciding to renew bi-focal vision at the bottom, I continued down, trying not to brake too hard or long and heat up the rims as badly as last time.

Rounding the second of the three sharp bends at the bottom of the Coal Road, a loud PHUT! and 1 second deflation of the front tyre announced my lack of success. I had a choice at this point, try to corner downhill on a flat tyre (impossible), crash in the road (painful) or attempt a semi-controlled crash landing on the grass verge/bank (the least unattractive of the three options). I managed the feat, leaving the bike over the handlebars and perfecting a forward half-somersault by landing on a combination of head & shoulder. The GPS says I slowed to 11kmh before this happened, I'm glad it was no faster.

25 minutes later, I was re-contact lensed, the Trek was re-shod and the chain re-loaded, and I was back on the road, all hopes of Silver now gone. The rest of the day is a blur (thankfully) of cramping legs, caused by a combination of not drinking enough, and strained back as a result of the fall. I think I experienced my first real 'bonk' on the hill out of Stainforth. All forward motion ceased amid dead legs and cold sweats in the 24 degree heat. I'll try not to repeat that one, thanks.

By the finish I had a top speed, cramp-free, of a massive 15 kmh and couldn't even walk up Langbar without stopping, but at least that gives good photo opportunities:


In the end I crossed the line in a fraction over 9 hours 28 minutes, at the end of a very "bad day at the office". I just have to convince myself that its not all bad, and is still inside Etape pace despite all mishaps.

For weeks now, we have been discussing how it would only take one accident to ruin 2 entire years of training. Sunday was the day of that accident. I am fortunate in many ways to have got through it relatively unscathed (nothing the chiropractor cannot fix) and am still going to France, hopefully the wiser for it. Certainly I shall be running less pressure on thicker rim tapes (the inner tube had punctured where it had pushed into the spoke holes on the rim).

One milestone of note, somewhere around the Langbar climb/walk, I passed through 8,000 miles of training for this Etape.

More details on WRC are on my 'Sportive' blog on cyclosport.org