My time training in France is unfortunately almost coming to an end. So i thought i would update with what i have been doing.
For the first couple of days when I arrived in Laghet - a small spot just outside Monaco- i was using the mountain bike to do some big trail runs and hill sets. I would cycle to the bottom of a climb and run to the top three or four times each time trying to beat the previous time. And other days i ran from the village down to Monaco and back up. All quite a fun adventure aswell as great training.
On Monday of last week i picked up my hire bike from the shop in Nice a Scott Speedster a fairly basic road bike but it certainly did the job. From Nice i cycled to Monaco along the coast passing some beautiful spots along the way and a relatively flat ride. (flat in France is very difference to flat in Britain). I stopped in Monaco for lunch and a swim on the boat and did my first big climb in the midday heat back up to the village. 39km altogether.
http://www.strava.com/activities/72361402
On Tuesday i had planned out a route that began quite flat to get the legs spiining and war, and then a climb up to a beautiful village called Peille then a descent and flat ride back to Laghet. This was my first proper climbing ride and although soaked in sweat i felt rather strong. After this ride i rode down to Monaco to practice my descending and had a 10km run along the coast and a swim.
40km ride then 16km to Monaco and 10km run.
http://www.strava.com/activities/72572314
On Wednesday i wanted to test out my legs with a bigger ride and some big climbing so i set out a vague route using Map my ride and headed for the mountains. The ride went from La trinitie to Sospel, Sospel to Menton and Menton to Laghet. Initially the ride was downhill and then flat but after 10km i began to climb. First up Col de Nice which is a long steady climb in a beautiful valley, after this i came to the foot of Col de Braus this is a 10km climb which starts fairly steep with some alpine bend, it then flattens out for 1km or so before the top push which is bend after bend and very steep Climbing. The climb was tough but the road was beautiful and my first real French climb. I then did the tricky descend into Sospel before the long ride back into Menton and a very steep long climb back up to the Village.
Overall the ride was 74.1km with 3544m of climbing and taking 3 hours 40.
http://www.strava.com/activities/72863294
Thursday i had a rest day as i had planned earlier in the week to have a big ride on Friday with two Frenchmen.
So on Friday at 6:30 am i headed to Menton to meet my companions for the day. Two 60 year old men, they had told me we would do 100km in Italy so with their age i thought it would be a gentle slog. However once we left France and headed for Italy along the coast i knew i was wrong. These guys were fit and fast. On the flat we were storming the pace overtaking any other cycling groups and on the climbs we sat on each others wheels heading up quick. The ride started through Italy after Vantemilia and San Remo, we then headed along the valley to the mountains. We passed a small village and began the first climb of the day a long steady 10km going higher and higher, we took in turns to lead the climb and i made sure i did my bit. These men were seriously fit and great fun to ride with. After 60km we had a coffee stop and chatted about various cycling things, my slight French made them understand that no this was not an easy day out. We then continued up another beautiful climb sheltered in the woods, this was the first poor road quality i had seen! once at the top we had views all across Italy and back to France. We then began the descent, i was much slower than them as im not French nor a majorly confident descender. On one long straight at 60km an hour i hit a puncture. I avoided a skid and had a quick fix however just as i replaced the wheel i saw my two french friends climbing back up to see if i was okay. True Gentlemen. After the descent we rode flat out back to Ventemillia taking in turns to pace out the front. After going through the city on Market day avoiding being run over and many french and itlain swearwords we rode back into Menton. While these men both live in Menton i had another 13km climb to get home. I was seriously impressed with one of them who decided to ride back up with me and help me in the last bit of the climb. At La turbie we shook hands and went seperate ways. I think this summed up the day all we needed was a shake of the hand to show how much respect we had for the other and how we needed each other all day.
The ride was a total of 120km and with 4599m of climbing and taking 5 hours 48.
http://www.strava.com/activities/73326581
On Saturday i rested as i was taking on Col de La madone the next day.
Sunday was to be my ride on Col de La Madone. This is a very famous and beautiful climb. Starting at sea level in Menton it is 13km to the top. The climb was made famous by Lance Armstrong who used to train up it constantly to see if he was tour fit. After this it had becom the norm for riders to see how fast the can climb the route, the top times around 30 minutes. However many other non drugged up inspiring athletes still train on this today. Something i spotted first hand as a week before whilst driving the route Chris Froome and Richie Porte were climbing metres away from me. I left the house at 8am to descend into Menton to begin the climb. This was a great way to warm up and prepare for the climb. Once through Mentons centre i took the turning off and began to slowly ascend. I began the climb with a steady cadence starting my watch and gradually moving further away from Menton. The climb starts in amongst trees before climbing steadily over a large motorway bridge a rather incredible sight. I felt strong as the road increased and the bends along with it. The climb pushed on uptoo a village called Sainte Agnes, after this the roads become much narrower and steeper. I gave it a little push knowing i was about halfway and took on some food. The road then was truly amongst the mountains and goes through some rocky tunnels, i spotted a couple of cyclists infront of me and made it my goal to overtake them. I lifted my body opened my lungs and pushed even harder, my legs felt on fire but i turned the last bend and made it to the top in 1 hour 40 seconds. The view from the top is nothing special if im honest it was the views all the way up which made every ache and pain worth it. After feeling some great achievement on the top i descendend fast down to the village for a big deserved lunch!
Total distance was 42.6km
http://www.strava.com/activities/73773282
On Monday i once again did the Peille route i did earlier in the week, it has some long flat sections so it was good to spin the legs at a quicker pace after so much climbing.
Ride was 36km
http://www.strava.com/activities/74097237
Tuesday it was safe to say i was feeling tired and getting a bit sick, however i wanted to ride and keep training so i planned to ride to Menton and then too a village called Gorbio. However the road to Gorbio starts on the same road as the Madone climb. I bit the bullet and decided i would once again do the climb and see if i could beat my time. I wont go into as much details but as i knew the climb i knew where i could push the pace and cadence my gear work was better and although my legs were screaming i pushed hard. I made the climb in 56 minutes; 4 minutes quicker than the previous. I was over the moon. Standing at the top i had never felt more fit or Strong in my riding.
Ride Distance 42km.
http://www.strava.com/activities/74336096
So thats all, that was how my week went today i rode the 30km back to Nice to drop off the bike so over the week have rode over 430km, i have climbed higher and harder climbs than ever before and ridden some incredible scenery. I have cycled with some great people and in three countries (Monaco is classed a country). I feel fit, strong and fast on the bike im also starting to quite enjoy climbing. This is my first of 3 posts coming up i have pictures and whats next for me so thanks for reading and ill report back soon.
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