The perfect Ride! Did the Lessie loop for the first time in 14 months and knocked 14 minutes off my time. As usual I’m reaching my peak after all the big cycles.
I made a last minute decision to do the An Post tour of Meath and will be travelling up late on Saturday night to stay with my friend Tom. I am pumped for it!
It’s official! Hugh and I are the first Irish men to have completed the Galerien du Mount Ventoux. I just hope Hugh doesn’t discover that no Irish man had done the Bicinglette …
An etape finishers medal is a rare object
The seventh of July 2013 will be remarked upon in Irish cycling circles, for many years to come. It was the day I completed L’etape du Tour in less than 6 hours. Dan Martin stage win in the real Tour might also get a mention. Today’s spin may turn out to be the peak of my cycling achievement but hopefully there is more to come for Dan Martin. Maybe a victory on Ventoux next weekend or indeed in the Etape stage itself on the penultimate day of the tour.
Sitting in our apartment watching Le Tour on the TV. Back from town, bike cleaned, number attached to bike and Jersey ready to go.
L’etape village much busier than usual and money is being spent. Some of it mine. Managed to get the last Paul Smith Giro Jersey.
Have decided on a controversial ‘single bidon’ strategy despite or rather because of the warm weather.
‘You should take a photo of my helmet and put it on your stupid blog thing’ said Hugh as he sipped on his coffee. ‘It has been all over the world. I’m buying a new one later and today is it’s last spin’
Hugh’s helmet had been all over Sligo/Leitrim, up most of the great climbs of France, many of them several times, it has done the Wicklow 200 five times and it had gone up the Alto de Letras in Colombia.
‘Get your own blog, my readers aren’t interested in such trivia, your very self absorbed, Hugh
Nearly 15 hours after we started in Bedoin myself rode into the clouds sitting atop Mount Ventoux and arrived at the summit of le Geant.
One line rider gripped the summit pole, his bike lying lifeless on the ground. He seemed to be trying to take in the magnitude of what he had achieved.
‘Oh us? This is our fourth time cycling up to day’ I still remember him standing there with his mouth dropped open and a distance stare in his eyes as we posed for this photo. I almost felt bad for busting his bubble but 187 km and 6000m of accent including over 10 km off road climbing we had to tell someone and he was the only one around.
Confessions of a Velophile 