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The Big Cycling Trip – Get workin’

60 mile bike ride

My friends and I have planned and booked a trip to the French Alps. Well, they did really, I had little input into planning and booking rather that just saying I wanted to go. It will consist of 3 days of cycling up and down big and famous French Alpine passes. Quite an endeavour.

On Monday this arrives on the WhatsApp group

“Having been out with most of you over the past 3 weeks I think we’ve got some work to do. As Nick pointed out Day 2 of our ride is 120km and nearly 4000m of climbing. As it stands I think 3 of us will be able to cope with it”.

Ouch!

He then goes onto what we should be doing training wise over the next 5 weeks and finishes off with-

“You know what you need to do”

My first thought was – I knew this was coming. I had pulled out of the long ride on Bank Holiday Monday. My second was – am I in the 3 or out of the 3. I’m I GC (General Classification) or domestique. There are 6 of us in total, including the guy who sent the text, who I believe thinks he’s in the 3. That leaves 2 spots to be in the 3. One is taken by Dan who’s rather good and cruises around our weekend rides with no problems. So only one spot remains in the 3. One friend went last year where they climbed Mt Ventoux, so knows what it entails and is probably prepared. He’s also the lead organiser and pretty serious about the whole thing.

I seem to be getting no points for 17 weeks of marathon training or 37-minute PBs, so it looks like I’m out the vaunted 3.

Double Ouch!

For all the fun of trying to work out who is in and who is out, the text lit a little fire under my ass. I know it was partially directed at me. I missed a lot of rides due to running. A new cycling training plan has been concocted so that I ride as much as I can, whilst adding hill training to my commute home. As ever the diet and losing a little bit of weight requires some thought and attention.

My friend’s point in the text is very valid. The idea of the trip is that we all ride together, and to do so, we all have to be at a specific level so we are all able to enjoy it.

The trip is not all about the cycling, more a chance for 6 friends to go away doing something we find fun. A bit like our snowboard trips, back in the day. They were not really about snowboarding and more about hanging with friends.

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