and so it begins...again

Well, here we are...again. But this time new location, new team, better legs and new confidence. I write this now from inside the Rural Gite me and my family are staying in for the week just south of Fougeres. Currently it’s a couple of degrees warmer outside than it is inside, it’s not warm outside. The fuse popped about 10 minutes ago because we plugged something in, the house couldn’t cope. It’ll be a couple of decades before central heating graces these parts, but other than this I can’t complain!

But before I go on, quite a bit has happened since my last post which seems quite a while ago. The first thing to tell you about is the Reliability (a bit like a sportive, but cheaper) cycle ride I organised to help raise some funds for this year. The day was brisk to say the least, temperatures spent as much time in the decimals as in the single digits, but luckily it was dry and not a bad day for a bike ride. The sun even came out towards the end. The cold didn’t put off a great crowd of people and there were 112 riders signed on for both the longer route and the shorter one. The great thing was people who would never usually ride the distance (57 miles) giving it a go and there were even a crowd of single speed riders who took part...fools. Many thanks to the Red Lion at Bobbington for helping me organise it, so readers, if you need a hotel, want a meal, or fancy a pint around the South Staffordshire region you know where to go....that is the Red Lion if anyone is actually wondering.

Also helping me out this year are Michelin Tyres through their distributor Hotlines UK. They are supplying me with some fantastic Michelin Pro3race tyres and tubes to keep me going through the season. It’s help like this which is invaluable for people trying to do what I am and so I am very grateful for their support, so readers, if you need some new tyres or tubes then you know what to get....Michelins (they do the Pro3race in loads of badass colours). So, in summary, a big thanks to everyone who has donated towards my plight in one form or another and if there’s anyone out there that wants me to help with their marketing, I’d be happy to show off your kit!

Now, we aren’t quite up to speed yet, but nearly there. Last week I took part in the annual Perfs Pedal Road Race in the south of England near Portsmouth, what is usually considered the cycling season opener. The race itself was a short 74km on pretty flat roads with a full field of 80 riders. I had been looking forward to it as I didn’t feel I was going too bad and wanted to test out the legs and lungs to see if they were actually operating as hoped. Also, there weren’t any really big guns down to do it, so in a way I fancied my chances. The race started off as races do, with early chancers trying to nip off the front, but with the race so short no one was willing to let anything go. I had a couple of goes and followed anything I considered dangerous, but it was to no avail. The course wasn’t hilly enough to really split it up and the field was too negative for anything to happen anyway. So I sat in and waited for the finish like everyone else. That was until 5km to go when a few horse riders decided to go for a walk through the bunch. I don’t like riding past horses at the best of times, but when you’re racing towards them in a big bunch of testosterone seeping blokes in lycra on plastic machines, things get a bit hairy. One bolted backwards and sideways into the road on seeing us, another with a young girl on started to run and wasn’t stopping anytime soon. The front riders had managed to get past without seeing this happen, but the events were unfolding right alongside me and my time was being spent avoiding death by horse.

I decided I was much safer in front of them than behind (not that I could stop anyway) and so got past as quickly as I could, it was only after that I heard that the young girl had actually fallen off. Not the safest of scenarios. Well, I was now past the horses and everyone seemed to decide it was race on, those that hadn’t been cut off by horse. I worked my way to the front for the long drag of a finish straight; in all the horse commotion I had missed what would prove to be the vital move. I saw one guy up the road but thought we might catch him by the finish, the sprint sort of started, but then didn’t, it was more of a slow grind up the hill that got faster. I started it 4th wheel and finished 4th wheel with one guy up the road, this made me 5th (ignore the British Cycling result, I was 5th). I was quite happy, first race, decent result and some prize money! It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of that; I certainly didn’t have a long face.....terrible, I know.

Since then I’ve been getting my stuff together ready for the off, sorting out my possible place at the University of Leeds during a whistle stop tour of the North. Visiting everyone who I thought might like to see me before I leave the country for several months and just general preparation of affairs. That was until Monday morning, when, at 3.25am my alarm went off telling me to get up and get my ass in gear, it was time to leave the country. This time, due to the distance being a lot less to the town I’d be living in, I was being driven over by my parents. The amount of stuff we put in the car, it’s a wonder I even managed in Alsace, everything; wheels, turbo trainer (why I brought that is anybody’s guess), clothes, kitchen sink, hairdryer, Frisbee, amongst several other things, probably still forgot something integral...like a bike.

The journey was pretty quick and easy, 8 hours on a boat is always boring, but being a manly man I handled it with only a few tears. A quick drive from Caen and we arrived at our Gite just south of Fougeres itself in a small place called Le Selle en Luitre. The place obviously wasn’t designed with anyone over 6 foot in mind or 5’9” for that matter, or anyone without a thick layer of fur. So this is where my second adventure in this country of countries begins, Fougeres is a great town with loads of history and a massive castle. Speaking of castles, I sort out my accommodation proper at the end of the week along with my first race; a small interclub one with little to no prestige....my kind of race, time for a win I feel.

Until the next time,

Laters.

PS. Sorry for the lack of photos, I've uploaded this using McDonalds no-so-fast Wifi Connection, but fear not, I will sort it asap.