Tour de France 2012 a week in

Well, that is the first week well and truly done. What a week!

I can't believe how tense and nervy the proceedings have been. Crashes are common place as the first week progresses due to nerves and tension but this week has been remarkable. A number of genuine contenders for the GC have suffered and lost time. It is now clear to see why keeping your GC contender near the front of the race is so important. keeping close the the front of the peleton keeps him ahead of where most crashes occur and, in the event a crash happens near the front, everyone else who is a GC prospect is going to be in the mix as well and there is less chance of loosing time aginst your main rivals.

A couple of high points for me. The way Sky bossed the race and kept cadel in their sights on stage 7 with Chris Froome getting ahead of the charging Aussie and taking the stage was awesome. This was topped off nicely by Bradley wiggins taking the Yellow Jersey which Fabian Cancellara had done a grand job of parading up till then. The second high point for me was the antics of FDJ Bigmat Team Manager Marc Madiot as he was encouraging stage leader Pinot Thibaut to his stage victory was awesome-n true passion!

The first big Time Trial today. Lets see how it pans out.

Vive La Tour!

Tour de France 2012- SWMBO and I go to Liege

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I returned from our trip to Liege on Sunday evening and I have just uploaded my photos from the expedition. Once again we (or at least I) had a great time. Liege is a nice City to visit with lots of cafes and taverns to allow the continental street culture to bloom. We ate and drank and were generally very merry.
Here are a few pictures for your consideration-

Team Sky Pro Cycling at the team presentation on Thursday evening

A stroll around the City led us here-

373 steps to the top! Here is the post ascent view-

and I was thinking about the hoot it would be descending on my old bike patrol steed.

SWMBO needed a short rest before continuing-

Fuel was available at the Expo that ran from Wednesday evining to Friday evening. A rumour has it that Belgians produce some of the best beer in the world-

We agree!


We did a recce of the prologue route and picked our spot on the exit to the roundabout on Quai Paul van Hoegaerden between Pont John F Kennedy and Pont Albert 1er. We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and were on plot by 9:00 a.m. where we sat and waited. After a while other spectators started to arrive and riders started to do the route to warm up and get a feel for the route-

Wiggo

Spartacus

Cav

EBH

Vino (SWMBO has a soft spot for him)

Graham Watson turned up and doubtless did a far superior job of capturing the moment than I did

A little while later a retired French bloke showed up as well-

They then got down to doing the route for proper-

Though not everyone had luck on their side

Cav on his timed run

Yukia Arashiro (for whom SWMBO has another soft spot)

Some folk seemed to be having a ball

Though I don't think I saw Dave Zabriski smile all weekend (love the Captain America look!)

Vino again

Not sure who (open to suggestions) poss Valverde?

Cadel going for it

SWMBO soaking up the atmosphere

Me doing the same

We then took a walk to where the pit lane had set up earlier. Team Sky have gorgeous vehicles

and if you look carefully, at least one comes with a factory fitted Bradley Wiggins

I'm not posing for this one, honest

Elsewhere, I found a car with Scarponi's bike on the roof (lovely looking machine)

I noticed a nasty gouge on the bottom bracket. I expect it will buff out

There was also a stand set up by a Brussels bike museum which included this beautiful Pederssen (sp?)

It was then back to the hotel to nurse our sunburn.

Next morning we set out at 8:30 again and located ourselves on Boulevard d' Avroy on the outside of the turn where the route entered Rue Pont d' Avroy. We waited for a couple of hours, collecting caravan schwag until the peleton arrived-

After they had disappeared down the route we relocated a few yards away still on Boulevard d' Avroy as they made their way back along the other side of the road and out of the City

Jens contemplating the pain he is doubtless going to cause after uttering the immortal words "Shut up legs!"

Cadel in relaxed mood

but not as relaxed as Tommy V

SWMBO is a diamond for organising the travel etc. I must keep telling her I love her!

The Tour is looming

Traditionally commencing on the first Saturday in July, the Tour de France is doing its thing for International cooperation by starting a weekend early due to the looming Olympics.

The Grand depart this year is being hosted by Liege in Belgium with the Prologue on Saturday 30th June and the first road stage leaving the City on Sunday 1st July,

Mrs Secret Cyclist has done me proud again and we are driving down to Dover on Wednesday to catch a ferry to Dunkirk, from where we are driving to Liege to soak up the pre Tour atmosphere and take in the first two stages.

Apparently there is a serious Brit challenge for the General Classification this year. I'm not going to tempt fate by going into it yet. I will wait to see how things develop.

Vive la Tour!

On the Right Track

On Saturday morning I joined a group of Marlow Riders for a track taster session at Calshot Velodrome, part of the Calshot Activity Centre down on the South coast, just outside Southampton.

Marlow Riders is a club formed as the cycling wing of Marlow Runners. The club was born out of an idea where one fo the Runners decided to invite his friends to join him for dinner to celebrate his 60th birthday. The only catch was that dinner was in Paris and his guests had to cycle to the venue. After a number of months of training, the group did the ride to Paris in 3 days. Marlow Riders  was born.

The taster session was organised by Marlow Rider Willi Moore, a cyclist with years of experience including being a Team Pursuit Bronze medallist at the Munich Olympics.

On arrival we booked in and signed the usual waivers etc. then made our way to the centre of the track. Calshot is the second shortest velodrome in the world apparently at 142 meters (ish) on the racing line. A sort track howver doesn't diminish the angle of the banking. Standing at the foot of one of the bends, looking up the steep banking was enough to make more than a few sphincters start to twitch.

Not to worry though. We were fitted for our Dolan track bikes and then lined up track centre facing our instructor who talked thorugh the foibles of riding fixed. He then got us riding round the flat track infield so that those who had never ridden fixed could get a feel for it.

As the session progressed we were put through a series of exercises that got us up to speed and up to the top of the banking in a controlled manner.

The feeling of riding round the velodrome at speed was exhilerating and the experience of being at speed at the top of the banking then diving down towards the exit of the bend and the racing line has to be experienced to be understood. 8 grown men and women smiling like children at a toy shop.

If you get the chance to try track cycling, give it a go. I don't think you will regret it.

A rant

A little while ago, Nick herbert MP wrote this letter to Police Officers in England and Wales.

I am fuming! He has the temerity to address me as a colleague! Unless he is a sworn Officer, Special Constable, PCSO or Civillian employee of one of the Police Forces in England and Wales, he is no colleague of mine, he is a The Managment.

Herbert- stop patronising me and the folk I work with. I am not your colleague. I am a minion. Thats right, a minion. One of the thousands of folk who work for the Police Service who are being shafted- no cancel that, Right Royaly Shafted, by this Government under the auspices of the Puppet that is Tom Winsor. It has to be a Royal Shafting as we are under a Coservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition govenment. A Labour governmet wouldn't dare go in for all that Royal stuff. Too un SocialistThey would just shaft us but with all the skill and vigour that can be applied by a strong manual labourer.

In just under two years, I qualify for a full pension. Until this shafting business started, it was my intentionn to continue working as a Police Officer. Well, you have gone and completely screwed that up. Come the day of my qulification, I might take my in excess of 25 years loyal service and experience and jump like a rat leaving a sinking ship, for that is how I see it. The good ship British Policing is going down. God have mercy on her soul.

Catching up with stuff

Hi Folks!

As you may have noticed by a) the lack of anything new to read below and b) the absolute rubbish mileage returns I have logged, my cycling based life has not been what it should recently. This is mainly due to what I do to earn a crust. I am currently involved in a job which, if I were to tell you about it, I would have to find you all and kill you (or at least put you across my knee and give you a damn good spanking). Lets just say that the job has been taking up a lot of my time- both scheduled and unscheduled work time. Hopefully, over the next 6 weeks or so, this time commitment will reduce, allowing me to get back into my former lifestyle and riding more frequently again.

So, what has been happening out there in the meantime? Well, it is Giro d' Italia time again. Some good stages so far, a poignant moment of silence prior to the start of the stage on 9th May to mark the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt last year  and a couple of good stage wins by Mark Cavendish (and a bloody painful looking crash where he was brought down by another sprinter recklessly changing his line). Needless to say, my satellite TV decoder box record function is getting good use.

The annual return of bats to our garden has taken place. The 'Black Arrows' display team are on fine form doing their thing around the airspace over my lawn. If it isn't the bats in the evening, it is the Red Kite during the day. Sometimes the numbers I can see from my garden are in double figures. Sometimes a pair of kite will put on a display by playing tag in the sky overhead, diving at each other, barrel rolling to avoid one another. Great stuff to watch.

She Who Must be Obeyed (Mrs Secret Cyclist) has done me proud again. Ferry crossing and hotel booked in Liege for the depart of the Tour de France. Top Bird my Wife.

As you can see, life goes on. Roll on resumption of normal service is all I can say.

Where the chuffing heck did my legs go?

To paraphrase Mr Vader, I find my lack of miles disturbing. In fact, this year to date, I have less than 300 miles under my belt.

This morning I managed to find time to get the 'Dale out and get some miles in. I decided to amend a frequent loop and take in a couple of hills, one for the first time. The new one, Kingston Hill from the vicinity of Chinnor up to Stokenchurch turned out to be a killer. I hit the mid section where it ramps up and after about 200 yards of toil and noticing a heart rate of 185, In had to bail out and walk.

If you look closely, you will see that I am hanging my head in shame.