I have just returned from the annual family holiday to Mallorca (via France, we drive down). As the kids get older the opportunities for riding on these trips seems to  increase and this year I managed to get a fair few rides in, including some beautiful excursions in the Pyrenean foothills, a great place for riding in the summer.
The highlight however had to be racing in Mallorca. I raced in Mallorca a few times many years ago during the annual spring training camp trips we used to make (and which introduced me to the island) but since then I have never got myself organised to repeat the experience.
What a contrast to racing in the UK! Instead of the normal bureacuracy and expense of entering a race here, in Spain it couldn’t be easier - simply turn up, show your licence, pay one Euro and your in. For that you get closed roads, Guardia Civil outriders, team cars….in fact the whole continental bike race experience. The racing is of a good standard, but manageable, albeit very controlled by team tactics so without any Mosquito team mates to help it was hard work, but what fun and what a contrast to racing on British roads.
My son, Thomas, also entered a couple of village races (every village has an annual Fiesta and invariably this includes an afternoon of bike races) which he absolutely loved - when your are nine, racing on closed roads with crowds watching and a police motorbike up front with it’s siren blaring is about as exciting as it gets and when they give you a trophy afterwards you are in heaven!
Back to the reality of riding in the UK this week and so I have pulled out the waterproofs. The 3 Peaks Cyclocross race is in just over three weeks time and I have to get training seriously, which means more running and plenty of carrying the bike up hills to get the body accustomed to the torment to come.
This week we are off to the big European trade show in Germany, Eurobike, so I will put a full report up on the blog next week.

The Marmotte 2008 - possibly the hardest day I have had on the bike and certainly one of the best. The basic facts - 170km, over 5000 metres of climbing over the Col du Glandon, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and Alpe D’Huez, finishing time 7hrs 47mins.

But the facts tell very little of an epic day, so here are the memories:-

-Arriving in the starting line with Matt knowing I was in for a hard day if I was to stay with him, only to be met by Colin Roshier, who along with Matt must be one of the top Veteran riders in the UK - so now I had two tough wheels to try and follow.
- Storming along the valley road out of Bourg D’oisans behind the Colin Roshier led train, we must have passed a few hundred riders in the opening 10k.
- The beautiful climb of the Glandon with the morning sun warming us as we climbed to the Col.

- Descending the Glandon at full pelt, and enjoying it!
-Catching the back of a 100 strong group along the valley road to St.Michel-de-Maurienne and hitching a free ride.
-Feeling rubbish on the Col du Telegraphe and having to let Colin’s wheel go. It was the right thing to do though as I could tell that by pushing too hard I was storing up trouble for later.
- Getting into a nice rhythm on the Galibier and chatting to a Spanish rider, concentrating on my Spanish grammar helped keep my mind off the pain!

- The last kilometre of the Galibier - steep and brutal. The cheers from the side of the road made a huge difference.

- Descending off the Galibier, beautiful sweeping bends with great views all round. Then on to the descent of the Lautaret where Matt set a fantastic pace and we picked up riders till we had a group of about 20 descending in sychronisation. As we rode through the village of La Grave we got some great cheers.

- Our group getting picked up by a couple of Gendarme motorbike outriders who escorted us through the tunnels and all the way down to Bourg D’oisans. All in all the descent from the top of the Galibier was about an hour with a top speed of 50mph.
- Taking the  roundabout outside Bourg D’oisans at speed in the group and then getting cheered on by hundreds of people lining the stretch of road to the bottom of the Alpe. For a climber in the Tour that must be the same feeling a lone leader gets as he enters the Roubaix velodrome at the end of Paris-Roubaix.
- The sheer hell that is Alpe D’Huez. After six and a half hours it was an hour of pain, it is such a brutal climb, grabbing the poor cyclist with it’s opening torturing bends and not doesn’t let go until the final 100 metre downhill run to the line. It was a case of selecting smallest gear and grinding away the only respite provided by pulling away out of the saddle for a few pedal revolutions. This was also where I said goodbye to Matt, his stronger legs climbing the Alpe 10 mins faster than mine.

- A final sprint for the line and the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction and joy that comes with finishing such a great event.

So it was a good day. The organisation is superb, we had our diplomas printed out within minutes of finishing and then had a bowl of pasta before descending back down to Bourg D’Oisans for a beer and to catch the final 3 km of the opening stage of the Tour! After that a cyclists evening of reminiscing about the days events, a few glasses of wine, lots of food and a fine nights sleep.

On  sunday we were entered to ride the Grimpe De Alpe - basically a mass start race up Alpe D’Huez. The day dawned grey and as we set off for the start the heavens opened, we foolishly fought the desire to turn round and begin the drive north to the Channel, and carried on to the start where lo and behold the sun came out. So, I got to ride up Alpe D’Huez again, this time 10 mins quicker than the day before but no less unpleasant. The winning guy did it in 44 mins whilst I trailed in with a time of 1hr 2mins, very much towards the back of the field - a climb too far perhaps? Matt managed a great time of 52 mins and a placing of 20th overall.

For anyone contemplating an event such as the Marmotte, these are my thoughts on what worked for me and what didn’t.

- Eating and drinking wise I used 6 bottles plus several cups of water at the feed stations. I carried SIS powder with me to add to the bottles each time I refilled. In addition I ate 3 SIS bars and several gels. It seemed to work as I didn’t cramp up or bonk. I think it helps to have a nutrition plan worked out in your head beforehand and try to stick to it. It’s difficult to eat when climbing and almost impossible when descending at speed which doesn’t leave a lot of opportunities in an event like the Marmotte.
- I used a 34/25 as my lowest gear which did for me, just. Only you know how your legs will feel faced with over an hours of climbing after seven or eight hours in the saddle, if in doubt be cautious and fit a lower gear.
- Arriving a day early and going out on the bikes the day before over a high Col was great as it got us into the feel of the high mountains.
- Pace yourself and ride within your limits. Both Matt and Niall rode with pulse monitors and they found it a great help in keeping an eye on level of effort they were putting in.

So, that’s the Marmotte over for 2008. Will I be back, as ever if you had asked me as I crossed the line on Saturday the answer would probably have been no, but now? maybe, I wonder if sub 7 hours is possible!

And the next event? The Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross in September, time to start running.

Well if I’m not ready now it’s too late! The miles have been put in, time has been spent worrying about gearing (compact 50/34 with a 11-25 cassette for the record) and snatched moments spent  reading the thoughts of Marmotters past and present on numerous web forums.

 Tomorrow we hit the road for the drive down to Grenoble. Hopefully we will get out for a ride on friday - although I have heard worrying soundings from Niall and Matt about how it would be ‘nice’ to ride up Alpe D’Huez to check it out, to which my reply is we will be getting plenty of chances to ‘check out’mountains on saturday!

Weather forecast looks good at the moment but I shall certainly be taking my lightweight Montane H2O jacket to keep warm on the descents, it can get chilly at 2600 metres on top of the Galibier.

So all that is left is to clean the bike, pack and dream of ‘dancing on the pedals’ up the Alpe D’Huez!

To all those riding the Marmotte or the Etape this weekend I say, Bon Chance et Bon Courage.

I hope my legs feel better on the day of the Marmotte than they do this morning! After a hard ride with Matt at the weekend and racing at Crystal Palace on tuesday, yesterday’s ride in to work over Boxhill was particularly tough.

Sundays ride turned out to be a bit of an epic. Having had the sniffles for most of last week I was relieved to see that the forecasters had got it wrong again and rather than the predicted heavy rain we were treated to blustery winds, the occassional shower and even some sunshine. Matt and I met atop Boxhill and continued via Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill etc etc along the route of the Surrey Hills sportive. All in it turned out to be 143 km with almost 3000 metres of climbing, how accurate the altitude reading is on the computer I’m not sure but it sounds good. Anyone interested in the route will find it here http://www.westsurreyctcda.org.uk/events/Tour%20of%20the%20Hills%20Route%202004MW.pdf

Stopping to fill up our bottles on Boxhill it was great to see the amount of riders out. The proliferation of road cyclists over the last few years is incredible - mostly thanks to the popularity of  sportive events such as the Marmotte. For riders such as myself and Matt it is a strange experience, suddenly we are part of a mainstream sport - long may it continue but when will motorists treat us with the respect our fellow cyclists on the Continent receive?

Tuesday night saw the usual suffering at Crystal Palace - legs screaming and almsot dropped a couple of times. Watch out for a young lad called Felix English, only 15 but allready winning adult races, having made the mistake of going away with him for a lap his strength is evident.

With just over a week to go I’m ready for a rest so this weekend will see a short ride and a bit of time cleaning the bike and putting on new tyres. I’ve been using Michelin Pro Race 3’s this year and they seem excellent - lightweight, good cornering and pretty tough.

Gearing wise I have decided to stick with my Chorus 50/34 compact chainset and a 11-25 cassette - I’m just hoping that the combination will see me through, if not I will be cursing my obstinance in not switching to a wider ratio cassette. Apparently there is a shop in Bourg D’Oisans who will build up any combination of cassette, I’m sure they do good business! 

With a week to go I am getting hooked on Marmotte forums in an attempt to find any nuggets of information I can, the best I have found is run by a guy in Grenoble and is well worth checking out for anyone heading down to the Alps on a bike http://www.grenoblecycling.com/

Last sundays road race proved a blast - great racing with loads of attacking riding, a good pace and we even avoided the showers.
I was fairly pleased with my ride. Having missed all the breaks the previous week I was pretty keen to take a more aggressive part in the racing. After a couple of laps a couple of guys got off the front so I jumped across and we managed to hold out for 6 miles or so but the bunch chased and i guess we weren’t going quick enough! In the end the only break which stayed away was the one that went just as I got caught after a futile solo effort, so no podium finish this time.
Riding out to the event and back again allowed me to rack up 110 miles with a fair few hills thrown in on the way home - a good day out. With the rest of the family out I had an hour or so to wind down from the ride which always seems to help alleviate sore legs in the days after a big ride - drinking a good recovery drink within 20 minutes certainly helps a lot as does lying flat with your legs in the air for 10 minutes or so to allow the lactic acid to drain out.
Raced at Crystal Palace on tuesday where I learned two things 1 - that I can hang on to be there for the sprint at the end. 2 - I can’t sprint!

The plan this weekend is to ride the route of the Tour of Surrey Hills sportive with Matt. I did the sportive a few years back (it’s held in August) and discovered there were more ways up Leith Hill than I had ever imagined, with over 2000 metres of climbing in 11o km it’s a tough ride and probably about as good a preparation for the Marmotte as one is likely to get within easy reach of London.

The LVRC (League of Veterans Racing Cyclists) promotes racing for the 40 year old plus rider and do a splendid job in an area where British Cycling seems disinterested. The racing tends to be of a good standard as most of the guys have been racing for a fair few years and it’s quite acceptable to ride with an older group if you are new to the sport or simply haven’t got the necessary training miles in your legs. So a good place to start if you fancy giving racing a go (and you’re over 40) for more details check out the website http://www.lvrc.org/

In three weeks time I will be lining up along with 5,000 fellow sufferers for La Marmotte - 107 miles in the French Alps starting in Bourg D’Oisans and finishing atop Alpe D’Huez with the Col du Glandon, Col de Telegraph and the Galibier in-between. Reckoned to be one of the toughest sportives on the calendar it has long been on my list  of ‘must do ‘ rides but as July 5th races towards me worries about fitness, gearing, de-hydration etc crowd my mind.
My previous two wheeled Alpine experience is limited to a bike business ‘jolly’ last year courtesy of Litespeed which saw a bunch of bike shop owners pedalling up the Col du Glandon followed by an even more leisurely lunch in the cafe on the summit of the Croix de Fer. All very nice and I loved being in the mountains but I feel the Marmotte will be something alltogether different.
Riding with long time cycling buddy, Matt, will be great apart from the fact that he is still a superfit First Cat racing cyclist and I have long since lost the right to such a title! I am counting on my residual ability to get up hills and (more importantly) his patience  to get us through.
Training has been a mixture of local races, a handful of Sportives (Tour of Flanders being the highlight) and rides in the Surrey Hills augmented by a week of hilly rides in the Mallorcan mountains (not quite the Alps but at leat you get the chance to ride uphil for 50 minutes).
This weekend it is a Veterans road race in Surrey which I will ride to, so should get in 90 miles or so. Here’s hoping for a sunny weekend.

The newly-completed circuit at Fowlmead may have an unattractive-sounding name but it is a fantastic facility. The road circuit looks great and the ‘cross course was simply the best I have ridden all season. The amount of rain that has fallen over the last couple of weeks would have resulted in most courses being a sticky mess but this one coped admirably, the sections of mud being short and sweet.

The opening section took us over mini slag-heaps fashioned into BMX jumps (Fowlmead is a former colliery) then through the woods for a combination of fast gravel paths and muddy tracks. One steep rise at the mid-way point was ridable for the first couple of laps, after which a combination of sticky mud and tiring legs made it a run-up.

Turning into a howling headwind made the last stretch of the course a painful experience, combined with a nasty rise to the finish line, before starting it all over again.

I won’t bore you with too many details of the race. Mrs C questioned my reasoning in taking two bikes to a race, but as I punctured halfway through the race and rode on a flat rear tyre (God bless tubulars!), I felt vindicated as the spare machine came into use.

My weekly battle with Phillip Glowinski looked to be lost, but a hard lap saw me regain his wheel, before he hammered away on the last time up the hill to take 10th.

That’s 11th place and, more importantly, first veteran. Congratulations to Mr Seaton for winning the vets category overall and a Mosquito one-two is looking good come the end of the season. That’ll keep the sponsors happy for a week or two…

Hot showers, good cake and fine coffee rounded off a top day out by the seaside.

I’m sick. Actually, I’m sick of being sick. Catching a cold on Christmas Eve was a nuisance, but when you are hacking and wheezing two weeks later, it is a complete pain in the assos.

Succumbing to a virus is an occupational hazard when you are racing and training through the winter. It is rare to get through an entire ‘cross season bug-free, but a few days of loafing around the house will usually see it off. This is an altogether stronger strain of lurgy which refuses to leave the building, passing round from one family member to the next. There is now a black cross on the front door to keep visitors away. If the Novovirus gets in here, it could finish us off.

Missing three races over the past couple of weeks was particularly galling. Fettling the bikes and watching races on the Mac (courtesy of the excellent Nathan Spear) doesn’t give you the same kick as an hour of hurtling round a muddy field.

Enough moaning. Summoning all the powers of mind-over-matter at my disposal, I shall be back for next weekend’s league race and firing on all cylinders. Or a couple of them, at least…

Tyres. A dry subject, I know, but Brighton was wet, wet, wet and the choice of rubber made all the difference. Ride the best bike with carbon sprints and tubs or switch to the spare machine shod with Scwalbe CX’s, narrower and having more bite? Do the sensible thing or go with the bling?

Lining up on the best bike, the doubts were creeping in, but it was all too late. Douglas Fox went off like a bleedin’ rocket and that was the last I saw of him. A slack opening lap saw four more vets passing me before order was restored and I set about the serious business of reeling them in.

A freezing downpour early in the race changed the complection of the course. Gloop turned to slippery gloop. Corners taken at a fair lick during the warm-up became skid pans, inside leg thrust forward ready for the front end wipe out. A seriously off-camber wiggle through the woods became virtually unridable–Al Tullett was running this bit. Shame it didn’t occur to me until the last lap.

The tubs were not coping with the conditions and the spare bike was calling from the side of the course. Spend all of Monday morning cleaning two bikes, along with the mud-strewn clothing, or plug on regardless, slipping and sliding? S & S it was. Hauled back a few more riders (including Simon Scarsbrook and Phillip Glowinski, who I seem to be battling with every week) and closed up to within spitting distance of second placed vet Paul Hudson before time ran out and it was all over.

Next week, Herne Hill. Which bike to use? What tyres? Answers on a postcard, please.

The ‘cross course at Herne Hill gets better every time you ride it. Lots of twisty singletrack, the slog round the track centre grass and the newly topped-up sandpit combine to make a challenging hour of riding, without being so technical that newcomers are put off racing for life.

A decent field of around 40 riders took the line and there seemed a moments hesitation as the whistle went and we all looked at each other to see who wanted to lead out. Mozzie Matt Seaton took the bull by the horns with Stuart McGhee ( Evans RT ) close behind, followed by Chris Ansell ( Team Corridori ) and a gaggle of assorted riders from the Evans team and the Dulwich Paragon. The ground was reasonably dry considering how much rain had fallen the previous day, but a badly-taken line through a large puddle of mud saw two more Evans riders going past me, a shoulder-barge from Nick Stacey reminding me just how poorly I was riding.

The first time through the sandpit was fun, with the recent addition of two large mounds making it a potential disaster area for anyone not getting it right. Hit it at speed, follow the ruts in the sand, keep pedalling hard and don’t try to steer. Move your upper body for balance and before you know it, you are safely back on terra firma.

The wooden planks in the track centre had been positioned far enough apart to make bunny-hopping a distinct possibility, Evan’s Ben Spurrier taking them perfectly, leaving me trailing as I opted to run.

A pair of VC Londres riders were now keeping me company, Philip Glowinski and John Scripps eventually fading as the second half of the race tested everyone’s stamina. Leading woman rider Rosanna Joseph eased past soon after looking very strong and smooth. It took two laps of desperate riding to claw back onto her wheel and, as she floundered on the short, sharp incline, I took full advantage and left her trailing.

11th place overall. No major traumas or mishaps. Next week’s race is Brighton. Looking forward to it already.