Latest Update 23rd July

Matt & Ian have not been able to update the blog due to lack of internet availability at their various overnight stops. Everything is on schedule with over 1600 miles behind them in just 15 days! They have successfully negotitated the Cols of the Pyrenees and 40 degree heat on Stage 13 to Nimes. Today they are enjoying a well earned rest day after completing Stage 15 to Prato Nevoso (Italy). Tomorrow features two Hors Category climbs one being the highest paved road in Europe at over 2800 meters. They hope to be able to post further details shortly.

Stage 7: Brioude - Aurillac 159km 13/7/2008

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After a night in a rubbish Logis de France (really wouldn’t recommend them – unless you are a fan of restaurants that close at 8:30pm and have no staff present between 10pm and 8am the next day). Anyway enough of my moaning.

We set off from Besse at about 8:50am for the 70km trek down to Brioude aiming to start at about 10:20am for what looked like a shortish stage which we could just knock off. Alas, this was not the case.

Right from the start, the road headed uphill and we had our first 3rd category climb of the day at 11km – this meant that we were slogging along at a very slow pace which was fairly depressing and Matt was certainly feeling very sluggish and mentally and physically fatigued after a hard day on Stage 6 and a late night.

After only 19km we missed a turning which was not signposted and headed off in the wrong direction – it was only when we descended sharply into the amusing named St Poncy (well I laughed) and climbed steeply out of the other side that we realised that we had gone wrong. A quick call to the support team and we were directed the best way back to the route – another wrong turning had Matt jumping up and down and swearing at the consistent failure of French roadsign makers – a distinct gap in the market for those of you with a signmaking bent!

Anyway, after struggling up more hills we met for lunch at the top of a hill somewhere outside St Flour and regrouped. The next part of the route took us on three sides of a square South of St Flour with a little climbing but nothing significant and we were able to get into more of a swing of things.

Matt started to perk up and was soon singing away and waving at cows again as seems to be a common theme during the daytime! I’m sure this is a sign of madness which has been enhanced through excessive exercise and too little sleep.

A short catch-up stop in the unpronounceable Valuejols and we knew we only had about 36km until we crested the second of two 2nd category climbs in short sucession. The support met us at the top of the Col d’Entremont (or Col d’Entrapment according to Ian) to hand out rain jackets as the temperature plummeted and the rain came down – France in the summer appears a little too much like Scotland for my liking – we had not booked weather like this!

Anyway after the descent into Le Peuch (another source of laughter for Matt), we had the 7.8km ascent of the Col du Pas de Peyrol to contend with. This started nice and gently and then with 1.75km to go a sign informed us that the average gradient to the ascent was 9.72% with a brutal hairpin in. As Ian and I crested the summit together it really felt like we had arrived on the Tour – the summit was shrouded in mist with a little hill top station for provision of sustenance to walkers et al. We grabbed rain jackets for the descent of 31km to Saint Simon which was to be our finishing point for the day (our detours of the previous day having added 13km and the detour on this stage having taken in an extra 3rd cat climb we were happy to stop 11km short if the town.

Total time: 6:34:01, 14.2mph average compared to L Sanchez (Esp) 3:52:53.

Stage 6: Aigurande - Super Besse 195.5km 12/7/2008

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Today was my (Matt’s) Dad’s birthday and as a present he had decided that he wanted to ride the stage with us. This was very welcome as it gave us someone else to ride with and share the load and it had been a long time since I had been able to spend his birthday with him.

We drove to just outside of Aigurande and Mum saw us on our way on forgivingly rolling roads. After yesterday’s very dull scenery, it was pleasant to head into more interesting countryside and more into the type of landscape which was typically French. Small villages of winding roads, stone-built houses and pretty little churches all surrounded by golden fields of crops, rolling hills and old French farmers wearing black berets, sporting grand moustaches and driving ancient tractors!

The cycling wasn’t half bad either and we met up with Mum for a top up of drinks after 2 hours almost exactly to schedule.

The terrain from here was a little lumpier and continued through lovely scenery with short sharp climbs from villages with names as diverse as Crocq, Giat and Verneugheol – not typical French names!

We stopped for lunch atop a hill in Fernoel witth views overlooking the distant Massif Central – our destination for the evening in the ski village of Besse (having first climbed to the ski station at Super Besse).

The ride became increasingly tough for Dad as the distance began to tell. We descended into La Bourboule for our third meet up of the day.

Our first 2nd Cat climb of the day followed which was a nice gradual ascent, providing us with a good level of comfort over our prospects for the coming days. Matt’s Mum provided support for us on the way up and with cool weather we all managed up OK. At a distance covered already of over 100 miles, this was the furthest Dad had done in a while.

The descent down was stunning with sweeping turns all the way into the valley. Due to poor route directions we got lost on the way to Super-Besse and this led to us being over an hour later than estimated into the ski station. We arrived at top of the very unpleasant climb to find that Mum was not there as she had got worried and left to go to the hotel in the hope of finding us there.

We were supposed to be meeting up with Team Kate but an accident on the road up to Besse on the motorway led to them being stranded and unable to reach us. Fortunately they were OK, although their van was not so well and they ended up spending the night in a grotty hotel in Brive apparently.

The Logis we stayed in was awful with lousy service – the standard of these things has really not endeared the network to us for future visits!

Time for the stage was 8:51:36 for 130.39 miles of travel (including getting lost) at an average of 14.717mph compared to the R Ricco (Ita) who took 4:57:52. He was later kicked out for doping.

Stage 5: Cholet - Chateauroux 232km 11/7/2008

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The longest stage of the tour today and we predicted 9 hours in the saddle for the 145 hours. We awoke at 6am to a miserable morning – rain and a little wind. The forecast was for a south westerly which would help us on the route which travelled almost due east.

After a good breakfast and saying our good byes to the Dugast’s for their generous hospitality we headed out to Cholet again in the car and parked in a LeClerc supermarket carpark. Setting off in pretty grim conditions we were surprised at the speed we were maintaining. In the first hour we covered 18.5 miles along a rolling main road with a tail wind. Swapping turns on the front, two-up time trial style, meant that the guy behind got soaked. This and the spray from the rain and the traffic made it quite difficult to see. We sped through Maulevrier, Argenton and Massais and met Chris and Paula well over half an hour up on schedule just past Richlieu. We maintained the 18.5mph average, deciding to get on with it as the road was busy and the scenery pretty uninspiring really. At least we were covering large distances in minimal time. By the time we met for lunch at Dange St Romaine, the weather had improved. A quick stopped for a pee led to me being bitten by a caterpillar on my neck. It seemed to be a day for it as later on a wasp flew into my cycling helmet and after me trying to persuade it to get out, I was stung on the ear. Along with this my tendon in my lower shin started to give me jipp again and Matt’s achiles tendon was aching so we made a right pair. This didn’t stop Matt slipstreaming an old gentleman on his moped which was pretty comical really. I couldn’t be bothered to sprint after him so just pootled on watching the old guy nearly skid his machine on a roundabout at about 15mph. Later we were speeding along at such a pace that we did a double overtaking manoeuvre of two tractors on an uphill stretch. Lunch was a nice picnic of bread, cheese, ham and tabouleh by the side of the road overlooking a sunflower field and set us up nicely for the remaining 104km.

By now the weather was really on the up and we enjoyed lovely descents between fields of hay bails, speeding through small deserted villages. Through Descartes, Abilly and Le Grand Pressigny we continued on to join the D925 which we powered along all the way to the finish for a good 50km, counting down the distance markers at the side of the road.

Overall, a pretty boring day scenerywise but we did cover 232km(145 miles) in 7 hours 45 minutes on the bike. This stage in Le Tour was won by our own Mark Cavendish considerably quicker in 5:27:52! I would say this was by far the easiest ride of this magnitude we have ever done.

That night was spent in a dated hotel in the middle of Argenten sur Creuse south of the finish in Cateauroux. Lugging bags up narrow spiral staircase set off my tendonitis quite badly and I was ordered to rest! Dinner was very tasty: Pigeon foix gras and roast duck, the restaurant having an interesting array of paintings of cows on the wall. Not sure who was in charge of the decorating!

Stage 4: Cholet - Cholet 29km 10/7/08

Just a 29km time trial course to cover today so we didn’t need to be up early. Therefore, we were able to take full advantage of yesterday evening with our hosts M and Mme Dugast. We arrived late at 7.30pm at their “Chambre d’hote” near the town of Cholet, south east of the previous stage finish in Nantes.

Immediately very welcoming, they showed us around there abode, a converted barn with original beams and contemporary touches. The sort of impressive kind of building you would see on Grand Designs. That evening, they invited us to dine with them and we were treated to fine wine and excellent cooking. After some home made walnut wine which was extremely tasty, a little like Port, and a few glasses of red wine I was more confident to try some of my long lost schoolboy French. With Matt’s help and our hosts speaking very slowly we communicated pretty effectively. The food was excellent. We started with a sweet chestnut salad and moved on to slow cooked home-reared veal on the bone with tons of pasta. Dessert was “Une flotante” a meringue floating on Crème Anglais. They had prepared this meal with our cycling in mind – lots of protein and carbs. They had even recorded the time trial stage of Le Tour for us to watch.

So that’s two nights in a row now where we have been welcomed into our hosts’ home and treated to dinner wit them. I am amazed and humbled by the generosity of these people!

Waking this morning I felt tenderness in the tendon at the front of my lower shin, causing me discomfort when flexing and extending my foot. Tendonitis is one of those things you can’t really train for. Muscles feeling really strong, it’s the joints and tendons that complain! I expected saddle soreness to be worse that it is so far (touch wood!)

So it was a case of slapping anti-inflammatory gel on to it and then heading out to Cholet to start stage 4. On the way we stopped at a bureau de poste (post office) to pick up our pre-arranged Powerbar delivery. Next door was a pharmacy so I picked up one of those gel packs you put in the freezer for use on my ankle later.

Cholet isn’t the most picturesque French town by any means. We parked up and set off on the anti-clockwise circuit. Once out of the town it stayed on main roads and all junctions/roundabouts had yellow arrows marked on the tarmac so map reading was not necessary. There were a few gradual climbs, one quite long and some fast descents. I reckon you could reach close to 60mph if you tried on one of them! We had decided to ride at a low heart rate to promote recovery and we covered the 18 miles in 1 hour 10 minutes, averaging just over 15mph. The winner of the real thing two days ago was Stefan Schumacher of Germany (no relation to Michael or Ralf!) in 35:44!

After this short ride we got changed and met up with Tom and Marion, family friends of Matt, Chris and Paula. They were staying in Saumure, about 35 miles away. On the way back to our base, the heavens opened again and when we got back the washing we had hung out earlier was soaked. Let’s hope it dries before tomorrow. We don’t want soggy shorts!

So far that’s 599km in 4 days. Tomorrow is our longest stage of the tour: 232 km, nearly 145 miles. Let’s pray for a tail wind! This will be our last flattish stage before the big mountains. We’ll keep you posted!

Stage 3: St Malo - Nantes 208km 9/7/08

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Today looked like being a tough day – 208km due South from Saint Malo on the northern Brittany coast to Nantes in the Loire-Atlantique region.

We were accompanied by my Dad for the first 3 hours of the day which was of great assistance for both pacing and a wind-break! We set off at 9:00am (one hour later than intended after a rather leisurely breakfast).

After 11km we passed by the B&B from the previous evening where we were given a cheer on our way by the owners which cheered us up and put a smile on our faces. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards I had an excruciating pain in my left kneecap which required me climbing off the bike for a short time. It felt like I would not be able to carry on, but I was determined to carry on and with a bit of encouragement from Ian and my Dad I carried on and it gradually got better over the next two hours or so.

We passed through the lovely walled town of Dinan after an hour or so and it would have been lovely to stop but a telling headwind and a long day meant this would not have been feasible.

The stage was without categorised climbs but the first 50km was surprisingly rolling and we passed the highest point of the day – the pleasant village of Becherel at 50km.

We met up with Mum, who was driving the support vehicle solo today, after 75km by a lake in a little sport/adventure complex to grab an few more cakes and drinks before agreeing to meet up two hours later about 50km up the road for lunch.

The road continued through some fairly flat, if unremarkable, countryside and with both Ian and I in quite some pain from various ailments, there was minimal chat. This was proving to be a very hard flat day, and the temperature was creeping up. Lunch was a welcome respite from the trials of the day and we sat on the grass to take baguette, cheese, ham and taboule.

Moving on from here we knew we still had 55 miles to go to Nantes and with the wind still in our faces we plodded on. We were fortunate enough to have considerable shelter form the wind thanks to some fairly wooded areas and the terrain certainly flattened out. We made it to the outskirts of Nantes in 7:52:45 on a stage which had taken the pros 5:05:27 (with the day’s winner being Sammy Demoulin of France).

We were shattered and feeling worse for wear, but packed into the car and off to Cholet, safe in the knowledge that the following day’s stage was only the 29km time trial.

The hardest day to date – but very pleased with our 15.8mph average for the day.

Stage 2: Auray - St Brieuc 165km 8/7/08

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Well, we’re just settling down for the night after a splendid dinner courtesy of our hosts Rosie and Paul (www.aupontmevault.com/uk/pages01.php) and a German family who were also staying in the Bed and Breakfast. A sumptuous four course meal has fully sated us and prepared us for the forthcoming day of 208km (thankfully with no hills).

So to the story of the day. Having stayed overnight in the start town for today’s stage (Auray) we set off direct from the hotel to the start at 8am. We were making steady progress until 11km out when Ian’s bottom bracket (the thing that holds the cranks and pedals on to the bike itself) undid itself. This required a call to the support team who were just raising a well earned coffee to their lips.

1 hour later, with problem solved (and feeling rather guilty for having again taken Mum and Dad away from a well-earned coffee), we went on our way through more rolling Breton countryside. The route took in 164km, including our first 3rd category climb – a really killer called the “Wall of Brittany” which just went directly up and over a steep hill – very painful I have to say.

Ian and I were both suffering a variety of complaints – some mentionable and some not so – which will add to the horror and pain of this ride as time wears on.

Anyway, we met up with my parents for a substantial picnic lunch on a green hillside overlooking a small cottage and pond. A very pleasant respite indeed. On we went and said we would meet up again at the finish (103km up the road) in Saint Brieuc.

We struggled initially with a tough crosswind and very rolling and agricultural terrain, before some sweeping descents and a strong tailwind brought us to Saint Brieuc and the finish where we managed (luckily) to meet up with Mum and Dad in what was a very sprawling city.

The countryside to date has been very attractive and while the attention tends to waver somewhat as the day wears on, cycling certainly is a great way to se a country.

We are learning as we go in terms of organisation and the role of the support team has been key as this allows us to get the miles done in an efficient time and also helps in complicated towns as they can go ahead and help us through via our walkie talkies which we are carrying.

A hard day’s ride at an average of 16.2 for the 103 miles – taking 6:23:00 compared to the pros 3:45:00 – led by Thor Hushovd.