Hotchillee London to Paris 2014

London to Paris 2014

June sees the annual HotChillee London to Paris event and I was fortunate enough to get an invitation to ride again by Skoda  to ride as part of their team (big thanks).  

This will be the third time that I've participated in the three day event, previous years riding in Group 4 (2013) and Group 6 (2012), you can read about those experiences by clicking the 'London to Paris' tag in the tag cloud to the right of this article.

In 2014, decision was to train to participate in Group 3, which has an average speed of 27km/h (17mph) for the three days.  I'd focused my training between Jan-May on this; focusing on aerobic capacity and hillier rides to develop the engine needed to sustain this average across the ride and the good news is that my fitness was spot on.  

The key observation was on the climbs I ended up mid-group, with riders who benefit from smaller frames, lighter weight or simply physically stronger, whipping up the bigger climbs much more quickly.  Walking away from the event a little voice in my head was telling me to get to work on dropping some weight, so that's the next target.

Rolling Roads

As usual, organisation was exceptional on the event with all the small details taken care of for such a large event.  The big upside is the rolling roadblock from the moment you leave Imber court in Surrey all the way to the Eiffel tower.  Highly organised groups of motorcycle escort riders are constantly whizzing past at high speeds to stop traffic for the peloton as you roll through roundabouts and junctions, it's quite a buzz to ride in that way.

Each year, there is always a character in the French motorcycle escorts.  This year, we had a rider who had a huge Honda Gold Wing type bike and he had a full PA system on it which he'd blast out as we rode along.  Key moments were hearing tunes like the 'theme tune from Rocky' as we rode up and crested a climb, made for some truly memorable and hilarious moments.

Anyhow, onto the day stages and some key bullets captured at the end of each day.

Day one - London to Folkestone (161KM/100miles)

London to Paris 2014 Stage One Ascent Profile

• Nice weather which made for great riding conditions.
• Peloton was slightly better drilled than G4 on day one but still messy at times with less experienced group riders moved up and down the pack causing a lot of disruption at the back of the peloton.
• Poor road conditions leading to constant peloton movement as people cried 'hole'.  Being near the back is painful on the first day as nervousness, poor group riding experience and road conditions leads to start/stopping all day long if you're near the back.
• Climb of the day was 'The Wall' where the KoM was held (see the ride stripe on the graph).  Went up it much quicker this year than last year.
• Seeing the 'drone' TV camera flying above us was pretty cool, although group one riders got a little bit too distracted and ended up having a crash.
• Hilarious dinner where the choice of meal was Meat or Fish accompanied with Mash or Pasta + Natural Yoghurt (note, meat or fish was unspecified).
• Had a nice quiet hotel room in Calais (last year a rock festival was on) and slept really well.
• Fellow rider Matt Exley from Team Skoda riding in G1 retained the amateur yellow jersey.

My Garmin Ride stats:

• Mileage- 104 miles/166km
• Ride Time -6hrs 04mins
• Ascent - 5,725ft/1,714M
• Avg. Speed - 17.1mph/27km/h
• Avg. HR - 146bpm
• Calories (estimate) - 3,332
• Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 55 (Medium) 

Day 2 - Calais to Amiens (170KM/106 miles)

London to Paris 2014 Stage Two Ascent Profile

• A dry morning which was welcome.  Previous two years have had poor weather on day two, particularly 2013.   Had a natter with Triple Crown winner Stephen Roche as we readied for departure.
• You know you are in France straight away due to the driver courtesy and superb road conditions. No more crys of 'hole' - just decent roads to ride on and drivers who pull right over when they see the peloton coming.  Stark contrast to the UK.
• Peloton positioning at the front became the big issue to prevent the concertina effect at the back.  A big bunch of riders from the iCAP team were determined to roll out of each stop on the front, so some fun had trying to disrupt that.
• Saying that we had a nightmare exit after lunch on day two and were last out.  The front put the hammer down and we went 45kmh for first 5km or so and it was hard work as the peloton ebbed and flowed trying to keep up, it was brutal on the back as brakes went on then hard accelerations followed.  Still all good fun.
• Thankfully as the climbs arrived the peloton blew up my fellow G3 Team Skoda rider ' - Tony 'Top Guns' Byers - and I were able to move up the group back into a decent position.
• Soon after setting out, it rained and we had a succession of punctures in some key sections.  At one point we were slowed then held at the side of the road in a downpour whilst the mechanics dealt with the nightmare scenario of multiple flats at the same time.  Everyone was cold by this point and getting going again was quite tough.
• The mad French outriders did their bit today, playing suicide with oncoming vehicles and keeping the group going wth the music.  Eye of the Tiger - Yes!
• There were a couple of crashes in the group, mainly down to slippery roads.  One rider was hurt and taken to hospital but returned to finish the event.  Concentration can be easily lost in a large group.
• The peloton slowed down a lot in last 20km due to riders off back which meant our average speed dropped as ride captains worked hard to keep people in touch with the group.
• The leg massage in the evening was agony!  Still no pain, no gain.

My Garmin Ride stats: 

• Mileage- 104 miles/166km
• Ride Time -6hrs 09mins
• Ascent - 5,269ft/1,606M
• Avg. Speed - 16.8mph/26.9km/h
• Avg. HR - 135bpm
• Calories (estimate) - 2,861
• Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 50 (Medium) 

Day 3 - Amiens to Paris (170KM)

London to Paris 2014 Stage Three Ascent Profile

• For many the first 100km of day three was one of the highlights of the three days.  The peloton not only worked well, but rode well.  We absolutely whizzed through the first 100km with an average of 21mph/33.6kmh, taking advantage of the terrain.  It's moments like this that you get to experience the impact of a peloton in protecting from wind.
• Having positioned well in the front of the peloton, I jumped on the front for around 10km and boy did I know it at that pace in the wind.  Very happy to go back in the bunch afterwards I can tell you.  
• The peloton was slowed heavily around the 100km mark as the groups were catching each other up and due to the way the road closures work, you have to be slowed to hit a specific time window.  It led to our average speed dropping for the whole day, particularly when combined with the 50km procession into Paris which ambles along at 12mph-14mph with such a big peloton.
• As we went up the climb of the day (red stripe on the profile pic) the now infamous French outrider rode by me with the Van Halen track - 'Jump' playing full blast.  What a moment!  He managed to trump that with 'God save the Queen' as we rolled into the lunch stop.  Quality.
• After lunch the heavens opened and we rode in Paris in heavy rain, a far cry from the two previous years in beautiful sunshine.  It led to lots of punctures on the route into Paris and some slippery cobbles on the Champs Elysees.
• As we rolled towards the Eiffel Tower the Skoda team all combined (12 riders) and we rolled in as a single unit, rider Matt Exley taking the amateur yellow jersey for the three day GC in group 1.
• From there it was slug a bottle of champagne, get a medal, load the bike on the DHL truck and off to the hotel to get our wet kit off, have a bath and then party!  Another L2P in the bag.

My Garmin Ride stats:

• Mileage- 108 miles/172km
• Ride Time - 6hrs 50mins 
• Ascent - 4,144ft/1,263M
• Avg. Speed - 15.8mph/25.2km/h
• Avg. HR - 134bpm
• Calories (estimate) - 2,720
• Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 38 (Flat/Medium) 

My Garmin Ride stats (For the three day event Group 3)

• Mileage- 315 miles/504km
• Ride Time - 19hrs 04mins 
• Ascent - 15,138ft/4,614M
• Avg. Speed - 16.5mph/26.4km/h
• Avg. HR - 138bpm(Aerobic Endurance)
• Calories (estimate) - 8,913
• Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 48 (Flat/Medium) 

If you're planning to ride the HotChillee London to Paris event, here's my quick summary and tips: -

• You'll have a great time, meet lots of new people and remember the experience of riding into Paris in a huge peloton forever.
• Training is key.  London to Paris is not a flat route as many people often remark.  You have over 15k feet/4.6K M of ascent to do over the three days and the biggest hold up for the event is people that haven't trained to go up hills.
• Nutrition planning is key.  You get access to food on the event via a good breakfast, lunch stops and evening dinner.  You might not need as much energy food as you think and you should have completed two or three hundred mile events in advance of riding the event to gauge what you need as fuel.  People often carry too much in my experience.
• Get your bike sorted technically.  Lots of mechanicals can occur en route through people rocking up with poorly maintained bikes.  Put on new tyres, a new chain and get your bike serviced before you ride.
• Be honest about your ride speed when selecting a group.   You should do your training on similar ascent profiles to the L2P to get a real gauge of your average, it's no good training on flat roads or you will end up being in the wrong group.  As you can see from my consolidated stats, it's very close to the expected average and would have been spot on 27kmh if the peloton was not slowed on day 3.  You need to be training with an ascent profile of 50 ft per mile on average.  If you ignore this you'll get the 'spot of shame' as a ride captain demotes you to a lower group.  The speed is an average so you'll be riding faster than that on the flat stuff (22mph/35km/h) when combined with the climbs.
• Book your bike onto the Purple Harry bike cleaning service.  Each morning your steed is spangly clean giving you more time to rest, eat or socialise.  It saves time and means you roll out ready for action, particularly good if it's been wet the day before and your bike is full of road debris.
• Get a massage if you can at the end of each day.  Specialists from The TriTouch are on hand to ease your aching muscles.  It hurts like hell when your legs are sore but always does the job when you get back on the bike.  They can get busy so make it your priority to be on the list.
• Say 'hello' first when you ride with someone.  The ride can be very sociable if you start a conversation and you get to meet some really interesting people.  Had loads of great chats about bikes plus work, with lots of banter on top.
• Book on the after ride dinner and awards night.  HotChillee always put on a good party and it's a great to blow off some steam with your fellow riders, as you can see from my pic below picking up the Champagne for amateur yellow jersey winner - Matt Exley.  Went to bed at a reasonably sensible time ready for the early train back to London the next day.

 

 
You can see the video summary of the event below.  I'd like to thank Skoda for the invitation to ride with them and for all they continue to do investing in all areas of cycling from the UK scene through to the world tour.  The sport needs committed sponsors at all levels and they continue to invest heavily. 


London Paris 2014 - Event Video from HotChillee on Vimeo.

Big credit to the photographers on the event for the use of the pictures.  You can see the individual decks taken by each of the photographers by clicking on the links below: -

• Photographs by Matt Alexander
• Photographs by Joolze Dymond
• Photographs by Margaret Stepien

London to Paris 2013 Unofficial G4 Awards #L2P2013

Four hundred and fifty individual stories, one journey.  That's how I describe the three day London to Paris event run by HotChillee.  For the second year riding the event, I met some great people and had a huge craic in the large group of 80 riders in group four.  


There were some great personalities, so in no particular order here are my 'Unofficial Group 4' rider awards.

1. Most colour co-ordinated female (bike + clothing) - Lucy Russell.  Absolutely everything was either red, white or black.
2. Most colour co-ordinated  male (bike + clothing) - Clark Povey.  Rapha must of taken a fortune of you Clark!
3. Most colour co-ordinated white outfit (bike + clothing) - Jonathan Durling of Skoda.  Sabotaged his own Condor bike to get a top to toe white Campagnolo EPS test bike.  White kit, arm warmers, leg warmers + matching bike - yowsa.
4. Loudest cycling top - Toby!  Pilots were wearing sunglasses!
5. Most expressive dancer at the after party - Rob Spedding!  Frustrated break dancer.
6. Heart and Soul award - Lucy Scott.  Epic!  Grimaced through an attack of cramp and toughed it out, despite the pain.
7. What wind? Award - Nici Butchart who managed to always be the right side of the cross-winds.
8. I'm held together by sellotape award - Katherine Tonks who had her back almost covered in tape from the physiotherapy team and outstretched everybody - including the instructors - in the stretching clinic.
9. I've got Rapha legs award - Richard from Future Publishing who had a perfectly straight pink plaster put up one of his achilles.  A cheap but very effective way of impressing everyone, go buy the real stuff Richard!
10. The Whatbike? award.  Matt from Wattbike who punctured in the last mile of the run in and walked into Paris.  Living those brand values Matt!

London to Paris - Day 3

Day 3 arrives and somebody has switched on our magic peloton.  As with the previous years ride, it seems it takes two days of riding before things suddenly click into place and everyone in the group settles into a drilled 2x2 formation, riding at speed, staying in position and finally snaking across the French countryside.

A long 127km stage out of Amiens before lunch meant this had just arrived at the right time.  The crosswinds were still battering us, yet of the three days this was the most enjoyable for me.  We pushed a great pace for a couple of hours, with ride captain Eddy dialling it up on the front, the group stayed tight and in formation and we were all having a good ride despite the wind.

As with the previous day, it's so important to keep the food and fluids going in, in particular as my fellow rider John fancied a crack at the King of the Mountains stage that day.  Whilst group four doesn't officially race, there was a bit of banter flying around that this was where scores were to be settled.  Cycling Plus editor - Rob Spedding - had been bragging about 'big ringing it' and his fellow riders from Future Publishing - Richard and Dave - were up for something too.

As ride captain -Gareth - tipped us off that the red section was a km away, it was no surprise that peloton positioning became a priority.  We were stopped at the bottom of the climb as some of the riders from the group in front were still going up it, so a quick sort out then my job was to drag John half way up and he'd pop out and do the business. 

We edged to the front of the group and - boom - off we went, me tapping out the pace with John behind me.  There were some good climbers who had pinged straight off the front, I blew up about half-way up and John catapulted off to go and disappear round the hairpin to the line.  Unbeknownst to me, I also had Rob Spedding on my wheel and he nipped out to batter me in the last 200m - nice!  By the time I reached the line, I was breathing hard, but we'd had a good laugh.

Can you post this for me?

As the day dragged on, everyone was ready for lunch.  The group had been slowed right down as we were catching groups in front and needing to hit the closed road time slots etc, it made for a frustrating last 20km to lunch as we were all starving and keen to push on.  As we pulled into the lunch stop, I put my bike up against a fence, marched straight to the food and eat two huge slices of apple tart back to back, I don't think they touched the sides - I posted them!

That was closely followed by a cheese and ham baguette and a half of a tuna baguette shared with brother in arms - Tony.  You can tell it was a hard day, people were very quiet and just eating, with the occasional groan of  joy as each mouthful hit the bottom of an empty stomach.  A nice coffee later and Team Skoda got ready for the final run into Paris.

We're off to the Eiffel Tower

As you come out of lunch, it's straight up a steep drag and once that's out of the way, you hit a great stretch of downhill, before you meet the main road into Paris.  A huge peloton of 450 riders snaking down the road, with traffic stopped, people taking pictures and video, wonderment at the sight.

A team member had a mechanical so we hung on and rode into Paris as a line of green, eight wide, including the green jersey which fellow Skoda rider - Matt Exley - had won.  It's hard not to get a little emotional as you tick over those final clicks with a bunch of people you've been so close to over a few days.  Regardless of which group you ride in over the three day event, when you hit Paris, you are one big bunch.  450 riders, each with their own story, one incredible journey.

We all had a bottle of champagne, a few manhugs, shake of hands and a little something in our eyes that said "we've done it," for some of the team it was the longest they'd ever ridden and a lot of effort was left on the road, no words were needed, we knew.

Then came the awards, for all the jerseys and a small surprise for me as I was awarded the "Spirit of Hotchillee" award for our group, awarded by the ride captains.  Out of the blue, this was recognition in my organisation for the Northern training rides, jumping up from the previous years group six and for keeping spirits high on a couple of tough days - much appreciated chaps!

Time to blow off some steam

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 30 minutes to the gala dinner.  I got my case packed in advance as I knew I'd be tired in the morning, catching the 10.15am Eurostar.  A quick shower and change and it was some well deserved sustinence in the shape of a big dinner and plenty of beer.  The HotChillee after party is great fun, full of sore legs and plenty of dance floor shuffling, but with high spirits and happy cyclists.

The evening ended, expectedly late, I'm glad I packed.  HotChillee founder - Sven Thiele - is a bit of a legend when it comes to a party and chapeau to ride captain - Dan - who saw off all his compatriots with a superb shift at the bar.
So, there it ended.  My second London to Paris event with HotChillee, another superb event, great event organisation and logistics, probably the closest you'll get to feeling like a professional.  Closed roads, massueurs, mechanics, peloton riding mixed in with a whole bunch of new friends made en route.  Group four was brilliant, great ride captains, great people and some amazing personal efforts.  My next blogpost will be my mini G4 L2P unofficial awards for people I rode with in the group.

Driving home, my thoughts drifted to next year.  Shall I do it again and aim to go up again?  I'd need to lose some weight, get fitter, faster and stronger, something to think about.

As I sit here four days later, like last year, there feels like there is a little something missing in my day.  It's not energy food, that's for sure.  Maybe the sense of being part of something, escapism, the feeling of pushing your boundaries, friendship, camaradrie and teamwork all fall to mind.  It's the only way to cycle to Paris

London to Paris - Day 2

Day of London to Paris 2012 experienced the worst weather conditions they'd ever experienced in 9 years of running the event, I was there and have the tee-shirt, have a read of this blog to set the tone.  I described it as "biblical" conditions, never to be repeated.

I nearly spoke too soon.  As we set off from Calais, the conditions promised a windy day with fierce crosswinds for large parts of the ride, they promised and delivered.  Winds were as bad as the previous year but this year without the rain, a saving grace that we were kept dry whilst we pushed on, head down, grimaces firmly fixed on the wheel in front.

Peloton Etiquette

So, I talked in yesterday's post about peloton riding or the lack of it.  Day two saw some improvement, but we had a few rogue characters whose need to want to chase up to the front meant the familiar cry of "slowing" was heard all day long.  

One particular group of overseas riders (five in total) kept moving up and then riding as a mini-group, meaning the shape of the peloton was constantly upset and the rear markers frustrated.  We heard the familiar shout of "slowing" far too often.  The breaking point was when they chased onto the front on a really undulating section and then really bent the group out of shape, a few well placed words of displeasure soon made their way to the front.

As an example, one minute we were whistling along at 25mph, then the shout "slowing" came, hands on brakes, down to 15mph, then back up to 17mph.  In amongst the fearsome winds, it meant a lot of wasted energy going down the drain for no reason as you were constantly revving up and down as the group stretched out.  

Ride captain - Gareth - soon clocked this and wasted no time in having a word.  Northern Irish, a word from Gareth was like a word from an army regimental sergeant major - it seemed to have the effect. 

Then the cracks started to appear, or should I say "craics."  Our Persil White Skoda kit was the subject of a bit of banter and the odd "I can see your bumcrack" in those shorts jibes started coming to take our minds off of the conditions, so we all rolled with it and anyone with a dodgy seam in their shorts became a target.

"Mechanical"

I punctured on day two.  The great thing about this event is they have full mechanic support, so it's over to the side of the road, wheel in the air and a mechanic jumps out of a van and slots you a new one in.  The great bit about that is that you then get drafted back up to the group by a motorbike and ride captain, winding the speed up to 30mph was superb, I loved it.

Fellow rider - Jonathon - had a big mechanical when his rear mech sheered off, it was looking pretty bleak for him and he had to ride in the van whilst they figured out what to do.  Jon is the key man behind the activation of the Skoda brand in cycling and as Skoda had a huge amount of cars on this event, all efforts were being made to find a replacement bike.  Jammy sod, this Campagnolo test bike turns up with full electronic 11 speed Campag EPS, foul play hasn't yet been ruled out, pic below.
 

Campag Test Bike

The profile for the day was pretty rolling as you can see below, which meant the tough winds took their toll on some riders.  We were all pleased to get to lunch at the 110km mark, get some proper food down us and a little respite before the roll into Amiens.  One really key thing you note is the condition of the roads in France, we hardly heard the word "hole" atall during the day, which was great.  Cars pulled over to give us room, people stood on their doorsteps to wave, cycling is loved there which felt unfamiliar.

I was feeling in pretty good shape, fitness wise it was all good and I had no difficulty with the pace or the key climb of the day.  You can see my split times here on Garmin connect.  It was a slower day speed wise, with the wind, the profile and the peloton movement we arrived back with a 15mph average. 

Stage Two Profile

I was itching to ride faster, however in a big ride like this, the pace is tightly controlled to hit the road closures at exactly the right time.  It got me thinking about going up a group (or two) next year and really pushing myself - more to come on that.  My heart rate average was 139bpm, down on the previous days 147bpm.  

By the end of day two, we'd covered 207 miles (333km) and around 12K of ascent in seven hours.  I jumped into a stretching class at the end of the day with a pilates instructor which was really helpful, just to iron out a few aches and pains, mostly in the shoulders.

I slept fine that night, but not everybody can say the same.  This day every year is the right of the good citizens of Amiens to play any sort of music they like in the streets, music was going on into the early hours but thankfully my room was on the right side of the hotel away from the din.  Tomorrow, day three and the final run into Paris.

Key Observations

• Most people were getting the hang of the peloton, but not all.
• The wind was tough and it's always important to keep a close eye on your eating and drinking in conditions like that, it's easy to bonk!
• Ride captains did a sterling job in the conditions. Chapeau!
• It's important to have a good 'craic' when times are tough, keeps spirits up.
• Real food tastes great after two days of sugary carbohydrate based products.  The ham and cheese baguette at lunch tasted divine!

London to Paris 2013 - Day 1

"I once overtook Nigel Mansell," what a great bragging line in the pub.  You can conveniently leave out the bit that he happened to be on a bike rather than in the cockpit of a formula one car, but on day one of the London to Paris (L2P) I went past him on one the climbs riding out from London to Folkestone.

Mansell, like me, was riding to Paris in a peloton of around 80 riders that had entered this years Hotchillee event, run over three days.  I rode it last year in group six and opted to jump up a couple of groups to group four this year.  With six different speed groups ranging from group one (roughly 30k/m average), down to group six (25km/h average), it means around 450 riders make the journey in total.  Quite a logistics operation.

The key thing about this event is that you have full rolling road closures from the moment you leave to the moment you arrive in Paris, it's one of the major appeals that the peloton you are in just rolls, escorted by motorbike outriders and official cars, mechanics and road captains it really gives you the feeling of what it must be like to ride in a professional event.

Speeds are controlled by a pace car at the front of the group.  The way the road closures work, particularly in France, is that there are specific windows you have to arrive/depart in, and it's the job of the ride captains and the ride organisers to deliver you there exactly on time.  For pacing purposes, there is simply one rule, don't pass the ride captain on the front.


From the moment you roll, to the moment you stop each day, all the detail of event is taken care of for you.  This is the 10th year of the event and it was the best ever in terms of logistics from the feedback that I received from other people who'd ridden it.  People travel from all over the world to ride it, I bumped into a guy - Mike - from Australia again this year, who I rode with in group six last year.  He'd had such a great time, he came back to do it again.

Rather than write a three thousand word blog, I've bulleted the key moments from day one below.

Day One Memories

• There had been a threat of heavy rain all week, so we were all dressed for it.  As it happened, it was dry other than a small light shower - result.
• Loved the new coffee wagon at the grand depart, really nice coffee.
• Our team kit (I was riding as a guest of Skoda) was white head to toe, so with the promised conditions it was unlikely to stay white long!
• Did a couple of hours on the front with the ride captain - Eddy - in the afternoon.  Great guy with a great cycling clothing business called - Dreadnought - give them some support as a UK manufacturer.
• Cracking climb called "The Wall" on the way up to Folkestone, quickly sorted out who the strong climbers were in the group.  I hit 184bpm (heart rate max), got up it OK in mid peloton.
• Assisting younger rider - Lucy Scott - who had dropped down from Group 3 at lunch.  I know Lucy's dad Howard from Twitter and Lucy was riding for this very worthy cause.  Only riding since earlier this year, Lucy battled cramp towards the end of the day on the bike and she absolutely toughed it out and rode through it, despite being in a lot of discomfort.  She showed real determination - nice job Lucy.
• The condition of the UK roads is significantly worse than in  France so all day there were calls of "hole" - there was one crash where it just wasn't called in time and a few bikes got mangled up in it, no-one was seriously hurt but for a bit of road rash and a few cuts and bruises.  Fluid wise I was using High5 carbohydrate drink and High 5 zero tablets.
• I didn't need anywhere near the nutrition that I had brought with me, the pace was well within what I had trained for and I kept a close eye on my heart rate across the three days to be my leading indicator for when I needed a gel or to eat something carbohydrate rich.  I actually only took three gels all event, relying on flapjack, bananas, Soreen and the occasional bite of an energy bar. I had a good breakfast each day before setting off.
• I wore compression socks for the first time on this ride to assist with recovery and gave the guys a good laugh when I came down to dinner in them, I took some good banter as the evening went on.  Lesson learned, jeans tomorrow!
• I'd pre-packed a shaker with powder to make a recovery drink in my musette, as a I got the lunch stop I'd realised the top had opened and the entire contents of my bag were covered in SiS strawberry flavoured Rego.  It was a bugger to clean up in the evening when I got to the room, cue a pack of baby wipes which I had in the case and lesson for next day, put it in a plastic bag!
• Transfer across the Channel this year was by train instead of ferry.  It was a significant improvement on past years, making it very quick and efficient.  We were at our hotel in France by 6pm, so I shot straight in for a massage.

Stage One Profile

Peloton Riding

When 80 riders, with different riding skills, get organised into a peloton for the first time inevitably there could be teething problems. Group riding is all about confidence, being able to closely follow the wheel in front, to create a shape which cuts through the wind and reduce the effort needed to maintain the pace.

On day one last year, the peloton was pretty messy and it wasn't much different this year.  Nervous riders leaving too big a gap to the wheel in front, being too twitchy on the brakes or shouting 'hole' when it didn't really justify it.  This meant the peloton was concertinaring all day which made it very hard at the back.  One minute, you'd be pushing to close a gap, the next minute hard on the brakes and slowing again, it was pretty frustrating. 

This generally occurs when riders go up the outside and try and push in the group causing people to brake and go backwards, less able riders being towards the front of the group and being twitchy or hitting a section where the ascent goes up and not being able to maintain a steady pace.

The ride captains were doing a sterling job of trying to keep things together, bellowing orders up and down the line, but on day one with people being excited, the peloton was pretty ragged, which led to a tiring day.  The more experienced riders quickly clocked this, so after each stop or on each hill section, they all chased for the front to protect themselves from the concertina effect.

Day one over, I was pretty pleased we had missed the rain.  After the evening meal, it was straight back to the room, final kit check and lights out at 10pm, ready for day two. 

Key Observations

1. I was a lot better prepared this year in terms of the things I had brought with me on my packing list.  Loads of spare carrier bags, dustbin bags for dirty kit, newspaper to put inside my shoes if it was wet, flipflops in my musette for the lunchbreaks.  Getting to the room at night was a lot less stressful than last year and being in a faster group this year, we had a little more time.
2. Bike cleaning products company - Purple Harry - provided a bike cleaning service at night, which was a godsend.  Last year, it took ages to wipe your bike down each morning, so for a tenner each night, that put more time into the mornings to do an active warm-up, drink coffee and chat.
3. Pace wise I was absolutely fine, you can see all my ride data here where the point I make about speeds going up and down is clear.  Average heart rate was 147bpm across the whole thing (80% of max).
4. I rode my SRAM deep section wheels for this event.  Descending, I was always on the brakes as they picked up speed quickly, right decision and the bike looked great.  I'd had it serviced and the gears also felt very tight.
5. This event is all about the people that do it.  Banter was beginning to build on day one as people introduced themselves, that makes the miles much more fun.

London to Paris minus 4 days.....

 It's been a hell of a couple of weeks.  Catching a nasty cold about nine weeks ago, it's meant a missed weekend of important training in readiness for the London to Paris ride which departs on Thursday next week.

Whilst not fully free of the cold yet, I opted to do two three hour blocks of riding this weekend to ensure my  fitness doesn't drop off a cliff.  Fitness is hard won and easily lost, I've learned that since I've got back into riding, so the trick is not to go too bonkers with the intensity.  

A heart rate monitor is an essential tool on these sort of rides to ensure you keep things well controlled, ignoring speed totally in favour of ensuring the load on your heart is not too much.  I chose flat routes of around 45 miles (72km), so that I could just sit and spin at a good cadence.  

Returning home, I'm glad I went out, I felt better today (Sunday) and pushed my heart rate up a little more.  Adding in those 90 miles (144km) will make a big difference I think between now and the depart in topping up the fitness.  Ascent wise 2.8K feet, average speed across the two rides - 15.8mph (25km/h) indicating the lower intensity.

Tapering

Next item on the agenda is rest, to try and shake off the final remnants of this cold.  In a way, I'm glad it happened when it did, as riding a multi-stage event when you are not well is a real challenge.  At least I'm on the end of it, rather than the beginning.

Focus will also be on ensuring plenty of fluids for good hydration and carbohydrate intense meals, combined with a couple of early nights. When I last had a nasty cold, I was given some great advice by a well in the know cycling coach who recommended Echinacea, Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin C supplements which I've been necking religiously to bolster up your system.  You can read the post that he previously wrote for me offering 10 tips for coming back from a cold here.

So, it's all hapenning in four days time.  I'm well prepared, bike has had a new chain, new tyres and a full service in readiness, all my kit and nutrition is planned out, now I just need the legs!

10 Cool Bike Pics

One things was for sure on the recent London to Paris event, there were some serious bikeporn on show, I estimated at least €1.5M of products in the bike racks.  Picking up my Onix RH Pro on returning to the Esher, I whizzed round and snapped a few of the bikes hanging up.

Specialized S-Works seems to be the chosen weapon of choice for many of the group one and two riders, with Mavic Cosmics in the main as the hoops.  Here's 10 machines that caught my eye: -

S-Works belonging to Peter Klein

S-Works belonging to Nick Peregrine

S-Works belonging to Kevin Wright

Ex-Footballer Geoff Thomas - Onix RH Pro

Stoke Mandeville entrants running some serious bespoke hand-cycles

Another S-Works!!

Former Paris-Roubaix Winner Magnus Backstedts Wyndymilla

Neil Manning from Condor on his Rapha-Condor Team Edition Bike

Ride Captains all road Vitus with Cosmics

World Paralympic TT Champion Colin Lynch's Cervelo

And last but by no means least, here's my Onix RH Pro which performed brilliantly over the three days.  The BB30 bottom bracket and Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels led to a really good ride over the three days.

I do have 50mm SRAM S60 wheels but opted not to ride them due to the unknown of the weather across the three days.  Seems that was a good choice as the 50km/h gusts on day two meant most riders running deep section wheels were being blown all over the road.

Onix RH Pro

10 Top Memories From London to Paris 2012

Riding the Eurostar back to London from Paris the day after the three day event was over, I jotted down some memories in my notebook of things that I was personally taking away from the event.  Small little memories that I'll look back on in years to come which will raise a thought or a story.  Let me share them with you: -

1. A white horse galloping alongside the group six peloton on day two.  Weather had been awful and this horse spotted us and ran alongside us in an adjacent field, we'd been riding in horrendous conditions.  It reminded me of the Tour de France when the guy always gallops alongside the riders - priceless.
2. Our Kamikaze motorbike outriders in France.  Our group had two Brothers in it like something out of ZZ top.  One rode a huge Honda Gullwing.  He'd fly down the road playing chicken with on-coming cars to get them to slow and then turn in with inches to spare at high speed.
3. Fish and Chips on the Ferry.  After a long, wet day, this meal totally hit the spot, I washed it down with a bakewell tart and a bottle of cold cider.  Wet through, this was a meal of kings.
4. Condor socks.  Fellow rider Neil Manning from Condor gave us all some socks for the event, they ended up becoming the centrepoint of our three day banter.  They were actually very comfortable and would thoroughly recommend you buy a set or two or three..
5. The handcyclists from Stoke Mandeville hospital. Awesome unit of three guys that hand cranked their way to Paris.  They inspired everyone and a big cheer went up at the gala dinner every time they were mentioned or a picture went up.  
6. The diversity of the group.  Met riders from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Spain and Venezuala.  People travel from all over the world for this event.
7. The banter in the group.  Cemented some great relationships with the fellow Skoda team riders aswell as people we met within our group.  There were four hundred and fifty experiences in one great journey.
8. Day Two.   For anyone that was there, they will remember those riding conditions.  Driving rain and 50km/h winds - character building stuff.
9. Rolling up the Champs Elysee past the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower cheered on by thousands of onlookers, roads closed - emotional.
10. King of the Mountains.  The day I got the polka dot (not), first (and probably the last) time I've ever been to the top of a hill in a group.

Favourite Photo's from London to Paris 2012

There were some fantastic photographers on the London to Paris ride and a good couple of thousand photo's were made available to the riders, without charge.  There were so many, I had a look through and have picked some that stood out for me.

Let me credit the photographers firstly for some awesome shots, Matthew Alexander and Karin Schermbrucker are responsible for most of these excellent images (with the odd one or two from my Blackberry), so a big thanks for making them available.

Here's some of my favourites: -

Setting Out with Mavic Neutral Service

Skoda Leading Out the Peloton

Mechanics were busy from the get go

Quick shot of me riding out towards Dover

Into the dark near Box Hill ....

Day Two - Wind and Rain All Day

The Pee Leton :-)

The Outriders who kept us safe for 3 days with a rolling roadblock

How Dirty My Bike Was After Day 2

A typical night in the room

The French Countryside

A Typical Village we passed through

Great shot capturing an individual moment for one rider

Eurosport David Harmon's and I's Onix Bikes Resting Up

Encouraged by the French Schoolchildren - Me on the Front

One of the Inspiring Stoke Mandeville Hand Cyclists

Triple Crown Winner Steven Roche

Roche poses with his Battaglin

Stephen Roche on his refurbished 1987 Battaglin Bike

Roche's 1987 Battaglin

Roche's 1987 Battaglin

Colin Lynch, Fondriest, Roche, Platt and Sven Thiele roll by the Arc de Triomphe

Maurizio  Fondriest, Stephen Roche & Karl Platt being Interviewed

The Hand Cyclists Inspired Everyone

My Signed Copy of Stephen Roche's Auto-Biography with my Rider Number

My Onix RH Pro waiting for collection

 

A Stoke Mandeville Hand Cyclist greets his son on the finish line

HotChillee Founder and One of the Nicest Guys you'll meet - Sven Thiele