Paris à Vélo, C'est Sympa!

July 2009. Once again I found myself back in Paris with my bike. It was a repeat trip, just like I had done in September of last year.

This time I was with Fred, and this time we managed to get all the way into central Paris (and beyond) on two wheels.

As before, there was wall to wall sunshine and very little traffic on the roads up until the Western suburbs of Paris.

We stuck to D and C roads for most of the ride so they were very quiet. It was after we crossed through the St Germain en Laye forest and we came out at Maisons Lafitte that we noticed a certain hustle and bustle. As it was early evening the Parisians were probably rushing out to meet their mates for an aperitif. Some may have been rushing back from their day's shopping. Others were probably just rushing because that's what people do in Paris!

Satrouville, La Garenne Colombes, Maisons Lafitte. All pretty sounding names, but in fact these areas were just a haphazard mass of engines, concrete, traffic lights and roadworks! Weaving through the traffic around these 'burbs was testing. Weaving around the ring roads and dodging the road closures of La Défense was torturous! And for all the time spent in La Défense we still failed to see La Grande Arche, as it was directly on top of us, on the other side of the asphalt! At least the motorists were quite amenable towards us.

After crossing the final bridge at Puteaux, to make our entrance into Paris through the Bois de Boulogne and Porte Maillot, I could feel the excitement building up. As the Arc de Triomphe came slowly and surely into view, this was the culmination of our day of cycling through northern France. It was a great feeling to have arrived in Paris.

Last time I rode on the Champs Elysées I was going uphill away from the centre. Although there were so many sets of traffic lights it still didn't stop the vehicles from accelerating wildly up to....25mph only to come to a halt at the next set of lights! This time around we were going down the famous avenue to reach the centre. The cars, buses, scooters, taxis and Fred thought nothing of roaring up to 40mph for all of 100yards and then screeching to a halt at the next set of lights!

Despite all the craziness of the traffic, for me, riding through the centre of Paris is still really exciting. We made our way down to Concorde, along the rue St Honoré, on to Chatelet and then along the river to reach Bastille, where our hotel was.

We dumped our road bikes in the hotel bike store for the rest of our stay and then used Vélib bikes to travel around Paris. These were definitely a fun experience.

The best bit about using Velib bikes is that you can hire them at any moment of the day from wherever you like in Paris. There are loads of Velib stations so you just drop it off whenever you like as well.
Our first foray into Velib biking was when we hired bikes at one o'clock in the morning from a station just out Ledru Rollin tube station, near Bastille. After a few practice runs up and down the road, and adjusting the saddle etc we were ready to go on our nocturnal 2 wheel adventure.

We set off down rue du Faubourg St Antoine, across Place de la Bastille where all the party animals were hanging out. Our ride continued through the Marais and then on to Chatelet where we crossed over onto the left bank towards the Latin quarter - St Michel, Odeon, St Germain. It might have been a Sunday night, but there were lots of folks in the cafes just as if it were 8pm on a Friday night. As this was a holiday weekend though, to celebrate the upcoming 14th July national celebrations, everyone was getting into the groove.

We'd also gotten into the groove of things in a few bars and the alcohol was getting to me a little. We ended up spinning round a few times around Odeon before we got our bearings and found the river road. After a few minutes we were whizzing along the side of the River Seine, passing the various bridges and landmarks to get to the Eiffel Tower - pont Neuf, Musee d'Orsay, les Invalides, pont Alexander III, Place de l'Alma, with all the scribbled messages to Diana Princess of Wales. It's surprising how quickly you can get across Paris on a bicycle. At this time of night the traffic was very civilised too!


Once we arrived at Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower we admired this iron masterpiece in all its splendour. Even at night Gustave Eiffel's marvel was beautiful. It was probably decorated that bit more in anticipation of Bastille Day, and also for the arrival of that icon of French culture, Johnny Halliday!

After a photo opportunity, we were back on our bikes whizzing along the right bank to get back home. Once again we passed Place de la Concorde, Chatelet and then on to Place des Vosges and Bastille. We felt like we were being a bit crazy riding around Paris at 2 o'clock in the morning just for the fun of it. In fact, it was just the most normal thing in the world. No one batted an eyelid. In fact there were quite a few people around doing the same thing. In fact when we picked up bikes again at St Germain we even had to queue at the Velib station.
Cycling around Paris is fun - whether on a Velib or just a conventional bicycle, your experience of Paris is alot more pleasurable.

Wanna do the Quebrantahuesos?

The Quebrantahuesos is the biggest cyclosportive event in Spain, with 9,000 riders taking part.

It usually takes place on the third Saturday in June.

View Quebrantahuesos in a larger map
The ride starts and finishes in the small town of Sabinanigo in northern Spain, and covers a 200km route through the Spanish and the French pyrenees on closed roads.

The main climbs are: col de Somport, col de Marie Blanque, col du Pourtalet, Hoz de Jaca, with a total of 3,500m of climbing.

The col de Somport and Pourtalet, being main roads are quite wide so accommodate the large volume of cyclists on these closed roads.

Although the event is described as international, most of the participants are Spanish. Surprisingly there are comparatively few French people that take part even though half of the race runs through French territory.

There are cut-off points along the route. The times are based on you riding at 16km/h (10mph).

There is also a shorter distance, the Treparriscos - 90km and 955km of climbing.

This is probably the main event of the year for the people in the towns of Jaca and Sabinanigo. In fact they don't refer to it as the Quebrantahuesos, they just call it "the ride."

All the hotels and guest houses fill up several months before, and many of Spain's riders make this a regular pilgrimage so pre-book their rooms for the following year as they are checking out of that same hotel.
All the restaurants are full to the brim with cyclists at Friday lunchtime, and they are only serving pasta meals!

The pre-race registration takes place in a big exhibition area, with loads of stands selling various bike bits, clothing and nutrition. The local radio station does a live broadcast from there, carrying out interviews with various dignatories. Beneath the stage is a table showing an impressive array of medals and trophies on offer to the main contenders of the event. The winner's bronze statue of a Quebrantahuesos bird looks pretty scary!

The goody bag was impressive and included a cycling jersey. Women even got a specially designed women's cut jersey, something which is a rarity in cyclosportives. I was quite impressed given that there were only about 100 women out of 9,000 participants.

After the ride there is a supervised area to leave your bicycle. There's lots of food and entertainment, including free San Miguel beer.

The 2010 edition will be on Saturday 19th June.

I took part in the Quebrantahuesos this year and I really enjoyed it. I loved the atmosphere at the start of the ride as police and media helicopters hovered above, filming us as we started moving. Considering how many of us there were, the riding was very disciplined. The course was rolling for the first 10 miles, then after Jaca we began the climb to the col de Somport. This was just a gentle gradient but continued for around 10 miles. It was quite windy going up so it was all the more important for me to shelter in the group.
By the time we reached the summit we were riding through clouds and we could barely make out the spectators as they cheered us on. I couldn't see them at all. I could only hear them. The descent was surreal as we sped down through thick fog. I still felt perfectly safe as the marshalls had high visibility jackets and flags to signal the switchbacks.

We were now in France and I recognised some of the places from previous trips to the Pyrenees. At Escot we made a right hand turn to start the ascent to the col de Marie Blanque. I'd been really loving whizzing along the roads in the peloton, but on this climb things slowed right down. The col de Marie Blanque is only 8km long but it is a very chunky climb. The gradient is quite irregular, the road surface is very rough, and in the last 4km the gradient don't go below 11%. In fact I recorded sections of 23%. This climb really blew the groups apart, and brought many riders to the brink of despair. Many relinquished the challenge and just climbed off their bikes and walked, while others stopped at the side of the road for much needed respite. I just trundled on with barely any cadence, breathing heavily and feeling sick. I didn't want to stop as I knew I wouldn't be able to get back on my bike again.
The side of the road was thick with spectators all shouting, venga, venga, anima, allez! Some even ran alongside me or gave me a push, like in the Tour de France. As there weren't many women in the event the spectators made even more noise whenever they saw one of us. I just felt lucky to be riding in only 25 degrees celsius rather than the usual 35 degree+ conditions experienced on this climb. I was so relieved to see the summit I almost cried.

At the feed station on Plateau Benou I stuffed my face with everything in sight. I spent almost half an hour there trying to recover. Luckily when I hit the road again it was quite effortless as we descended into Laruns, before beginning the long climb back into Spain via the col du Pourtalet. This climb is very pleasant and really beautiful. You have all of 35km to admire it! For me this was a harder climb than it otherwise would have been, as my legs were still suffering from the battering they'd had on the Marie Blanque! The summit is quite spectacular and was my favourite part of the ride.

The descent back into Spain was a little exposed and windy, but thankfully we were taken round a more scenic route. We could have descended straight into Sabinanigo, but instead the route took us on a mini detour around a lake and over the Hoz de Jaca. This was only about 2km but it was quite steep - about 15%. Ironically this was my favourite climb. It ressembled the climbs that I ride back home in Kent and Surrey - abit like Toys Hill, but with more trees and a lake next to it.
By now my legs were feeling fresh again so I was able to tackle Hoz de Jaca with gusto before finally taking the run back in to Sabinanigo. Some guys in the organiser's car passed by and shouted to me to try and catch the group of riders ahead. I dug deep and took a tow from some cars to get up to the group. There were around 15 of them, including 3 other women - the only 3 women I'd seen on the ride all day! We did a brisk chain gang to get back to the HQ. It was a nice feeling crossing the finish line to the applause of an audience sitting in a specially erected spectators' gallery. I felt like I'd won the race!

It was a great day out, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who does cyclosportives.

Yorks - Cumbria - Lancs Tour

View Leeds - Dales - Cumbria - Lancs in a larger map

This is a rough route of the tour I did on the Spring Bank Holiday in late May. I started in Leeds, headed into the Yorkshire Dales, went across to the Lake District and then headed back into Yorkshire via the Lancashire and the Forest of Bowland. The circuit is not quite complete as I ended my bike ride in Gargrave near Skipton. I then jumped on a train to Leeds, just so that I would be sure to get there in time for my connection back to King's Cross.

I also did the Richmond Five Dales Cyclosportive while on this trip. So it ended up being quite a big mileage weekend - 300 miles and around 3,500m of climbing. I didn't feel too bad feasting on scampy, chips and beer on the last day!

The highpoint was having dinner beside Lake Windermere on an unseasonably warm sunny day in that part of the country!

Summer Highlights

I will probably do separate posts on some of these activities but just as a quick summary these have been the highlights of my summer :

MAY

Richmond Five Dales Sportive
Actually mine was the Richmond Four Dales as I only did the 80 mile option rather than the full 100 miles.
A tough cyclosportive through the Yorkshire Dales that started and finished in Richmond, North Yorkshire. The Stang and Tan Hill took strength out of my legs so "sadly" I missed the cut off to allow me to go up Fleet Moss (from the Hawes) and Park Rash (from Kettlewell). What a relief!

The Richmond Sportive was part of a bank holiday weekend of cycling in Yorkshire.
The trip started in Leeds from where I made my way to the Yorkshire Dales via Thirsk, with a stopover in Masham for a pint of Black Sheep.
The day ended with a very tough climb over some lost and lonely moors which was actually the edge of the military firing range. I just had the sound of gun shots for company as I sauntered over to the Youth Hostel at Grinton Lodge.
After my exploits at the cyclosportive I made my way over to the Lake District where I enjoyed a lovely evening meal with my friend Lois, on the edge of Lake Windermere, in the shadow of the mountains. The following day I wended my way back into Yorkshire to pick up my train. This involved riding across the Forest of Bowland - and guess what, it doesn't have any trees at all!

JUNE

Quebrantahuesos cyclosportive. It was amazing to see how to small villages in the foothills of the Pyrenees - Jaca and Sabinanigo could just be completed invaded by cyclists. At lunchtime in Jaca you couldn't get into a restaurant for love nor money. Every single table in the town was taken up with what appeared to be every cyclist in Spain - well apart from the ones who were in all the restaurants in Sabinanigo!
The event was a real festival of cycling and the climb up the col de Marie Blanque was a killer!


JULY

Ride to Paris - from Wallington to Bastille (via Arc de Triomphe) was all done on two wheels (apart from the bit between Newhaven and Dieppe). The ride was done almost exclusively on country lanes all the way to the Western suburbs of Paris. Our first view of Paris was from the top of a hill just outside Poissy. The sight of the whole metropolis with the landmarks of Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Montparnasse Tower were real sites to behold. It felt really emotional when we finally emerged from the Bois de Boulogne onto Avenue de la Grande Armee and saw the Arc de Triomphe come into view.

Grimpeur des Wolds - Riding this cyclosportive with a nice group of guys and girls from Hull Thursday Club cycling club made for a very pleasant day out. We rode at a leisurely pace and it was all very social and civilised. We were even blessed with wall to wall sunshine.


AUGUST

Ride to Canterbury - One of the guys in my club organised a ride to Canterbury. The route was done via country lanes and it was very scenic. It's one place I'd never ridden to before. It was a very pleasant day out. We also stopped at Rochester, where there's another well known cathedral. Once in Canterbury we all had a well earned pint of Shepherd Neame.


Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford cyclosportive - A great weekend away. We even got to eat in one of Ireland's top restaurants, the Tannery at Dungarvan. As ever, I suffered twoards the end of this cyclosportive, but I still enjoyed it. The folks were friendly and very chatty. It was a well organised event with loads to eat, and also a chance to socialise at the indoor feedstations. It was great meeting Sean Kelly as well.

Out of Estivation!

Hello, I'm back.

So I am back from my summer sleep. I would love to say that I was taking it easy protecting myself from the extreme heat and arid conditions experienced here in South London, but sadly that was not the case. (We didn't have any heatwave but in fairness this summer has been drier then those of last year and of 2007.)

I just got busy with other matters, and before I knew it, life was getting in the way and my blog was off the radar.

So, apologies for the silence on the airwaves. The blog is getting up and will be running with tales, musings, gossip and other bits that you care to read.
Keep watching this space!

I hope you have enjoyed a good summer and have had lots fun on two wheels.

Are you going to Scarborough Fai....Beach

I found a very pleasant bike route from York to Scarborough. As I had panniers I wasn't too keen to take on too many tough climbs in the North York Moors so I took what I believed to be the least hilly route - basically stay away from the seriously hilly stuff in the North York Moors and keep to the "easier" Yorkshire Wolds and the Howardian Hills.

The Vale of York was, as expected pretty flat, but the rest was surprising untaxing too. The only stiff climb I had to face before reaching Dalby Forest was the 16% gradient of Terrington Bank.

Dalby Forest is quite undulating - not surprising as it's one of the main mountain bike trail centres in Yorkshire. There are a few 15% ramps to negotiate in there. What goes up, must come down though, and I really enjoyed the speedy car free descents.

Once out of Dalby Forest I was only 10 miles from the seaside, but I couldn't see any sign of coastline or hear any sea gulls. Well, because there was a high ridge right in front of me, and all I had was a feeling of dread at the realisation that I would have to climb over that before I could reach the sea.

I made the most of the sweeping descent into Langdale End, and then tackled the succession of lumps between there and Scalby. It was pretty quad busting stuff, especially as I couldn't get out of the saddle because of the load that was on my bike.
I eventually made it to Scarborough after 60 miles and I'm not sure how many hours. Ok, so the ride hadn't been a complete breeze, but it was still the least arduous route that I could have taken - both in terms of gradient, and the quietness of the roads.

Once in Scarborough I very quickly able to enjoy the beautiful coastline with its lovely traditions - the amusement parks, the tacky souvenir shops, the all-day karaoke, the Harry Ramsdens, the donkeys...etc. I rewarded myself with chips and ice cream on the sea front at Marine Drive, before getting the train home. The ride had been pretty and I'd had wall to wall sunshine, so I couldn't complain. A very pleasant trip!



View York - Scarborough in a larger map


Related article Yorkshire biking on my mind

100 Years of Passion

2.53am on 13th May 1909 outside Hotel Loreto, in Milan. A crowd gathered as riders wheeled out their bikes to start the first Giro d'Italia. The race, just like the Tour de France, under the direction of Armando Cougnet who wanted to increase the circulation of the Italian sports newspaper, La Gazetta dello Sport.

More than a hundred brave souls rolled out over the start line in front of a few hundred fans, ready to face 2,448km over 8 stages. Among them were the local heroes of the day - Giovanni Rossignoli, Giovanni Gerbi (The Red Devil), the French star Lucien Petit-Breton, and the eventual winner Luigi Ganna.

The race was a real adventure for many and was a real test of survival. 127 riders began the race, but only 49 finished. In fact Giovanni Gerbi, one of the main contenders, very quickly saw his hopes dashed when a crash just 1500m into the first stage (397km from Milan to Bologna) damaged his bike. Sadly, there was no immediate mechanical support available for him so he had to hang around for 3 hours while the mechanic repaired the wheel and the frame.

Those riders who managed to stay in the race had to continue through various hazards such as racing alongside galopping horses, or having to weave around herds of cattle.

Of course the roads were a big problem too. The surface was completely churned up by rain and other adverse weather conditions, and there were many trenches that riders had to dodge around.

The stages were so long that riders would be racing through the night, with the headlights from the following car as their only guide. It was not uncommon for riders to lose their way along the course.

Furthermore, as if all this wasn't a challenge enough there were the bikes. Luigi Ganna romped through the course on a 15kg Bicci Atala bicycle which carried two large bottles in a bar bag. It was a fixed wheel bike that had 5.17 metres development. (I'm not au fait with these things but It's equivalent to riding 42 x 19on a modern bike.)

Needless to say this gearing was not enough to get over mountains. At that time the main "mountain stages" were in the foothills of the Appenines, with the biggest climbs being of around 650m high. Most riders had to walk up the climbs, and only the formidable Gerbi (The Red Devil), and the impressive Giovanni Rossignoli being the only riders to cycling up these peaks.

With all the passion and avid following that the Giro was receiving in those days the organisers still had to pay attention to safety, and on one of the stages the organisers had to move the finish line 3 times - so much was the interest from the masses.

Finally, after 8 stages and 17 days Luigi Ganna won after a thrilling final stage, ahead of Carlo Galletto in the first Giro d'Italia bike race in 1909. Had the race been based on accumulated time, as it is today, Giovanni Rossignoli would have won. However, back then the winner was decided by the racer with the lowest cumulative number of points. After Ganna crossed the finish line, when asked how he felt about the win, all he could say was - "Crikey, I've got a sore bum!"

So nowadays the format may have changed significantly, and the riders are blessed with more relibale, high tech equipment to use over much "shorter" stages.

What hasn't changed though is the sponsor of the event - Gazzetta dello Sport, the avidness of the tifosi, and of course the passion of everyone involved.