2012 Year Review

May - Etape Caledonia

An excellent event and an excellent break up in Scotland, raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The town of Pitlochry hosted the start/finish and everyone was made to feel very welcome - a really good atmosphere. Due to a very wet April my milage was down on planned targets of 200 - 300 miles a month, so I went into this one with a little extra weight and perhaps not quite a fit as I would have liked to have been. Fortunately, the ride was not as hilly as I thought and I ended up averaging over 17mph over the 83 mile course - although this would have been more if I hadn't needed to stop to stretch out some cramp in my thighs in the final few miles.

Unlike any other ride I have done, this had timed sections for a sprint jersey and a king of the mountains jersey. Knowing my inability to climb hills quickly, the king of the mountains section was going to be a non-event for me, so I put my energy into the sprint. The section came after about 15 miles and lasted for 1km...I went for it, only slowing a tad for some leisurely participants riding three abreast, hoping that I did enough to make an impression on the rankings. I couldn't be angry with the riders in my way - I had started at the back and had been overtaking people all day so far - and would continue to do so for the rest of the ride, with many shouts of "on your right" to alert them to my impending overtakes, time and time again. Next year, I'll make sure I start nearer the front. Oh yes, and maybe I'll win that sprinter's jersey - this year I came 86th (joint 11th) and placed 1,434th overall in the 'GC'.

July - Etape Du Tour Acte 1

The big target for the year, I went into this knowing that I hadn't managed to train as much as I had wanted to, but planned to take it steady and get through it. Replicating stage 11 of this year's Tour de France, which the pros raced a week after me, I had little knowledge of the climbs beforehand and knew they were longer than last year. Last year I had the 'benefit' of watching the pros race the stage in the Massif Central a few days before I flew out to take it on myself, so Iat least had an idea of the parcours. This year, all I knew was that the climbs were longer, steeper and they were going to hurt!

If last year was the hardest thing I had ever done due to the weather conditions, this year was a challenger for that title due to the mountains.  Having cracked completely on the Glandon, I had to stop for almost 20 minutes to refuel and get to the base of the final climb, up to the finish at La Toussuire. After having already tacked the Col du Madeline, the Col di Glandon and the Col du Croix de Fer, this last 14km climb was always going to be a struggle. What happened to me on that mountain that afternoon, kilometer after kilometer in 38oC heat, changed my perspective of what was possible if your mind tells your body to simply 'carry on'. Every sinue of my body wanted to stop - bordering on collapse - dehydrated and withdrawing energy from reserves I never even knew I had, I dragged myself and my bike up that final mountain, passing riders collapsed on the road beside me and across the line, finally allowing myself to collapse exhausted and overcome with emotion for achieving something that probably no-one will ever quite understand as being the absolutely harrdest thing I have ever faced and overcome in my life so far.

A week later I watched Bradley Wiggins put time into Cadel Evans on that very climb as Cadel cracked, unable to respond and struggling to bring himself to terms with the fact that mountain had beaten him too. He finished, of course - we both did - but we both also had our own epithanies on that 14km stretch of tarmac draped on the french Alpes of Le Sybelles. On Sunday 8th July 2012 I fell out of and back into love with cycling. On Sunday 8th July 2012 I was invincible.

August - French Revolution and Etape Hibernia

An unusual sportive from UK Cycling Events/Wiggle saw a friendly day's cycling in France in the middle of August. However, the 73 mile parcours was nothing compared to the six hours in total spent on the ferry - what a slow way of getting somewhere when the Eurostar exists!

I did enjoy the day, but it wasn't one for me to go back to. I think it would have been ok if I was with company and it is a long day with as many hours off the bike as on it, through some scenic and relatively flat French countryside. A good leg stretcher before the Etape Hibernia it would have been - if the Hibernia hadn't been cancelled due to the sponsor pulling out. I have since learnt that the 'sponsor' was actually the organiser, IG Challenger World, who also organise the Caledonia. I have also learnt that the Hibernia clashed with Sean Kelly's Waterford sportive - the most successful and popular cycling event in Ireland by far for a number of years...which makes you wonder why would IG organise an event to clash with this and then wonder why participant numbers were lower than expected? Oh well, after July I was in the mood for an early start to my off season and we went to Ireland anyway for a drinking holiday. Well, it wasn't planned that way, but when you're in Ireland...

October - Bec CC Hill Climb

I can't recall exactly when I agreed to do this, but I suspect I was drinking at the time. The weekend after our holiday to Asia, I found myself back on the bike for the first time in a few weeks on a hill in Kent. The Bec CC Hill Climb is basically a time trial up a hill, with some real specialists in attendance...not to mention a few pros and one Ned Boulting from ITV. Now, I've said before, I'm not fast up hill. So I wasn't expecting much. And 'much' is eactly what I didn't get. So I wasn't overly disappointed! It was a great event though and with a bit of specific traning next year I'll be back again to put in a better show.

My wife, who attended with a work colleague and his friend, who also did the climb, was there to see me in all my worst possible form too..which was lovely! Her words, which I will surely use as motivation for next year, were "I thought you'd be going a bit faster". Yup, me too! But then I thought about 8th July 2012 and smiled. A great year.