|
Tour de France
When Nick Stockley decided to ride the Tour de France route to raise funds for the Brain and Spine Foundation, people thought he was joking! But he set his mind to the challenge - read on to find out how he got on...When I told people that this summer I would ride the Tour de France they thought it was a joke.
I wish at that stage I had known what they knew - that the Tour isn't something you can just do, and that no matter if you are a sportsman or not, long distance stage riding is something that requires a LOT of training.
When the head-wind hits
My confidence quickly became nerves when faced with the 110 mile first Stage from Dinan (just south of St Malo) to just outside Nantes.
It is undoubtedly true that French drivers are more considerate to cyclists, and that the roads are better, but as we all know, when the head-wind hits none of that matters.
Praying for a better day tomorrow
Grinding along at 10mph, kitted up in arm/leg warmers and my jacket, I struggled through, almost falling off the bike into my hotel for the evening, and praying for a better day tomorrow.
It didn't come, and that was the story of my first week in France.
Ready to end it
Then I thought everything had changed. Leaving Albi, heading for the Pyrenees I had one of those moments. Sun on my face (finally) and the Pyrenees in the distance I got my second wind.
How wrong I was... 130 miles later, I was ready to end it. A massive oversight in my route planning meant a harsh final leg to Ste Dode.
That night I crawled into bed, ready to finally have a day without struggling into my lycra, and smearing myself in Assos (which later came to be known as Ass SOS) Chamois Cream.
A day of rest was just not enough when the next day I set off, with the Col D'Aspin in my sights.
How he did it is beyond me
After 3 hours of riding I hit the base of the mountains, and read the sign indicating the 13km to the summit. I was there an hour and a quarter later, mainly thanks to a kind 70 year French man.
On seeing me grinding away my compact gearing he coasted up and past me, to the summit, back to me, and helped me through the final kilometres. How he did this is beyond me.
Eyeing up ski lifts
On arriving in the B&B I told my hostess what my plan for the next days were."On to Embrun, then through the Alps." I even thought that sounded easy, but the look on her face told a different story.
The road to Embrun was not flat - my map book didn't show contours (a big mistake in hindsight), and a call from my girlfriend Helen in my 'support vehicle' didn't fill me with hope.
"It's like the Pyrenees, just steeper. And colder," she said. She was very right. Despite how far I had come, I still felt so amateur against the Alpine cyclists who made light work of every incline - I just kept eyeing up ski lifts wondering if they could get me where I needed to go.
Final stage
My final stage took me from Embrun to St Sorlin D'Arves, over the Col de la Croix de Fer. It was not meant to be my final stage. The climb was agonising. No sign posts to say how far I had left, just the thought that maybe there was only one corner to go...that was never the case.
I reached the top to pose in my i-Team kit - grabbing every available photo opportunity I could to remember what torture it had been getting there.
France's only pot hole
That night, lying in bed with every muscle aching and my knees feeling that they were about to collapse I made a decision to carry on - it was the wrong one, as somebody had very different plans for me.
I was feeling confident descending from St Sorlin, but it was misplaced. I took a wrong turn down an unmarked road, swerved around a corner to be confronted by France's only pot hole. It sent me a couple of metres into a conveniently placed hedge, and it made my wheels appear a lot less circular. They were left road-side in a mock-memorial to my trip.
Please give generously
2 and a half stages from Paris it was over - but I'm not disappointed - it would have been a great feeling to cycle the Champs d'Elysees but this wasn't a trip about glory and recognition. This really was for charity - I needed something big to help the Brain and Spine Foundation and this event was it.
The money raised goes to such a worthwhile cause so please do donate at www.justgiving.com/nicholasstockley.
The experience is certainly one that I couldn't forget, and don't want to, but honestly - it's something I'm not looking to repeat anytime soon!
