Leaving les Contamines and getting close to the start line

Just about to leave les Contamines for the first time since Christmas Day when I arrived. This has been my home for quite a long time and I am really scared, nervous and excited about leaving. I am having a simple ride down to the train station in St Gervais. I hope this counts as a training ride. I think it should. So what if its only 15Km, mostly downhill requiring little pedalling! I think it counts.

I am very excited about getting to St Bonnet de Mure tonight. As you know this is my start line. I will be setting off in a few days and am rather looking forward to it. I am also super duper excited at seeing my nieces. Ok got to go now, very important work to be done in closing up the chalet. Turning water, gas and electricity off, shutting all the shutters, locking all the doors and hoping that I do a good enough job so that Papi John invites me here again. 

I have had the most wonderful time and would highly recommend to people the experience of a winter season in a ski resort. Brilliant fun. I did have the best job, only a short 3 minute commute from my place and that includes the time it takes to go to the bakery in the morning. I have also been fortunate enough to have had an amazing season for snow, with incredible powder in January and the snow lasting till the end which is no mean feat. 

Planning and Preperation II

Further Preparation

I have just come back from my little training ride. Little it most definitely is, I have just completed 33 Km ride from the Chalet in the Contamines to the round about just before Megeve and back. It climbs, therefore it is worth a lot more than the distance suggests. Honest!

Here's the map and elevation so you can decide for yourself.

I am getting ready to set off from Les Contamines-Monjoie where I have been spending the winter to the start point of my adventure St Bonnet de Mure. I have been working in a sports shop, kitting people out in ski gear and having a lot of fun up the mountains. Luckily for me it is a well known fact that altitude training is essential for good performance. So therefore, the climbing up and down was worth at least another 20Km, then the altitude must also be worth another 20Km! Delusion is a key part of my psyche and a great motivational tool.

Kit List

I have just created a kit list to see what I need and what I have. Obviously being on a budget makes life tricky, but I feel like I have the makings of a good trip. As you can see from the picture, there are a few notable holes. The lack of panniers is getting to the point of being critical. I have found a great set of panniers that look hard to beat for the price. I think these will be great and for €30.00, I don't believe I can go wrong. It is called the PONT AR CYCLO 3 SACS and is by Nakamura.

http://www.intersport.fr/ecommerce/control/product/~category_id=VEEV0008/~product_id=2247201.

I hope to be able to pick this up in Lyon tomorrow as well as a porte baggage (rack). I will also be picking up spare inner tubes, a sleeping bag, a micro fibre (quick dry) towel, flip flops and sunglasses. This should ensure I have all the kit I need. I am still trying to decide whether or not I need a speedometer. This can be a great motivational tool, allowing you to see your speed and distance covered, helping spur you on. However, I have yet to decide whether or not it is worth the expense.

You may have noticed that I am also waiting on my bank card. This should arrive on Monday or Tuesday so that I can set off soon after receiving it. I still need travel insurance. Mother (I do love her) insists that I must get some. I have been looking online but can't find anything easy and cheap. More importantly for me is the question of Chamois cream. Is this really worth the money? My saddle sores have more to do with sore sit bones than rubbing. I have never ridden so far and for so long, so this may be worth the expense. 

Route Planning

I have been doing more work on trying to get my route planned out. Yesterday, I gave details of the Route to get to My Father's place in St Marsal. This also happens to be my final trip in France. Following on from this rest stop, I will be heading straight into Spain. For those who do not know, there is a little natural barrier separating the two countries. It is called the Pyrenees Mountain Range. After climbing this obstacle, I have a choice to make. There are 2 natural routes that I could take. 

The first, is the logical one and follows the South coast of Spain. Advantages include a pretty flat route (Sierra Nevada apart), the beach every day, plenty of cheap places to stay, and did I mention the sea? 

The other route involves cutting inland via Madrid. Now for those of you that didn't know (me included before this), Madrid is on a high plain, about 700m above sea level. For reference this is the same as St Marsal, the highest point I reach in France. It also involves a lot of up and down, over and through a number of valleys. However, it is shorter by 100Km. That is huge! But on the downside, it goes through less sparsely populated areas, which would be very cool but potentially more expensive. 

As you can see, my mind is pretty made up. I think the southern route will be better. As a quick outline, I have put together the following as a rough guide.

Planning and preperation

How can I explain this? Well, hmm... Put simply, I am going to cycle from my sisters house in France, through my dad's place, to Neil's house in Portugal. This will be a simple ride, where I will ride a casual 120km a day on average or otherwise known as 5 or 6 hours of bike time, nearly every day, for 3 weeks. Now just as a point of reference, I should point out that this is about 1000KM less than the tour de France riders, so it should not be that much of a challenge really. 

However, there are a number of constraints that Tour de France riders don't have to face. For starters, I am on a very limited budget so will be staying in the cheapest accommodation I can find every night, eating as basically as I can whilst still enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of being a tourist. Secondly there will be no support vehicles or soigneurs, or bike mechanics to help me along the way. Thirdly, I will be doing this alone, so no team mates and fellow riders to protect me from the wind, no one to chat to, and no one to help me when I am feeling poo. 

Oh yeah, and I forgot to add that I am seriously unfit, setting off in a couple of days and still desperately short of essential kit such as paniers, spare inner tubes and most importantly sunglasses! In short, I reckon I have no chance of doing this but I might as well try. This will be my modern day version of the Grand Tours, where I hope to pack in as much culture and sightseeing as my weary legs will allow. 

Stage 1: St Bonnet de Mure - Valence

Now this should be an easy start to the ride. It is after all a measly 111km, so well under the daily average (lol). On top of this I will be leaving my sister's house well fed and full of energy. But only if my nieces are nice and don't tire me out with their fun!

The early route will take me through St Pierre de Chandieu, the lovely French village in which I grew up, through the old Roman town of Vienne before stopping for a spot of lunch at Chateauneuf-de-Galaure at around the 70 KM mark.

As you can see from the elevation guide, this looks like an up and down day, with no major difficult climbs just one longish one starting at around the 28Km mark lasting around 8 Km. Straight after lunch, I will be starting the final short climb of the afternoon before a long and mostly downhill ride down into Valence. Valence looks like an interesting town with the Maison des Tetes supposedly a must see.

Stage 2: Valence - Orange 115 KM

Now this is the day I am not really looking forward to. 

For starters, I bet my bum will hurt like hell today. 

Secondly, I will face 2 minor major climbs on this leg with a couple of what look like being steep gradients. 

Thirdly by the time I get to Orange, (if I make it) I will be dead tired I can feel it already. Now this is a bad thing, as Orange is one of those places I have always wanted to go, but have never been. This is supposed to be a lovely old Roman town, with an amazing Roman theatre and some nice sights. 

Guess I am going to have to dig deep for this one!

Stage 3: Orange - Montpellier 125 Km

This is the first long stage of the trip. It is 5Km over the average. This is going to hurt!. Luckily, with the exception of 1 short climb, this is mostly a flat day, if anything mostly downhill. I will finally be crossing the Rhone River and starting my track West after having headed mainly South for the previous 2 days. I will be heading close to Nimes but trying to avoid going through it. 

I was tempted for more than just half a second to take a little detour from my trip and stop in Avignon for the evening after riding over the top of Mont Ventoux. Luckily, this would have seriously slowed me down in terms of my journey, but as a cycling fan, that mountain is iconic to the sport and I would have loved to climb it. 

Montpellier is a fun student town, and I am looking forward to exploring it. It has the oldest Medical school in Western Europe and the Anatomy Museum is supposed to be delightfully gruesome. I think I may have earned a few beers by now, so this could be a great place to unwind.

Stage 4: Montpellier - Narbone 100Km

Not really sure about today. I will not be doing any real climbing, riding just inland from the sea and quite a bit shorter than the average day. I may also be nursing a hangover!

I am however scared of the wind. I believe but have not checked that this part of France gets hit by strong winds. But hey, on the bright side, I may be seeing the Mediterranean for the first time of the trip. 

I will be avoiding the busy roads of the coast, stopping for lunch and a mooch in Beziers. I think the lunchtime break may be more interesting than the evening, but only time will tell.

Stage 5: Narbonne - St Marsal 115Km

This will be a special ride for me. Not only is this the first truly uphill stage, this will be the last stage before my first rest day. Oh yeah, I will also be arriving at my father's house. This will be my first visit there since he moved there last year. It will also be the first time I see him since Christmas day. Woohoo. 

However it looks like a tough slog, starting more or less at sea level and steadily climbing up to over 700m. Most of the day is flat, but there is no real downhill on which to coast along. Arghhh!.

I will definetly be seeing the Med today. Wonder if the weather will be nice enough to merit a stop and a dip?