cycling- any of you guys go out cycling

would love to be doing todays stage myself

nah too hard, I tried 50 kilometers back and forth, after that my legs were completely useless
my legs were so tired, I coulnd't do much with them

I ride between 90 to 120 Km every saturday. During the week unfortunately I have time only to ride to work and back (7 Km a day).

would love to go up some of these climbs myselfs but think i would need a triple to help get me up them
also would luv to get up madaline

I would love it as well!
Never have had a chance to ride in Europe

Now and again about 70 km.

Ride 5 days a week around 250- 300 miles in summer.
Treated myself for my 50th & went to the Pyrenees cycled up Hautacam/Soulor/Luz Ardiden & Tourmalet (with a triple).
One of the best things ive ever done.
Not overly steep but just go on forever & ever compared with anything you are likely to cycle in U.K
Worst was the tourmalet(took me 1hr 40 mins) 12 miles constant uphill no flats and @ finish  ramps up to around 11% last 1/2 mile

im pleased to see that le tour will be following in my tyretracks for no less than 4km on thursdays stage!! and about 2km the next day!!!

Do a fair bit of riding myself though I have not got round to riding any of the tour climbs myself yet. I have been to watch the race a quite a few times and as Geoff says the tourmalet is an absolute brute. I didn't expect the alpine stages to damage so many in the GC so much, I guess the peloton really was cooked by those long hot stages just prior to them.

Try and cycle in the Alps most summers,still find Croix Der Fer hardest climb.

Nearly didnt make it up the Croix didnt take enough food / drink :-( miserable lady in the cafe at the top begrudged me some water and they charge double for a souvenier shirt (not that I bought one)

Alpe D'Huez was great though going past all the signs!

Best TT is 23.38 for 10 miles.....

Sadly injured at the moment.

I've completed two x Paris-Brest-Paris and 2 x London-Edinburgh- London, but not done much this year.

go to majorca for nice hills and roads and the cars give you plenty of room

yep do quite a few sportives...did L'Etape last year up Ventoux, that was hard as it was so hot.

went to the Pyrenees recently and rode up Tormalet from both sides (not on the same day!!) Aspin, Marie Blanc and Solour. The 'queen' stage this year is an absolute killer as Marie Blanc the first big climb of the day is brutal. the last 4 kms are all 12-14% and a lot of it is straight up, no hairpins. So by the time they hit Tourmalet they have already done some serious climbing

which side did you find the hardest n6 up the Tourmalet?I rode form the west (i think )from
Luz St Saveur only been up the other side as far as La Mongie in the car.

geoff I found the La Mongie side hardest...but the weather wasn't as good that day and it was right at the beginning of the week so maybe I hadn't found my hill legs by then. the bit through the snow tunnels is hard and the bit through La Mongie even harder...its a long straight hill. it took me 1.31 that way and 1.36 the 'classic way' but that way is more picturesque and it was after going up Solour.

seems to me most amateur cyclists are obsessed with masochistic mountain climbing. i dont mind a few hills but going up the alps seems a bit daft to me

i would love to try them tbf, on hill climbing its the satisfaction of getting to top,and hills are good for the legs ,you cant work any harder

any mug can get to the top with a granny ring and a few hours spare

Sir Denis Eton-Hogg Joined: 16 Nov 08
Replies: 5632 14 Jul 10 01:02 
any mug can get to the top with a granny ring and a few hours spare
pmsl

wots gonna stop them? a heart attack?

Obviously not had a go then S.D.E.H
It gives the amatuer the oppourtunity to play in the proffessionals playground.
The sense of achievement having reached the top without stepping off is difficult to explain.
Ive seen some garbage posted on these forums over the yrs
"any mug can get to the top with a granny ring and a few hours spare" & that must rank pretty high up ther.
But then again you havent had a go so you wont understand, it does look easy i must admit from the armchair watching eurosport.

please explain to me why any reasonably fit adult couldnt get to the top of the Madeliene on a low geared bike in a few hours

you didnt state any reasonably fit adult.
you gave the impression anyone could do it.

Even in the granny ring @ 5-6 mph you can be climbing for 3hrs plus,red hot temps just drains you.

I've been back on the bike since before Christmas, only doing a couple of 20 milers or so midweek, longer one at the weekend if I can find the time / motivation.

It is amazing how often though I can put off going out on the bike, yet when I actually get myself outside and a mile or so into my ride I find myself loving it.
I'm finding it is great for emptying the mind for a while and just zoning out, even when I am pushing hard.

well obviously i dont think a 90 year old granny could do it

any reasonably fit adult who had played other sports /not cycled would still struggle to hit the top without bailing out.
AS it would entail using other muscles that alot of other sports dont utilise & end up cramping out.
Not just about the granny ring it all depends on your rear cassette as well.

I cycle 12 miles per day to work and back (24 miles total), enjoy it, clears the head and refreshes you.

Main issue is the wind from the sea, Southwesterly's kill me on the way to work, but pushes me home at night!

just got a m8 of mine into cycling,hes 55 and never been on a bike for years, he loves its

u can cycle till the grave

Haven't cycled for a while but going to back into it and cycle across the USA next year or the year after

nice steady introduction back then joel.
Nothing to strenuous.

pmsl ,ye nothing to hard joel

Training starts soon lads

is there a reason for this joel,i e charity type ride or just with m8s

a local guy Chris Hopkinson who lived a few miles away was the 1st to Brit to complete the RAAM in 2005 super strong endurance cyclist but still ended up finishing the ride in a neck brace & eventually giving up competing due to long term damage /nerves on his hand from the event.

a clip of his story
"My difficulties started immediately after I had climbed the Pacific Rim mountain range and dropped into the desert with temperatures well above 120°F in the Algondes sand dunes. This was just a taste of what was to come for the next three days until I reached the Rockies. The thermometer regularly touched 130°F going through the Arizona and Utah desert. Riding through Monument Valley in Utah, it was like a frying pan and my support crew rarely wanted to venture out of their air conditioned support vehicles.

After my 90 minute rest breaks in the motorhome, it was like stepping back into a furnace. At one point my crew handed me an ice cream out of the car window but before it reached my hand it had turned to liquid and fell on the floor-sheer mental torture. There was some respite at night as the temperature usually fell to around 100°F.

After reaching the Rockies and climbing up the first 30 mile ascent – Wolf Creek Pass – there was finally relief from the high temperatures as there was snow on the ground (we were over 2 miles high at this point – more than 11,000 feet).

I struggled with the Rockies both mentally and physically. I have never been great at climbing hills anyway, but it was at this point that I found out that my friend Bob Breedlove had been killed on the road. From somewhere I managed to find the strength to blank that out of my mind and push on through the three mountain passes of Wolf Creek, La Veta and Cuchara. By the time I reached the Great Plains in Kansas I was so tired that I hardly noticed that the temperature had topped 100°F again!

On day six at about 1800 miles my main bike’s frame snapped and I was forced to use my spare bike. From then on my body began to slowly \nfall apart.

First my neck muscles collapsed and I had to wear an orthopedic neck collar to hold my head up in order to ride, this cut into my front and back.

Next to go was my achilles tendon on my right ankle which partially ruptured.

I was constantly being ice-packed over the last few days just to keep the swelling down enough so that I could ride.

Finally after 10 days and 2600 miles on one of my ‘sleep breaks’, I was in the shower when I completely blacked out. The race doctor came and tested my blood, apparently I had no blood glucose left and was slipping into a diabetic coma. They recommended that I stop, but after coming so far there was no way I was going to do that and I told them so. To bring up my blood sugar they pumped 2 gallons of drink mix into me and fed me chocolate doughnuts.

In the last 100 miles I was so tired that I was falling asleep riding and floored quite a few mailboxes on the straight highway into \nAtlantic City."

wow he sh ould have stopped when the ice cream melted

.....Chris Hopkinson...a monumental achievemnent

Yes I do a couple of 50-60 mile rides in summer each week, it's great stuff. Nothing better than getting out on the bike and enjoying the scenery.

I live on the edge of the Peak District so got some great views and rides, but the hills kill me it has to be said. Hope to go out to France or somewhere on the continent someday, take advantage of the nice routes and views. It would also be good not to be run off the road by the damn car drivers every 5 minutes for a change.

No particular reason JORDI, just a challenge,  have been reading about the Trans-americal trail and I think i could give it a go.

i cycle 15 miles regualrly but i came off last wekk and cut up my legs real bad so i've been on a right downer since getting better now .Went into the pool today for the first time in a week .The cycling is taking its time to get accustomed again and to trust my bike(the chain got stuck) ouch

what is it with car drivers in england ,why do they want to kill people on bikes with there cars,if they knew what could happen would they do it, sad people they are

anyway rant over good luck joel, how many miles a day will you be doing and how long does it take to do
but i think your mad to do it but good luck

Put plenty of training in Joel as Ian Wright is currently showing on ITV 4 that a lack of training is leaving him hitching a ride in the auto bus(stage2) and only on the flatlands on the geoff thomas tour de france cancer ride.

pmsl at some of the idiot comments on here...shows they know nothing about cycling...the 'any adult with a few hours can get up em' takes the biscuit...I can now but when I did L'Etape last year I had to stop a couple of times...and that was after 3hrs 20 mins in the London Marathon and cycling Lands End to John O'Groats in 9 days as part of the training!!!

I'm telling you for a fact that at least 50% of the population have NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER of ever being able to cycle up Madeleine!!!

I would think that % age would be far greater n6.
Id reckon 80% plus wouldnt make it.

I think what a lot of people under-estimate is the heat. Been to spectate at the tour several times and feck me...it can be hard enough walking up the cols to watch let alone racing each other on bikes. Despite being a keen amateur cyclist for many years it is stuff like that what put's me off the things like the etape, read too many horror stories of misery and suffering I can't help but think it's not worth it.

anyone been out today?
Got absolutely smothered in thunder flies/midges.
Never experienced anything like it.

yes went out around 12, very nice  and hot

JORDI: most people call me mad so I am used to it [;)]. Will be doing
around 60 miles a day, sometimes more up to 100 on some days. Should take around 2 1/2 months, I intend to be doing the riding early in the mornings to avoid most of the heat.

joel how are you going to pay for and just living, i have kids and home to run myself ,just not not sure what your situation is tbf, but would love to do the same thing myself,anyway goodluck with it

Jordi, I am still single so wont be a problem paying, a lot of the places it goes through are smallish towns, pretty sure accomodation is not so expensive in most places, will just save up a bit and it should be fine.

OK  thought you were a single man joel, anyway goodluck mate

thanks mate will keep you posted

ok please do

Try to do 60-70km every weekend, and try to fit in 20-30kms on turbo trainer (hard) during the week when I have time/not too exhausted after work/kids!

In training at the moment for our two weeks in France coming up, wifes family are in the Auvergne, town called Aurillac.. 40kms to the top of the Puy Mary (col de pas de peyrol, 1650m, 11kms @ 6.7%) - I do it every year, absolutely love it. Takes an hour to get up it, 10 mins to come down!!

Its a Cat 1 climb in the Tour, they came over it in 2008 when Sanchez won the stage, the finishing straight was on the mother in laws street, was fantastic.. they also came over from the Salers side in 2004 I think, was on the climb about 500m from the top when Verinque led over from Axel Merckx on Bastille day - the crowd were just going bananas, it was brilliant..

and agree with whoever said above, it is hard enough to walk up these climbs in the heat yet alone cycle up them.. I am not supremely fit, or do as much as I did in my youth, but even when I am burning up and crawling up the steepest parts I love it!

Used to cycle quite a bit when I was a student, but I'm b*ggered if I'm going to do it living in London. Three friends and I are toying with doing Calais-Santander next summer.

Trying to get one of our dads (who are all retired) on board as a directeur sportif, otherwise we're gonna have to carry all our stuff in paniers!