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13th Jul 2009 Bike 4 Cancer Blog 11th - 13th July
Monday 13th July
The team have spent the day in Chamonix soaking up the sunshine and spectacular views of Mont Blanc. RG also took time to have a well deserved massage and was very lucky to stumble across Debbie Cashmore at Cabinet de Kinesitherapie et D’Osteopathie. Debbie was able to give RG a full bill of health and very generously made a donation with the condition that it is only valid if he finishes the ride in Paris on Sunday. Team Bike 4 Cancer is also growing! On Stage 16 the riders are being joined by Mike & Guy – a father and son team also riding le Tour who have lost the services of their driver. For the final big stage on Saturday Kingpin legends, Dave Barson and John Rodway will be joining RG for the final push up Mt Ventoux.
RMW left the camp ahead of the main party today so he could meet up with his wife and daughter. This left RG and the support boys to break camp and get on the road for another tough day. Tom took the opportunity to film much of the day which included a tough morning ride over undulating terrain - this combined with a head wind made it hard to get a good rhythm going but after a spectacular downhill crossing the border into Switzerland the scenery more than made up for the physical hardship.
Lunch was finally enjoyed in the spectacular Swiss Alps before tackling the category 2 climb to Les Moses. Despite some roadworks this was a relatively easy climb to 1450m and was rewarded by a 30km downhill into the pretty town of Aigle - RG managed 78kmh overtaking a motor-home but still the elusive 80kmh is yet to be obtained. A long drag then followed along the valley to Martigny passing through a town called Bex - RG stopped to call his mates Bex Herbertson & Bex Reynolds.
The final ascent up the awesome climb to Verbier was however still ahead and having already ridden 200km RG had to use all his willpower to turn the pedals and put this stage to bed. The road was a pleasure with smooth Tarmac, endless hairpins and stunning views across the valley. RG had reserved enough energy for a sprint to meet the boys at the finish - he also caught up with the other English team doing the tour and made plans to ride with them later in the week. With the sun setting and Caroline's happy song 'Build Me Up Buttercup' on the iPod RG overtook the cars on the downhill before heading to Chamonix for the rest day.
Saturday 11th July Yet another long day as the team complete the transition stage - they have now ridden 1000kms in 5 days. This stage once again started with cold weather and both riders were wrapped up well. The landscape for the first 60km was uninspiring - the houses being Germanic and the fields growing little but corn. The irrigation systems were however impressive in their scale and gave the boys a soaking at times.
As lunch approached, a category 3 climb made things more interesting and whilst RMW made light work of it RG felt as if the brakes were on. After an enjoyable lunch the route then hugged the Swiss border. The landscape also changed becoming more undulating. By now RG was suffering with some mild indigestion whilst the first signs of saddle soreness also started to make themselves known. After a final stop to refill the biduons (water bottles) and with the sun now shining, the final 50km was a pleasure as the road followed the Doubs River. The team regrouped by the river in Besançon and headed on to another campsite to prepare for a tough stage crossing into Switzerland. For further information: |
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