Winter bike get ready!

With the posh camping booked and the EuroStar tickets presumably on their way it's perhaps time to think about getting together some kind of training plan. I'll hold off on that thought for another day as it seems prudent, or perhaps a delaying tactic, to get my winter bike the once over.

I'm a reasonable mechanic around the bike. While I've all the tools and the relative know how to strip, clean and reassemble all of the constitute parts, I like to let the professionals give my bike(s) a once a year through going over.

Above: Canyon Ultimate AL

Earlier in the week I took my winter and all round training bike, a Canyon Ultimate AL, into the good people at Banjo Cycles for its annual overhaul. One "Gold Service" later and she's running smoother and quieter than ever having had the bottom bracket tightened and a few wheel bearings replaced.

With an almost new feeling bike there's really no excuse not to start training with a plan in place to start in the first week in October. More of that later in the next week or so.

For now it's time to get outside and enjoy the 28 degree sun and perhaps have a beer - no doubt one of the last until the 7th of July 2012!

Marmotte logistics - part 2

Decision time
Having been over the options many many times in my head and on paper I've come to a accommodation decision which perhaps is outside the norm.

Rather than book the trip via a tour and have everything organised for me,  I've decided to do everything for myself.   I've opted to stay at the  Le Belledonne campsite which is a little over 7km to the North of the start village.

Why?
In my mind this all makes good sense.  The primary reason to avoid the organised tours, hotels and chalets is due to cost and flexibility.  Came July of next year I'll be making the trip to the South of France with my non cycling wife and, by then, a bouncing toddler.  In this instance, a hotel and an organised trip just wont do.

Similarly, the camping option, or in this case glamping as the onsite cabin has all the mod-cons, gives me the option to book for as many or as few days as I'd like which isn't possible with the Chalets.  In all of the cases I've seen so far a minimum stay of 7 nights is required which for me, is too long a stay.

So camping it is.  I'd better start training.

Marmotte logistics - part 1

Towards the end of my last post I wondered on the efficiencies or otherwise of using a tour operator for next year's Marmotte.

The advantages of doing so are quite obvious.  A guaranteed bed to sleep in, food on the table and of course a ticket into the event thrown in for good measure.  There's plenty of companies willing to part you of your money to offer the services.  Gastrobiking, GMP10 & Veloventoux being just three operators that come across well in the usual forums.

Of course there's the self sufficient option which on paper seems quite simple.  Gain entry via the official website and stay in a hotel / apartment / campsite within Bourg / AdH or the surrounding area.

Perhaps staying on top of the Alpe is a good idea.  While the ride down to the start in the morning may test the nerves, especially if its cold and wet,  the added incentive of a waiting bed at the top of the last climb may provide that necessary incentive to just keep going.

If I'm honest, I'm thinking the latter option is the one I'm more likely to go for with a apartment at the top of the Alpe.  I'll give it a few more days to run through the options a couple times more before getting out the debit card.

A date in the diary

With the route firmly fixed the only open question pertains to the date. Not any more....

It's looking highly likely the date of 2012 edition of La Marmotte has been finalised with the local tourist office in Bourg d’Oisans confirming wheels are set to roll on the 7th of July.

That said, there is no confirmation from the official website which simply offers a generic December date for when places on the ride become avaliable.

I'm inclined to think the 7th is accurate.  The hotels and chalets in the local area certainly think so with avaliability looking somewhat constrained (see below for a view from Expedia).  Advance bookings from tour operators perhaps or have people just been so damn organised already?

Above: any rooms left I wonder?

Clearly, it's time to think trip logistics.  Self organised or Tour Operator?

Before I hit the forums and other usual online resources, has anyone any tips?

La Marmotte Route - 2012

Unlike say the Etape where would be riders and bloggers spend July through to October scouring online forum's for rumours about the route, La Marmotte affords no such guessing.

Year in year out it's the same. 174kms. No changes. No alterations. Ever.


Above: The Route in Full

It offers the rider and this blogger the comfort of conformity. It's journey over the familiar Hores Categorie ascents of the Glandon, the Telegraphe, the Galibier and of course finishing upon the Alpe d'Huez remain forever unchanging.

With it taking in somewhere of the region of 5k meters of vertical ascent it's clearly a day out in the mountains that requires perhaps a fair amount of preparation. It's certainly not a little pootle to the shops of say (and in no way is this a disparaging remark) the annual jaunt between London and Brighton.

I'm sure there are other tougher and no doubt more fulfilling events to do, but for a cyclist to ride these Cols, the ones where legends were and continue to be made, will certainly take some beating.

And so it begins....

Firstly a warm welcome to this my little attempt at keeping a record of everything and anything to do with my attempt to ride the 2012 edition of the La Marmotte Cyclosportive.

The keen eyed amongst you will perhaps notice I've been here (or here about) before. In 2010 I kept a similar journal, which some people were kind enough to read every so often, on my preparation in riding that years Etape.

Sadly that ride wasn't meant to be. Illness and a wise MD who withdrew my medical certificate accreditation the week before the ride meant I was unable to compete the event.

But of course that's all along time in the past. So anyway, I'll pop back here as often as I'm able. As before I'll keep things brief and will try not to post too many times on FTP's and wattages and such like.

That said, I may indulge myself once in a while.....