More Pasta Anyone?

And no, in this instance I'm not going on about the copious amounts of carbo loading that many people riding the Marmotte are likely to be undertaking as we get to the pointy end of the taper.

I'm fresh off a flight from Italy where I decided to spend a long weekend with Mrs T and my toddler son.  I left Italy in beautiful sunshine with the thermometer hitting 38 degrees and now find myself in temperatures of around half that with much of the UK under water though flooding.

Above: An Italian View

But never mind.  In a few days Mrs T and I are planning to load up the car and make our way down to the Alpe.  While my injured collar bone is healing nicely, there's no way I'm able to ride this years event.  The best I'm hoping for is a gentle (if that's at all possible) ascent of the D'Huez just to say I did it.

I'm planning to have a go at the 21 bends on Thursday 5th July.  No doubt I'll drop a little post or two along the way.

Hope everyone traveling has a safe trip.

A few Training Stats

Since injury will force me to miss this years Marmotte, I’m planning on winding down this blog over the next few weeks or so.  As per my previous post, I’m still intending to travel to the event if anything to use the time as a little R&R with Mrs T who has been so good with me over the past few months. 

The half finished Journey

Perhaps unwisely, I made the 2012 edition of La Marmotte my primary and only real event for the year which means I’ve nothing race wise to fall back on.  While I originally stated I was looking to achieve a gold time, I was secretly hoping for something far faster and to finish towards the pointy end of the field.  Something perhaps in the 7.15 – 7.30  hours sort of a time frame. 

While a tad arrogant, given my numbers and power to weight ratio I think this sort of time would have been doable were everything to have gone well on the day. 

Of course.  I’ll never know.  Or not at least this year.  I may return to the event in 2013 although it wont be my A1 all eggs in one basket sort of a thing.  I’m certainly planning on doing a few other things and will definitely look at some of the ultra endurance distance events within the Tri or Running world.  Perhaps I’ll make a few decisions while sitting in a café at the top of the Alpe on 7^th July.

Tale of the Tape

For anyone interested, here’s a rundown of the cumulative times and distances I’ve ridden during the course of this blog:

Oct ’11 – 14hrs 26mins – 480kms

Nov ’11 – 24hrs 15mins – 830kms

Dec ’11 – 26hrs 12mins – 855kms

Jan ’12 – 27hrs 9mins – 965kms

Feb ’12 – 23hrs 12mins – 743kms

Mar ’12 – 31hrs 10mins – 985kms

Apr ’12 – 41hrs 31mins – 1378kms

May ’12 – 44hrs 16mins – 1329kms

Jun ’12 – 5hrs 12 mins – 115kms

Totals – 237hrs 23mins – 6,930kms (4,306 miles)

That's What we call a Show Stopper

“There are two types of cyclists.  Those that have crashed, and those that are going to crash”

I’ve heard this phrase quite a few times from riders with far more experience and miles in their legs than I.  For the most part, I’ve fallen into the latter category.  Until this weekend just past.

A wet road.  A wet pedestrian crossing.  A little tumble.  A broken collar bone.

Thankfully it’s a simple break so there’s no need for it to be pinned although with 3 and a bit weeks to go I’ll not be riding this year’s Marmotte.

I still intend to travel and hope at the very least to be healed enough to ride up the Alpe. 

Perhaps another year.  Perhaps another sport.