Training for an ultra marathon cycling event takes time, dedication and a great deal of effort. Sadly with only 3 weeks till the start of the event my back was against the wall.
In 2007 I rode the entire route 1 day ahead of the professionals and thought I would put together an overview of my trip and provide some pointers for others tempted to tackle a stage or the whole route. This is part 2 of a series of articles documenting my story. To read Part 1
An epic personal Tour de France
I made the initial decision to ride the route, but what I hadn’t decided was which day to ride. There are basically 3 options, each has advantages and disadvantages.
Option 1 is to Ride the stage the pro peloton is riding on the same day. The advantage of this is that the roads are generally closed to traffic, there are loads of cyclists doing the same thing and lots of road side spectators to cheer you on. The disadvantage is that you are under constant time pressure. This is because the French authorities close the roads to EVERYBODY about 2 hour before the peloton is due to come through each section. This means that it is all to easy to get stopped in your tracks and be unable to finish a stage (as happened to Paul Howard in “Riding High”).
Option 2 is to ride the stage at a different time to the actual tour such as 1 week before or after. The advantage of this is that you have as much time on a given day to finish a stage, you can also take extra rest days, spreading the tour over more days then the pro peloton. Again this takes alot of pressure off and mitigates some of the problems that can be encountered. for example if your support vehicle has a mechanical breakdown. The disadvantage is that you are not really connected to the Tour. there will be no spectators, no other’s riding the route. The experience will be more like that of a long audax or cycle tour.
Option 3 is to ride the tour the day before the pro peloton. This is obviously the option I chose for the following treasons. You feel very connected to the tour, there are other riders, 1000’s of spectators, on rest days you can watch the pro tour ride the stage you finished yesterday, you have 24 hours to ride the stage and get to the start line of the next days stage, traffic is not a huge problem for your support vehicle.
I very nearly went for the option of riding on the same day as the pro peloton and now can clearly state that the decision to ride on the day before was the single most important in my ability to finish the event and also in terms of enjoyment for my Mother and I met a whole community of people on the road all involved in some aspect of the TdF who were there everyday whether riding, putting up road signs and so on which really made the trip for us. It became a shared experience and lead to my most powerful memories “the people I met”.
But all this was in the future. I began training hard in London. my first task was to write a list of the number of days I had till the off. It was not encouraging 21 days till the off! Working backwards from the start day I set out a basic plan.
This was to train very hard for 2 weeks then taper my training in the last week reducing volume so that I would be fresh for the fist stage. I was pretty naive at this point not understanding the need for rest days, recovery rides, heart monitors, power meters and so on. So I threw myself into long endurance rides in a desperate attempt to prepare my body.
The one aspect of my fitness levels up to this point that really did work in my favour was that I was used to riding my bike EVERY DAY. I cannot stress how important this was.
Having never cycled over 40 odd miles or sat on the bike for longer than 2 hours in one stretch I structured my training to fit in with this. In a sense I turned it into a strength and used it as a strategy for completing each stage.
I basically trained 3 times per day. each session was a 2 hour ride at whatever pace I could manage. I have no self discipline when it comes to training so cannot ride a circular route as it is to easy to cut off a section and come back early ! So i use to set off from my house and ride for 1 hour in any direction but straight away from my house. After 1 hour I would stop, eat some food and rest for 5-10 minutes then ride back home.
I would then eat some food, relax for a few hours and then repeat the process in the afternoon and then repeat again in the evening. After 3 days of this rather too ambitious plan I had my first burn out and did no training on the 4 nth day. My demons spoke loudly and I spent the day in bed cursing myself for not riding. I can see with the benefit of hindsight that I needed the rest but that day I felt terrible about myself. That my dream was slipping away.
The next couple of days I got back on my regime a did the 3 sessions. that weekend was the London to Brighton bike ride. I was not entered but thought I would go long and ride the event. I had read of people doing there and back and set out to tackle this challenge. I saw it as a stepping stone, a proper event, riding with others and an opportunity to test and push myself beyond my current tolerance.
The day didn’t start well, on my way to the start at Clapham Common my brand new chain snapped, meaning I had to take a taxi, find a bike shop that was open, buy new chain and get them to fit it. No easy task on a Sunday but I did eventually make it to Clapham at about 12.30pm the place was deserted. Not a cyclist in site !
This story continues tomorrow as I abandon London to Brighton and come close to quitting the project. Read Part 3
To watch the Sky News interview with Luke in Paris Sky News
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[...] my 3 weeks of training for the 3500km ride. As you can imagine it doesn’t go that smoothly! Read Part 2 To watch the Sky News interview with Luke in Paris Sky [...]
What can I say Luke: Those were hands down the 3 toughest weeks I have ever had but also the most memorable and amazing weeks EVER! I still think you were crazy doing it on your own but then I did it with 14 other testosterone ladden boys which was equally dumb!
more more more:)
This is great reading. Don’t stop, tell us the rest of the story.