Summary: Thomson Bike Tours, preparation for the tour etc.

Ok - for anyone interested in participating in a Tour de France bike tour, here is a summary of my experiences with Thomson Bike Tours and my training and preparation for the event.

Training and preparation

Four months out, the schedule for Thomson's six day Tour de France trip was intimidating. There were two categories for participation, Performance and Extreme. Even the lesser Performance category required around 500 km of riding for the week and a mind blowing 10,000 metres of ascent to complete the full schedule. I trained hard towards this and, two weeks before the trip, completed a final week of 478 km and 7,000 km of climb, before a welcome two-week taper.

In the event, I need not have worried. There were many people on the trip less able than myself (and I should mention here that my age is 64 and I come from a background of regular sports participation). When someone wanted a rest they simply hopped on to the sag wagon or took a day off. For me, the long days were comfortable, especially with time out for lunch, coffee and croissants - or simply re-fueling at the Thomson van and waiting for the bunch to regroup.

My preparation consisted of gradually increasing weekly distances with lots of hills on a two weeks hard / one week easy basis. Every couple of weeks I tried to do a ride in excess of 100 km, and towards the end of the period included two hard days back to back and then three hard days. There was no intensity or interval training.

You can find descriptions of many training rides in the earlier pages of this blog.

The experience

It was a most enjoyable week. Other participants were from Australia, USA, Canada and South Africa -and all good company. My wife was part of the separate VIP group and did no cycling but enjoyed visits to the enclosed areas of the start and finish to two Tour stages, and trips to Annecy and Chamonix.

The cost of the trip was not inexpensive, but when you look at the work and investment incurred by Thomson Bike Tours it represented good value. Each of the two groups was always accompanied by a support van, driver and at least one ride leader. We either rode from the hotel or the bikes were loaded on top of the vans and we were driven to the departure point.

The vans provided food and drink as required - fresh fruit, nuts, energy bars, water, carbo powder etc. I can't praise the staff enough. They could not do enough to help, despite what must have been an exhausting schedule. Even the English-speaking, Spanish bike mechanic broke the mould from which most bike mechanics seem to be made by being able to compose coherent sentences and even crack a smile. If you were struggling on a ride they would ride with you and provide encouragement; if you weren't struggling they would ride with you anyway and provide good company.

Communications before the event were comprehensive. Thomson provided equipment lists, digital ride routes that could be downloaded to a Garmin, profiles of the climbs, relevant addresses and contact details, pick up and drop off points at the beginning and end of the trip and so on.

Each evening there was a short briefing before dinner for the following day's ride.

The Tour de France viewing stations

The highlight of our trip was riding two major climbs on the Tour just ahead of the peloton, and then watching the riders come past from the comfort of a marquee with satellite TV to watch the approach and finish of the stage. Thomson's staff had set up the marquees three days beforehand to secure a good spot and slept in the marquees to safeguard the contents.

On the day of the Tour they were waiting for us with a fridge full of beer, wine and soft drinks; nibbles; smorgasbord lunch; chairs and the aforementioned TV. And this entire effort was duplicated - a different crew for each of the two stages. We loved it!

Riding the stages was a blast, with the climbs lined by flag-waving fans with their campers and BBQs, and many other cyclists doing the climb with you.

Bikes: BYO or hire?

Out of the 24 clients on out trip I estimate that perhaps only three brought their own bikes and the remainder paid $500 US to hire a bike for the week. Initially I planned on bringing a bike, but when I learnt that Air France charges 200 Euros to ship a bike I changed my mind. 

The hire bikes were full carbon, Ultegra-equipped Bianchis. Each of them was set up to our personal measurements (obtained beforehand), with an appropriate frame size, and stem. You brought your own pedals, shoes and helmet and that was it. There was a mechanic on hand to fix any problems, so all good there.

Accommodation and food

Being a bit of a self-indulgent prat it would be easy for me to make some criticisms here. However the rooms were clean and, well, roomy and the food was wholesome and the quantity entirely appropriate to the number of calories we were expending each day - if lacking a bit of variety.

The hotel did have an excellent open-air swimming pool that we made good use of each day cooling off after rides. The hotel staff were extremely pleasant and helpful.

Verdict: recommended. Chances are I will sign up for another trip next year.

Thomson Bike Tours day 6 - Tour de France Col d'Izoard

The last day of our trip, and the 'queen' stage of the Tour in the Alps - the most demanding stage. The riders had three big climbs to contend with and we rode the second, the HC Col d'Izoard. I must be getting blasé but even at 19 km and over 1,100 metres of climb at 6% it was not an undue worry - maybe the training effect was kicking in?

This day also involved the longest van journey. Our route took us through the Frejus Tunnel under Mt Blanc and into Italy (where we had the first good coffee for quite a while), then back over the Alps to the town of Briancon at the base of the climb.

The Devil at the bottom of the climb from Briancon.

The Thomson marquee for today was situated half-way up the climb, so it was an easy first part of the climb, replenish water bottles at the marquee and then complete the second, steeper, section to the col. I was riding up this section with Thomson staff members Kate and Claire when we overtook an English rider who tackled them about the quality of Thomson's van drivers, who he reckoned had come past him too close on the road. To Kate's credit she handled it beautifully, apologised, and promised to inform the Thomson management.

The guy continued to grumble so we accelerated and I asked Kate, in perhaps too loud a voice, if we had dropped him yet. Apparently not, he was on our shoulder. Kate then got a bug down her cycling top, said something most unladylike, and she and Claire pulled over, leaving me with the grump. He came past me, perhaps wishing to make a point, so I pulled up alongside him again and chatted in a convivial manner. We picked up the pace and, after a while, he did disappear.

The top of the climb was another sea of bikes and camper vans. 

A quick photo or two and it was back to the marquee for the drinks and lunch - they really do have a great team! Once again we watched the Tour on satellite TV, with an even bigger crowd outside the tent watching it over our heads.

Then back down the hill to the vans and the long drive back to Albertville. The end of a fantastic week with some wonderful memories and good friends made. Next year, will it be the Giro or the Pyrenees section of the Tour?

Thomson Bike Tours day 5 - Tour de France Chamrousse finish

So today was the big day: our first ride over part of a stage of the Tour, and a mountain top finish at that. As it turned out, this was the stage where Nibali was to assert his dominance over the remaining contenders for GC and our own Richie Porte sadly dropped out of the reckoning.

We were up at 6 am, early breakfast and drove for 90 minutes to the village of St-Martin-d'Uriage at the bottom of the climb. The important factor here was to get up the climb and back down to the Thomsom viewing marquees before the Gendarmes closed the road.

Unloading the bikes at the base of the climb.

The climb itself was a beauty; 18.2 km, 1,350 metes elevation gain at an average gradient of 7.2%, largely through beautiful forest. Along the way I stopped for a pee and was unfairly attacked by Sergei, one Thomson's ride leaders for the day, who opened up a gap equivalent to the length of time it takes a 64 year old to empty his bladder. It was a big gap. And a quite unnecessary tactic from Sergei, who holds the King of the Mountains (KOM) record on Strava for the Agliru - reputedly the hardest climb of all on the bike racing circuit.

I retaliated in kind. Daniel, another of the ride leaders, and I overhauled him (he wasn't trying, but do I need to say that), and Daniel restrained his bike by the saddle while I executed an impressive burst of high cadence cycling to open a goodly lead. It would be nice to say the next time I saw him was at the top but...

The whole climb was brilliant. All the way up there were camper vans, groups picnicking, flag waving people giving you a cheer etc. 

Even the Gendarmes seemed to be of a friendly disposition...

...well, almost.

I passed the Thomson marquees 2 km from the top...

...and continued to the ski village of Chamrousse, passing the 1 km to go kite and into the closed off section to within 100 metres of the finish line. 

There were bikes and people everywhere, with stalls selling Tour de France souvenirs, the finish line pavilions for the VIPs and even a commentator or two around. A bit much for me so I turned around and free-wheeled back down to the marquees.

A cold beer or three restored equilibrium... 

...(still wearing that smart hat) and we watched the Tour in the marquee on satellite TV (with English commentary) as the riders gradually approached the climb. 

It was sad to see half-way up the climb that Richie Porte dropped of the back of the peloton. As they approached our position you could hear the gradual increase in volume of the helicopters and with 1 km to go we left the TV and took up position by the roadside.

One of the defining moments of the trip for me was the site of Nibali gapping the chasing pack and rounding the bend at speed to take first place for the stage at the summit. 

Then the peloton began to come past, working hard, sweating, and looking so young (like boys) and all with a tiny build.

The climb had really strung them out, and it was over 30 minutes before the last rider passed our viewing point. Once the excitement was over we packed up and joined the throng for the ride back down the hill to the vans and back to base, just beating the team busses.

Another great day out.

Thomson Bike Tours day 4 - Col de la Croix Fry + three other cols

In many ways today was the most enjoyable of the trip from a pure cycling perspective. For a start, there was no van ride - we rode straight from the hotel and did a big loop back to base again. Rather than do one or two big ascents we did four (or was it five?) smaller climbs, although admittedly one of them was the HC Col de la Croix Fry. Funny: a couple of months ago this climb would have freaked me out; now it was just another part of a long and pleasant day on the bike.

For the first time this morning there was a bit of stiffness and slight pain in the quads. After four days, though, that's good; it usually gets me around the afternoon of the second day, so the training has worked well.

We set off from the hotel and the first climb was the 7 km Col de l'Epine, a category 2 at 7%. It came and went without incident, just attractive woodland scenery and an easy spinning rhythm to the top.

The delightful Kate, a former pro cyclist and one of our ride leaders for the day at the foot of the Col de l'Epine.

At the top of the col.

The next climb was the Col de la Croix Fry, an hors categorie climb at 11.2 km, 806 metres and 7%, with a 3 km section in excess of 10%. Yes, this was a bit harder work but there was the attraction of an alfresco lunch at the top.

The table was set for another bike group but first in, best dressed...

With South African buddies Raoul and Avi - note the stylish T de F give-away headgear.

Then it was largely downhill with what Toni, Thomson's GM described as 'bumps' - the Col des Aravis, an unnamed col and did we do the Forclaz as well? - can't remember.

Another great day - 104 km and 3,000 metres of climb.

Thomson Bike Tours day 3 - Col de la Madeleine

We split into three groups today. The VIP's left for their spectator viewing of the finish of the day's stage of the Tour, and the Performance and Extreme groups had a ride up the Col de la Madeleine. 

The VIPs, leaving for the finish of a Tour stage.

I took the plunge and accepted the tour leader's suggestion to switch from the Performance group to the Extreme group - on the basis that today's ride would be similar for both groups, with the Extreme group climbing an additional small un-named col en route to the Madeleine (plus, in the back of my mind, the thought that most of the group would be trashed after their big day out yesterday :-).

The un-named col came and went without incident and Alex, our Spanish ride leader for the day, set a good pace of between 30 - 32 kph on the 50 km ride to the base of the Madeleine. We stopped at the bottom for a coffee, to refill water bottles and replenish food supplies before beginning the climb.

According to the rankings of French climbs the Madeleine was to be the most difficult of the climbs on our itinerary. It is 20 km in length and rises over 1,500 metres at a solid average of 8%, with extended sections in excess of 10%. At an average speed of just over 10 kph it was going to take us nearly two hours to the top. 

After a while I was in the front group with Alex, Avi (a South African), Raoul (his SA buddy) and Jack, from Sydney, at 21 the youngest person on the tour. We maintained a steady pace, alternating between spinning in the 34 x 30 gear and standing in the 34 x 23 to rest the different muscle groups.

At the 16 km mark there was only Alex, Avi and myself left and the pace gradually increased. I was dropped at the 18 km mark by 30 metres, got back on again for a hundred metres or so and then dropped for a second and final time, arriving at the col a couple of hundred metres back. 

The top of the Col de la Madeleine.

There is a cafe at the top with views across to the Italian face of Mt Blanc. We sat in the shade and ordered omelettes while waiting for the rest to arrive. 

A great lunch spot - Mt Blanc visible back left.

After a while we all regrouped, replenished supplies again at the Thomson van and began the 25 km descent. This was a blast, although some suffered from hand cramps with all the braking. Once back at the base of the mountain it was another flat and fast 25 km back to Albertville.

We returned the bikes to the bike garage, had an impromptu meal of sandwiches prepared by the brilliant Thomson staff and had the pleasant choice of watching the last 30 km of the Tour over a beer, taking a swim in the pool or a recovery snooze - or all three as it turned out.

The Thomson staff do an excellent job. They had pre-dinner sandwich ingredients waiting for us when we returned from La Madeleine.

Thomson Bike Tours day 2 - Alpe d'Huez, Col de la Croix de Fer

Up at 5.30, breakfast at 6.00 and away in the vans at 7.00 for a 90 minute drive to the start of the ride.

The Thompson vans with bikes loaded ready for off.

If I'm tempted to think our day is demanding with 92 km and 2,600 metres of climbing I can find some schadenfreude comfort in the prospect of the Extreme group: their day is the same as ours, plus the Col du Telegraphe and Col du Galibier, for a total of 180 km and 4,900 metres climb.

We have a five kilometer warm up spin and then straight into the first climb of the day, the Alpe d'Huez. This climb consists of 22 hairpin bends, all numbered and many of them named after famous cyclists, for a total of 14.2 km and 1,091 metres at 7.7%.

Right from the start it kicks up at 11% for the first two kilometers. We get into a rhythm and soon there is just Jordy, Thomson's Spanish ride leader for the day, a South African, a young guy from Sydney and me - with the rest strung out at various stages down the hill. After about an hour and twenty minutes we top out in the ski village and settle down for a coffee. 

Once the group re-assembled it was back down the first four switchbacks and into a right turn for a spectacular 10 km traverse across the face of the mountain and then a descent to the bottom. 

Shortly after we began the second ascent of the day, the Col de la Croix de Fer. This is actually more demanding than the Alpe at 27.5 km and 1,292 metres. The average gradient of 4.7% is misleading as there are two significant descents during the climb - most of it is between 8 and 12 %. I think it took about two hours, initially with a couple of other riders and the last few km with Kate Veronneau, another of our exceptional support staff.

The iron cross that gives the Col de la Croix de Fer it's name.

Then a 28 km descent to the finish and a sleep in the van on the return to Albertville. Footnote: the Extreme group eventually rolled in at 9.15 PM. Two of them managed to complete the entire ride - a demanding day for everyone. I may have offended someone as the group leader wants me to abandon the Performance group tomorrow and join the Extreme group. Ha ha.

Thomson Bike Tours day 1 - Col de la Tamie

After the first day all I can say is that the organisation is extremely efficient, the staff excellent and they are giving us a good time.

We were collected from Lyons airport and bussed a couple of hours to accommodation in Albertville, a small town in the foothills of the French Alps. The first task was to transfer the pedals and seats we had brought with us to our hire bikes - Bianchis with Ultegra groupsets. There were about 24 riders in two riding groups, Extreme and Performance. This was done in the 'bike garage' - quite a spectacular site with all the bikes and gear around.

We set of on the afternoon's warm up ride of about 50 km. The first 10 km were very pleasant on a bike path alongside a river. The col was a fairly untaxing 10 km at around 4%. 

I had promised myself to take it easy and just spin up, keeping the heart rate under 150 and treating it as a warm up for the more demanding rides later in the week. Unfortunately I put myself on the wheel of Daniel, Thomson's ride leader for the day, and as he gradually upped the pace, could not help but respond. The 150 heart rate came and went, as did 160, and there were only three of us left in touch now as the pace continued to increase; 164, 165, 166 and I reached the limit and dropped off his wheel about 800 metres from the top.

The support van was waiting in a light rain. We had something to eat and donned rain jackets for the descent back into town. After the ride - a beer in the bar and we all watched the last 20 km of the real Tour: Contador out with a broken leg, Nibali increasing his lead and our own Ritchie Porte up into second place!

A good dinner and early bed in anticipation of a 6am start on the following day.

Col de Nice, Col de Turin and Ornellaia

After a last hard week of serious training this was supposed to an easy week - the first week of a two week taper - to arrive in the Alps fresh and ready to go. The first six days were indeed easy, with only 100 km covered in two rides. On the seventh day, instead of resting and contemplating my labours, I let Eric (Eh-reek) talk me into the Col de Turin.

We arranged to meet 7am in the Place Massina. I waited until 7.15 but no Eric so set off to find the Col on my own.

Getting out of Nice in that direction is not easy. You keep getting sucked onto high-speed dual carriage ways with underpasses, overpasses and no bike lanes. Even early on a Sunday morning there was enough fast traffic to be intimidating. Once out of the city there is a gradual climb to the Col de Nice and a descent before the climb to the Col de Turin begins. En route I fell in with a pleasant guy, coincidentally also called Eric (a bit like Bruce and Australia?), who was riding 30 km to Escarene to do a 40 km run and then ride home again.

With new riding buddy at Escarene, the start of the climb to the Col de Turin...

He changed out of his riding gear and entered this mountain race...

From Escarene it is 30 km and a 1,532 metre climb to the Col, at an average gradient of 5.1% - good preparation for next Tuesday's trip up the Col de la Madeleine which has 12 metres less climb and is 10 km shorter, but quite a bit steeper at 7.7%.

The climb included this sequence of switchbacks up the head wall of a valley. It was steeper here at around 7 - 8%...

But the col itself was a bit of a let down, with hotels and cafés, rather than wild alpine country.

Then it was 30 km of downhill back to Escarene, passing the runners and new buddy Eric making his way up, followed by a short climb back over the Col de Nice and another not altogether successful attempt at finding a relatively safe route through the city.

96 km and 1,900 metres climb. One week to go to the 'tour'.

Wine

It has been a while since I mentioned anything about wine, probably because the bike riding has taken precedence. However there was occasion to comment this week when I spent a couple of days with our daughter at her house in Juan-Les-Pins. I assembled some wine racks for her cellar and in return she pulled out a bottle of 05 Ornellaia. 

A vague knowledge of the name and the dusty tannins led me to think it was a Sangiovese. It was indeed from Italy and Tuscany, but a quick Google identified it as a 'super Tuscan', a Bordeaux blend of cabernet and Merlot - rich, complex and a bit over the top as an aperitif on a warm summer's afternoon.

Taper time: Var valley exploration

Two weeks to go to the big event and it's time to freshen up after all the hard work. Last week was the biggest yet at 478 km and 7,000 metres of climb. Encouragingly, the body didn't feel too bad afterwards. I took a couple of days off anyway, and plan on an easy 250 km this week and 150 next week. 

On one of the off days we took the bus to Cap Ferrat. The French seem to have public transport nailed. You can take the bus anywhere within 35 km of Nice for a flat fare of E1.50. The number 81 bus drops you off a short walk from Plage Passable, a pleasant little public beach on Cap Ferrat with a private beach club next door.

Last year we hired 'matelas' - beach lounges with sun umbrellas - and had lunch here. You can see this year that the place is nearly deserted, all the umbrellas are down and the matelas empty. The beach marks the start of a footpath that follows the precipitous shoreline around the peninsula. It must be one of the great short walks in the world, with magnificent views across the bay to Ville-Franche and the Corniche.

...obscured a bit by the occasional cruise ship...

On the far side of the peninsula is the village of Saint-Jean, with its collection of boutiques and harbour-side restaurants. We stopped by for a drink and lunch.

And if you look closely, you'll see that the restaurants here are deserted also. Where is everyone? It's the middle of the summer season in one of the tourist hot spots of the Riviera on a sunny lunchtime and no one is eating. Looks like everyone stayed at home - so what does that say about public confidence in the global economy?

On the way back we snoozed on the bus, like this couple...

The Var Valley

Next day it was time to get back on the bike again. I had been meaning to explore the Var for a while - it's the big river that drains the Maritime Alps and empties into the Med next to Nice airport. From the top of the Var there are some interesting rides across the grain of the country around the back of Nice, connecting into Paille and La Turbie, an area I am familiar with to the east of the city.

The first 10km are rather ordinary on a busy commercial road, but then you hit the Var cycle way. Some far sighted traffic engineer saw fit to construct 17 km of entirely separate, flat, smooth, uninterrupted cycle way along the edge of the Var and adjacent to the main highway.

Here it is from the northern terminus, a great venue for interval training and fitness tests (although I doubt that is what the designing engineer had front of mind when it was built). Unfortunately I ran out of time to complete the original plan and had to return by the same route, so the cross-country trip will have to wait for another occasion.

63 km and 250m climb.