Location:Home , bed
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| Heaven on earth. Off to do the last 220k. Every little French town has a boulangerie ( balery - spelled something like that..). And they all start baking their bread @ 4:30 am .. And I was going through like 20 of them this morning... I nearly stopped to try and get some!!! |
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| 24 August at 01:29 via Mobile ·
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Contrôle
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Heure
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Cumul
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Intermédiaire
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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES
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21-08 20:00
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0h00
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0 km/h
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0h00
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0.1 km/h
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VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL
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22-08 04:43
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8h43
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25.3 km/h
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8h43
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25.3 km/h
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FOUGERES
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22-08 08:50
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12h50
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24.2 km/h
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4h06
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21.7 km/h
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TINTENIAC
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-
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0h00
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0 km/h
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0h00
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0.1 km/h
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LOUDEAC
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22-08 15:43
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19h43
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22.8 km/h
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0h00
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6553.5 km/h
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CARHAIX-PLOUGUER
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22-08 20:39
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24h39
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21.3 km/h
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4h56
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15.4 km/h
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BREST
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23-08 06:28
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34h28
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17.9 km/h
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9h48
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9.5 km/h
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CARHAIX-PLOUGUER
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23-08 13:43
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41h43
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16.8 km/h
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7h15
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11.7 km/h
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LOUDEAC
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23-08 18:42
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46h42
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16.7 km/h
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4h58
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15.9 km/h
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TINTENIAC
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23-08 22:17
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50h17
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17.2 km/h
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3h34
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23.7 km/h
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FOUGERES
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24-08 05:24
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57h24
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16 km/h
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7h07
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7.6 km/h
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VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL
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24-08 10:21
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62h20
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16.2 km/h
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4h56
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17.8 km/h
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MORTAGNE-AU-PERCHE
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24-08 13:59
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65h58
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16.5 km/h
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3h37
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22.3 km/h
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DREUX
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24-08 18:33
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70h33
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16.5 km/h
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4h34
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16.4 km/h
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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES
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24-08 22:04
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74h04
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16.6 km/h
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3h30
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18.5 km/h
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Kilomètres parcourus: 1230
So, step by step
SQY to Villaines-La-Juhel - This was 140 KM, very long stage. We were standing around for at leat 3 hours before they let us start - by the time we got away I was so hopped up on sports drinks I was ready to fly. We came out of our pen in a group of about 400... with a couple of motobikes leading us through SQY. This went on for a while, I noticed the front of the group split off and start to take off and that didn't sit well with me, so I picked up my own pace about 10K out from the start and set a pace that would get me onto the front peloton in about 4-5 minutes. After about 3 minutes, I looked back and saw I was pulling a train of about 15 riders or so :-) ok, no problem. A few minutes later we were on the back of the front pelo - I got a big pat on the back from an Italian rider for pulling the train - VERY HIGH POINT of the ride! We did a few hills, long flat stretches, darkness fell, lights came on must have done around 50K or so when we started to hit some rolling hills, these posed no problems and we just kept mashing them. I had music on, never feel very sociable when I'm night riding. I guess there was a feed stop, as I remember it I stopped at a little cafe with an outdoor kiosk got a beer and maybe filled my water bottles and continued. Slightly worried in the back of my mind that perhaps I was setting too high of a pace!
Got to Villaines-La-Juel got stamped quite quickly - just one long street got up the end, turned right straight up into a climb and as I remember it was pretty much rollers all the way to Fougeres during which time the sun came up. Tinteniac was next, rolled in, stamp, coffee and rolled out and into a climb up to to a small village on a hill... near the top, saw a tabac open - sandwich and couple of beers and I was feeling like I could go the rest of the day... bit more climb bit of flat on the top of the hill and down the other side - couple on a tandem with Just Married sign on the back - American, and they were just married, chatted with them for a bit about how that had come about, I got this on my headcam but haven't looked at it yet. Then came a very long straight flat road, quite hot and a little headwind. Well it wasn't quite flat, just barely uphill, sucked the life out of my legs. Got to Loudeac and after Loudeac, is when the worst of the of the rollers hit me... consistently uphill long climbs, long climb up to a small village where I finally got some bananas onboard, but it was nearly too late. There was a feed point in a village and found out it was pretty much flat after that to Carhaix - I was not having much fun at this point and had thoughts of just getting to Brest and getting a train back. Decided I needed some sleep. Carhaix, ate, had a couple of glasses of the vin rouge to relax and down to the gym - I was very disorganised at this point, trying to get changes of clothes and everything I needed to shower, still pumped up, asked to be woke up at 2am (3 hours later) woke up at 1:30 I think and just got up and showered changed clothes, it had been raining, but seemed to have stopped, so out I went. Loaded up the bike and took off quite slowly in the dark, missed a turn but not far back, climbed up and down on small road in the woods, the Hope light batteries finally run out - it just stops no warning, but flipped on my Exposure and head lights stopped changed batteries and on my way again, down hill a bit and onto a bigger road and the start of several fairly big climbs. Not steep, but you could always see a little red light up and ahead.. so you know you are still going up and up and up. Foggy, got in a group, couldn't descend quickly as no visiblity with the fog and cloud. Had to point light straight down, no fun being on the front of group when it's like that. Diverted off big road and back to smaller roads again, that finally brought us in sight of Brest, but still 16K or so to go on the GPS, had to circumnavigate the harbour and then UP hill to the control. Brest, I was wiped out, sandwich beer, no sleep pads left so got out the emergency space blanket, lay down on floor with compression bag as pillow and slept for an hour, woke up, peering out from under the blanket, saw wet people coming in - don't want to get up, lots of foil packages sleeping on floor, another half hour sleep, up - rolling up thru brest, found cafe with croisant and proper coffee, rolling, not feeling bad, hey we are on the way HOME!!!! Retracing some of the hills from the night before, see how big they are in daylight, forest of something, La Foret... stunning views... closest to a mechanical up on one of the summits when the base layer I wrapped around my saddle bag and compression bags came off and into my rear derailleur - stopped pedalling immediately and got off, no harm done other than a bit of oil on the base layer that I woud subsequently get on myself at the next sleep stop. Up to Carhaix and off again, dreading this next section as it was really hilly on the way in... turns out it WAS mostly uphill and on the way back mostly downhill.. but, oh no, first climb and the back of my right knee started to feel not right. Over 500K to go on a knee that's not right? Neurofen, stretching stopped at village and had TWO sausage sandwiches and beers, and continued, knee felt ok as long as I didn't hammer too hard on it. Long decent into Loudeac.. Stamp, rolling again against advice of wife. Going to make Tintineac before it's too late and try and find a pizza place. Long flat slightly downhill this time and really setting a stonking pace! Follwing two Germans that were eating up the kilometers. Met up with another German that dropped back and said they were a little too quick for him, sensibile I thought and finally had my first real conversation. Was quite happy as I had found someone I could ride and talk to when after less than 15 minutes, loud noise - still don't really know what happened but he had a crack in his chainstay near the bottom bracket. It was ridable, but not safe at the speeds we were doing, so he urged me to carry on... I did want to get to Tinteniac and get a bed there, so I took off at high speed, secret control somewhere - I had a small glass of Vin Rouge and tried my Frech with the locals, got on quite well. Back on the road really a long straight flat road, finally the climb to the village and over the hill with descent to Tinteniac. Bummer, no pizza place, nothing open in Tintineac. So more control food (the bread in the sandwiches was diabolical and the same at all the contols - not real baguettes!) and booked into dorm for 3 hours sleep, meant to get up at 2:30am, read watch wrong and by the time I was showered and dressed and ready to go realise it's only 1:30 and I've only slept for 2 hours. Oh well, awake and ready to go now, off in the dark. Quite slow, knee hurting again, just plodding along.. will it every get light? Fougere contol at 5:30ish no sign of light, stamp and off again. Paces dropped now, knee huring, loads of hills. Get to Villain-La-Juhel still not light really, can't find control, obviously GPS had trouble with this, I came up on it the wrong direction, but got there, got stamp, and headed out - too early for cafe open yet, tired of control food, stopped at bank to get money, start climbing about 15 hills a I reckon down to village with cafe with bikes in front of it on the corner, sucked into it, two coffees, Pain au chocolate and an apple tart, needed that - up hill again.. woman comes by me and smiles as she passes me. American, I have to hold my tongue to stop from explaining to her that I don't normally have people pass me going up hills and even less likely that it would be a woman... but the fact was that my knee felt like it was going to blow up unless I spun in the lowest of gears slowly up hills... it was all i could do.. then got on the back of a spanish threesome and big decent out of the hills and in to flats with occasional hills. Quite a fast pace all the way to mortange-au-perche... they had a lot going on in town with an MC etc who commented on my helmet camera. I got done with that, thru into the town square, picked the best looking cafe and had TWO croq Messieurs and two demi beers in the sun, feeling quite good again, but more brutal climbing to come now all the way to Dreux, climb up then more climbing, GPS says have climbed over 10000meters now, so it should be flat right? Wrong, turns out there is just under 11000 meters total climb, plenty left, climbing up thru woods.. got the dozies, have to pull over lay down take off shoes and lay with eyes closed int he sun, didn't really sleep but it help and next village, nicotine gum (I used to smoke and while quitting found that nicotine is actually a quite useful drug for concentration on long driving trips!) and redbull - does the trick and gets my into Dreux, last control before the end, 65 k to go and we set out on little roads through flat fields, finally some easy riding, 40K out, the GPS battery gave up, no life left in either porta pow USB charger either, group of 6 french riders came by and I grabbed a wheel and that was it to the end pretty much, dark narrow streets riding very close together - not safe, but very fun... St Quentin en Yvelines is a big town hit the edge of it and still over 8K to go, recognise some bits but just following the arrows now as no GPS... flat anyway, some traffic, but finally through the comercial centre and the last right turn into the home stretch. I can see the roundabout - coming in very HOT around it, thought we would get a bit of a straight and under an inflatable but no they just pulled us straight in, I hear Suzanne yell, but I'm going to get my stamp... I am so finished. Big hug from Suzanne, stamp, pictures, done. Back to car, fell into hedge on the way, not really all there at the moment, got packed into car quite quickly, and GPS took us to the hotel in Paris perfectly. Late, everything closed but finally found Pizza Pino on the Champs Elysee for the best food I've ever tasted. Back to hotel and sleep until 10am next morning. I've done it, 74 hours and 10 minutes. Nearly 16 hours in hand at the finish and an extra day to enjoy in Paris because of it. Was I prepared enough? No, I should have done at LEAST one hilly 600 a few weeks before. The 600 I did to qualify was not hilly enough. The sheer amount of rolling hills just knocked me out. I need to investigate my knee problem - doctor visit I tomorrow I would guess. That's the way it was as I remember it, I'm going to copy all my facebook posting into the blog next to try and keep everything in one place. | |||||
