Here is the itinerary:
- One week from now (Friday August 3rd) I will leaving Toronto and arriving in London England.
- I will spend 2 nights and 1 day in London before heading out for Pau, France (near the Atlantic) on August 5th.
- I will cycle with the group for 6 days through the Pyrenees, mainly in France, but going into Spain for a short jaunt.
- I will be coming back to London from Perpignon (near the Mediterranean) on Sunday Aug 12th, then flying back to Toronto on Monday Aug 13th.
There will be 10 riders going with Saddle Skeddadle on the Pyrenee's trip (http://classicroad.skedaddle.co.uk/holiday/226/view.rails). I will be the only one from outside of the UK. Skeddadle has been around for years so I am expecting a great experience.
This route is going to be a real challenge. Not only going up the mountains, but coming down as well!
What is life without a serious challenge every now and again? What kind of life would that be?
I just bought all new gear about 1.5 weeks ago. An all carbon fibre bike (Kuota Ksano) with really tight gear ratios, plus a compact crank that I will put on just before I go. This will let me climb the steepest grades (if my heart and lungs hold out!)
I have been training for over 3 months, logging lots of kms. Last week I put on 377 km (all on the new bike). The fit was good and I had no sore spots :)
I was getting sick of riding as every ride for the longest time was to either go harder for longer or just go longer.
It was nice last wekend to do a short 60 km ride with no pressure. Four of us split from the main group we had been riding with (Oakville Cycle Club) and rode easy. The next day, 35 of us went from Burlington to Elora and back (exaclty 160 km), with a nice stop in Rockwood. That ride was sponsored by Neworld, where I have dropped many $ over the past 7 years I have been cycling. I must say that I get good value for my money from them. Jeff and Victor really know cycling.
Having never seen mountains like the Pyrenees, it is very intimidating. We have some steep climbs around the Niagara Escarpment, but they are mostly short, well under 1 km. The Pyrennees will be steep AND long (10-14 km or more).
