Author: rolyrouleur

Day 3 – Cobbles, Hills and Buckled Wheels

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Good afternoon to all,

So here we are still in Belgium but closing in on both the Netherlands and Germany where we should end up in tomorrow.

Todays stats, 70 miles, 2.5km of Cobbles, four buckled wheels, and a cycle path that my good friend described with an unbroken five minute expletive filled rant.

My fellow Roly started the day (and ended the day yesterday) with both wheels severely buckled, so much so he was basically riding with the break on for 20km. Oh and a drunk past out on the concrete in front of him where his wonderful bedside manner came in to play (tongue firmly in cheek), he did put him in the recovery position and slapped him until he woke back up.

This morning was spent trying to align this and a quick fix was completed, he still had to leave the back break open though! And away we go.

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Day Two – An ‘Easy’ day

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Good evening everyone. So here I am in our tent in Belgium after a very brief interlude in France.

The morning got off to an inauspicious start with a chat with possibly the most grumpy customer service representative in history (sorry to name and shame again DFDS ferries, I do understand it’s tough at the moment but…….) followed by the news that we were delayed by 20 mins (40 in reality). Not a problem normally but when you have 75 miles to cover and you aren’t starting until 1pm (actually 1.45) things start to get nervy.

Away we went in to the town (or is it a city?) of Dunkirk and it’s rather interesting cycle paths that seemed to criss cross every road and took an age to negotiate and then out of the other side in to Belgium (eventually). Talking of cycle paths by the way, we had our first run in with the Police who politely pointed out the cycle path we weren’t using and who then waited 3 miles down the road to check we used it!!

Today was considerably flatter than yesterday so the pace was much higher with the first 35 miles covered in 2hrs 45mins which when the fact that we are both rather Roly and are in no way as fit as Alberto Contador is not too bad.

As with yesterday though things then went a little down (or rather UP) hill. Yes Belgium is supposed to be flat but with a fair few miles in the legs any rise was tiring. Time seemed to go backwards and miles seemed to drag on forever!

Finally though we entered Deinze (5 miles south of Ghent) to find our campsite which once found has offered fantastic accommodation, a warm shower, beer, and most importantly takeaway Pizza. 75 more miles ticked off!

All in all a fast and furious second day through the beautiful villages and farm land of France and Belgium.

Unfortunately for us though tomorrow is looking very wet with rain forecast!!

Thanks for reading, it’s time for bed.

Day One – Hills, Wind and more Hills

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100 miles and 6400 feet of climbing, that’s how I spent my day and I can think of oh so many better ways to spend it……..

Today was hard, very hard and if I am honest a lot harder than I had anticipated. I knew there were hills but frankly it feels like all we have done today was climb (obviously not as much as the men of the tour but hey I am Roly!!!).

Oh and did I mention the head wind!!

But Day One is over and we are now tucked up in a B and B in Dover, I know I know, I said we would camp but I think we earned a little comfort tonight.

Now just waiting on a bit of dinner and then a very early night!!

In conclusion (and sorry it is short and sweet) Tired? Check. Hungry? Check. Nervous for tomorrow? Check. But just a little bit Proud too!!

Check out http://www.justgiving.com/Philip-keel.com if you would like to sponsor me for this challenge for the incredible Shooting Star Chase.

Until tomorrow! Good Night.

Team Sky, Black Sheep or a case of the green eyed monsters?

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I think I should make something clear from the beginning,  I admire Team Sky and there much maligned ‘Marginal Gains’ (which lets not forget are now deemed the norm by a large proportion of the peloton).

I do not however care for Chris Froome, which I am sure is a statement that will be devastating to him …………or perhaps not. Ever since his attack on Bradley Wiggins on the climb to La Toussuire on stage 11 at the 2012 tour I have had no interest in the exploits of the Sky team leader.

Mrs Rouleur on the other hand is even more clear, she doesn’t like Froome and she doesn’t like Team Sky, but like a lot of other people who feel the same she can’t really pinpoint why.

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Preparation is nothing, stubbornness is everything!!

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So with just over a week to go before my very own Grand Depart I have realised something, something important, something profound, something down right shocking…………….. I am not even nearly ready for this challenge!!

Its in my name, ‘The Roly Rouleur’ not ‘The Incredibly Fit and Featherweight Rouleur’, oh why oh why do I get myself in to these things!!

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I blame Sagan

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Almost every year since we have been together myself and Mrs Rouleur (no I am not calling her fat!) have had a mini Tour De France contest that has become more competitive and complicated with each passing year. As for the points allocation, well they are something that even ASO would be proud of and have been changed almost as much as those for the Green Jersey!!

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Castelli Nanoflex arm and leg warmers

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A caveat for my first review – Being on the larger side, and when it comes to buying clothes firmly in the denial team i.e. Yes I can still where medium sized clothes and no this new £100 lightweight summer jersey is not supposed to be a tank top, sizing does tend to be an issue!!

So when I saw these warmers were available in sizes XS to XL I was torn between going with the large or the extra large, because surely if there is no XXL option then the XL would be huge!! But this is cycling gear remember and from an Italian brand no less, so sizing can be snug!

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So Drowsy

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They were  like a hungry pack of wolves circling a poor injured fawn, my two ride partners were all over my back wheel, the Roly Rouleur was struggling and struggling badly.

Just 7 miles in to our ride last weekend, that was to take in the well ridden hills at Newlands Corner, Leith Hill and Box Hill, I had nothing in my legs, empty, wooden, hollow.

I have ridden upward of 40 miles per ride for the last few weekends and had no idea why today of all days, where one of my ride buddies had a new bike to show off, and I had to show off to our other training partner, this being their first ride, I had to have a ridiculously early Bonk?!

Reaching the summit (not really a summit, its barely a bump in the road) of Newlands Corner I seriously considered turning for home with tail between my legs to gorge on coffee and cake but thankfully willpower prevailed and I fought on.

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The wrong way round for Shooting Star Chase.

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The wrong way what?

I will be taking part in a series of cycle challenges this summer with decreasing distance, yep that’s right decreasing. Instead of the sensible build up to the tough event I will be starting with a 500-mile tour, then a 100 mile in a day followed by a gentle warm down 50 miles.

But why oh why do it?

Quite simply to help raise much needed funds for the fantastic local charity, Shooting Star Chase. This charity is a leading children’s hospice charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families.

They need to raise over £9 million each year to provide these children with a place to enjoy life, however long that may be.

Team Colours

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