More cycling up mountains

On Monday, we tackled the Cols Saxel, Cou and Jambaz. In all it was nearly 76km with over 1400m of climbing (47 miles and 4630 feet), in the continuing heat. A lovely day out with about 4 hours of pedalling and great views over Lake Geneva and Le Mole (that we climbed a few years ago, and is mentioned in ‘Frankenstein’).

Tuesday was the TdF individual time trial so we rode to watch it up the climb towards Combloux and then moved on to watch the final dozen riders tackle a sharp roundabout in the valley at Sallanches. Even to the naked eye, Vingegaard was really motoring.

Excellent viewing and about 56km with nearly 1100m of climbing (35 miles and 3600 feet). Nasty climb from Sallanches towards Megeve on the way out (sections between 13% and 15%) and a tough climb back to the apartment to finish.

Only 53k (33 miles) on Wednesday through Mont-Saxonnex and up to the plateau at Solaison, but that came with 1185m (3900 feet) of climbing – most of it in the first 20k (12.5 miles) and with an 8.25% average for the final 4k of the climb after a lot of sections over 10%.

We drove back on Thursday, arriving home late and tired. I’d cycled about 326 km in the first six and a half months of 2023 – and just about all of it on the turbo. I rode (almost to the km) the same distance in seven days out in the alps – with a lot of climbing.

I managed to get just under 70kg by the time I went out – and despite the over-eating and significant (but not excessive) drinking, returned at the same weight. The trip confirmed (yet again) that all the running is helpful – but there is no exercise that is better training for cycling than cycling itself.

My assumption is that much the same core and leg muscles are used in both – but used differently, particularly in terms of the greater flex in the knees and hips when cycling. It was tough and I was slow but, perhaps against the odds, I did it all and had a great time.

Washing and the like on Friday, with a trip to the vicarage to help put up a small marquee for a village BBQ on Saturday. Since I’ve been back the weather has been most unlike the heat of France – Saturday was dreary and wet such that the (very good) BBQ was held in the village hall and not the vicarage garden.

We had friends over for Sunday lunch which was lovely.

Congratulations to Jonas Vingegaard for his emphatic win in the TdF.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother

2. BBC News website: How to love your tourists

Amsterdam’s council has banned cruise ships from the city centre as the Dutch capital tries to limit visitor numbers and curb pollution saying that the vessels were not in line with the city’s sustainable ambitions.

It means the central cruise terminal on the River IJ near Amsterdam’s main train station will close. A member of the city’s ruling coalition recently compared cruise tourists to a type of “plague of locusts” descending all at once on the city.

3. BBC News website: Thanks, but I think I need the walk

The Brazilian plane maker Embraer says a new factory will be built near Sao Paulo to produce electric flying taxis which it hopes will take to the skies from 2026.The aircraft will resemble a small helicopter with enough space for up to six customers – it is envisaged a trip will cost $50-$100 (£39-£78) per person.

US regulators recently released a timeline for air taxis to be flying there as early as 2025 and the company says it already has orders for almost 3,000 air taxis. The electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft will not need a runway but can travel long distances like an aeroplane. Electric motors should reduce noise and pollution compared with standard planes.

4. BBC News website: Is the lioness a bit of a boar?

A member of a notorious German crime family has offered his help in capturing a suspected escaped lioness in the southern outskirts of Berlin.

The son of the head of the Remmo family has said he can “lead the lioness back to her enclosure”. In a post on social media, he asked for anyone with information to “let him know first” so he can step in “before some idiot shoots her”.

Later, German officials called off their search for the suspected lioness after finding no evidence of a big cat on the loose in Berlin’s suburbs. Police were searching for more than a day after being notified about a wild animal by members of the public – but found no trace and they now believe the creature was a wild boar.

5. BBC News website: This is not the Queen Elizabeth II blog

Buildings, parks, pubs or businesses cannot be renamed after the late Queen Elizabeth without specific permission, the Cabinet Office has warned. The name of the late Queen is going to be “closely protected” in terms of how it can be used, says new guidance.

There are many places and businesses named after historic royal names but official guidance has recently been issued by the Cabinet Office warning about the limits on using modern royal names and titles. In particular there are concerns about ensuring the late Queen’s name is only used in “dignified and appropriate” ways.

Run, drive, cycle up mountains

Last Sunday, to celebrate his success at The Race To The Stones, our friends came over for supper. Luckily, I was able to find a specific Ultra Marathon celebratory balloon (which was really not a balloon left over from my wife’s birthday in June, edited by the addition of a post-it note).

Monday was my birthday – happily, no one recycled the balloon with the extra 8 years added on. I have been ‘mid 60s’ for a few years but it’s certainly now ‘late 60s’. I try to take these things philosophically – I’m only a day older than yesterday, not a year older. We had lunch sitting out in a pub garden alongside the Thames which was lovely.

Thursday’s trip to Bournemouth had been rather fraught as it became increasingly obvious that something bad was happening beneath the car. I nursed it back home where I confirmed my fears that a bolt had failed so the the exhaust box was no longer attached to the rest of the exhaust system.

I bodged a temporary ‘splint’ and managed to get it to the garage on Tuesday morning, with a run back of nearly 7km (4.25 miles). The rest of the day was spent packing and preparing for the annual cycling trip to the alps.

I have not been well prepared for the trip for some time now, especially last year when I’d done the RTTS ultra just a day before driving out. This year is no better as I’ve only been out on the bike once since October (but have, at least, done some sessions on the turbo trainer).

Two friends drove to our place on Wednesday morning and the three of us set off for France at about 7.30. That’s about 90 minutes later than we would normally and meant that we hit more traffic on the M25. We didn’t get on an earlier shuttle despite getting there in very good time, but we had an uneventful drive to the alps (about 710 miles in all). To mark our arrival, as we skirted around Geneva we got a bit of a light show for half an hour from lightening over the mountains.

I have performed badly on the week’s holiday for a few years now. Last year we came out two days after I ran the 100k ultra, Covid accounted for 2020 and 2021, 2019 was just after I ran the Rotterdam marathon, in 2018 I cycled the 550 miles (880k) out there and in 2017 I ‘everested’ on the first day. This year was to be no different – through a simple lack of cycle training. The engine (cardio vascular system) was OK but the transmission (legs) were challenged.

On Thursday we had a short trip up to the top of the Col du Pierre Carree – just 23k but over 700m of climbing (14 miles and 2300 feet). I have no idea how I did 12 reps of that same hill for my ‘everest’.

We were joined by the other two friends on Friday and rode to the magnificent cirque at Sixt Fer a Cheval for a fine lunch – 72k and 1000m of climbing (45 miles and 3300 feet).

On Saturday we rode up Colombiere to Le Reposoir and back up the Cote du Chatillion – about 37k and 800m of ascent (23 miles and 2620 feet. The plan had been to watch the tour but that was delayed by a crash, the weather was uncertain, we had enjoyed lunch and it was very hot (c. 40℃ – 104℉) so we gave that a miss.

Sunday saw a trip up the Col de Plaine Joux (not to be confused with the Col de Joux Plane, of course) and lunched looking over at Mont Blanc. After that we rode to the Cotes des Amerands to watch the tour come past before returning to the apartment. A harder day but still just 60k and 1320m of climbing (37m miles and 4330 feet). Still relentlessly hot.

Throughout I have adopted the anticipated ‘lantern rouge’ position, save for when Philip spontaneously combusts at the side of the road.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand

2. BBC News website: School’s out …

Tunisian authorities have suspended the salary payments of 17,000 teachers and sacked 350 school principals. The move affects nearly a third of the country’s primary school teachers, and follows widespread recent protests by education staff across the country.

The Tunisian government has insisted that the country’s dire economic problems mean that the teachers’ pay demands are unaffordable. Tunisia is facing high inflation, rising unemployment and severe shortages of some staple foods.

3. BBC News website: Oh dear

Travel restrictions and lockdowns during the Covid pandemic had little impact on the numbers of deer killed on Scotland’s roads, says a new report.

NatureScot, which monitors collisions between traffic and deer, said this was likely to be because freight was allowed to continued almost as normal. The agency said there were about 1,850 incidents a year across Scotland.

I feel sorry for the deer – but it’s interesting to see something for which Covid was not responsible

4. BBC News website: Swimmers injured in dolphin attacks

Four swimmers have been injured in dolphin attacks on a beach in central Japan, officials say. One man, in his 60s, suffered broken ribs and bites to his hands after a dolphin rammed him a few metres off Suishohama beach in the town of Mihama, Fukui prefecture, early on Sunday.

Another man, in his 40s, sustained arm bites in a separate incident on the popular beach the same morning. Two more people were injured by the mammals later in the day.

While it is said that swimming with dolphins gives stress relief for people, it is apparently quite stressful for the dolphins

5. BBC News website: No, it wasn’t me

A spectator taking a selfie caused a crash of about 20 riders on stage 15 of the Tour de France.

The stage was won by Dutchman Wout Poels with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard maintaining his 10-second lead on Tadej Pogacar but Sepp Kuss, Vingegaard’s Team Jumbo-Visma team-mate, had his handlebars knocked by a fan holding out a phone.

Idiots should not be allowed out with mobile phones

Run, turbo, gym, plus crocodiles, saving petrol, twitching and twittering – lead up to the Stones

I took a car into the garage on Monday as it was displaying an ‘inspection’ light. Turns out it was just the garage’s failure to reset everything properly after the last service and it took just a few minutes to put that right. I ached – probably from building the steps over the weekend – but I went in running kit. I had expected to run home while it was being worked on, but I did a 5k (3 mile) loop anyway.

We have a rough plan for supporting our friend on the Race to the Stones next Saturday (and possibly a couple of hours of next Sunday). I’ll get him to the start at about 7am and check with him after about 9k – just to make sure nothing has been forgotten, no problems with kit, etc. He’s then on his own until the half way point at 50k.

After that, his wife and I will take turns running with him for the second half of the race, while the other takes the car to the next changeover point. If all goes well, I will have 30k of running to do in three stints. Of course, once the thing starts, it is likely that the plans will need to change – but at least we have something to work from.

My wife was going to see Nile Rogers in concert in Greenwich (east London) on Tuesday evening. I drove her up to the flat in the afternoon and agreed to cross London in the evening to accompany her on the way back after she left the concert a bit before 11pm. My plan was to run earlier in the evening but it was raining very heavily so I stayed in and read in the flat. She enjoyed the concert but it was outdoor and very wet.

Back home on Wednesday morning – a bit of fiddling with the new steps (pictured!) and onto the turbo in the early evening for 30 minutes @32.3kph (20.1mph). Very hard as I clicked the bike up a gear.

On Thursday I drove down to Bournemouth where I mowed, fixed a down pipe and painted Hammerite on the corners of the house where the rust was showing through from the metal anglebead. It seems to be working well – another coat of that and then a topcoat in the current house colour should fix it.

I drove home later but, with an eye on Saturday’s adventure, decided to miss out on exercise. It’s really only just dawned on me that I have done nothing but general fitness training for some months, I hope I’m up to running the 30k. I feel a long way short of where I was for fitness when I did the race last year.

At least the temperature looks like it will be OK – up to about 22℃ (72℉) with some light rain showers. I’m not wishing my friend anything like the 27℃ (80℉) I had last year.

Yet another (heading towards 20?) failure in the ballot for the London Marathon.

Just 50 minutes in the gym on Friday morning with a few slightly reduced weights to avoid any injuries, followed by the bike shop volunteering session.

I’ll post this now (Friday evening) and hope that tomorrow produces a great success for my friend in The Race To The Stones.

1. African wise words: A fool has to say something. A wise person has something to say

2. BBC News website: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

A mayor of a small Mexican town has wed a crocodile bride in an age-old ritual for prosperity. He could be seen kissing the reptile, whose snout had been tied shut.

The seven-year-old crocodile, nicknamed ‘little princess’, is thought to represent a deity linked with mother earth. Her marriage to the local leader symbolises the joining of humans with the divine.

3. BBC News website: Things that make you feel very old …

To quote the website: “If you want to watch your favourite streamer, chances are you’ll jump on Twitch. But is that about to change?

Rival Kick has been grabbing headlines after it poached Amouranth and xQc – two of the biggest names on the Amazon-owned platform.”

This could be written in ancient Egyptian for all the sense it makes to me – I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard of Twitch, Kick, Amouranth or xQc

4. BBC News website: A true appreciation of history

A tourist filmed carving names on to an inner wall at Rome’s ancient Colosseum says he did not realise how old the monument was when he acted. He made the comment in a letter of apology to Rome’s mayor, saying he understood “the seriousness of the deed”.

A five-day police search followed and he now reportedly faces legal proceedings.

Of course, carving names on new public buildings is perfectly fine …

5. BBC News website: Cutting petrol consumption the hard way

Average daily petrol consumption in Nigeria has fallen by nearly a third since the President scrapped a long standing fuel subsidy in May. The financial support had kept petrol prices low for decades but became increasingly expensive for the country – the government spent $10bn (£7.8bn) on the subsidy last year.

The regulatory authority also said that, since the subsidy ended, a black market in neighbouring Cameroon, Benin and Togo that relied on petrol smuggled out of Nigeria had also collapsed.

6. BBC News website: Twittering threads

Thirty million users have signed up for Meta’s newly launched Threads app on its first day, says the company’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg. He pitched the app as a “friendly” rival to Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in October.

Experts say Threads could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform.

How ridiculous – people spending time writing stuff online that no one wants to read … Oh

Walk, gym, turbo (x2), run, Le Tour, plus health and safety, equality, chess and Philippines or not?

My wife has often said how much she likes shepherd’s huts – if we had still been working I guess we might have got one as a garden office during the lockdowns. As part of her year’s birthday celebrations I booked a couple of nights in a shepherd’s hut and we set off on Monday for the hour’s drive to the other side of Chipping Norton.

It was rather lovely – set in a very pretty location, just at the side of a pub garden. The pub is only open on Sundays (a sign of the times) and initially we were disappointed that we couldn’t make use of it – but we then realised that the hut was hugely improved by the pub being shut. We were also lucky that the shepherd was not at home.

We did the local village walk, visited Hook Norton, Chipping Norton and Banbury and generally chilled out. Although we knew it would be shut, we also took a couple of miles detour to see the ‘Diddly Squat Farm Shop’, from the very entertaining Amazon series, Clarkson’s Farm. I managed to finish the fourth of the CJ Sansom series of novels and we had an excellent couple of days, returning home on Wednesday.

I thought of doing some exercise on Thursday but decided against it and instead did gardening and odd-jobs. I think a 5 day rest will do me good – it’s a very rare thing. I did get to the gym on Friday for an hour, followed by the bike shop volunteering session.

To start to make up for the days off I also got on the turbo in the late afternoon, 30 minutes @ 31.2kph (19.4mph) … and yes, as the speed suggests, I had put some more air in the back tyre.

On Saturday I started some work in the garden – there is a small slope between trees leading from the lawn to a path by the wall my younger son and I built during lockdown. For some reason I decided to put in some steps.

Not letting the absence of any clear plan or any measurements get in my way, I started putting down concrete to support the stone steps. While that was setting I went for a run – nearly 13km (8 miles) and then back to the steps.

Saturday also saw the start of one of the highlights of my sporting year – the Tour de France. An unexpected British 1-2 with Adam Yates winning ahead of his twin brother Simon.

Later we went to friends for supper. A delicious meal but it’s undone a lot of the good work I’d been putting into weight loss. Three steps forward, two steps back.

I managed to finish the building side of the three steps on Sunday but there are some cosmetics to be done before they are unveiled to the world (I think the world is fairly ambivalent about it, to be honest).

I was going to get out on the bike but the work on the steps took some time and was heavy work, so I resorted to the turbo instead, watching the closing part of today’s stage of Le Tour. Even though it was only stage 2, it looks like being a contest between Vingegaard and Pogacar again. I took it fairly steadily – 30 minutes @29.3kph (18.2mph).

Later, we are off to discuss plans for our support for next weekend’s Race to the Stones. Our friend’s wife has postponed her entry to next year (a shame because she is a natural athlete but – with an injury and a particularly busy life – the right call) so we can focus on her husband who has come back well from his broken foot and has good reason for optimism.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden

2. BBC News website: Where is health and safety when you need it?

An airport employee has died after being sucked into the engine of a passenger plane that was taxiing towards its gate in Texas.

The worker’s employers say an initial investigation shows the incident was unrelated to safety procedures, but it is not yet clear how it happened.

It’s not entirely clear to me how this tragedy can be unrelated to safety procedures

3. BBC News website: More equality (for those who might want it)

The government of the Spanish region of Catalonia has informed its town and city halls that they must allow women to go topless in public swimming pools. Preventing women from going topless “excludes part of the population and violates the free choice of each person with regard to their body”, says the government’s department of equality and feminism.

Although going topless is enshrined under a 2020 Catalan equality law, some municipal swimming pools have prevented the practice since the legislation was introduced, drawing dozens of complaints each summer.

4. BBC News website: Opening move or checkmate?

A court in the US state of Missouri has dismissed a $100m (£78m) lawsuit filed by top chess player Hans Niemann over cheating allegations. Niemann alleged he had been falsely accused of cheating after a row between him and another top chess player broke out during a tournament last year. (As mentioned in this blog, 2 October 2022)

A federal judge dismissed his suit, ruling that the claim of defamation was outside her jurisdiction. She also rejected claims he was illegally blacklisted from tournaments. The American grandmaster’s lawyers said they intended to pursue the defamation claims in another state court.

5. BBC News website: Come to the Philippines (or somewhere)

A Philippines advertising agency has apologised for using footage of other countries in a promotional tourism video.

The campaign used images of rice terraces in Indonesia, sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates and an aircraft landing in Switzerland. The agency, DDB Philippines, apologised for the “unfortunate oversight”.

Oversight?

Run (x2), swim, walk (x2), cycle (plus bulls, AI and kitchen cabinets)

Vicious things those kitchen cabinets

Monday I took a car to the garage and ran back – my first run post-ultra – just 4km (2.5 miles) but it’s a start. Swim doctor session in the evening – I dodged the drills and swam a gentle recovery 1km.

I spent the much of the day on the dismal task of mopping up dirty water. The dishwasher outlet pipe had blocked leading to a couple of days when, unseen, it spewed out water under the kitchen units. A very messy job but fingers crossed that all will be well thanks to a bottle of drain cleaner and a lot of bleach. Perhaps the best thing about the current heatwave is that everything dried well.

On Tuesday, an attempt to run the dishwasher revealed that all was not well as the pipe still failed to drain away the water it discharged. Bit by bit I had to dismantle the whole outlet pipe which was actually blocked in several places. A horrible job reaching under and to the back of the carcasses of the kitchen units, in dirty water and emulsified fat! I ended up with very sore arms and shoulders.

Also on Tuesday one of the friends I’d been cycling with in the alps posted a message on Whatsapp to say he’d just tested positive for Covid. I did a test but it came out negative (the ‘we’ve had Covid’ camp seems to be increasing rapidly but I’m very happy still not to have joined it).

Wednesday showed two things – the dishwasher was sorted and is now sharing its dirty water with the drain outside instead of the kitchen floor – but my arms had suffered in the cause. Both shoulders were sore and both biceps were raw and bruised. It the same way that I need bigger hands and feet for swimming, I need longer arms for kitchen DIY.

With rather reduced arm mobility, I cancelled the week’s planned lake swim and gym session and resigned myself to a low key week for exercise.

On Thursday, my arms were improving, but still a rather fetching black and blue and still sore. I ran in the morning – 5.8km (3.6 miles). With just a 10km run in September’s olympic distance triathlon, it’s good to be able to run because I want to, rather than because I feel that I must.

We drove down to Bournemouth on Thursday night and spent Friday getting the house ready for a weekend with friends who drove down early on Saturday. When they arrived we went for a walk across Hengistbury Head with a picnic on the beach and then walked to Southbourne for supper in the evening – total walking 15km (9.3 miles).

On Sunday we cycled to visit the lovely gardens at Compton Acres – about 24km (15 miles) with stops at Sandbanks and Bournemouth pier for ice cream. Roast chicken Sunday lunch in the evening. Back to Oxfordshire after an excellent weekend.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Don’t set sail on someone else’s star

2. BBC News website: Heatwaves and solar panels

The UK’s heatwave is helping to generate large amounts of solar power – but, ironically, it’s actually too hot for the highest levels of electricity generation.

For solar power generation, the amount of sunshine is more important than the amount of heat as heat brings down the efficiency of solar panels slightly. In the UK the record for peak half-hourly generation is always in April or May, when we get sunny but relatively cool weather.

3. BBC News website: And I thought the ultra was tough running

In 24 hours three men have died from wounds suffered during bull-running festivals in Spain’s Valencia region. They had taken part in the traditional ‘bous al carrer’, when bulls charge through towns, often with people running ahead of them (but sadly, not always far enough).

The three men who died had all been badly injured during events in the past two weeks. 20 people are said to have died in the region in the past eight years.

The mayor of Meliana said the bull was an animal and chance accidents of this type were a risk that people took.

Ah, the bull is an animal …

4. BBC News website: AI – too smart for its own good?

Google has fired one of its engineers who said the company’s artificial intelligence language technology system is sentient and should therefore have its “wants” respected. He said that the system showed self-awareness and could hold conversations about religion, emotions and fears and this led him to believe that behind its impressive verbal skills might also lie a sentient mind.

Google, plus several AI experts, denied the claims and on Friday the company confirmed he had been sacked.

How (not) to recover from an Ultra: 1. Ride up mountains!

The cirque at Sixt Fer-a-Cheval (with my bike on the grass in front of the restaurant)

My birthday on Sunday was a reasonably low-key affair after Saturday’s very tough ultra, moving slowly but improving through a day spent rehydrating and packing.

A friend arrived on Monday morning and we set off for the Haute Savoie in the French alps for a few days cycling. The journey was uneventful and we shared the driving although I was walking very slowly and stiffly when we stopped but I managed to extract myself from the car.

We arrived at midnight, joining the three others who had arrived at the apartment on Saturday. I certainly felt better on Tuesday morning but dipped out of the planned ride which would have taken me up the Joux Plane.

It’s a climb described in my Tour Climbs book as ‘hard as nails’ and one which famously gave Armstrong one of his toughest ever days on the bike in the 2000 Tour. I’ve ridden it three times before but this didn’t feel like the right day for attempting my fourth ascent.

Instead, I did domestic stuff around the apartment in the morning and sat on the balcony in the sun, drinking a cold beer and watching a dozen swifts feeding on the wing in front of me. Dirty work but someone has to do it.

I got on the bike later and thought of riding down the mountain to see if I could watch Le Tour come past up the Cote de Châtillon, just above Cluses. I decided that cycling down would be burning my bridges and the day would not end well if I couldn’t ride back up.

Instead I rode up to the top of the Col de Pierre Carrée – just about 12km (7.5 miles) of ‘up’ with 743m (2,440 feet) of climbing. I reckoned that at least I’d be able to coast back down to the apartment if my legs failed on the way up. I was happily surprised at how well they responded but it did leave me wondering how I managed 12 reps of that route when I ‘everested’ it in 2017.

On Wednesday we drove to Flumet and did a pretty demanding loop (in 33℃ – 91℉) which my Garmin recorded at only 44km (27 miles) but with over 1350m (over 4400 feet) of climbing. The legs don’t feel at all powerful but are holding up reasonably well.

Thursday was even hotter and harder. We rode to Le Bettex – there’s a particularly nice restaurant at the top – and it was OK until we turned off the main road above St Gervais and hit a forestry type road with several long sections at 20%. My out-of-power legs had been struggling manfully and managed to put up with the first section (standing on the pedals in bottom gear) but then downed tools and, for the first time in recent years, I walked for a bit.

When we regrouped I discovered I was not alone and only one of the 5 of us had ridden the route without stopping – pretty well unheard of … but it was a hell of a stretch of road. It was a short day with only 59km (37 miles) but packing in 1150m of climbing (3,800 feet).

Friday was the traditional visit to the Cirque at Sixt Fer-a-Cheval for a great lunch looking out at the spectacular cliff face running around, I guess, about 270°. It’s not a hard ride out there but the return requires a climb back to Les Carroz – about 72km with 950m of climbing, in about 35℃ (45 miles and over 3,100 feet in 95℉).

I was the slowest up all the climbs and that’s a bit of a theme in the recent years that we’ve been able to get out to the alps. I have handicapped myself very effectively after I everested in 2017, rode 880km (550 miles) out to there in 2018 and had ridden little after 2019’s Rotterdam marathon. I expected to have little in my legs this year after the ultra – but I made it up all the climbs and am more than happy to settle for that.

Before I went out I’d ridden only 550km this year – much of it on the turbo trainer. I only added 200km but I guess that’s another reason for a very modest cycling performance on my part, to be added to the effects of the ultra. One other effect of having done little cycling – my backside was not well hardened to the carbon fibre saddle.

We drove back on Saturday arriving late at night – a shorter trip than usual but great fun with a lot of food and drink and a very sociable group of friends.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands

2. BBC News website: Smart mouthguards

Players at this year’s women’s Rugby World Cup will be offered the use of ‘smart’ mouthguards to help monitor the risk of head injury. The microchipped protective shield measures head impacts to assist with diagnosis of things like potential concussions.

Apposite with the horrible news just released that former Wales’ captain Ryan Jones (at only 41) has been diagnosed with early onset dementia. My very best wishes to him and his family

3. BBC News website: Wrapping the bridge

I’ve included pictures of Hammersmith Bridge on many occasions as it’s part of one of my favourite runs in London. Currently its chains are wrapped in silver foil insulation to reflect the sun and stop them overheating.

The chains are anchored to the river bed and regulated to be kept under 13C (55.4F) in the summer. If any of them reach 18C (64.4 F), safety engineers will shut the bridge.

The foil and a £420,000 cooling system, installed following the 2020 heatwave, are being used to keep the pedestals safe so it remains open to pedestrians and cyclists (it is still shut to vehicles because of other structural issues).

4. BBC News website: More about petrol shortages in Sri Lanka

I’ve previously mentioned the temporary ban on petrol sales for non-emergency vehicles in Sri Lanka.

Huge queues of vehicles waiting for fuel have become a common sight, with one queue, beginning in the commercial heart of the capital Colombo, and snaking round alongside a seaside strip of road, stretching for 5km (over 3 miles). The driver of a minibus close to the front has been queueing for 10 days. He said “I’ve been sleeping in the car since last Thursday. It’s so hard but what can I do… I won’t even get a full tank.”

Run (x3), swim (x2), gym (plus a worldwide party ban and dry pumps)

Week 2 of the taper – just 15km. I ran on Monday (7.2 km – 4.5 miles) in between the showers to get ahead of the schedule. Yes, the left knee hurt a bit – but not as much as previously.

The evening’s swim doctor session was very good – we used fins for several drills and they were great fun (obviously I now realise that I could do with much bigger feet) – in all 900m.

That was followed on Tuesday by a trip to the lake for an open water swim. In my absence on holiday, running, my wife’s birthday and generally wimping out, my friend and training partner has been making strides (figuratively) in the water so I have a good deal of catching up to do.

It didn’t feel too encouraging at the start – chilly and choppy – but it improved and I ended up with a very decent 1750m (while my friend did a rather more impressive 2600m). Not a lot of catching up done by me but, for a fourth open water swim of the year (including the triathlon), I’m happy. It does feel as though I still need to get more comfortable in the open water before I can swim my best (although, still, that’s not particularly good).

Off for my follow-up massage in the afternoon, which went well as Kimmo eased out the remaining tightness in my left thigh – I hope that the remaining training runs won’t change that. Who knows if that’s sorted it but I’ve done what I can (I’m also stretching the ITB and everything else I can think of, other than the truth) so there’s little point worrying about it (but that won’t stop me).

Wednesday and Thursday were rest days but I laboured in the garden. On Friday I went to the gym – I’d planned to run a gentle 4km but overshot (how is it possible to overshoot on a treadmill?) and finished with 5km in 28:18. More importantly, the knee behaved itself well. The massages and stretching just might be doing the trick but I’m not getting too excited as, so often, it’s the hope that kills you.

The run was followed by some weights and then the stint in the bike shop. A short run (5.6km – 3.5 miles) with my wife on Saturday got me past the week’s 15km – legs still OK. Out to friends for an excellent supper on Saturday and to lunchtime drinks followed by an ‘open garden’ charity fund raiser in the village on Sunday.

A week of ups and downs for the legs – but more ups than last week so that must be some sort of progress.

… and Le Tour started with an individual time trial on Friday – great to have it back even if Geraint Thomas forgot to take off his gilet at the start of the ITT (what happened to the days of the ‘marginal gains’?).

100k corner (an occasional place for ultra news, worries and plans)

Race day has now appeared in the normal weather forecasts. On Tuesday, the forecast was for it to be dry, with sunny intervals, a moderate breeze (for which, read ‘headwind’) and temperatures of about 15℃ (59℉) for my 8:10am start, rising to 21℃ (70℉) before falling back to the starting temperature by midnight.

That would be pretty good but I’d prefer less wind or, even better, a 180° about turn. There’s plenty of time for it to change – for better or worse. On Wednesday the forecast maximum temperature was up to 25℃ (77℉) and the wind direction had moved through 90°. Perhaps I’ll ignore forecasts for another week.

With just one week to go and I have my race pack and can start to prepare kit and really begin to worry about how I am going to consume the 6.000 calories (or so) that I’m going to need. I have heard ultras described as eating and drinking competitions with a little bit of running thrown in.

I have no strategy beyond ‘one foot in front of the other’. I was more confident of finishing a couple of weeks ago, before the knee issues, but I’m going to give it my best shot and if that’s not good enough, I’ll live with it.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: One falsehood spoils a thousand truths

2. BBC News website: Woman suing rape crisis charity

The woman, who says she was raped in her 20s, stopped going to the charity’s support group sessions, shaving become uncomfortable sharing details of her past with the group after a transgender woman began attending the same meeting.

Her lawyers claim that by adopting a trans-inclusive approach – and not providing a session for women who were born female – the charity failed to meet the needs of all sexual violence victims.

She is bringing the case under the Equality Act, claiming indirect discrimination as well as victimisation and harassment. She said: “I think women have sex-based rights and protections and these are under threat at the moment from trans activism.”

While not, for a moment, detracting from the horror of rape, the importance of the support group or the difficulties posed by trans-gender issues, I do feel sorry for the charity apparently being caught between a rock and a hard place – and making the charity use its funds to defend her action could deprive others of the services she has valued so highly

3. BBC News website: … and we think we have it bad over petrol and diesel

On Monday, the Sri Lankan government said it will ban buying petrol and diesel for private vehicles until 10 July. Only buses, trains, and vehicles used for medical services and transporting food will be allowed to fill up. Schools in urban areas have shut and the country’s 22 million residents will work from home.

Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis and is in talks over a bailout deal as it struggles to pay for imports such as fuel and food.

4. BBC News website: Airbnb permanently bans parties and events around the world

It struck me that this was a bit high-handed of Airbnb but it appears only to apply to homes let on its platform so your BBQ this weekend is OK

5. BBC News website: Covid infections are rising again across the UK

An estimated 2.3 million people or one in 30 has the virus – a rise of 32% on the week before, the rise is being driven by two new fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron – called BA.4 and BA.5.

People can be infected even if they’ve had Covid before, but jabs are helping to protect against serious illness.

Just when I thought that my knee was the biggest threat to running the ultra …

6. The people of Oman don’t like The Flintstones but the people of Abu Dhabi do.

Swim, swim, run, gym, turbo, birthday and eager anticipation

Hampton Court (either they built it on a slant or I’m a poor photographer)

For some time I’ve posted on Sundays prattling on about life, challenges and the week’s running, swimming, cycling and gym. Here is a deviation from that due to tomorrow’s ultra marathon.

I’m not sure if the change is because I may be incapable of posting tomorrow, or because there should be something to say about the ultra. Perhaps its just because it’s my 66th birthday today (10th July) and if I want to post on my birthday, I can.

Winding back to the start of the week, I swam on Monday evening. I’m still struggling with swimming for very good reasons – I don’t love it, I’m not good at it, I’m not improving very quickly, who wants to leave home at 20.40 to go and swim and it really aggravates my sinuses.

However, having said all that, I swam 1.65km – further than before – in 48 minutes and there were fleeting moments when it almost felt good (but still slow). On the other hand, I sneezed continuously from 5 to 8am on Tuesday morning. Sufficiently bad that I took an antihistamine – the first medicine of any sort that has passed my lips this year.

Tuesday saw another marvellous stage win in Le Tour for Mark Cavendish – can he get the record and/or the Green Jersey?

Back to the pool on Tuesday evening. It wasn’t that I particularly wanted to swim, but I’m trying to go twice a week and I thought that if the swim was going to cause any more sinus issues, it would be better to get them out of the way early. As it was, no sinus problems. My first time swimming on successive days and it was OK – another 1km. I’m no faster but there are moments when I think it is getting a little easier.

I ran with my wife on Wednesday morning, just the 5.5km as it’s too late to try to make up for lost training. I wore the kit I plan to use for the ultra on Sunday and took the equipment I intend to carry with me. As is traditional for any run close to an event, it felt really hard and everything hurt.

In the afternoon I watched Le Tour tackle Ventoux. I love that mountain – completing the ‘Cinglés du Mont Ventoux’ (climbing it three times) is one of the two best days I’ve ever had on a bike (my ‘Everest’ being the other). More good sport on the TV in the evening as England made it to the final of the Euro Football Championships.

I did a gentle session in the gym on Thursday morning before we drove to London to the Hampton Court Garden Festival (previously the Flower Show) – which was an enjoyable trip out but not so good for the ‘stay off your feet’ advice before long runs. I managed to blister my small toe, right foot and that’s really not good.

After Hampton Court it was supper with our older son and then up to the flat for the night. Back home on Friday in time for my bike shop session and a chance to watch glorious history being made as Mark Cavendish equalled Eddie Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stages. Magnificent.

An easy 30 minute spin on the turbo in the evening for 15.2km, dedicated to Cavendish and Merckx (but not at their speeds) just to keep the legs moving. I managed to fit in the start of an ear infection on Friday night too – how is it that I’m not ill for months and then fray at the edges at exactly the wrong time?

Which brings me back to today, my 66th birthday. A very quiet one – I managed to convince our younger son to go on the stag weekend he’d been invited to and that made it easier to dissuade our older son from coming back here. Lunch out at a local restaurant was lovely, modest on the alcohol, and early to bed.

As for the ultra tomorrow, who knows? After damaging a knee ligament 4 weeks into the training, I had a 4 week lay-off and never felt confident enough in it to resume a proper training programme. That leaves me badly undercooked but I have a very stubborn streak and no great ambitions as to the time it might take me. I live in hope.

Fantasy Football league: Still holding on to second place, with younger son now up into third. Just the final to go and it looks really tight – do I go all out for England, for Italy or do I hedge my bets? The problem is that team news is revealed only an hour before kick off and by then I may be in a befuddled state, incapable of making sensible decisions.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand

2. BBC News Website: Covid lockdown sees man break M&M record

The world record for the tallest stack of M&M’s has been broken by a British man who managed to balance five of the chocolate sweets on top of each other. The previous record of four was jointly held by men from Italy and Australia.

You could lose yourself in such a challenge although I guess my time would be better spent cleanin’ out my closet

3. BBC News Website: Parents of children called Alexa challenge Amazon

Parents of children called Alexa say their daughters are being bullied because of its use for Amazon’s virtual assistant. Some have even changed their child’s name because they say the barrage of Alexa jokes is “relentless”.

Amazon says it is “saddened” by these accounts, and that alternative wake words are available.

‘Alexa, print me off a deed poll‘

4. BBC News Website: Nude sunbathers fined for breaching Covid rules

The men were sunbathing on a beach south of Sydney and ran into bushland after they got spooked by a deer. They were found after they called for assistance but were fined for breaching a public health order banning those in greater Sydney from travelling outside the area.

“It’s difficult to legislate against idiots,” the NSW Police Commissioner said at a press conference on Monday when speaking about the incident.

Australian police telling it like it is

5. BBC News website: Euro 2020: £36,000 raised for crying fan to go to charity

A Englishman who raised £36,000 for a young German football fan who was filmed crying as England knocked Germany out of Euro 2020, says the money will go to charity.

The girl’s family said they wanted the money to be donated to Unicef, saying “In the interests of our daughter and our family we would like to remain private, however we wish to thank everyone for your amazing support. Our daughter would like to request your generous donations go to Unicef, knowing that your kindness will do good.”

Ahhh

Swim, turbo, swim, gym, run – time for a taper?

Hello turbo my old friend … first session for a while

We were due a power cut on Monday from 9am, for essential maintenance work. Strangely, when the power was still on at 10.00 I felt rather cheated. How weird is that?

Eventually the power went and returned, so to celebrate I swam in the evening. The aim was to go a bit further and I managed 1.5km in 45 minutes. I’m now worried that it’s my feet/legs sinking in the water that are slowing me down … but then I’m also worried that if they aren’t sinking, what is slowing me down?

With all the swimming, running and gym, I haven’t done any cycling for a while. Tuesday afternoon I got on the turbo to start to address that. It was hot in the conservatory but I managed 30 minutes @ 32.1kph (20mph). That’s faster than normal so I’m encouraged.

Pool again on Wednesday evening for another 1km in just under the half hour. I tried breathing every two strokes instead of every three to get more oxygen in but it rather disrupted my rhythm (if I have a rhythm) and I found that I hadn’t always exhaled out fully by the time it was due to breathe in again. More practice needed – why is swimming so complicated?

Gym for an hour on Thursday morning but a day off exercise on Friday, feeling rather jaded but the morning in the bike shop was good fun.

First run of the week on Saturday morning – dull and overcast but reasonably warm. I don’t really know what running is sensible so close to the ultra but my son and I did 12.5km (a bit under 8 miles) which felt quite good at 6min/km.

In keeping with some sort of exercise taper, I took Sunday off but we drove into Oxford for lunch which was very civilised.

Coming up to decision time on the ultra. Which shoes, shirt, shorts, what to carry with me, whether to run for as long as possible or adopt walk/run from the start, etc. At least the weather looks OK – rain early in the week, drying by the weekend and a comfortable temperature for my 6am start – and not getting too hot until after I finish (I hope).

On the European Championship fantasy football league I’m clinging on in second place. I’m making great decisions in respect to my substitutions but the performance of some of the teams have, frankly, been letting me down (yes, France, Portugal, Netherlands, you know who you are). In respect of the real thing, ‘Come on England’.

Vive Le Tour de France – especially the performance of Mark Cavendish as he rolls back the years. Saturday saw a great first stage in the alps including the three category 1 climbs, all of which I’ve done over the years: Mont Saxonnex, the Col de Romme (not too long but steep with an average of 8.8%) and the Col de la Colombière (one of my favourites). Oh, how I am missing my annual cycle trip to the alps. That’s two trips missed now – roll on a virus-free 2022!

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: When a needle falls into a deep well, many people will look into the well, but few will be ready to go down after it

2. BBC News website: South African government proposes to legalise polyandry

South Africa has one of the world’s most liberal constitutions, embracing same-sex marriages for all and polygamy for men – but the proposal to legalise polyandry (when a woman has more than one husband at the same time) has been met with objections.

Businessman and TV personality Musa Mseleku – who has four wives – is among those opposed to polyandry.

“This will destroy African culture. What about the children of those people? How will they know their identity? The woman cannot now take the role of the man. It’s unheard of. Will the woman now pay lobola [bride price] for the man. Will the man be expected to take her surname?”

None of my business and not a society I am familiar with, but sauce for the goose …?

3. BBC News website: Tour de France: Police seek spectator after crash

Police have launched a criminal investigation to trace a spectator in connection with a multi-rider pile-up during the first stage of the Tour de France on 26th June.

The spectator was leaning into the path of the speeding peloton, looking at the TV cameras and not the race, holding a sign with “Go granny and granddad” written in a mixture of French and German. Tony Martin (ironically, a German rider) brushed into the sign and fell, bringing down many others. Two riders had to pull out of the Tour completely and another eight were treated for injuries.

After appealing for witnesses, as of Wednesday, the individual was in police custody but the Tour organisers have withdrawn their threat of legal action 

4. BBC News website: Man arrested for posting weather rant

A man has been arrested in Kuwait after posting a video on social media complaining about the weather. The video showed him laughing and swearing about the intense heat and dust while driving through a sandstorm.

The Interior Ministry tweeted that the man behind the “offensive” video would be subject to legal action.

I’d like to say that I love all the UK’s weather: rain, snow, sun, fog, sleet, gales … and that’s just one morning

5. My apologies for these:

a) After the Sweden v Ukraine game in the Euro Championships, the scorer of the Ukraine winner dedicated the goal to his beloved girlfriend back home. He loves his Chick in Kiev.

b) BBC radio commentary on the England v India women’s cricket test match: Talking about how the women players benefit from playing in men’s cricket when not on international duty, the comment was made that Tammy Beaumont ‘had played in the men’s leagues where she had enjoyed a lot of sex …… oh, er … success‘.

c) On Saturday rumours were going around that England’s Euro Championships match against Ukraine was going to be called off because a Ukrainian player had Covid symptoms. It was their left back Tickli Chesticov.

Hope those (the second is completely true) are not considered offensive, racist or sexist – my apologies if they are

Gym, labouring, gym, run (across London), turbo, run, run and Le Tour dilemma

• 

  The Thames (downstream) from Vauxhall Bridge – The London Eye just left of centre in the distance

After a late night on Sunday (and a glass or two of wine) I feared the gym on Monday was going to be a disaster but I managed all the routine with the normal weights, if rather slowly.

There were just two others in the gym – clearly, people were not rushing to get their last sessions in before it shuts as part of the new lockdown on Thursday.

I spent Tuesday morning at the cycle park barrowing concrete as we set up the pretty hefty bases for some exercise machines at the side of the track. The idea is that they might induce parents to exercise when they bring their children to cycle training.

The park is looking very good – trees have been planted, we have a small dirt course for younger children and are developing a more demanding downhill course through the adjoining wood. The whole thing is quite a success – the charity we set up alongside the cycle club has won local recognition for its work and has been put forward for national awards, something to be really proud of.

It was a tough few hours and, coupled with bringing in a significant number of large pot plants from the garden in the afternoon (our first frost was forecast and duly arrived Tuesday night), I decided that it exempted me from the turbo trainer in the evening.

Working on the Joni Mitchell principle “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” I went to the gym again on Wednesday before we drove up to London for a meal that we had booked a few weeks ago. We took separate cars and I delivered one to our older son so he and his girlfriend could get to the house in Bournemouth before the lockdown started, rather than having to see it out in his flat.

I decided to run back across London from his flat to ours – from a South East postcode to West postcode. The road junctions and pedestrians (and the morning’s gym session) all took their toll but once I crossed Vauxhall Bridge and got onto the Chelsea Embankment alongside the Thames it was glorious – cool but sunny.

I think part of the extra enjoyment is something I discovered when I cycled out to the alps in 2018 – a ‘ride’ has the normal benefits of exercise and pleasure but a ‘journey’ has the added benefit of purpose. The same seems to be true of running. In all, it was a journey of 11.7 km (7.3 miles) at 5m 35 per km. A bit fast for me, like my last run in London – and my right Achilles is complaining about it.

The evening meal was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our last opportunity to eat out for a while. Back to Oxfordshire and we woke on Thursday to the country’s second lockdown. Our thoughts are with those who will suffer so much worse than we will. I got on the turbo Thursday evening for something a little more gentle than recent efforts – 45 minutes, for 22.77 km @30.36kph (14 miles @18.9mph).

No exercise on Friday but I ran with my wife on a chilly Saturday – 7km (4.3 miles) before accepting a couple of bikes to be fixed for the charitable pop-up cycle shop that is popping up again in the run up to Christmas (cycle shops are exempt from the lockdown closures).

Another run with my wife on Sunday – 6.53km (just over 4 miles) and then hedge trimming to look forward to – it’s a rock and roll lifestyle.

Tour de France 2021

The route for the 2021 Tour de France has been released and has the good news/bad news for me.

One stage goes up the Cote de Mont-Saxonnex, Col de Romme and Col de la Colombière (all climbs we have done from the apartment) and finishes in Le Grand-Bornand which we have cycled through a few times over the years. The following stage starts in Cluses which is even closer.

That looks like it is easy to decide when my annual cycling trip out to the alps should take place next year (Covid willing) but the bad news is that those two stages are on 3rd and 4th of July … and my ultra marathon is on the 11th. I’d anticipated that I’d be going out after the ultra.

I wonder how good cycling up mountains is as ultra marathon training?

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: ‘Put down the meat’ is an order the dog cannot obey

2. BBC News website: Lockdown: Andrex maker has ‘100 million toilet rolls standing by’

When the pandemic struck in March, shoppers reported difficulty in finding toilet paper after panic-buying emptied supermarket shelves. But this time, Kimberly-Clark said it was fully ready.

But that’s still only about 1.5 rolls per person and the virus is very scary

3. BBC News website: After the unhappy libel case heard in London where Johnny Depp sued one of our national newspapers, I was reminded of a (very) old defamation case where a claimant brought an action over an allegation that he was a highwayman. Evidence emerging at the trial proved that he was indeed a highwayman. The claimant was arrested and subsequently hanged.

4. BBC News website: ‘Angels released from Africa’ to help Trump win

US President Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain says “angels have been released” from Africa and South America to help him win. “They’re coming here in the name of Jesus… angelic reinforcements,” she says.

Often (but I am prepared to make exceptions) I admire people who believe things that I can’t – but why have they been ‘released’ – has someone been holding them against their will? And aren’t there any angels in the USA? I’d have thought Africa and S America could find good work for their own angels to do at home.

5. BBC News website: Mugabe/Trump comparison riles many

Some people have taken umbrage against a tweet by a former US official comparing President Donald Trump to Zimbabwe’s late leader Robert Mugabe, over his comments alleging fraud, without evidence,

Q. Were the objections that the comparison:

• portrayed election fraud as a uniquely African phenomenon
• was unfair to President Trump
• was unfair to Robert Mugabe

(this is just a – poor – attempt at a joke and I would have said the same if the story had been about Biden … this is a non-political blog!)