Sarzeau (56) - Pass’Cyclisme 5th August 2011 - (D1 – 4) – (2.4kmsx25laps)

Sarseau is basically an anti-clockwise circuit, twisty but predominantly flat, it runs through the centre of town. The technical difficulties lie in the plethora of street furniture that we had to negotiate, (roundabouts, bollards, crossings and other treacherous lumpy bits).

Lined up with us at the start of the race was a solitary woman which was a bit of a relief for me; at least I wouldn’t finish last this time, surely.

Start - 20:00hrs: The sixty-odd starters lined up in the centre of town and a neutralised (speed-restricted) half lap took us to around the podium before the race started with a bang. The inevitable crash happened on the first tight turn as two riders fought for the same piece of road and came together on more-or-less the first tight corner. Bravely, I managed to avoid the trouble by falling straight to the back of the pack and being dropped soon after; something of a habit that, eh?

On the plus side, being on my own ensured that I avoided any trouble; I again decided to treat the race as an intensive time-trial and pushed on to the end regardless.

Company again: A guy caught me on the fifth lap and I managed to attach to his wheel; it seems like this is also getting to be a habit.

This fellow, (Christophe, aged 41), and I worked together for the rest of the race and our speed consequently remained fairly high. We were joined a few laps later by another rider, and the before long the three of us were working really well as a team. When one of us needed to recover from a spell in front the others took turns in the lead to make sure the our little group stayed together. 

We were passed by the leaders on about lap nine, but we also overtook some slower riders as the race progressed. I felt quite strong most of the time, but like the others, there were spells when I needed to recover.

Larger group: We gathered a few companions during the second half of the race and at one stage our group swelled to nine. However, the others soon began haemorrhaging off and abandoning the race while we continued doggedly on. Back to our original group of three, we were overtaken by the main pack again on the penultimate lap; but I’m used to that now so I wasn’t so much of a kick in the nuts. 

Lap of dishonour: As we passed the podium for the penultimate time the rest of the riders had either finished or abandoned but my two new mates and I decided to complete our race. We had to call out warnings all the way round our final lap as the spectators and other traffic, assuming the race was over, started filtering back onto the course.  

As we had helped each other during the race, we agreed not to contest the finish and actually crossed the line three abreast. We received either a sympathetic, or ironic, round of applause, depending on the correct translation of an announcement (in French of course), from the podium. The commentator either said, “Well done, good effort lads,” or “Get out of the bloody way, we’re trying to get on with the award ceremony!”  I really must improve my French!

What about that lone female competitor I hear you ask? Well, it turns out that she is a current French national champion who finished well up with the leaders. So much for my male chauvinist piggery!

Result: Again no classification for me as I was lapped a couple of times but I finished at an average speed of 35.1 kph. It was one of my best rides of the season. Marks out of ten: 3. Well, I did get lapped twice!

Good job I didn't take any longer as it was getting dark by the time we finished!

Newsflash (7^th August): I’ve just returned from a Sunday training ride where I cycled over to St Péran (35), to watch my little mate Charlie Cushway and his brother Max, compete in a children’s race.

Charlie won a supremely well-judged uphill sprint finish, beating the current Morbihan Champion into second place, (incidentally it was the first time this year that the French lad had been beaten). This was Charlie’s seventh victory of the season – great work from a very promising young cyclist.

Little Max won silver in another great sprint finish. 

Lieuron (35) - Pass’Cyclisme 31st July 2011 - (D1 – 4) – (2.1kmsx25laps)

Lieuron was tough, very tough and bloody hot! I met my English mate Bob Jones at the race. He had already scouted the route and was not at all optimistic about our chances. The course started off with a stiff climb that seemed to drag on longer as each of the laps ticked by.  After the climb there were two right-hand turns, one of them very tight, which was followed by another longish drag into the wind. Then another sharp right-hander turned into a fast downhill stretch to the podium.

Start 13:30 hrs: About one hundred of us started and the first couple of laps were relatively sedate before the hammer went down and I was dropped rather too quickly. I continued for a couple of laps on my own and considered packing it in (the temperature was already climbing into my ‘Red Zone’), when a chap caught me and I managed to hold his wheel. By this stage the temperature must have been in the 30s; I was already overheating.

I managed to stay with my new mate and take reasonable turns at the front; he was a good climber and I managed to help him out on the flats and descents. He must have been a local because every couple of laps he’d throw away an empty water-bottle (bidon) and collect a full one from a spectator. I had to eke out my single bottle for the whole race; this would tell on me in the end.

Lapped: We were passed on lap 8 by the leaders, but we also managed to overtake a few stragglers who had flown off too fast. After a few more laps we even managed to lap an old-timer. This was the first time I’d lapped anybody since the first race of the season at Brandivy (see the earlier blog). My spirits were lifted further as we overtook more cyclists who were obviously struggling in the heat. At one stage we overtook a group of about ten who had all but stopped; the heat was taking its toll.

Water issues: With three laps to go, I finally ran out of water and was cooked. I continued gamely for one more lap but had to work harder and harder to stick with my companion. By the big climb at the start of the penultimate lap I was buried. I had to stop and beg some water from a spectator. By the time I set off again, one of the chaps I’d overtaken a lap earlier caught me and I had to hang on to his wheel until the finish.

Abandonments: To be completely honest, I was absolutely fried on the final lap. I actually emptied the bottle again by the time I stop. I even had to let my new partner go. He finished about 200 metres ahead of me, but I had the satisfaction of knowing that I was actually a lap ahead of him – small mercies.

At the end I discovered that Bob had abandoned about half way; he’s a big strong man but is obviously seriously affected by extreme heat. It turns out that something like 40 riders abandoned - I was climbing up the leader-board even though almost going backwards. You never know, if the race had lasted another couple of weeks I might have won! Yeah!

Results: I didn’t get a classification (again), but I averaged around 32kph – I said it was tough didn’t I?

For my readers outside France - General notes and thoughts

A rare shot of me leading a group on a climb - photo courtesy Eric Coue 

If you fancy coming over here to race I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

Racing here is a real blast! Whether you are a budding professional, a keen amateur or even one of those lunatic Triathletes, you’ll love racing over here. The French have been organising local and regional cycling events forever and have it down to a fine art. Races are always well organised, laid-back, and professional. Town rides take place on closed circuits for security, and Open races (Sportives etc.) are always well marshalled with support vehicles (cars and motorbikes) escorting all of the big groups to make sure other road users are well aware of the oncoming cyclists. This is a real bonus for those of you who face the ‘gauntlet’ of cycling on the crowed UK road system.

So, if you fancy joining us, here is some information that might help:

Those with British cycle race licences:

·         You will be able to enter any Cyclo Sportive or Randonées (less serious ‘fun’ events)

·         Depending on the type of licence you have (you might be a serious Category rider for example) you will be able to enter the Pass’Cyclisme, Category races, Criterions, etc.

Those without licences:

·         You can enter Sportives and Randonées, but you will have to produce an up-to-date medical certificate

·         Be warned though, my son has just paid his GP £25 for a medical certificate so he can enter the Quiberon Olympic Triathlon in September (yes, like his dad he is one of those nut-jobs who enjoy the pain of multi-discipline events), so it isn’t cheap!

Things you need to know:

·         If you want to make a holiday of your trip over here I can put you in touch with gite owners (holiday homes) who’d be happy to help

·         I could also recommend a couple of reasonably priced local hotels and B&Bs if you fancy shorter stays  

·         I know it’s a little late for this year (I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier), but take a look at this site for Sportives in France and fill in you race calendar for the rest of the year: http://www.velo-cyclosport.com/agenda/cyclosportives2011.html (Tip: you’ll need to turn on your Google translation programmes if you don’t read French).

·         Do you need to sharpen up your race performance? I can highly recommend the Flamme Rouge website: http://www.flammerouge.je/content/0_home/home.htm. This is run by my mate Tony Williams who is based in Jersey. On this site you’ll find some very useful training drills to help you up your game. Go on, give it a go and see your race times improve.

Finally, you can drop me a line at: Kerry.donovan@sfr.fr if you have any questions or comments. Better still, add a comment to the bottom of the blog and we can have one of those new-fangled on-line discussion thingies.

Keep cycling, and have fun.

Tra for now, K

“La Ange Roussel” – Rumengol (56)” – Cyclo-Sportive - 24th July 2011 - (100kms)

I did this race last year – to see how I fared take a look at the blog. Suffice to say, my goal was to finish the bloody race this time - there, gave the game away didn’t I?

It was a cool morning with a touch of drizzle in the air so I wore detachable sleeves and leggings, rolled up to just below the knees. I kept the sleeves on for the whole race as it didn’t warm up much at all.

Start: About a hundred of us set out to face a heavily undulating course. I managed to stay with the lead group for the first hour or so but was cast adrift after a long climb that was followed by a fast descent and then another long drag. I spent a couple of kilometres on my own cycling through a quiet valley with wooded slopes before I noticed a small group  of riders behind me.

I did the clever thing this year; I slowed down a little for them to catch me before latching on to the back wheel of the last man. See? Hit me over the head a few times and I’ll finally get the message - it's easier to cycle with a group than to slog it out on your own.

My new friends were at a very similar level to me – that is to say, average! However, one of them was quite a good climber so I stuck to his wheel on each climb. It turned out that I was a better downhiller than him so he took my wheel for the descents - quid-pro-quo. Our four-man group worked well together and we soon began to sweep up stragglers and our number eventually swelled to ten.

Cows: A herd of cows stopped us in our tracks just like one did last year! It was almost as though the farmer had deliberately planned it. Luckily we were on a straight bit of road and could see them early or we would have run right into them at 35kph. We slowly picked our way past the herd and carried on along some very uneven and badly pitted roads (unusual for Brittany). Then it happened! At exactly the same point in the race as last year I was dropped. Dammit!

Deja vu: We had just crested a long hard uphill climb and I was preparing myself for a nice rest on the downhill when a corner revealed one of those bloody false flats. Instead of levelling off the climb continued, unrelenting. I dropped further and further back. I was absolutely gutted.

This year though, I’m stronger. I dug deep and slowly managed to close the gap. Then, mercifully, just before I my legs were completely fried, the road dropped away into a lovely, long, fast downhill. I let the bike run free, relaxed down on the handlebars and flew down the hill at over 55 kph. I soon went to the front of the group; spinning my legs gently to keep them loose. The next climb soon arrived but my impetus took me most of the way up before I had to work the pedals hard. We even had a tailwind which helped immensely.

After about 60kmps we formed into a chain-gang and really ate up the miles. At one stage we were cruising along the few flats at over 45kph – exhilarating.

Success (of sorts): The rest of the race is a bit of a blur. I started feeling cramp up in my left quadriceps with about fifteen kilometres to go but managed to continue through the pain. Mercifully, it was downhill most of the way home and I survived.

As a group we agreed not to contest the finish and crossed the line in a bunch – all done!

I was tired but quite happy with my performance; a massive improvement on last year. My average speed for this hilly course was 31.9kph – not bad, for me!

“Saint Armel (56)” – 15th July 2011 - (4.3x13) – D3/4

Saint Armel is a quiet little town on the coast of the Gulf of Morbihan. The course was fast and flat. Mercifully the rain kept away for the race, and the wind was the merest zephyr.

Overview: This was my first evening race with a 20:01hrs start time to allow the D1/2 race to begin first. An 8 o’clock evening start time in July is not as late as it appears to those living in the UK. Remember, we are an hour ahead here so it doesn’t get dark until late these days, so at least I could be sure of finishing before night-time.

Along for the ride: The start was fast and furious but I managed to stick with the group without much distress. A few guys tried to break clear early on, but were reeled in by the pack fairly quickly. Surprisingly, my English mate Bob Jones tried to attack on lap three, much earlier than he usually kicks, but his move was covered. The other riders had marked his card and did not want Bob to have it all his own way.

My wife, Jan, had made the trip down to the coast with me and spent the race with Bob’s wife Vicky. She cheered me on from outside the bar in the village every time we passed the podium. Some people have it tough, eh?

I grew more confident that I’d be able to stay with the pace as the laps ticked by; I even covered an attack in the middle of the race. I struggled a little on the slight hill at the back end of the course, but always managed to close the gap before the little rise into the finish.

Jan still cheered me on at the start of every new lap. Maybe she would finally see me involved in a sprint finish after all my poor recent results. Optimism again Kerry?

Lap 7: I missed my gear on one of the small climbs, dropped back a few metres and had to work like stink to rejoin the pack – quads on fire again, a familiar feeling these days. Then, just as I closed the gap, some arsehole on the front kicked, the group sped up and I lost my recovery time. I hung on and managed to stay with them but the effort was beginning to tell.

I kept with them for another circuit but had to work really hard to do so and had no recovery time at all.

Lap 8: I was still with the group but working almost flat out to stay with them. Then, on the last left-hander my back wheel lost grip and slipped from underneath me. I didn’t fall, but lost impetus and by the time I regained full control of the bike (and my nerve), a gap had formed. It was only a ten-metre gap at first and I managed to hold it at that for half a lap but it was too much for me and I cracked with just three laps to go. Dammit!     

Laps 9-11: I only lost about 3 minutes on the pack by the time I’d finished. I did keep up the effort though, and managed to pass a few stragglers on my way home.

There’s no doubt in my mind, I’m nearly, nearly there. Another couple of percent improvement and I might be competitive. More targeted training is needed I think.

Result: Position: 29^th, Distance: 53 kms, Time: 1:28:40, Average speed: 35.8kph.

And finally: Jan, not the most supportive of my sporting efforts, (she has after all, seen me fail at cricket, football, triathlon, golf and now cycling, in our 36 years together), gave me a “Good effort Kerry!” when I finally finished. She had seen how hard I’d tried and at least could applaud a gallant effort! 

The Bruise!

I was taking a shower the other day – no, it’s not one of those stories – and noticed a dark mark in the centre of my chest. It was the grey, the colour of cement. I’ve been building a stone wall recently and I thought the mark might be the result of splashed cement so I tried scrubbing at it with a sponge; it wouldn’t budge.

After the shower I put some glasses on and checked the mark again and discovered that it was actually a bruise! I was somewhat surprised because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out when I’d hurt myself. The wall I’m building is still quite low, (building stone walls is a very slow business), so it wasn’t the result of a stone falling on me or anything like that.

I was baffled. Spontaneous bruising can be symptomatic of some very nasty conditions – oh, I can be a real hypochondriac sometimes. One of the down sides of doing a degree in human anatomy and physiology is that you learn just what a complicated and delicate thing the human body is. Mine, of course, is more delicate than most; I’m such a wimp!

I took me a few days to figure out the cause of the mysterious bruise and it was just a simple bruise. It wasn’t anything like purpura, leukemia, thrombocytopenia, or vasculitis. No, it was none of those horrible-sounding diseases. It was caused by, and this is the reason for this entry in my Cycle Race Reports blog, my cycle water bottle! Yes, the simple bidon; (did you know that the French have a special word for cycle bottles).

How can bruising be caused by a plastic water bottle? I hear you ask.

It’s simple really. When I take a drink during a ride, I close the little plastic stopper by banging the top of the bidon against my chest before I replace the bottle into its cage. The stops joice spilling all over my nice clean bike (honest), and saves me losing valuable drink over bumpy roads.

Now, the cyclist riding position means that I am often bent over on the bars when I take a drink. So I end up closing the bidon against my breastbone. This is the least padded place on my chest – hence the bruising.

Case closed!

Unfortunately, I don’t know of a better way to close the stopper, the rest of my torso is so flabby that the stopper won’t close on anything else other than my breastbone. I’ll have to put up with the bruising I guess. Hey ho!

Next blog: Saint Armel (56).

“Maure de Bretagne (35)” – 10th July 2011 - (5.03x11) – D1/4

In case you forgot what I look like, (pic courtesy Eric Coue, Taupont Cyclisme).

Overview: I travelled to Maure de Bretagne with ‘strong-man’ Ian Cushway. The day was warm with a slight breeze that seemed to increase in velocity as the race progressed (honestly). Maure is another beautiful Brittany village – there are hundreds of them dotted around this wonderful part of France. However, after the first warm-up lap I knew the course was not for me. A 270 degree right turn immediately after the start was followed by a 1km uphill drag, then by 3kms of undulating narrow roads and a fast descent into an uphill finish.

Start: About 65 of us set off, all four groups together (D1-D4). The first lap proceeded at a fairly reasonable pace and I managed to stay bang in the middle of the group without too many problems. In fact, I stayed in contact until the middle of lap three when the main group, led by (former mate) Ian, chased off after a nine-man breakaway. They left me for dead.

I found myself wallowing all alone at the back of the race - just like old times!

I contemplated dropping out, but decided I needed the training and continued on as best I could. I tried to delay the inevitable but the race caught me up on lap 7 and swept past in no time. I didn’t have the strength to try and latch on for a tow so I let them go without so much as a whimper. The nine leaders were not too far ahead of the chase group which still included Ian. He looked to be mixing it up well with the best of them.

Company: A straggler who’d been dropped from the chasing pack caught me up soon after the peloton passed and I had some company for the remainder of the race; 3 laps to go for him, and 4 laps for me.

It’s amazing what a fillip it is to have someone to ride with after an hour and a half on your own. I managed to do my fair share at the front even though my legs were burning and I was a little light-headed. My companion stopped at the end of the race and I carried on alone to complete my final (11^th) circuit; I’m nothing if not a glutton for punishment. I’ve begun calling this my ‘lap of dishonour’; it happens so bloody often. 

By the time I crossed the line for the final time the award ceremony was already taking place. I half expected, hoped, to see Ian on the podium for his share of the D3/4 spoils but no.

Puncture: I learned later that Ian had suffered a rear-wheel puncture near the finish line on lap 5 or 6 and had hot-footed it back to the car to change wheels. Luckily, I had brought a spare rear wheel for just such an emergency.

Ian was allowed to filter back into the race and attach himself to the chasing group by missing out a lap. This is perfectly acceptable and is not as advantageous as it might appear. During an enforced one-lap ‘rest break’ your legs will stiffen up and it will take some time for you to return ‘race-pace’. Ian managed this really well – I did say he was a ‘strong man’ didn’t I!

I finished last and I don't have Ian’s final position, but he must have figured quite highly in the D3/4 race. I averaged a pitiful 30.9kph (1:53:02 for 58kms), I guess Ian was nearer 36kph.

Overview: I’ve decided to put more time into hill training; I really need to strengthen my legs now that I have finally improved my stamina. I’m fed up with struggling so much on the hills.

Training drills: I have recently found an excellent website which includes training drills for keen cyclists. The Flamme Rouge site is run by my new mate Tony Williams and the link is: (http://www.flammerouge.je/content/0_home/home.htm).

I would highly recommend the site. 

Next race: Saint Armel, Friday evening (apparently its pan flat - we'll see).