Bob Roll at Bike Beat

What an evening ! It beats going to the movies anytime.
Like most people, I had seen Bob Roll on TV, and knew that he was a funny guy. I did not know he was that funny and that he was such a great story teller. This was one of the most enjoyable evenings I have had for a long time, lots of healthy laughs, and a very pleasant atmosphere at the Bike Beat bike shop.
It was also very pleasant to meet all those people that I had never seen before, knowing that most of them were cyclists, a good proportion probably tuned to competitive racing. In a way it was also reassuring and comforting. On the road, we feel sometimes That we belong to a rare and endangered specie and it is good to see that there are so many of us still around.
It was also very good to see someone recognized for what he had done to cycling, mostly in the field of racing but obviously this also helped cycling in general. Every time one sees someone able and willing to share his knowledge, experience and skills with the community, no matter what the community and no matter what is being shared, it makes me feel good about it. It shows the positive side of what people are about.
I also believe that this was an excellent initiative by the bike shop. Better than anything I have experienced so far in my young (6 years) cycling career. I hope that in the near future, some way of getting us together again whether one the road or for some more social events will come out of this. Some of those that I met last night shared that view with me. We need to be able to really promote road bicycling, whether competitive or recreational, in this Tidewater area as there is some kind of vacuum there and lack of focus on promoting bicycle riding. Bike shops have a vested interest in promoting bicycling in general so they are a very good place to start. In fact, they have already started to be a more and more common place where to start organized rides going on throughout Hampton Roads.
Thank you Bike Beat.

Elections and biking

For the elections, as I had done on previous occasions, I sent each candidate a message to ask them what their position was regarding the safety of on-road bicycling in Virginia. The message went like this:

In the past 5 years, I have ridden my bicycle 38750 miles on the road in several countries in Europe (France, Spain, Switzerland), and in the US ( Colorado, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Delaware and Florida).
Not only there is no comparison between Europe, where authorities go to great length to make bicycling safe, and the US, entirely devoted to the automobile, but Virginia stands as one of the most bicycle unfriendly states, and Tidewater as probably the worse area in Virginia.
On its Web site, Virginia DOT is quite specific in warning bicyclists that roads in Virginia are not intended to accommodate them and might be unsafe for riding.

Quote "Most on-road riding opportunities share the roadways with motor vehicles, most without special accommodations, such as wide travel lanes or bike lanes. Throughout the state, scenic routes enjoyed by bicyclists are often on roads with narrow pavement, little or no shoulders, and curves and hills that limit sight distance. The off-road rides range from family-oriented outings on paved trails to rigorous climbs up heavily forested mountainsides. The safety of any of these options is not guaranteed. Bicyclists should thoroughly educate themselves about routes and areas where they are planning to ride, and then choose routes that suit their abilities." unquote

Not only do unsafe riding conditions cost lives and injuries to bicyclists hit by cars, but it also discourages many people from using an alternative mode of transportation which is healthy, economical and environment friendly.
If you were elected, what specific initiative would you sponsor, support or propose to improve safety of bicycling on the roads of Virginia in general, and of Hampton Roads in particular ?

The only meaningful conversation resulting from those messages came from the office (not the candidate himself) of one of the candidates, who did not make it anyway. But this provided me, if need be, with confirmation that bicycling in Virginia is certainly not yet an issue that is of concern to any of the politicians. I am still hoping for a $6/gallon gas . . .

The 2006 Great Peanut Tour

We had been told that the Peanut Tour was all about rest stops and food and it proved to be correct. There were thirty of them along the various courses set up for the four days. Mike and I did not use many of them, but we still had the opportunity to enjoy the fact that they are set up in the homes of volunteers who open their yards for the ride. Very nice feature.
Every night, there was some kind of entertainment during dinner and then entertainment and marshmallow roast by a camp fire in the camp site. We went to the Friday and Saturday ones, and I particularly enjoyed the Saturday featuring Blue Grass music.
We had dinner on Friday and Saturday and enjoyed it. It was set up under two large tents and gave plenty of opportunity to socialize with other riders.
There were quite a few members of TBA on this ride, Mike Rogers, Dennis Bondi, Jack and Donna, Mike Scott, Mike Smith and Terry, Tom and Carol Lilley, Pat Brian and Ralph, Micky, and probably a few more that I either did not know (there were other tandem riders) or did not see.
On Saturday, for the short afternoon ride, we rode with Harvey from Washington, DC who was on a fixed single speed 1938 Schwinn with wooden rims and original cranks and was spinning at like 150 rpm on the downhills ! This was quite fun. Harvey told me that he has 15 bikes in his garage, all of them antiques. If this is not a passion, what is . . . .
The weather remained perfect throughout the week-end, sometimes a little too warm, some mornings quite humid, but over all perfect weather for riding. Although we were not given an official number, there were registration numbers higher than 1.200, so we can assume that there were more than 1.200 riders.
On Friday we did not do the full century, only the second loop of 82 miles, and on Saturday we were confused by the literature and the sign that said that the metric century had been replaced by a 47 miler. So, we only did 206 miles for the whole week-end, but did not really missed the 34 miles that we did not ride.
As usual, I have posted some pictures, including the official group photo on the set of my photo album dedicated to riding in the US.
There were other activities over the week-end, like guided bird walk, forestry walk, eatible plant walk, in which we did not participate, but that most certainly added to the opportunities to fully enjoy that long week-end in peanut country.
By the way, the banana split was really worth the trip !

Training Camp at CTS - Colorado Springs

My expectations, going to the CTS Camp were not very high. I just wanted to have a look at their facilities and have a chance to meet with my coach, Kate Grachek, with whom I have exchanged numerous emails in the last three years. Other than that, I was expecting to be with a group of racing guys and to be at a very different level from then
In fact, my expectations were more than met. Not only did I have a chance to have lunch with Kate and also to roam around the huge facilities that CTS has there, but I actually benefited from the camp and learned a few new things.
I thought traveling to Colorado Springs was going to be a nightmare, with a terror threat in London and much tighter security at airports. But everything went smoothly. I was at the airport with three hours to spare and took only 15 minutes to go through security.
The first day at the camp did not go too well. In the morning, we did drills on a field to learn how to improve our bike handling skills, doing track stands, weaving the bike through bottles on the ground, picking up bottles from the ground while riding and playing a game "the gladiators" where we were supposed to eliminate other riders from a square area by either forging them to put a foot down, or driving them out of bounds. I did well on that last game only because I managed to stay out of trouble, waiting for the others to eliminate themselves.
The ride was about learning to ride on pace lines, single, double and rotating. The leading coach allowed the pace to get far too fast and it became difficult just to stay with it. At some point, while drafting, my heart rate went up to 166. So, I made it very conspicuous and dropped way back. After that, the pace became a little more reasonable and the remainder of the ride went well.
The next day was about climbing and cornering. I thoroughly enjoyed climbing at 85 rpm cadence. We did three intervals of 8 minutes each of climbing, at high intensity, and I liked it a lot. In the afternoon, we practiced cornering on a short one mile course at a place called "Gardens of God", and I think that this will improve my cornering ability quite a bit. It felt goo.
On Sunday, only one ride for the camp, which was supposed to include climbing, cornering and pace line. We did all of that and it was quite a pleasant ride.
However, I was saving myself a little as I was planning to ride up the Ute Pass as soon as the camp was over. Chris Carmichael showed up for the closing of the camp, which I thought was a nice thing to do. We had a chance to exchange a few words with him before I set out on my climb.
The Ute Pass turned out to be a little more difficult than I anticipated. Another lesson of humility from cycling. Don't brag about your upcoming ride, only talk with honesty about the last one.
Ute Pas is long and is not a steady climb. There are easy portions, some a little more steep (7% grade) and it is long. Also, the heavy traffic makes it a rather unpleasant ride. It is very safe as there is a shoulder available almost all the way up, but still, noise and traffic don't go well with cycling. It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes to ride the 27 miles from Colorado Springs to Ute Pass (Jason told me that it takes him 1 hour 15 minutes) but only 1 hour and 18 minutes to get back.
This gave me time to pack my bike that sunday afternoon, pack my bags and go for dinner, with basically nothing to do on Monday before catching my flight at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Another good event under my belt, to add to my cycling memories. As usual, I have posted a few pictures of the camp on my library of photos in an album called "bicycling in the US", but my pictures about the Tour Cyclotouriste FFCT 2006 an still be found in a dedicated album.

Le tour Cyclotouriste FFCT 2006 en francais - (english version below)

Quelle fantastique aventure ! Passer sur la route trois semaines avec 150 personnes que je ne connaissais pas le moins du monde, sauf Henri Dusseau et n'en retenir que de merveilleux souvenirs ! En 21 jours consecutifs 3,226 kilometres dont 33,845 metres de montée cumulée. Franchir sans mettre pied à terre des pentes comprenant un maximum à 19% (pour être honnête, 16% selon le site FFCT, les 19 % provenant de participants avec des altimètres). Faire une étape de 238 kilomètres en ne partant qu'après un petit déjeûnet vers 7 heures du matin et arriver avant dîner !
Tout celà ne sont que des statistiques, mais celà ne traduit absolument pas ce que celà signifie de faire connaissance sur la route avec 140 participants venant de différents pays (2 finlandais, 2 danois, 6 britanniques, 11 belges, 1 américain (moi !), les autres français), de visiter autant de régions différentes et magnifiques (notamment le Tarn), si différentes les unes des autres, que ce soit les vignobles de St Emilion, les Pyrénées et son Tourmalet, l'Auvergne et le Pas de Peyrol, la bretagne et le chateau de Josselin, etc, etc. Même si l'éloignement rend la chose peu probable, j'espère pouvoir garder contact avec les amis avec qui j'aie roulé, ceux du "grupetto", Bob, Marcel, Yvon, Michel, Marie-Jo, Marie-Christine, Marie-Pascale, sans oublier mes camarades de chambre, Gilles et Louis-Marie. Et tous ceux qui ont contribué à la joie de cette balade, Pouët-pouët, Papie 52*13, Bernard le Parisien, et tant d'autres.
Je pensais écrire une sorte de journal de bord, donnant le détail de l'aventure étape par étape. Mais sauf pour ceux qui ont fait le tour et qui par conséquent n'ont pas besoin de ce descriptif, je pense que ce serait plutot rasoir. A la place, j'aie réuni les photos que Bob m'a fait parvenir, celles que j'aie prises moi même, 25 photos prises sur le site de la FFCT et 3 ou 4 photos prises par Henri Dusseau et je les aie affiché sur un album sur le Web.
Merci tout particulièrement à Bob, pas seulement pour les photos, mais pour sa gentillesse tout au long du tour ou il a été devant, derrière, partout où il pouvait rendre service. Et ce qui ne gâte rien, merci à son épouse Eve pour le ravitaillement après le Pas de Peyrol et le col de Neronne.
Le Tour était entièrement organisé par des volontaires, ce qui permet de proposer un prix très bas pour le tour (ici aux US cela aurait facilement couté le triple), et donc de contribuer à la promotion du cyclotourisme. Au début, j'aie eu du mal à comprendre celà et je me disais que j'aurais préféré payer un peu plus pour un peu plus de professionalisme (notamment au niveau du road book). Mais en fait, j'en suis venu à la conclusion que j'étais dans l'erreur. Si ici aux Etats Unis, ceux qui consacrent des tonnes d'énergie et de bonne volonté pour organiser des randonnées au profit du cancer, du diabète et autres oeuvres charitables se tournaient plutôt vers la promotion du vélo, la situation serait sans doute différente.
De même, j'aie été impressionné par la participation des clubs locaux pour l'acceuil et l'organisation des étapes, par le concours de l'association des amis du Tour et leurs ravitos, que ce soit à partir du coffre de leur voiture ou sur le bord de la route. Tous ces efforts donnent à l'évènement une constante atmosphère de fête, de camaraderie, de plaisir de rouler, de vacances en vélo. De fait, au départ du tour a Guer, deux cyclos du club local roulaient en tête sur deux vieux vélos de ville, eux-même vétus comme ceux qui prennent leur vélo "pour aller chercher le pain". Le ton était ainsi donné, il ne s'agit pas d'une course ou d'une compétition, mais d'une fête du vélo, d'une balade organisée pour visiter la France et se faire plaisir. Et c'est exactement l'impression qui me reste après ces trois semaines.
Merci à la FFCT et à tous ceux qui sont responsables de l'existence de ce Tour.

The Tour Cyclotouriste FFCT 2006

This is a period of my life that I am not likely to forget anytime soon. Three weeks with 150 people whom I had never met, except for 1. In those 150, there were 140 riders, 2 from Spain, 2 from Finland, 2 from Denmark, 6 from England, 11 from Belgium, 1 (myself) from the USA and the remaining from France. We rode 3,226 kilometers (2,005 miles) for 21 consecutive days. We went up 33,845 meters (111,040 feet) in the same period, which is a daily average of climbing 1,612 meters (5.288 feet) . The steepest climb, in basque country had a 19% grade, the longest stage was 148 miles long. We rode over 20 different mountain passes, the higest being the Tourmalet (2,114 metres - 6,936 feet), the lowest being the col de Naves (330 metres - 1,083 feet).
These are only numbers, but they don't give justice to what it means to get to know 140 riders on the road, to visit so many different areas of France, so diverse and so beautiful, whether it is the wine country around St Emilion, the Pyrenees in the famous "Col du Tourmalet", the Auvergne region and the "Pas de Peyrol", the bretagne country, which hosted the start and finish of this event with its "bagad" (the local bands) and dancers.
I thought of giving a detailed account of the ride, day by day, but I think it would be boring and less interesting than looking at the many pictures that I have from this event, most of them shot by Bob Aldridge, a talented rider and photographer, who lives in France and rode not far from me most of the time, while covering twice the distance to take all these pictures and help whoever was in need on the road. His wife Eve organized a wonderful rest stop in the Pas de Peyrol stage, with lots of home made cakes which were delicious. Thanks Eve, for all your efforts, and thanks to Bob for being such a nice man ! The pictures not coming from Bob are either from me, or taken off the Web site set up by the FFCT (French Federation of Cyclo Tourism).
The Tour was run entirely by volunteers, which is a way to keep costs down and therefore contribute to the promotion of cyclotourism. Most of the accommodation and meals were arranged by local bike clubs, as well as some of the rest stops.
Those who have ridden the Tour in the past have created an association called "Les amis du Tour Cyclotouriste FFCT" and they were with us all the way, offering drinks, cakes and fruits from the back of their car, or setting up rest stops here and there.
The only time we had a group start was on the first day. This was also probably the most dangerous time, as we did not know each other and we were not yet in the groove. Yet, everything went smoothly. On this first day, we got to the picnic place almost all together and we had a very festive lunch, following drinks (yes, wine) and speeches by local authorities. The next day, in St Jean d'Angely, the evening was wild. Lots of local wine, entertainment, dancing . . . I was wondering how in hell we were going to last for 21 days at that pace. Fortunately, thinks got a little quieter afterwards.
Still, everyday, we had a wonderful picnic, everytime with wine available (the foreigners could have water and fruit juice if they insisted on it . .). In the evening, we would be accommodated either in a local high school or college and use their facitilites, which most of the time were more than adequate. On a few occasions, we had to resort to hotels, and in that case would split into as many as eight different hotels, which did not make life easy for the organizers, especially those involved in transporting our luggage.
The cue sheet was prepared for each day by the local bike club, and sometimes it turned out to be more of a treasure hunt than a ride as we tried to figure out how to get to our destination. But nobody got lost and nobody arrived too late to enjoy whatever festivities were on for that night, including watching the world cup on a big screen.
All of this provided an atmosphere of camaraderie, solidarity, fun and enjoyment. The start of the ride was given from Guer with two riders in front on old fashioned city bikes. Just to make sure we had it right. This was not a race, not a competition. Just an organized fun, although tough, ride. And that is what it turned out to be.
If any of you if interested in more details, make sure you contact me. The tour is organized every other year, one time though the Pyrenees, the other through the Alps. The next one, in 2008, will go through the Alps.

600 K ACP brevet - Frederick, MD - 6/3/06

Finally I did it ! 375 miles (actually my odometer showed 381.40 miles, in part due to some unexpected detour caused by roadworks) in less than 40 hours including stops. My game plan was to ride it in 30 hours and take 6 hours stops, but without sleeping. I actually rode 30 hours 23 minutes and 49 secondes and took 8 hours of stops, including 3 hours 15 minutes at the sleep stop. All this was dead on target and I was very satisfied with those results.
If feels good after last year failure. Thanks to all those who helped me along the way, Mike Scott, Doug Young, Nick Bull, Natacha, of course CTS (my secret weapon).
On Friday, after a one hour ride with one interval to "tune up" my legs, it was off to Frederick where we arrived around 1:00 p.m., as usual a little too early to check in.
I took Natacha to the Hard Times Cafe for some Chili. I chose the vegetarian one and Natacha the Texas one. Unfortunately for her, this turned out to be a bad choice as the meat was actually swimming in oil !
Back to the hotel, I prepared the bike and took a nap. Around 5:00 p.m., we went to the Olive Garden. I thought it would be faster to take the expressway, and I managed to get lost. Anyway, we finally found the place and I was able to enjoy my spaghettis and Turamitsu. Then, back again to the hotel for a short night.
I got up at 2:45, for the traditional breakfast of home prepared oat meal, shower, stretching and get ready.
The start took place at 4:00 a.m. under a light rain that would last for around 4 to 5 hours. A few minutes after the start, I was already on my own, everyone else speeding away. But this time, I was determined not to let anything get me divert from my own pace. And the way the whole ride went for me proved me right.
At the first control, I caught up with Bill who had made a wrong turn and had had to back track for a few miles. We rode a few miles together, but again, I made sure that I did not have to push to stay with him and eventually let him go.
I then found Matt and Paul and rode with them until we caught up with Nick Bull with whom I finished that segment of the ride until the sleep stop. The fact that I finished together with Nick (and Bill) meant that we were riding at very similar pace. That first loop of 236.8 miles did not feel too difficult for 6,070 feet of climbing, but in only 2 main climbs.
So we agreed to do the second loop together.
Having arrived at the hotel at 1:00 a.m. allowed me to shower, sleep for a little more than 90 minutes while Natacha went to Denny's to get me some pancakes and hash browns, eat, stretch, get into dry clothes, adjust the rear derailleur which had caused me many problems during the first loop, and left with Nick at 4:15 a.m.
That day proved to be a wonderful day in terms of weather, blue sky, dry air and for most of the morning no wind.
We worked very well with Nick. He would tend to ride a little faster than me on the flat, but I was more comfortable than him on the hills, which were many, short and very steep. This second loop, made of 144.6 miles felt very tough with 4,210 feet of climbing, but in many different climbs.
In all, as Nick put it, we made quite a good team and the day went by almost fast.
Maybe things were going too well. A little less than 10 miles from the finish, I hugged the side of the road a little too close and my front wheel fell off the side of the thick coat of tarmac covering the road, and I went down quite hard. Fortunately, there was no damage to the bike, minor injuries to myself, especially the right hand, which made it difficult to operate brake and derailleur, and of course a big bruise to my ego. But after a few minutes, we were back on track, riding at a good pace and we finished at 6:23 p.m., well on target and in line with our game plan. And this time, I tooke the time to take some pictures.
But how in hell can you do twice that much ! . . . .
That's what I thought after the 300 K so I guess that eventually a 1200 might not be totally out of reach. . . .but not this year.