The Final Word

Well the adventure is over for the boys from Wagga Wagga and whilst their team effort in providing an entertaining and sometimes factual account of their time in France to the those that they left behind, I feel it is only fitting that I get the last word in on the group I now affectionately think of as the “Nuff Plus One” team.

It has been an absolute pleasure to have this group of enthusiastic and fun loving people on a Cyclerides tour, It may be work for me, but it’s not exactly your boring 9-5 slog, it became much more about hanging out with a really great bunch of guys and trying, sometimes successfully, to steer them in the right direction.

Starting the tour off by getting the message that they were "stuck in Frankfurt" after missing their flight, mainly due to the distraction of a bar, was a little disconcerting at first, but at least it provided a low base from which to build their experience up from. Anyway I won’t go too much into the daily story, this has been very well covered collectively in the daily blogs/masterpieces written by the individual members of the “Nuff plus one” team.

Instead as I sit here at CDG Airport waiting for my flight home, I would like to give my take on the individual “Nuff plus one” members:

Simon – Wins the “Travel light and hope your washing dries” award, a skill not in common with any of his fellow team members or the writer himself I might add. Although he did run into some trouble when something was spilt on the “Amani” shorts resulting in the need to borrow an emergency pair from one of his fellow team members. Simon was present on every ride and gave it his all, certainly getting the most out of the tour, no regrets for him.

Hamo – Undeniably the winner of the “Most Enthusiastic bordering on Hyperactive” award, definitely didn’t miss out on anything, always ready and rearing to go early, sometimes had to held back (mostly unsuccessfully). He also contributed generously to the French economy by way of product purchases at every stop, and I mean every stop, coffee stop, lunch stop, toilet stop, oh lets just stop so I can buy another shirt.

Chambo – I think Chambo’s award would have to be the “best dressed and I sometimes have hair” award, he also came close to the “lets have one more” award but was pipped at the post by another soon to be named member. Chambo found the going tough up some of the hills, a combination of the dragging the top heavy upper body and sometimes a result of “lets have one more”, he just kept going though and ticked off every HC climb placed before him.

Dr Carl – Amongst other things I think the “I’ll wear white if I want to” award for what I feel is a very brave decision to don the all white kit on many of the days, especially brave when you consider his close encounter with an oncoming vehicle on one of the descents could have resulted in the staining of said kit. Dr Carl must also get a mention for his staying ability both on the bike and more importantly on a very late Friday night in Paris, his effort in still being able to do the Paris by bike tour Saturday morning is indeed worthy of note.

Dydey – It has to be the “You’ll never lose me in these shoes” award for those BRIGHT orange shoes, I still recall looking down from 2630m of the Galibier and clearly seeing the orange shoes weaving around the hairpins many metres below. A couple of other mentions being his ability to get in his rhythm up a climb and making it look easy, a couple descending brake locking moments also come to mind.

Lionel – Gets the “Lets leave before the sun comes up” award, maybe that’s an exaggeration so lets just say Lionel was always first up and always suggesting an earlier rather than later start. I’m still trying to work out whether he likes to ride early or just wants to make sure he’s able to get to the bar before the rest of France. Lionel also comes to mind as a somewhat nervous passenger/co driver, or could it possibly be my driving????

Craig – It’s got to be the “broken ribs won’t stop me” award or maybe the “never to Mountainbike down a world class course before a 2 week cycling tour again” award, pick either of the above. Probably not a great decision to tackle the World Title downhill course with little experience just before your 2 week cycle tour but to his credit he didn’t let the broken ribs stop him, everyday he battled the climbs sucking up the pain and not being able to suck up much air into the lungs as a result, a very gutsy effort.

Dan – If I was giving more serious awards Dan would get the “KOM” award but alas this award is not to be presented in this forum, instead I give Dan the “Gourmet food and fine wine” award for his knowledge and appreciation of the finer things in life, a skill that came in very handy and was to the benefit of all. Dan was also carrying an injury although you wouldn’t know it going on the ease at which he sped up every climb.

Barney – This one is pretty easy, Barney easily takes the aforementioned “Lets have one more” award for his generosity and support of his fellow hoteliers, no doubt the main motivation being to ensure the liquor industry in France remains buoyant, secondary would have been the potential detriment to his fellow teams members performance the next day due to overindulgence.

Briss – Another contender for more than one award but I feel the most relevant albeit not the most flattering being the “I’ll turn up eventually” award for his consistency in being the last to be ready to leave each morning/afternoon/whenever we needed to leave anywhere, he was challenged at one stage for this title but his consistency won out in the end. Bryce should also get an honourable mention for being able to get up the HC climbs with the least amount of training, a great effort considering.

In summing up and in all seriousness this tour has not only been a great experience for the group, it has also been a great experience for myself personally. I’ve ridden with many groups but I’ve never witnessed a group that sticks together so well and actually rides together and genuinely looks out for each other, it’s quite unique and something the guys should be proud of.

I look forward to coming over to Wagga Wagga to have a ride with them from time to time and continuing a friendship for years to come.

Thanks heaps guys, you’re the best!!!

Yours in cycling and living life to the fullest,

Andy

Final day blog

Well our last day in France was, as expected, exciting, exhilarating & awe-inspiring. 

I write this on our plane back to reality and whilst we're all looking forwards to seeing our loved-ones, I'm not too impressed by the forecast of 1-11 degrees on Saturday in good ol' Wagga. The boys have travelled well despite some assuming unusual sleeping positions in the plush economy class seats. Dydey in particular with his headphone cords around his neck, a cream blanket pulled up around his ears and glasses on the tip of his nose looking much like the Dalai Lama. 

Last night we dined at a nearby seafood restaurant with Hammo's sister Rebecca (who had made a special trip from Birmingham to see us all - cheers Bec) and Sarah, a friend of mine from Wagga who is on her own trip of a lifetime. This provided opportunity for some would-be Casanova's to strut their stuff in front of the two new and very welcome, albeit temporary group members. The girls seemed to appreciate the attention and certainly held their own amongst the onslaught of testosterone from the temporarily-widowed travellers. 

An early night was had by all and we awoke refreshed and ready to see Vicenzo Niballi & the remainder of the peloton strut their own stuff on the famous Champs Élysées. With our bikes no longer available and no mountains to climb anyway, we headed off on Shank's pony to find the gold at rainbow's end - that being the fully catered marquee we had been looking forward to for the last 2 weeks (if not the last 18 months)

So we set off in earnest through the Parisian streets, Hammo as eager as ever to get any sort of skin-to-skin time with a member of the peloton. The hotel is only about 1.5km from the famous shopping strip that today would see the cycling dreams of both male and female competitors (& spectators) come alive.

"It should be an easy walk" I heard a few of my fellow travellers say. How hard can it be?  There's a saying about chiefs and Indians. Relevant? Maybe. It did prove a little more difficult than expected. Who would've thought that the biggest sporting event in the world, one that moves some 10000 people with it from place to place would create a little traffic & pedestrian havoc? The originally simple journey was made even more difficult by the not-so- helpful Gendarmes who seemed to be as non-local as the wandering Wagga Wagga wilder beasts. Barney and Briss did test the local constabulary's patience by jumping the barrier and making a run for it but it proved to be a wasted effort as they needed to rejoin the rest of us get their tickets anyway. HaHa. In fairness, Barney isn't used to needing tickets to big events as he is normally the star attraction. Finally, under instruction from Craig we made our way through the underground Metro, onto the hallowed pavè, up to our pot of gold and into our final destination, which did not disappoint. 

The Custom Getaways 'Rive Gauche' marquee, set up like a wedding reception, virtually formed part of the border of the champs élysées giving us unprecedented access to the one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. A comparison would be sitting in a fully catered tent on the half way line at the Super Bowl or on the umpire's lap at the Wimbledon final. 

It was the first time that there had been a female road race preceding the men's event and we gave our Aussie girls plenty of cheer. One of the girls - Lizzie Williams who races with Wagga's own Sophie Mackay did us the great pleasure of stopping and having some photos with us after the race (which is more than we can say for the Orica-Greenedge boys who stayed well away - apparently scared off by our enthusiasm) 

Entertainment inside included a masterful display of card tricks by a professional illusionist. Amazing to say the least. Unless I was there I wouldn't have believed it wasn't set up for TV or that Chambo hadn't  shoved that signed 10-of-clubs in the tricksters mouth sometime prior to the trick starting. 

The day went quickly and before we knew it the big boys (I don't mean myself and Barney) were on the main stage and racing by us like a noisy, mobile kaleidoscope. Marcel Kittel won the final sprint and we hung around for a few hours trying to get some photos with the pros. Some were successful and whilst Kris Whybro may never be able to afford to pay Riche Porte to wear his Kidsons gear, he was kind enough to don the new but now famous logo for a pic. 

10 blokes, 10+ HC climbs and 20 great days have come to an end but what a fantastic journey it's been. Thanks again to Hammo, Simon, Andy and Sim for putting together such a great tour. Even without the pictorial album we have so many memories and experiences that won't be forgotten any time soon.

Looking forward to seeing see you all on the bike and then at the coffee shop

Au revoir, 

Dr Carl 

Epilogue

Just when we thought the laughter was over and candidates for 'the shirt' we're no-longer, Hammo gave us one last bit of material. We arrived at the REX check-in to fly back to Wagga with a plan to talk our way out of excess luggage charges. Hammo's verbal massage technique involved his usual charming tone and toothy white smile along with name-dropping a REX employee at Wagga. The check-in lady, who looked like she'd rather be inserting cane splinters under her fingernails than dealing with any member of the public was sort of helpful, in her own special way. Even our charming Hammo, AKO Minister for Negotiation couldn't do anything about his luggage weight limit because he was in the wrong terminal & at the wrong airline but fortunately still on time. Classic way to finish !!!i

Day 14. - Paris

Well here we are in Paris and oh what our welcome she gave us!

After our restful trip up from Lourdes on the train and the adventure of trying to find our Hotel we headed out to a great restaurant that Dan organised.  Whilst we have had some great food over the last couple of weeks the standard was raised and in anticipation the boys dressed up for the occassion. Chambo even brought out his best T-shirt.

The food was excellent, the beer and wine flowed and before we knew it we were off to a funky little bar to continue the banter and meet some to the local parisians. This proved to be an excellent decision as we could continue surveying the locals to determine if our thoughts on a particular subject were in fact true.  Hammo and Doc were particularly active in the research and getting the facts from the locals.  Additionally the DJ and JD's really had us pumpin up the jam!  In fact we were having so much fun we lost track of time and let's just say we didn't get much shut eye before we were up having breakfast and looking forward (some more than others) to doing some sightseeing around Paris.

We rode around Paris with our guide looking at many of the attractions that it has to offer (e.g. Place Des Vosges, Bastille tower, Notre Dame and of course Musem De Loovre to mention a few). Riding a bike is a great way to get around Paris and the experience was enjoyed by all.  I would urge everyone to do a bike tour if they are ever in Paris, it's brilliant!

After the ride a few of us had a pre booked guided tour of the Eiffel Tower.  The pre booking worked a treat as we avoided 2 or more hours of waiting in line to get up on the lift (we weren't keen on climbing the 1100 odd steps on the stairs).  The view from the Eiffel Tower coupled with the history and information espoused by our tour guide really does give you a great understanding of the history and layout of Paris.  A must do if you are in Paris.

I know its a small world, but this situation always amazes me, when I ran into some friends from Young on the bike tour and Hammo and Bec Hamilton ran into some friends from Marrar after the Eiffel Tower tour.

The evening saw many of us shopping for loved ones (and ourselves) before having a great meal at a nearby seafood restaurant where we also had some snails (and they are not as bad as you think!).

Everyone's head was happy to hit the pillow tonight in preparation for our final day on the Champs Elysees and the TDF. To say we are a little bit excited would be an understatement. We can't wait!

What a fantastic 2 weeks it has been.

Au revior
Simon


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Ode to Bryce

A band plays, a speaker falls

The crowd went wild as I recall

A commotion caused by a Shaw onslaught 

A guitar with strings strung too a taut

Tight hamstrings out of tune that day

Stiffened on the slopes of the Tourmalet

Now just the pavement's grade would lead to cramp

His fate thus sealed and our laughter's tears damp

Music's black box now on its own descent

Through the warm night air towards Bryce lying bent

To their rescue came Simon the Great

An arm outstretched, lying in wait

A tune-saving catch, there is no doubt

But ACDC continued throughout

A moral to this story there has to be

For in Bryce's failing there was much glee

His body had rebelled against depleted electrolyte

So if you're planning on dancing into the night

Beware of muscles way too tight

For they be the air guitarist's kryptonite

Day 13 - Paris here we come

To start today's blog, I will recap on some events of yesterday's tour stage to Hautacam. Simon, and I accepted an invitation from the Latvian aquantance of our guide Sim, and spent the day on top of the mountain. The trip up was something in itself, with 1000's and 1000's making the trip to find a sacred spot of grass to cheer the riders as they sped past. Our tent was 1200m from the finish, had a tv to watch the action, we were treated to French snags, bbq'd vegetables and the company of 4 Brazillians. We got to meet the owner of Tinkoff Saxo, and I was lucky enough to capture a photo with Simon. He looked exceptionally good wearing his lovely cap and glasses. I won't expand more on the race as I'm sure you all know the outcome, and we are hoping that Nibali is cleaner than a past winner Floyd, as his efforts seem un human.

Today we left the wonderful town of Argeles  Gazost, it's wonderful mountains in the Pyrenees, our local pub, le fluers, the hotel beau site and it's French speaking waitress and the soup de jour. we also bid farewell to our newly claimed Aussie Sim. We can only thank him for his guidance, leadership, hard driving turns on the front of the pack, his lovely Bingo and most importantly, his detailed knowledge of France and it's history as he has become one of us over the last 12 days. He did manage though to stitch us all up as he sold us his teams racing kit at full price. Look out back in wagga when we get the CMI GREENOVER train going up the mountains of Gelston Park. We have heard that we get a window of 2 weeks at ultimate fitness from our return from altitude. Farewell Sim until you vist our wonderful town (unless you listen to Chambo) of Wagga x2.

Our train trip to Paris was to depart from Lourdes. As we awaited the arrival of our very fast train, which proved to be not so fast, our team mate "the petite queen" treated us to some amazing card tricks, almost as good as Cosmo himself.

We originally had the best seats on the train, but many people also had our same ticket to these seats. 10 Aussie strong blokes would not be moved, until a lovely lady from Adelaide stepped in and we moved to our shifty "first class" seats in another carriage.

The cards were soon out and into a game of "black b....tch.. There was an early break in the cards game by the light weight climber, only to be caught on the line by the heavy weighted sprinter of the group, the doc.

We arrived in Paris, and after heading up a short cut lane recommended by our plumber Lionel we eventually reached our destination. A great moment was when my sister, Rebecca, raced over to me from across the street to give me a huge hug. I haven't seen here in a long time so I am really looking forward to spending the next few days with her in the great city.

Au Revoir

Hamo

Day 12 - Tour day in Argeles Gazost

After every good ride we end the day with a few beers at the friendly local "les fleurs". We all knew it would be a good night when a local band started setting up so we commandeered a table front and centre and took turns going for a wash so we didn't loose it.  At the risk of upsetting a few people we even chose to forgo our meal at Hotel Beau Site to stay for a traditional Lamb BBQ put on by the locals. The lamb was delicious, freshly season on the mountain the day before with the salt from Dans legs.

The band really fired up after dinner. When they launched into a classic Chuck Berry number the boys soon forgot about their texting to watch what turned out to be the highlight of the evening. In true Aussie style we became the centre of the crowds attention. Bryce, obviously still suffering from the delusional state that he was in when he rode up the Tormalet yesterday thinking he carried food and drinks for everyone, tonight was convinced he also had a guitar. This of course turned out to just be one of the legs he used on the Tormalet, and again it failed him. His subsequent sudden cramp caused him to crash into the speaker stack sending it over. Only the super Cazaly like effort of Simon saved the evening as he quickly dropped his own leg Guitar to launch himself and catch the falling equipment. The crowd were in a frenzy. The band resumed and immediately launched in to a couple of ACDC numbers. Not sure weather it was to shut us up or fire us up, but the pub then shouted our next round of beers, they went down a treat. After getting the band to play a few more songs than they were suppose to, they finally packed up. However the night was not over, it was only midnight. As they do in France, it was time for the accordion band. Many of the boys had called it a night only to lay in bed trying to go to sleep to the familiar, almost professional voices of a few of our late stayers singing waltzing Matilda and murdering our national anthem, the sound booming across the whole town.

The next morning with not much sleep and a few sore heads we got ready for our last big ride of the trip. Seven of us decided to tackle our last HC climb and the final climb of today's tour stage, Hauticam. A tough ride of over 13 km at 9-10%. Once we got to the top it was time to descend which proved to be difficult as the crowd were already there in the hundreds of thousands and still pouring in by the minute. It proved to be worth the effort for everyone to see Nibali put more time into his opposition. It was a good day for Wagga to. Thanks to Hammos efforts at sign writing, WAGGA was seen clearly a number of times as the peloton crossed the top of the Tormalet. "Everyready" Hammo and "soft shoes" Simon also made the effort to stay up on Hauticam 1km from the finish and were seen by the world as the riders passed by.

In true Aussie style, we sat at our local watching the events unfold on TV and had a few beers. Dan made the short ride down to watch the peloton pass by and battle the millions of people who turned out on this perfect day. As I write this it would seem that the tour is now a foregone conclusion with Nibali opening up a 7min lead. Hammo and Simon aren't expected down off the mountain for hours and they will no don't have stories to tell in tomorrow's blog. We ready ourselves now for our trip to Paris on the TGV fast train and the odd game of cards at 300kmh. It has been a great trip. Watch out Paris here we come.

Lionel.

Day 11 - Col du Tourmalet

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL PHOTO ALBUM

Today was to be our climb of the fabled col du tormalet, a lazy 100km + loop through the Hautes region of the Pyrenees.

The morning started much the same as usual with Chambo and myself saddled up and waiting while the others buggerized around. Even the everready man Hamo was lacking a little bounce, claiming his climb to Hauticam with Lionel, Ronnie Corbett (ako-Andy) and Sim the day before had been difficult and he felt a bit weary. Interestingly there is not one bit of strava or GPS data to support this claimed ride- very dubious.

Anyway we rolled out of town eventually and headed to the holy sanctuary of Lourdes.

Lourdes is a beloved shrine for many christians and reportedly where the Virgin Mary appeared in the 1800 hundreds on 18 occasions. It was truly an amazing sight to see 100's of people in wheelchairs and alike, being brought before the grotto for blessing. To add weight to its credibility , our very own Craig Williams who has been severely debilitated by a previous injury, today appeared to 'walk on water' by working at the front for the entire day. 

After departing Lourdes we headed to Bogneres-de-Bigorre where we pulled up for a much needed espresso and refuel. The town was busy preparing for Le Tour arrival the next day. I think many thought it had arrived a day early when the finely tuned Wagga Train sped into town.

> From here we began a gradual 10km climb to Ste-Marie-de-Campan, this would be the start of the Col du Tormalet.  A lazy 1268 meter rise over 16km and I was itching for the battle. Unbeknowns to the rest of the peleton I had I surprise in store, for tonight I would wear the illusive spotted leopard skin on the dies.

We pulled up briefly, some replenishing drink bottles, others like Simone and Hamo opting to drop excess baggage like there second biddon, food and socks. They all quickly scrambled aboard there machines and headed off, unsure of what lay before them.

I took my time to prepare, filling 3 drink bottles, stashing gels, bananas, tyres and camera equipment. I also grabbed some baguettes in case any passers by may need it.

I headed off. It was bloody hot.The road was basked in sunlight and not a breeze could be detected. Although I started late, it wasn't long before I came across the first of my team mates Ronnie Corbett and Chambo. To be be fair they were riding well. So as not to humiliate them I slowed to pass them. Chambo offered the obligatory $1000 bet that i'd blow, but I didn;t want his money.

The road weaved back and forth hovering between 9-12% gradients. Next victim was young Dim Green, an ex pro cyclist helping with our tour. He was quite a capable rider, but spent all his tickets the night before on a rampage playing Bingo.  It was something many of us were keen to try. 

Up and Up I climbed. In my sights next was Dr Ferrari, Dydey, Simone and Lionel. They were rolling turns trying to maintain momentum. As I came by one Muttered Veva Le Bris which I thought was a nice gesture.

Around the next corner was David 'just one more' Barn ill. Barndog was usually a great team player. He would regularly offer inciteful anecdotes from his old coach Tommy Redonicus and try and inspire us. Today though as I road by it was not to be. He muttered something about Johnny Marr and some character called Billy Moore, the heat was obviously getting to him.

Just a little further up and to my surprise was the ever ready man himself Hamo. He was sitting by the side of the road drinking Coca Cola with a large woman in a bikini. He never even saw me go by.

By now I was in the upper switchbacks, where the road side was a sheer drop and any mistake would mean be fatal. I road up along side our youngest team member Dan but there was no one home. I yelled Dan are you ok? He turned his head slowly to reveal his sunken skull, his eyes were rolled back completely in there sockets-he was blind! He suddenly veered towards the edge of the road no doubt trying to end the pain. I raced toward him and grabbed him before he plummeted over the edge. I lay him gently on the side of the road and gave him a bagget and a bottle of coke I was carrying  in my jersey for just such a thing. I said sorry Dan I must keep going, you will be ok. And with that I lept aboard my Willier and headed for the summit.

With only 2 switchbacks left I had to rein in Craig, with the Virgin Mary riding shotgun it was going to be tough. On the the last corner with 500m to go I pulled along side him. He turned to me with a sereen smile and said ' may The Lord be with you' and pointed up the road. With that I accelerated toward the giant statue atop the summit. The crowd was going crazy!

It was like time stood still as I crossed the finish line. I lay down on the grass and awaited my team.

When I woke up they were all there. They were all clapping and giving me Hi 5's. Hamo went and wrote our signature trade mark - Wagga x 2 across the road just past the summit. This would be clearly visible to all on the TV coverage.

The rest is a blur of a rapid decent to the Luz-St-Sauveur for a quick lunch and then on home to watch the end of another tour stage at our local establishment.

This turned into a very interesting evening, but , thats another story......

For some great footage of our Col du Galibier decent check out this YouTube video and turn up the volume!
Click on this link if you can't see the video below http://youtu.be/cauhdq6PjPQ

Yours Truly

Brys the mountain goat Shaw

Day 10 - Col de Solour and Col d'Aubisque

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL PHOTO ALBUM

Todays ride is our first ride in the Pyrenees after leaving the French Alps, from base camp which is the beautiful village of Argeles-Gazost we climbed 1550m to Col d’Aubisque via Col de Solour and then returned the same way.

Prior to expanding on today’s ventures I feel that I need to go back to our team meeting after dinner last night as there was an issue worth mentioning after yesterdays blog went to print. We have seen this same issue highlighted previously however it had been blamed to a sugar or hunger low and is commonly referred to as a dummy spit. Unfortunately I feel I am not in a position to mention any names and being uncertain how to address this problem, a quick call to his parent at Marrer sorted the problem as they had witnessed this dummy spit many times before.

Now getting back to todays ride, previously we thought the surrounds could not impress any more than what we had seen in the Alps, I have to say they did as this Pyrenees mountain range cannot be described by way of words as it is truly magnificent. Today for me on the climb became a little personal as I thought it was time to have a dip. An early break saw Hamilton, Sim (who is assisting with the group and I will make a point to tell you he was once a professional rider here in France) and Sellars all jumped clear of the peleton and I thought it was now or never so I went as well. Feeling comfortable at the rear of the three and knowing the importance of hydration and probably an excess of water I needed a nature stop but to take such I was surely going to lose contact with the group.

It needed to be done, I stopped, unclipped, however with bib & brace nicks I had to go to the old method of lifting which soon had me back on the bike with the bunch now out of sight. Head down and weaving through the large piles of animal manure on the road surface that I could only imagine at the altitude these deposits were made by colisees 3 dragons. I looked up to see Sellars off the back, as we came to to the 4k’s to the summit sign showing a gradient at 7.5% I continued to push and next thing I was on his wheel, at the 2km to the summit changing down and moving to the other side of the road I attacked and he couldn’t hold. Sim and Hamilton next, however I ran out of mountain and can only say thank god.

If to date you have enjoyed the daily blog, make sure that you view tomorrows as our own Brycey Shaw has something special that is a must see.Over & Out

Dydey 

Day 9 - Road trip to the Pyrenees

Click here to see all the photos

"559 kilometres stay on road" Some of us were present to hear "navlady" proclaim the start to our big road trip from provence to the Pyrenees, others were not. Unlike the human dynamo Hammo bright eyed and fresh faced from his early morning run, a second search was mounted to locate Chambo and Bryce. According to a reliable source they were in fact up but just had not quite come out yet. Luckily minutes later they emerged, Bryce with an armful of breakfast hastily snatched from the restaurant on the way past, Chambo not so ready for breakfast after a day of celebrating his arduous ascent of the great Mont Ventoux had ended with a hearty channelling of his inner Boris Yeltsin. We bid a fond farewell to all the magnificent peaks of the Hotel des Pins. 

As the trip unfolded we were treated to the usual plethora of visual treats such as the medieval city of Avignon. We pass by others notable centres such as Nimes, a tantalising glimpse of the blue waters of the Mediterranean as we sped by Montpellier and then he ancient Roman settlement of Narbonne. The highlight of our trip was only moments away. Like one of Kahleesi's dragons the ancient fortified city of Cacassonne arose before us. Overrun by Barbarians, Goths, Visigoths, Spaniards, Arabs and French, finally the walls built by Louis IX were breached once more by 10 wombats from WAGGA WAGGA , they never stood a chance. After eating their food, looking at their woman and being momentarily lost in the carpark, we tactically withdrew to the vehicles to continue our crusade, all vowing to return. 

Overall the trip went quite quickly with many of the worlds problems solved in due course. An in depth maths tutorial given by Professor Hamilton and a wake up call to the groups knowledge of geography by Dr Uden. Agricultural expert and notable elders representative announced today his intention of starting a new business back home with a suitably qualified dog to pay for his trip sniffing for "ruffles". All the while our real Doc sat quietly reading his book grateful to not need his head torch for a change. 

Finally, our arrival in Argelez Gazost. Yet another  face of France reveals herself, another meandering quintessential village every bit as captivating as our other abodes yet so different. A mere stones throw from Spain the influence is notable. We gaze at the Pyrenees with wonderment noticing the army of campervans already in place on the mighty Hautecam ready for the onslaught of the peloton on Thursday, Hammo is getting excited, only 3 sleeps. Well we are about to sit down to our first dinner here, already forging a place in the heart of our new French grandmother ( or Chambos new wife depending on who you ask ) the night is young and we will go to bed with great anticipation of the battles we will have on the very climbs that have forged our heroes names in eternity.

Craig. 

Day 8 - Mont Ventoux

There was a pensive mood at breakfast in anticipation of our so called handicap race. Not as much banter as usual as the competitive side of the Kidsons cycling team became evident.
The weather had already failed the tally-ho and wind test – I was prepared to go to town for coffee but the boys decided to take on Mont Ventoux.
As we cycled through the beautiful village of Bedoin weather started to turn and as we arrived at our starting point and turned to face the monster that is Mont Ventoux the weather turned nasty my friends!!!!! Gusting winds and intermittent rain with lightning flashed prominent. The old dog didn’t want to be conquered by Waggas best.
Off we set at about 9.30am we didn’t worry about the 2 minute staggered handicap start, we just wanted to try and beat the weather. The whippets led us out in Dan, Hammo, Sellars and Dydey followed by the peleton which was Harmer, The Doc, Barnyard, Chambo, Craig and Brys.
The early part of the ride was quite exposed to the wind and at a modest 9%. Then we entered the pine forests with gradients varying between tops of 14% and lows of 9%. There was some protection through the forest and it was here that I made my move on Harmer, I sailed past him on a 12% section and his body language was poor, he looked a broken man, 5 minutes later Harmer caught back up and I said “good stuff Lionel keep it up” he gave me the “Johnny Mahr” stare and didn’t say a thing. He accelerated away and caught up to  Dydey leaving me on a lonely ride to the  top to take on the Monster by myself. The Monster threw some more lightning, thunder and rain at us but we weren’t to be broken.

Coming out of the forest and onto the last 7km we finally got some relief with the sun coming out and the gradient easing to between 7% and 10% and strong wind at our back, signs at each 1km mark showing the gradient for the next 1km.
Reaching the summit after about 1hr 50 mins for us slow ones we turned right to  a category 3 wind, 75km/hr winds greeted us and nearly toppled us over. The mountain went down fighting but we conquered 1500m climbed over 2 hours. All other tour companies cancelled because of dangerous conditions but not the Wagga Wagga wombats.
A quick photo and loaded up the car for the trip down because of freezing conditions.
Some highlights worth mentioning:
• The beautiful pendulous foyer in the hotel
• The rock/sheep which live amongst the rocks
• Making it to the beacon on top of Mt Ventoux which used to be used when shipping was big throughout the area before the 40 year drought in the 1930's.
The humming noise that Bryce kept hearing near the top (the wind through  Chambo's ears)
• The Doc travelling 30 hours by plane to sit in a bar in France with 10 blokes and read a book.
• And showing the boys the boiling temp of water at high altitude.
Yours in cycling
The Wolf of Wagga Wagga
David Willanshill

Day 7 - Alps to Provence

Today is the first day off the bike and is a time of reflection as we leave Venosc in theFrench Alpes and head to the wine region of Provence.

Firstly it was stated the french alpes are extreme and that is what we experienced plus exquisite french culture and hospitality and from every man Chateau Morville and our hosts Liz and Rob have been exceptional.

In respect to reality it interesting how those special moments in life flash before when you are strapped from behind to a crazy Frenchmen running down a mountain at 3000 metres towards a cliff to jump off and your life is flashing before that you find time to smile and appreciate how great life is and how fortunate we are.

It is axiomatic that our first five days have set great standards with PBs on the Alpe de Huez , Col de Lautaret , Galibier , Col de Sarenne, & Col de Lutivel, all of which are HCs by category (ie originally unable to be driven). Ps for the record the Le Tour riders have only ridden 2 HC climbs to date this Le Tour.

Today we viewed the Tour from the 38k mark from the summit of Col de Lautaret (which we smashed earlier in the week) and no words can portray how awesome these guys are.

Tomorrow is our day as we take on that freak of nature ie Mt Ventoux (ie only 2000 meters). What makes this all the more challenging is that after several bottles of wine it has now become a handicap race so good luck to tomorrows blogger.

In concluding to those great mates (ie muppets as referred to by our local SPC CEO) this has and continues to be a trip of a lifetime.

Chambo

Day 6 - Tour finish on Chamrousse

OK, this is the day we have been waiting for, our first TDF viewing option. While the morning started in a somber fashion with the terrible news of the Malaysian Airline disaster and the consequences that may unfold it would not dampen our spirits for the day.

After packing the bikes on the roof and calming Hammo down sufficiently that he would sit in the car and not fidget, we headed for the supermarket to fill our backpacks with enough loaves and fishes. and vino, to feed the crowds that would gather on the mount to Chamrouse to watch their religion unfold.

Barney's French lessons certainly were paying off as evidenced by his fluent 'Bon Jovi' as we exited the carpark to arrive at Remaulin. Fortunatley Sim had found a short-cut to Chamrouse so we headed off mule like for the leisurely ride up the mountain. After a casual 9k climb ascending 850m up the Col de Lutivel, with the majority of the crew later saying it was the toughest climb they had done...ever, Barney realised that his French expertise should have been able to interpret 'shortcut'for HC! Destination reached we dropped the bags, put SGC in the naughty corner and proceeded to ride the climb to within 800m of the summit finish. To say the atmosphere was electric would be an understatement, as brimming with anticipation we settled in for the afternoon to wait....and wait....and paint the road red with the 'Wagga''...and wait...for the Tour to pass.

The caravan provided some excitement with vehicles of all shapes and sizes providing trinkets to the crowds. Finally the Tour arrived, unfortuantely missing our Aussie hope, on what would prove to be a definitive stage of the race. It was remarkable to see the apparent ease of the GC contenders in contrast with that of the peleton, or its remnants. The brutal stage provided some longer viewing with over half an hour between the GC's and the Grupeto.

The descent down Lutivel would have been better suited to a mountain bike and the subsequent flat tire was a small price to pay considering the nature of the road. After the descent the 10k back to the cars felt like a breeze and a slow trip home to Venosc ensured empty bellies on a long but memorable day.

Day 5 - Col de la Croix de Fer

Click here to see today's photos

Well there are a few weary souls puddling around Chalet Morville this morning.  A combination of the 100km ride to Galibier and back and a late but fantastic night at our local Venosc restaurant, that we have commandeered, has left us all feeling a bit jaded.

Last night we enjoyed the traditional alpine cuisine of Raclette and Fondou and this coupled with some fine wine and arm wrestling made for a very entertaining evening.

Three of the team decided not to ride but instead explore what Venosc and Les 2 Alps has to offer.  What they found was paragliding.  We have watched them sailing above Venosc since we arrived and it looks fantastic and the boys confirmed it was exactly that!

For the rest of us we wanted an easier day as a late night and 4 days in a row of riding ( the 4 days equated to 18 hours of riding and 7,308 meters of climbing) so we drove to Allemont and rode up to the Col de la Croix de Fer at 2067 meters.  Fortunately we, again, had absolutely stunning weather (the Garmin said 34 degrees but it didn't feel the same 34 degrees we have in Australia - it felt cooler) so the views all the way to and at the Col were fantastic. Apart from the views we also enjoyed the beautiful pastries that we purchased at Allemont before the ride. We are REALLY enjoying the french pastries.

We left the Col and screamed down the 30km to Allemont for lunch at Cafe de L'aiguille.  It is worth mentioning that it appears one of our elder statesmen is starting to hit his straps with a fantastic effort up a 13% ramp towards the end of the ride.  Although I am little concerned with one of the other elder statesmens cornering as his back wheel has been skipping a bit on sweeping left hand bends.

What was terrific about today's ride is that after lunch at Allemont we loaded the bikes on the van and drove back to Venosc.  Brillant, as not one of us have enjoyed riding the last 8 kilometers back to Venosc after lunch over the last few days.

Back in Venosc we are back into our usual routine of watching the end of the TDF and then slipping down to see our second favourite publican, Pascal, for a few well deserved beverages.

Tomorrow we are off to see stage 13 of the TDF on the Chamrousse which is an 18.2km climb at 7.2%.  We will be somewhere on that hill so look out for our Kidson's Kit, an Australian flag and a white sheet with Wagga Wagga on it.

Au revior

Simon

Day 4 - Galibier

Click here to see some of the most amazing photos of our tour so far

Well unlike the Tour de France, after 4 days of riding we are happy to say we still have 10 GC contenders and 2 domestique's (Andy and Sim) still riding. We have covered 307km's and climbed 7310 metres in altitude in these 4 days. So far there has only been one flat, Thanks Barney for your $50 over the bar, one rubbing wheel as mentioned in yesterday's blog, and a couple of minor adjustments. It has been a unanimous decision by all the the Wilier GTR bikes with ultegra gearing we are riding have been a winner. They handle well on our many downhill runs, and also are are pleasure to ride up hills (some may not agree)

 Today was the first day we awoke to a cloudless sky in the morning, and the moon was actually still in the sky above the mountains as we woke. As tired as we have been each evening after our hard rides, sleeping has been a struggle for some. There were two independent incidents which caused some laughter amongst the crew even before we got on our bikes. To respect the character of both no names will be mentioned
1. An early riser was trying to not wake his fellow riders by watching highlights of the previous days tour in the lounge room on his iPad with his headphones. Little did he realise that he had the volume on full, and the earphones.....unplugged.
2. Another who had already delayed our punctual start, had to rush back to the bathroom after thinking that he had rubbed deep heat on his chamois instead of Aussie butt cream.

Today's ride was another to tick off our bucket lists. The famous Col du Galibier. Our course went from Venosc, via La Grave to Col du Lautaret, then turning up Galibier.  Our route (apart from Galibier which is not included in this years tour), will be covered by the Tour de France boys in Saturdays stage 14. So therefore today we saw the first signs the tour is coming to town, many campervans setting up, locals mowing the grass in town, the famous Luxembourg flags, and some road painting.

The landscape as we neared Galibier was very baron, with the ruggedness of the snow capped mountains a standout.
After the 42km mark, and having already climbed 1800 metres, we turned left to the slopes of Col du Galibier. A 8.8 km slope at an average of 6.5%, with the last km @ 9%, but what a summit it was. This Galibier is well known amongst Cadel followers, as it was this climb that he single handed lay dragged the 'heads of state' to the top while pegging back time on Andy Schleck in his winning 2011 Tour. At the summit, we were able to cheer on the Kidsons riders as they struggled up that last few switchbacks. Dydeys new bright orange Northway shoes were clearly visible from the top as he duelled with Barney for a summit finish.

After riding 50 km, and climbing 2400 metres, our reward was a downhill run almost all the way home. There were smiles all around after our descent to La Grave after this amazing descent.

Our ride was finished with a dip in the local river, which we think could be a high 8 or 9 degrees. Barney and Chambo floated a good 50 metres down stream to the crew, and it was clear they were feeling the effects of the cold.

What a great day it was, and at time of writing we have just agreed that tomorrow there will be no rest day and on we go again to work on our cycling tans.

Written by the skinniest, and now beard free member of the crew.
Hamo

Day 3 - La Berarde

After 2 days climbi HC rated mountains we decided that today should be one of rest. However in true European professional cyclist form we did go on a 'recovery' ride. It consisted of a mere 42km but included about 960m climbing to La Berarde, a small village at the end of another magnificent road amongst the now familiar but still imposing French Alps. 'Smoko', as our resident plumber Lionel calls it, was at a local restaurant and again we were treated to some tasty French cuisine, namely crepes with blueberry jam and the obligatory espressos.
The ride back to Venosc was much less strenuous but no less spectacular. We had climbed for 2 hours along gradients of up to 10% but the 1-4% sections now feel essentially flat if not downhill! This made for a pleasant surprise on our return journey which we achieved in about 15 minutes. There were two of us worthy of further mention regarding this ride. Firstly, Bryce (now known as Briss courtesy of his masseuse) unfortunately missed this ride as he swore last night that until he had a cluster with a 28-tooth cog he wasn't going anywhere near anything with wheels again - he was later seen to procure one from a local bike shop. Secondly, Barney has risen even further in our toughest-man-on-tour competition after discovering he had ridden the majority of today's climb and possibly the previous two days, with his back brake rubbing against a buckled wheel. Awesome effort Barney. We were nearly home when as luck would have it we came across the most quintessential (Chambo told me I had to use that word) French market featuring salamis , cheeses, home brew and cured hams. We purchased all bar the latter but only because no one could actually fit the ham in their jersey (although I did contemplate trying to tie it to my crossbar). Lunch, now taken care of by the aforementioned and not-so-elusive French market, was shared amongst the ten of us in the chalet's outdoor entertaining area. Fittingly, the dining was done overlooking the still very snow-covered peaks that we had just been eye-to-eye with on the road to La Berarde. Conversation, as witty and intellectual as ever, centred around whether we should spend the afternoon drinking beers in nearby Le Bourg D'Osains or at take the Gondola to the top of Alp D'Huez (& drinks beers up there). The former won-out so Andy and Sim (our 2 personal tour guides) kindly drove us further down the valley and we attacked a few bike shops, patisseries, restaurants and even a pharmacy - we are on a cycling tour after all !

Tomorrow is a big day. We will finish our climb on the monster that is Col du Galibier using Col du Lautaret as a warm-up. This will be just shy of 2000m climbing but will provide a 45km descent to massage our legs back to some sense of normality before we arrive home. Can't wait. Signing off from Venosc Au revoir Dr Carl