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DURHAM TRI BIKE TRIP TO THE FRENCH ALPS 2010. The annual Durham Tri Cycling trip to the French Alps went in to its second year when Graham Bradshaw, Mike Mallen, Adrian Robinson & Brian McCready headed off for Bourg d'Oisans mid afternoon on Tuesday 6th July. Four bikes, four riders and all their gear fitted nicely in to Adrian's Mitsubishi Shogun. Driving through the channel tunnel and on through the night we made it to our hotel for lunch time the following day. Like "kids in a candy store" there was no time for rest when surrounded on all sides by legendary cycling climbs. Despite 38 degree heat we immediately set off up the most famous of the all, Alp D'Huez, in a recce for the following day's race. Cycling's most famous climb is made up of 21 hairpin switchbacks (each with its own named plaque), rising 1100m over 13.8km from Bourg d'Oisans in the Romanche valley to the ski resort of Alp D'Huez. The first 3 switchbacks are the hottest and the steepest, with a maximum incline of 14%. Although the incline eases off to 8%, the climb is relentless and is a real test for even the most accomplished "King of the Mountains".
In preparation for the race we resisted the temptation to have "another beer" at dinner and turned up at the start line on Thursday morning in good shape, eager to begin the ascent with 50 other riders from all corners of Europe. The timer car led the riders across town before a rolling start began at the foot of the mountain. The conditions were much better than the previous afternoon. In the morning the temperature was lower and more of the mountainside was in shade than during the recce. With the added adrenaline and competitive rivalry of a race, all four of us improved our times on the previous day. Graham was first home and 12th place overall, managing a PB of 57m. Mike refused to be beaten by a rider in PINK and hauled himself up in just under the hour mark. Adrian & Brian were a few minutes back and all were in the first 50% of the field. An hour is a respectable time for a "Club Cyclist" so we could all feel pleased with our performance. In case you're curious the record is set by (the infamous drug fuelled) Marco Pantani in 37m, 35s and by Lance Armstrong in 39m 41s!!! With the "sprint" event over, we turned our minds to the "marathon" event planned for Friday, The Marmotte. www.cyclosport.org describes the ride as... "Not for the timid....it is the most difficult one day ride for amateur road cyclists in Europe. Anyone entering the elite of amateurs who have climbed 5000m in a day on a bike will be unlikely to forget the experience"
The circular route from Bourg d'Oisans is basically made up of two massive climbs and two massive descents, with the odd flattish part in between. The gentle gradients of the first 15 miles allowed us to get in a good rhythm to the reservoir dam at Allemont , in preparation for the climb to come. After the dam and a skirt around the side of the reservoir, the first part of the steep climb began through the forest and above the tree line to a second, higher reservoir. Touching the base of Col du Glandon, we rode on to Col d la Croix de Fer at 2067m having climbed for 20 miles! This famous summit has been in the Tour de France 15 times, most recently in 2008. With clear skys, spectacular mountain scenery and cyclists galore, we enjoyed the obligatory group photo at the summit signpost. The descent to St Jean Du Maurienne, (where stage 9 of this year's Tour de France finished) was steeper than the climb up the other side. Riding through several ski resorts and by lush alpine meadows was relief for the legs, but required intense concentration with sweeping bends and an inconsistent road surface. After a flattish section along the Maurienne valley we took lunch in San Michele, before the serious work began.
All that remained to complete the loop was the 25 mile descent down to Col du Lauterat, on to Grave and down the Romanche valley back to Bourg d'Oisans. Thankfully we all made it back to the hotel in one piece having completed the biggest ride of our lives. We covered 105 miles with 15,000ft of climb. My riding time had been just over 8 hours, but with all the stops to regroup & feed, the elapsed time was well over 10 hours. After a ravenous dinner, we somehow summoned enough energy to walk 2 miles to the nearest bar for a few beers. On Saturday we had an "easy" ride among fabulous local scenery before returning home on Sunday. Mike continued his holiday in France, taking the train down to Monaco where he met up with Karen. We three drove the whole day, making it back home in time for the World Cup Final. An epic cycling adventure! Bring on 2011! Graham Bradshaw. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29-31st May 2010 Some years ago one of our stalwart members, Elliott Makin entered the Tour of Wessex with his usual nonchalant, fearless, have a go attitude. To me at the time, riding even one "100" seemed like a lot, but to attempt three in three days just seemed beyond the realms of possibility. SSince then my cycling has improved and I have rode many sportives, clocking up the odd respectable time for an old guy (in case John Kelly hasn't already told you, I am 51). Having missed out on an entry to London Marathon and bottled out of doing the IM UK with this year's excellent training group from Durham Tri, I was looking for an early season "challenge event". I figured The Tour of Wessex was the answer. No one from the club took up the offer of joining me on this epic, so my wife Julie, twins Alex & Laura along with Kim, our Golden Retriever, volunteered to be my support crew while having nice spring break in Somerset.
Day 1. The route headed North to Glastonbury, Cheddar Gorge and on to Wells & beyond. It rained all day non-stop, start to finish, requiring water proof top and leggings. After only 20m on a single track road I had my first puncture of the weekend. With the help of two new cycling buddies, we fixed it in the rain and got back on the road for the major climb of the day up Cheddar Gorge. It was a pleasant surprise to find, that apart from a sharp bit near the bottom, it is not a difficult climb. However, later in the route the climb up to Alfred's Tower was a beast, with gradients up to 25% and in between the roller coaster terrain meant the short sharp climbs were relentless. The days ride was advertised as 102m with 7500ft of climb, but a route change meant it was extended to 109m. By the end of the first day, I realized that the tough hill climbing northerner who trains on Weardale & Teesdale, had seriously under estimated the terrain! Any hope of a good time for the event was confirmed when the first day ended in a very ordinary time of 6hrs 36mins. Day 2. Overnight the storm passed leaving in its wake bright and (very) breezy spring weather for the long ride down to the Dorset Coast. Cross winds hampered progress down to Lulworth Cove where my support team had set up my own dedicated feed station near the beach. I guess some of the route back must have covered some of the roads used the old Ironman UK course, since it passed close by Sherbourne Castle. Joining a group from Manchester Tri helped pass the miles and hide from the ever strengthening wind. On my own with only 10 miles to go, I was passed by an "express train" from Full-On Tri. Never one to pass up a challenge, I somehow found the energy to hang on their backs, drafting the group of 3 riders at 23mph back to the finish. I covered the distance of 119m and 7400ft of climb in 7h 12m, not bad given the wind, but still a bit disappointing! Day 3 Glorious sunshine with light winds meant almost perfect conditions for the toughest day through the Quantock Hills and on to Minehead & Exmoor. I was reunited with the guys from Manchester Tri at the start for the first 20m along the Somerset levels. We flew along in a large group but at 21m I had my second puncture of the weekend. This time it took even longer to fix and needed the help of the support car to get the tyre up to 100psi. By the time I got restarted the group was long gone and I was at the back of the field working my way through much slower riders. The Quantock Hills are not the North Pennines, but what they lack in height they certainly make up in steepness. Exposing my strengths and weaknesses to the full, I attacked the brutally steep climbs passing everyone like they were parked cars, only to lose my bottle on the descent, burning the brake pads down to the steel casing! The climb of the day was the 3m rise to Dunkery Beacon. The summit is only 400m high, but it is straight up from sea level at Minehead, with gradients near the summit that are "Hardknot-esque". In the last 20m I finally caught up a "quickish" group and I sped back to the finish having covered 106m and 9000ft of climb in a very ordinary time of 7h 11m. It was a really great weekend. I was pleased to find that I had no problem riding 100m plus, day after day. I felt in great shape at the end of each day and at the end of the event. My family enjoyed the trip and visited some great places along the route. I covered 333m with 24,000ft of climb in 3 days and felt like I rode well. But I was disappointed by the slow times.
Punctures. I have never seen so many punctures at any event anywhere. Last year's Etape Caledonia had fewer than this when a saboteur threw tacks on the course! It was worse on the first day when the weather was bad but even on the other days there were riders repairing tyres all along the routes! I had 2 in three days, some had three in one day! Rider Camaraderie. Even though I entered alone, the camaraderie among the riders was great. There was always a group to latch on to, to help the miles click by and hide from the wind. Riding in Durham Tri club was great for breaking down barriers and staring conversations on the route. Lots of guys entered as a training event for Ironman events later in the year. The group from Manchester Tri were great company and Ian "The Hairdresser" and Charles were priceless. Route. Somerset is a wonderful part of England that I had hardly visited, but beware only "The Levels" are flattish. The routes were not quick, lots of single track roads, sharp turns, junctions, and lots and lots of ups and downs. Event Rating. The organisers have a great product which is unique in England as the only multi day sportive. Much of the organisation was good and the masseurs from Portsmouth were excellent. But I am not being overly grumpy when I say they could have made more of it. Durham Tri Top Tip. If you ever enter a multistage event over several days......book a massage every day. It transforms you ability to recover for the next day. Graham Bradshaw ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seven of us in total took place.. 2 non members at the moment. A friend of a friend has just started Durham Uni (as a mature student at the age of 25!) from the Isle of Man, Laura Wasley - she joined us today - think she will be a regular feature on our Sunday rides until June at least! Diane Williamson from Butterwick is the one in the middle. 
NEWBIGGIN SPRINT TRIATHLON - 13 Sept - Dave King The Newbiggin triathlon was new this year having been a duathlon last year. Can't really argue with setting: a small sheltered bay just up the Northumberland coast from Blyth. The field was quite small with a limit of 125 entrants. I drove into town along part of the cycle route and noticed that there was plenty of signs to show the route and to warn drivers that there was an event taking place. I would say that was pretty typical of the organisation - it seemed well organised and thorough. In marked contrast to my own preparations. Once the sea ice and smaller bergs had been cleared folks got into the water to acclimatise themselves for the swim. Goodness the water was cold! It was cold to the point of losing contact with your feet. I thought it best to get it over with and swim a few strokes. And promptly lost contact with my hands as well. There were lots of folks paddling about with eyes like saucers trying to look nonchalant. There's a platform in the bay with a couple of people on it looking out to sea. Watching for polar bears I expect. As a bit of a novice and poor swimmer to boot I try to hide towards the back on the swim. Not far enough. I got a bit duffed up on the swim, possibly because the first buoy was relatively close. I recall thinking 'stop hitting me, I'm heading for the buoy'. And then getting bashed on the other side as well. You can't be off course in two directions at once so I assume it was all just part of the fun. If they'd put that sort of effort into the actual swimming they would have been at the front. Getting out and running up the beach is probably very spectator friendly but I found it a bit of a faff on. On the plus side the water wasn't nearly so vile as at Sunderland - a marked absence of particulate matter and the taste wasn't so dreadful either. What could the difference be I wonder? Transition was a short trot up the beach, through the child's paddling pool and grab your bike. The transition was compact but well laid out and well fenced off. The bike was three laps round Newbiggin: out onto the dual carriageway, back into town, repeat three times. Not a bad course really, well marshalled and with supporters dotted about, there were a couple of minor climbs but if you are a proper cyclist you would likely call it 'flat'. The surface was rough on the leg into town but as this is the UK we ought to be grateful it wasn't rough all the way round. Ian was there supporting Ellen-Ann. I gave him a cheery wave from the bike but lycra clad men hailing him from bicycles are clearly such commonplace events as to no longer merit a response. His dog looked up. The run was two laps along the sea front with the turn right in front of the finish line. A cruel twist of the knife in my opinion but it was quite lively at that part of the course so perhaps a good feature. For the spectators. I spotted Ellan Ann on the run wearing her Durham Tri gear and shouted unintelligible words of encouragement. It was good to see another Durham Tri person out there. I never did catch sight of Bonnie. The run was flat with just a couple of sharp hills at the far turning point. All in all it was a good event with loads of little bits and bobs in the goody bag. Sadly I didn't get any split times: I blame myself for not wearing watch. I would be prepared to go back if I were allowed to pour in a kettle of hot before the start of the swim. Here's an extract from the results, first man and lady shown for scale.
Dave's guide to transition. I did rather excel at the transitions and so I thought it might be an idea to share some of my secrets for those less polished. Exiting the swim: only pull the zip of your wetsuit halfway down as you run up the beach. You should then be able to pull one shoulder of your wetsuit off. At this point you are running up to transition like someone only partly restrained in a straitjacket. Imagine the surprise of onlookers when you actually emerge with your bicycle. Much later. Obviously this slows you down but it does put the colour back in your cheeks after a chilly swim - both sets. Preparing for the bike to run transition: if you have tri shoes it's much easier to get your feet out of your shoes before the transition. Easier but frankly a bit 'fancy Dan'. Better to get just one foot out and then find you're already at the dismount line. And then face an almighty struggle to unclip the other shoe because you've undone the strap and can't get the leverage on an open shoe. Once you've toppled off the bike and stumbled over the line you can do the Quasimodo shuffle to the bike rack, one shoe off, one shoe on. All of which should leave you calm and clear minded ready to pop your running shoes on. I'm sure there are refinements to be made but try as I might I just can't see them.
STOCKTON TRIATHLON - SUPER SPRINT At 4 am on Sunday I decided that if I was still awake at 5 I would just get up and walk the dog but sometime after 4.30 I fell into a fitful sleep and was awakened from a dream involving running away from something unseen but truly horrible while wearing a wetsuit and pushing a very heavy bike by my alarm. At this point I would quite happily have settled for a DNS if I hadn't conned a friend into providing support and hand holding so I dragged myself out of bed for breakfast whilst wondering in just what world this triathlon thing was ever a good idea......
Ripon Triathlon 11th July 2009 (Peter Camp) It's years since I did this race and there had been a few changes to the event. The run course had changed slightly (still too long) and the bike course had changed considerably. The amount of participants had also changed, more than doubling making the event the 2nd largest "club ran triathlon" in the UK. This was also helped by the fact it was the National Police Championships. One thing that hadn't changed was the Saturday afternoon start - fantastic a lie in.
Race Briefing Due to the number of competitors the race was split into 3 waves. The thing that concerned me most about the briefing was the level of safety cover for the swim. This seemed to be high compared to other races, with divers in the lake, canoes, boats etc were they expecting something? We were also warned about the weeds and advised which line to take to avoid them. Waves 2 and 3 were told not to worry about them as wave 1 would have cleared a path. The bike course looked a bit dodgy on paper as it has a spell on the A168. This is the main link road between the A19 and the A1. We were also told that some of the corners were dodgy due to recent road resurfacing (everyone's favourite - loose chippings). Swim The swim is in the pond at the racecourse. 1 lap around the furthest of 2 islands. Basically swimming for approx 700m before swimming around the island then back to the start. The pond was warm and the exit to the water clearly visible due to an inflatable banner. As the pond is long and thin you aren't far away from an island or the side at any point, which is good for 1st timers/less confident swimmers. The one downside to the swim was the number of weeds. Despite being from a swimming background I always tend to swim at the side on my own to keep out of trouble. This meant a 20 meter swim through some tough weeds that seemed to be pulling me back. However, after I had got past that point and taken a better racing line the weeds weren't as bad. You could still see them but they didn't slow you down.
Bike The bike section started on some narrow roads going south of Ripon. There were a few short bumps to contend with but the going was fast. The wind had got up a little but the size of the wave meant there were plenty of cyclists to chase. After the first 4 miles or so the road got wider and the corners weren't bad at all. The route turned East and then North next to the A1. This stretch of road was fast and wide which meant the inevitable pack of drafters chasing you down. I found this stretch particularly hard as just as I was overtaken I would go to the front of the pack and try to drop them. Clearly I had been watching too much of the Tour de France otherwise I would have just dropped off the back and saved energy by maintaining a constant pace. The stretch along the A168 and back wasn't that bad and it was the last few miles into Ripon that were amongst the most dangerous. With double white lines nearly all the way along the road the traffic couldn't cope with all the bikes. It was the cars that were getting in the way and a few irate competitors were overtaking the cars. Bit too risky for my liking. Seemed a better idea to spin the legs a bit and get ready for the run.
Run The run is pretty flat. The biggest hill is going over a bridge over the canal. Despite this I would have expected quicker run times, which means the run must have been too long.The strain of a hard cycle section took its toll and I was soon down to walking pace. Or should that be slower than walking pace.
Overall the race was well organised and enjoyable.
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