Sunday June 13, 2021: My alarm was a lot more generous than it was the previous morning, rousing me at 7am vs 1am. I know which one I would prefer but I was instantly in an anxious state, like I had slept in and was...
Saturday June 12, 2021: My alarm jolts me from a deep sleep at 1am. A deep sleep only recently achieved thanks to what seemed like a constant arrival of vehicles throughout the night. They must have also been taking advantage of the large roadside layby to...
Friday June 11, 2021: Alarm at 5:15am, out the door by 6:12am. A standard 1 hour transition from bed to bike that I would like to reduce by half at some point in my self supported ultra distance cycling "career". This morning it was acceptance...
Thursday June 10, 2021: Given that I had hit the sack last night with the mind set of possibly taking a rest day, I had not packed my bags and I had not set an alarm. I woke gently from a very satisfying slumber at...
Wednesday June 9, 2021: An early finish means an extra early start the following day. Or does it? Not on this occasion it doesn't, although my alarm did play its part. It dutifully jolted me from a fitful slumber somewhere in the 4 bracket...
Tuesday June 8, 2021: Day 1 sucked. Day 2 was better. What would Day 3 bring I pondered to myself as I faffed around my hotel room. Ablutions, leftover gas station vittles, packing up and getting dressed. All conducted at a snails pace with ample interruptions...
Monday June 7, 2021: Up and at em' just after 5am. Not as early as was the pre-race plan for "up and at em's" but that plan was very much on ice for the time being. Given how crap I felt yesterday it was going...
Sunday June 6, 2021: I woke before my alarm. Standard practice on the morn of any big life event, for most I would assume...
Doing these ridiculous ultra distance self supported races provides a great platform for raising money for worthy causes. In 2017 it was the Movember foundation and this time around it is Sam's Place. Introducing Sam's Place...
This is a holding place for the 2017 L'Etape du Tour Race Report. At some point I will pull my finger out and update with words and images. Until then here is a little automated video that Google Photos compiled from some GoPro footage I...