A day of two halves!

 

So after the excitement of waiting for the start of our challenge ride my dreams and expectations were shattered after less than 30km.

Away from the hotel and rolling along nicely with Mike, Graham and George and with every intention of taking the longer extended route my gear-shifting decided to play difficult after less than 20km. After some roadside maintenance and the diagnostic skills of George I was back underway, only for the same problem to re-appear less than 10km later.

At this point it is important to note that if you are to have a mechanical, it is potentially useful to have it less than 400m from a decent bike shop.

The well-mannered and English-speaking Pierre came to the rescue, or so we thought. After his initial confidence he realised that the right-hand shifter was terminally ill and wouldn't see the day or ride out.

Needless to say this came as a major blow and it was impossible not to project to anything other than the rest of the trip being sat in the van in a support role.

After the initial pessimism had bounced of the floor, together with my chin, a plan began to form. I was able to hop in the support vehicle with Ste Pritchard and drive to Bedoin and the home of more bike shops per head of population than Padiham once had pubs.

Bedoin sits at the foot of Mont Ventoux and is a cycling mecca. Thankfully it also had a replacement gear-shifter available for purchase - not a direct replacement for the broken one, but an acceptable substitute as well as being a cheaper option (although I still had to part with 150 Euros.

Back up and running I was ferried by Ste to the top of the penultimate ascent of the day to ride back towards the oncoming riders before the return to our evening accommodation. Thankfully this also meant that I was able to ride through the simply breathtaking Gorgges de la Nesque.

The sting in the tail however was the 2.5km 1 in 6 ascent from La Gabelle where I decided to stretch my legs alongside those of John Myburgh - an error on my part! The sight of Steve Turnock's arrival at the top a short while later left nobody in doubt that he had committed to 'hit the hill hard' but once heart and lungs were returned to his chest cavity we were good to go.

There are one or two coughs and sniffles doing the rounds. I hope to avoid the lurgy if I can help it.