The Journey

It seems amazing that a just a week ago we crossed the border from France into Italy, lunched on wild boar pasta, and tackled a climb that even some of the riders on this year's Giro d'Italia found impossible (though of course we had much better conditions).
That was also the day that someone told me I was the oldest rider in the 13 years of Firefly tours – after which, of course, I simply had to finish. They gave me a little plastic toy prize that evening which is sitting on the table. It tends to fall over, which seems appropriate.
Later on, at our last lunch stop in the beautiful hilltop town of Gourdon on our final day, I got to meet the previous aged incumbent, Ivor. He's just three days older than me (not a lot, that, in 67 years) and he'd ridden up from the Côte d'Azur to join us on the descent to Antibes and Cannes. We might form a very exclusive club, I think – the Fireflies Pensioners Cycling Club, or Velo Veterans Luminoles...
Ivor's wife was there in Cannes to meet him. By the time he introduced her to me I'd finished crying on another Firefly's shoulder and had got a beer and my breath back. They were both very nice. So was the shoulder.
So now it's over – the awfully big adventure didn't disappoint. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that 'Little do ye know your own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.' That kind of sums it up: for those who suffer, we laboured, and rode. The point is, of course, that the ones doing the suffering don't have a choice about it, while we Fireflies do – at least unless or until we turn into sufferers ourselves, as many of us no doubt will.
I tried to say a couple of things on the evening when we all had to explain our reasons for riding. One was that living in Africa teaches you that saving a life isn't always possible – or even advisable in some cases. Then there's the enormous gulf between resources and facilities in the first world and the third: we are indeed the lucky ones. And also it's not just the sufferers who need support – it's all those who choose – or often don't choose – to care for them, including the great, struggling, beleaguered UK national health service.
The final thing I said was that I wasn't riding for my own life – at least not in the sense of trying to save it. I'm just riding not to waste it.
Thanks for reading, thanks for looking at the pictures (I hope), thanks for contributing.

Bon voyage! Buon viaggio! Ride on!

Separated at birth? Ivor and me – the FPCC.

Back to The Future

First, farewell to the tinselly, trashy, overpriced Cote d'Azur. The hotel was fine. I reckoned (wrongly) that it would be easy to pick up a taxi for the 5 km to Nice airport, but I must have walked half way there before I even saw one. Its (again) very nice, chatty driver stopped though, and I got there in time to find another Firefly at the check-in. We had a coffee and headed for passport control, only to find a static queue of literally hundreds of people and just two desks open.
We went straight to the front, got through a separate business-class gate (someone else avoided passport control altogether), only to find further milling crowds in the departure hub, very limited information and no gate indicated for our flight. Eventually things sorted themselves out, we got on board and were told that the plane had been parked in the wrong place, had therefore missed its takeoff slot, and anyway there was a line of thunderstorms to the north so everything was on hold for several hours.
In fact, we only took off about an hour late, but the storm clouds were still around, and turbulent enough to stop the cabin crew getting their snack trolleys round to everyone.
The passport queues at Gatwick were equally unbelievable, but at least they had lots of desks in operation. A train, a bus and home for a shower, a nice supper out in good company and dreamless sleep until 05:30, when I woke up to find the light and the radio still on. Back to sleep until 10:00, then tea, coffee, breakfast and the start of an ascent on the mountain of washing.

I still can't sum it all up, but meanwhile here are some bare statistics:

Total Distance: 974.20 km (but I had that 'easy day' on La Bonnette)
Total Time: 53h 38m 12s
Elevation Gain: 20,749 m
Average Speed: 18.2 km/h
Average Heart Rate: 112 bpm
Average Cadence: 64 rpm
Calories Used: 15,997 (notoriously inaccurate, this, but it shows I wasn't pushing)
Weight Loss: 2.5 kg

We did about 20 major climbs, missing out on the Col de Joux Plane and the Galiber in particular:
Drouzin le Mont (1,240 m)
Col de la Columbiere (1,613 m)
Le Grand Bornand
Col du Marais (840 m)
Col de la Croix-Fry (1,457 m)
Col des Aravis (1,486 m)
Col des Saisies (1,650 m)
Col de la Madaleine (1,993 m)
Col du Glandon (1,924 m)
Col de Lautaret (2,057 m)
Col de L'Echelle (1,766 m)
Monte Jafferau (1,908 m)
Col de Montgenevre (1,792 m)
Col d'Izoard (2,361 m)
Col de Vars (2,111 m)
Col de la Bonnette (2,802 m)
Col d'Allos (2,240 m)
Col des Champs (2,087 m)
Col de Toutes Aures (1,120 m)
Col de Luens (1,024 m)

For anyone with a reasonable Internet connection, you can download a Google Earth file from the following link. This will not only show you the route day by day, but you can 'tour' along each section, and view the route profile. I've indicated where the peaks are.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/51xhmidzfitplxy/Fireflies%202013.kmz

I've updated the Alpine Climbs page to include details of all the cols we tackled (as well as some we couldn't).

And there's a link to some iPhone pictures on Flickr in the Links section. One of the other riders (Richard Lewisjohn) was shooting really great pictures and videos and will make them available in due course.

Stage 8 - Castellane to Cannes

The last leg (but hopefully not last legs): just 110 km with 1,100 m of ascent. Up the Col de Luens and then a long, flattish stretch before descending to Greolieres and pulling up to the lunch stop at Gourdon. Then it's downhill to the coast at Antibes, Juan-les-Pins and – finally – Cannes. 'Bonne route' to all les luminoles. We ride on...

Made it. We had a good climb in the beginning, with me leading an all-female group up to the Valderoute plateau. I made another (completely futile but fun) attack later in a larger group, with a lot of encouragement, and managed to pass everybody – but then blew up dramatically to general applause. 

There was a jolly coffee stop at Guillomes after a spectacular, jagged gorge descent and then a final pull up to the stunningly pretty hilltop town of Gourdon, from which we could see the Mediterranean at last. I had Salade Nicoise and chips, and lots of San Pellegrino for the mineral content. I'd ordered steak as well but fortunately it didn't arrive.

A rather tricky, traffic-filled descent followed and after about an hour and a half we were making our way down the coast through heavy traffic.

We stopped somewhere around Palm Beach for an hour of mutual congratulations, a few drinks and a swim – just the group; no spectators.

My Enigma next to a special Fireflies Colnago C50 at Palm Beach.

Some time after 17:00 we all reassembled in a beach-side car park, made ourselves as respectable as possible (new caps!) and eventually set off for a last 2 km formation run with a police motorcycle escort down La Croisette to the Palais des Festivals, bringing the whole place to a standstill. 

We stuck the bikes in the van, found our bags, and then it was time for the public party, with a lot of friends, relatives and high and mixed emotions, a last group photo and a speech or two. 

And that was the end, officially, though there will be plenty of media-type parties for Fireflies who are  'in the business' (that's most of them) in Cannes. We said our last goodbyes all over again, packed up and headed off – in my case for a cheap hotel in Cagnes-sur-Mer courtesy of a taxi that cost as much as the room. However, the young Algerian driver played nice oud music, was delighted when I recognised it, and then chipped in for Leuka with 10 Euros off the bill.

The fifth stage of this year's Tour de France will be setting off from just outside my hotel on 3 July. I'll be glued to the TV, I'm sure

I'm finding it impossible to sum it all up, apart from knowing that I'm sad it's over, but I'll try again in a day or two. Meanwhile the great news is that the Virgin Money Giving Page ticked over to exactly £2,000 at the very moment we crossed the finish line. Thank you all so much for contributing! You have done Leuka and the team at Hammersmith Hospital proud. 'Chapeau!', as we old rouleurs say. 

The last group photo at the Palais des Festivals.

Team kit.

Details Start:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/330176198

Details FINISH:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/330176145

Stage 7 - Le Sauze to Castellane

Suddenly, it seems, we're getting near the end. Last night (a bit late) all the riders had to say why they were riding. Some have done this ride eight times (out of thirteen), others are here for the first time, like me. Many, many of them have – or have had – friends and relatives with cancer. Some of those people have even died during this trip. It was hard to see people you have come to know enough to realise how committed and focused they are about this ride – and how tough they have had to be to keep riding, with torn muscles, a possible fractured wrist and multiple minor and major scratches and scrapes, unable to finish their descriptions.

I managed to say a bit about my own experiences, and also how living in Africa makes you realise that saving lives or 'beating cancer' just isn't an option for the majority of people alive today. The Tour doctor (who has been measuring a few of our patellar and Achilles' tendons) also made the point that non-Eurasian patients are thousands of times more likely to find a donor than Black or mixed-race ones (including his own kids), and put in a plea for everyone to join the Bone Marrow Register. That's not an option for me, I imagine, but please check it out.

Anyhow, we assembled at the usual unearthly hour for a penultimate 140 km covering three lesser-known cols and 3,000 m of climbing. My physio yesterday was great, incidentally. There are two guys from Integra Training attached to the Tour and they use a system called 'Muscle Activation Techniques to 'switch on' muscle groups that have stopped working effectively – in our case probably due to over-use. I was a bit sceptical, but their explanations made sense and it really seemed to work: more power and more flexibility and it's very non-invasive.

Thankfully too, my headset mods seemed to have been successful, and we set off at a good pace on a quiet track for the Col d'Allos – a pretty climb and a slightly less demanding one, though topping out at 2,240 m. There was a good mountainy bar/café at the top and a quite demanding descent after it. 

Next came the slightly smaller but steeper Col des Champs (2,087 m) which had a beautiful fir-tree-lined middle section followed by a bleak, exposed and extremely windy top part, with land slips and torrents of mud and water across the road. There were plenty of squeaking marmots too. The descent was better, once we'd got below the wind, and we stopped for lunch (spag bol, yum yum) a little  sooner than planned, a bit before Guillaumes. 

I'd dropped right back on the previous climb, mainly through chatting to a nice Italian rider about bikes and stuff (he's riding a very pretty carbon Cinelli) but I've been feeling steadily stronger and, on the final climb – the smaller Col de Toutes Aures (1,120 m) I thought I'd push things a bit. We had a good, steady group of about a dozen riding well together for 30 km or so to beat the wind (lots of sweeping bends and tunnels) and I was on the front as we hit the 17 km climb. We all stuck together, but nobody was coming through. Then we started catching a few stragglers, mostly in pairs, and passing the third of these and looking back I could see I'd got a gap. 

I carried on, upping my heart rate to a moderate 125 or so, and just slipped away. What seemed like an age later (probably about 45 minutes in fact) one of the support vans shouted that I'd only got 1.5 km to go. This was a lie, of course (it was really more like 5.5 km) but I had a three minute lead at what I thought was the top, and stopped at the van for water. A small group caught up, but I stayed with them to the real top and for most of the descent down to the Lac de Castillon, where the whole Tour took a break and splashed about in every possible stage of undress before a final slightly soggy downhill stretch into Castellane. A very good day. 

Coffee stop on the Col d'Allos.

Lunch, lovely lunch. But still 75 km to go.

La Plage at Lac du Castillon.
Fireflies enjoy a swim after cycling in 30+ degrees.

The view from my rather faded but charming single (at last) room in Castellane.

Details Start:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/329790123
Details Finish:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/329789342

Stage 6 - Le Sauze Excursion

Rather a change of format today. Plenty of time for a shower in the morning, a fairly relaxed breakfast (not in Lycra) and an 09:10 start. Then an ascent of the Col de la Bonnette from Jausiers, a few km back up the road.

La Bonnette is the highest mountain pass in Europe, at 2,802 m. The climb is 24 km long, on a good road, and the ascent is around 1,600. There is an awe-inspiring gorge near the bottom and then long, sweeping ramps and hairpins through increasingly deep snowfields with the occasional marmot, though they're hard to spot. 

There was a rather better group approach to riding today, so plenty of company. There was some unhappiness at dinner yesterday over the continuing lack of 'why I'm riding' introductions and the general standard of riding etiquette. It's clear to me that most of the Fireflies this year don't belong to cycling clubs, so they haven't had that discipline drummed into them by prickly, traditionalist older members (like me).

Anyway, the majority stopped for coffee about half way up, but I was feeling strong and didn't want to waste it, so made it to the top in the first half of the field. 

The keener members were heading down the other side for lunch before the reverse return journey. More sensible ones like me just came straight back down for beer and bread and six types of cheese in the hot sun – having once again struggled up the 10-11 per cent 'Col d'Hotel', which is an absolute killer. 

I'm worried again about the bike's headset, which is now tending to stick in the straight-ahead position. Going to talk to the support crew and maybe get a bit of physio myself...

The spectacular Bonnette gorge section, about a third of the way up.

The view back down to the lower hairpins.

The drifts are getting deeper...

The end is just in sight, in the notch to the left of the main peak.

Made it to the top! But we're not heading to Nice just yet...

Details Start:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/329223107
Details Finish:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/329223331

Stage 5 - Oulx to Le Sauze

Another very tough day. Back into France via the Col de Montgenevre, then the classic Col d'Izoard before lunch and finally the Col de Vars and a last kick up Barcelonette. Total 133 km and 3,500 m of climbs – a long day and a very hot one.

The first col was OK and not too hard. We stopped at the top for a final Italian espresso (which actually turned out to be French in terms of both quality and price). A speedy descent and then on to the Col d'Izoard – a bit higher and stunningly beautiful with wild flower meadows and some snow at the top. It now takes top spot in my list of favourites in terms of scenery, I think. Lunch was brought forward: omelette and chips which took an hour to arrive. SAfterwards there was a plendid descent with big drop-offs to the gorge below. 

Col de Vars suffered a bit by comparison. Some steep pulls up but with a flatter bit in the middle. I lost the group on the precipitous descent (steep road too, so on the brakes too much and too long) and did a solo time trial for 30 km down the valley. The final kidney punch was a really steep climb up to our hotel at La Sauze, above Barcelonette. 

I should have said that two or three of the riders were unable to start yesterday (lack of food and/or sleep and stomach cramps) but everybody was back today, though a lot of us are hurting. 

Also, the Coupe des Alpes cars have been replaced by a small group of Morgans, and of course there are shoals of racy motorcyclists trying to get their knees down on the hairpin bends. Some of them are not all that good at it.

Ah! Italy! The bar opposite our Oulx hotel served free pizza with the beers.

Wild flowers on the slopes of the fabulous Col d'Izoard.

The bike in snow in front of the Izoard monument.

Looking back down the long ascent of Col de Vars.

Details AM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328799960

Details PM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328799830

Stage 4 - La Grave to Oulx (Italy!)

An easier day today, though with a sting in the tail. We started off for Briancon up the Col de Lauteret, being passed by what seemed like hundreds of classic sports/touring cars engaged in the Coupe des Alpes. Porsches predominated, but there was everything from a vintage Bentley to several Lancia Stratoses. We stopped at the top for coffee and to look at the start of the famous but closed Galibier climb, which has 5 m of snow at the top still. 

Then a great, long, swooping descent to Briancon followed by a relatively civilised (that is, under 10 per cent) climb up the very peaceful wooded Col de L'Echelles. Going down the other side was a bit sketchier, with big drainage gulleys lying in wait. But by then we were in Italy. 

Lunch at Bardoneccia (wild boar ravioli and great espresso) was followed all too soon by a short, brutal up-and-down climb near there, of the infamous Monte Jafferau, which defeated several pro riders in this year's Giro d'Italia. Then a final fast run to Hotel Oberje dla Viere in Oulx – the first good group I've managed to catch and keep up with. I did a couple of turns on the front and paced one rider who got dropped back to the group, so I think my form is improving. I'm definitely the oldest rider in the group this year and possibly, it seems, in Firefly history. 

The weather is holding up well, with some splendid views. And of course, nice as France is, it's a delight to be in Italy, if only for one night.

Me at the top of Lautaret, and happy to be there.
Sorry about the prosthetic leg though...

One of the many Coupe des Alpes cars in the Lautaret carpark.

The dodgy descent to Bardoneccia.

Details AM:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328080649

Details PM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328079840

Rest Day

Everest is 8,848 m. I looked it up. And La Grave is around 1,450 m. 

As I said, we rolled in a bit before 10:00 PM, stopping immediately at the pub for a beer (AKA recovery drink) and crisps (salt replacement) before heading to our bijoux chalets. No time for a shower, just change into T-shirt and trousers, and then off to a restaurant in town up a LOT of steps, where everything took a very long time. Several riders dozed off and we're all very tired. 

I got to bed some time around 1:00 AM and completely failed to get to sleep until nearly five – probably too many caffeinated energy gells –  at which point my room-mate's phone went off.

I eventually staggered out of bed at 08:30 today and had a pleasantly less rushed breakfast, then cleaned and oiled the bike, did some very necessary washing and after that went shopping in the sleepy little village for new sunglasses and materials for a group barbecue lunch beside the rushing, grey, freezing cold river. We must have consumed several head of cattle, not to mention sausages, cheese, bread and salad and fruit – and of course some beer and wine. 

All in all I'm feeling OK apart from a sore bum, but my back was hurting yesterday and the day before. Might be time for a physio session, or at least a sauna.  

The weather tomorrow looks OK, at least in the morning.  Galibier is closed, so no doubt frantic planning is going on while I doze off after lunch.

The view from our chalet at La Grave. Les Deux Alpes is over the peaks on the right.

Fireflies chilling at the chalets, full of smokey, meaty protein.

Stage 3 - Albertville to La Grave

It's 1:00 PM and we're sitting in the sun at 2,000 m at the top of the Col de la Madeleine. It seems our way down is blocked by a fallen tree or landslide, so time for lunch and then we'll see whether we turn back or press on for another 100 km and the Col du Glandon. The climb was fantastically beautiful with hot sun and lots of snow.

Briefly, I made it to La Grave last night at 10:00 PM with a couple of other riders. There were quite a few other groups behind us. Completely mad as most of us didn't have lights. All safely in, however, and nobody in the broom wagon. It was the hardest day I've ever had on a bike. Someone says the total ascent yesterday was getting on for 50 per cent of Everest. I was too tired to check. 

Posing on the way up La Madeleine. The most beautiful col so far.

Higher up Madeleine, and the snow gets deeper.

One down, just the chilly descent and the equally big Col du Glandon to go.

The road to the Glandon climb. It ramps up to 11 per cent towards the top.

Snow and the last of the sun at the top of Glandon.

Details AM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/327141094

Details PM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/327498013

Stage 2 - La Clusaz to Albertville

Today was tougher than yesterday, but the weather was sunny and positively hot. It started with an easy 25 km down to the beautiful lake at Annecy for coffee, and then a slightly harder 35 km across to Thones for a decent lunch – rather spoiled for me as my sunglasses went missing.

However, after an easy (and beautiful) start, the afternoon was a different matter. We were faced with five cols culminating with  the Col des Aravis (1,486 m) and the fearsome Col des Saisies (1,650 m). Total distance was 142 km with 2,800 m of climbing – though there was a fine 30 km downhill run to our hotel at Albertville. 

Pretty tiring, but we've just heard that tomorrow will be even tougher: 157 km and an unbelievable – and maybe impossible – 4,500 m of ascent, mostly on two near-2,000 m iconic Tour de France climbs – la Madalaine (just opened to cyclists and motorcycles) and Glandon. Both look pretty steep on the handout.

So I need to get some sleep. I'll hope to fill in today's details as well as Thursday's' epic on Friday, which is a rest day. 

By the lake at Talloires. Good coffee!

'We go up THAT?' Admiring the view from the Col  du Marais climb.

The chapel on the Col du Saisies. Just 40 km to go, downhill.

Details AM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326834607

Details PM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326834561

Stage 1 - Evian to La Clusaz

Phew. What a start. Total distance 124 km with 2,750 m of climbing. The slow group (including me, of course) set off at 09:00 after breakfast and a team photo, straight up a nasty little hill from the lake. The 1,712 m Col de Joux plane was mercifully closed, so we went round to the East of it, up a very pretty col, to the accompaniment of sheep and cow bells. A mad descent followed to a lunch stop in the valley at Samoens.

Unfortunately I missed the lunch stop sign and pushed on a few km further before having a very pleasant solo meal at Morillon. Salad, steak and chips, peach tart and coffee may have been a bit over the top, I suppose, but it did taste good. The group went past just as I finished, and I tagged on for a flattish ride to Cluses, followed by the day's main event: the ascent and descent of the formidable Col de la Columbieres.

This is a very tough (though spectacularly beautiful) 17 km with over 1,100 m of ascent that tops out at around 12 per cent. I wasn't last, quite, and even managed a short sprint at the end, cheered on by the Swarm, bless them.

Then another sweeping downhill and a short pull up to La Clusaz.

There were some clouds and a few damp roads, but the weather was good throughout. I am going to be stiff tomorrow. I hope the route isn't tougher still...

Distant view of the Col de la Columbières, with snow...

The Fireflies camera crew at the top of the Col de la Columbières.

Details AM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326343272

Details PM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326363594

Progress...

Woke up before the alarm at 04:30 having spent most of Sunday packing and unpacking, and checking train times. OK EasyJet flight but then a long wait at Geneva airport with a lot of other Flies for the hotel pickup. 

Eventually made it to the Hotel de la Plage right on the lake near Evian. Bikes ready and waiting, so a quick 15 km spin along the shore road and back just in time to miss the rain. 

News is that several of the northerly cols are still closed, including Galibier, which is a pity (though maybe tinged with relief).   Still a pretty tough 130 km planned for the first day tomorrow, including the Col de la Columbieres towards the end, which ramps up to 12 per cent...

Final Checks and a Party...

Lovely day, so four laps of Richmond Park before the bike gets sent off to Geneva. Lots of sun, plenty of red deer and quite a few cyclists.
Mercifully, the front fork, which had started creaking after the Fireflies ride on Saturday, was blissfully silent. I spent some time stripping and reassembling the headset bearings on Wednesday, using some special Loctite bearing 'glue' to locate the bearing cups in the frame, and this seems to have worked.
Back from the park, I checked the whole machine over again and lubricated it all, ready for its journey.
Then it was off to Golden Square in London's Soho for 'Le Grand Depart' – full of Fireflies, past present and future, and tons of relatives and well-wishers. Picked up two smart 2013 Tour jerseys and other bits and pieces, including a tour number, and saw the bike safely into the van. All very professional. Weather forecast not that good though, it seems....

A special bidon.

Park Ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/323657940

A Baptism of Fireflies

I heard a couple of days ago that there would be a last (but my first) Fireflies training run starting from Richmond Park this morning, so – French cold receding – I thought I'd better give it a shot and meet some of the team.
Sure enough, there was a small knot (swarm? conflagration?) outside the Roehampton Gate cafe, and we set off for what turned out to be 125 km and 5 hours' actual riding in the famous Surrey Hills. These are a familiar training ground for London cyclists, and the multitude of relatively short, steep hills are very unlike the much longer, steadier ones in Vercors – or the alps, come to that. However, I just about managed to keep up, lagging behind a bit on the steep bits, but I was rather cold and shaky by the end, in spite of occasional sunny spells.
The roads were predictably dreadful (Gambian ones, where they exist, are smoother and have far fewer potholes). I hit a bump on one fast descent and got into a bit of a wobble, after which paranoia set in about whether the bike's front fork had got damaged by a French pothole. I stripped everything down this evening, though, and everything seems fine. I don't need a terminal equipment failure on any of the multi-kilometer alpine downhill sections.
The Fireflies seem a great bunch. I think we'll get on well.

Details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/321924125