31 August, 2022

Final ride of the month and despite being way short of last year’s 1,250 July miles finally showing signs of improvement. Identical route today to first ride on arrival this year and more than 12 minutes and 2mph quicker – or 3.6 miles. Kapow!

29 August, 2022

A respectable 60 miles with 5,500ft of climbing today which included the 10 mile, 2,000ft climb from Fayence up to Mons. And it was a warm one too, I was quite literally cooked by time I got back. connect.garmin.com/activity/9499586034

27 August, 2022

Big ride out this morning for Kay up to Col du Bel Homme to meet the goats. connect.garmin.com/activity/9486395990

And then beyond up to Route Napoleon for coffee and doughnuts. Chapeau! Kay for your biggest and highest ride so far.

26 August, 2022

Another early start and a nice figure of 8 route today centred around Bargemon. A steady one this morning because tomorrow morning, all being well, I’m taking Kay on a coffee ride up to Seranon on Route Napoleon.

25 August, 2022

Finally! On the road for 7 this morning. So glad I did, I’d forgotten what a great time of day early morning is to ride over here. Quiet roads, cooler temperatures and no glaring sun. Couple of PRs along the way, a few more very, very close to beating.

Quick coffee and out again, this time with Kay who only went and smashed her ride today. 33 miles with 1,000m of climbing over 5 big hills for her longest and toughest ride to date.

21 August, 2022

Set a new PR on one of my targeted climbs this morning. At first attempt took 25 secs! off my Montée de Claviers time. It’s only a short 1 mile climb and would like to think I had something to do with it and it wasn’t just the bike.

20 August, 2022

After the washout we’ve experienced over the last few days it was nice to be back on my bike this morning with Kay. Way behind where I was this time last year but hoping to make some progress over the next few weeks.

15 August, 2022

Top of Col de Saint Arnoux earlier today with Kay and Matthew en route to Seillans from Bargemon. connect.garmin.com/activity/9407661987

14 August, 2022

Nice route today but ridden in the wrong direction. If it wasn’t a headwind punching me in the face it was gusting crosswinds trying to kill me on the descents. Sometimes a bit of route planning wouldn’t go a miss instead of making it up as I go along.

13 August, 2022

Out with Kay this morning for a ride down the old railway line to Seillans and back over Col de Saint-Arnoux. Followed by a solo ride out to Point de vue du Var for another photo favourite of mine. connect.garmin.com/activity/9394321434

8 August, 2022

Lovely ride up to Route Napoléon this morning via Comps-sur-Artuby for first time I think. Back to Claviers via Viaduct du Rayol where I took the obligatory bike on bridge photo. connect.garmin.com/activity/9360884470

7 August, 2022

Got lucky this year with a nice collection of mountains on our road trip down through France: Col de la Colombière, Col des Aravis, Mont du Chat, Mont Revard and Mont Ventoux. But back on home roads and today I’ll be sporting a very nice Mont Ventoux cycling jersey courtesy of Kay yesterday. connect.garmin.com/activity/9354359066

6 August, 2022

Definitely one of my better ideas to give Mont Ventoux a miss yesterday and ride it this morning instead. A balmy 24°C instead of 41°C and all done and dusted in time for lunch. connect.garmin.com/activity/9347624733

5 August, 2022

Plan today was cycle up Mont Ventoux from the Sault side. It was 41°C when we arrived in Montbrun-les- Bains. So nah, not today thanks. Think I’ll wait until tomorrow morning.

4 August, 2022

Return to Mont Revard today but first time cycling up from Aix-les-Bains. It’s 18km long with an average gradient of 7% so not a beast like Mont du Chat although the heat made it more of a challenge than it needed to be. connect.garmin.com/activity/9335532412

And after Revard I headed to Pont de l’Abime, between Cusy and Gruffy. The last time I was here was 2013 when I crossed the bridge during stage 20 of my Tour de France ride.

3 August, 2022

Almost a year to the day since I first cycled up Mont du Chat and took the opportunity to ride it again this morning. It’s a beast of a climb. From Le Bourget du Lac pretty much a constant 10% for the entire 12km from bottom to top. connect.garmin.com/activity/9327751808

1 August, 2022

Last year I started my France summer cycling season with a ride up the Col de la Colombiere. Same again this year except this time with Kay and she gets a 10/10 for the ride up and an 11 for the ride down.

Followed by a solo 50 mile loop that included the Col des Aravis and Gorges de l’Arly to make a 64 mile day with 2,100m of climbing. connect.garmin.com/activity/9316328904