27 July, 2012

Bala / Bewdley via Shrewsbury.

26 July, 2012

Bewdley / Bala via Welshpool.

25 July, 2012

Clows Top, Abberley & Stourport loop. connect.garmin.com/activity/202986177

23 July, 2012

Shatterford, Birdsgreen, Halfpenny Green, Bridgnorth & Button Oak loop. connect.garmin.com/activity/202347720

20 July, 2012

Last day in Collioure today so making the most it, cycled Route des Cols again this morning. connect.garmin.com/activity/201111049

18 July, 2012

Back on my bike today for a training down ride. Cycled a nice loop from Collioure following Route des Cols.

15 July, 2012

Stage 20 from Rambouillet to Paris Champs-Elysees.

14 July, 2012

Stage 19 from Bonneval to Chartres.

13 July, 2012

Stage 18 from Blagnac to Brive-la-Gaillarde.

12 July, 2012

Stage 17 from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Peyragudes.

11 July, 2012

Stage 16 from Pau to Bagneres-de-Luchon.

A return to the high mountains and like stage 11 packed with another four huge climbs: Col d’Aubisque (1,709m); Col du Tourmalet (2,115m); Col d’Aspin (1,489m); and Col de Peyresourde (1,569m).

9 July, 2012

Stage 15 from Samatan to Pau.

8 July, 2012

Stage 14 from Limoux to Foix and one of my favourite rides so far. Today more than made up for the disappointment of getting lost yesterday.

Back in the high mountains starting with the Cat 2 Col du Portel before the two big Cat 1 climbs of the day, Port de Lers and Mur de Péguère with Mur meaning wall in French.

If I’m honest I was a little apprehensive about the final climb of the day, the Mur de Péguère with its maximum gradient of 18%. But having now ridden it I’ve no idea why I was ever concerned. Sure it was steep, but I’ve ridden tougher hills only a few miles from my front door.

7 July, 2012

Stage 13 from St-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Le Cap d’Agde and a no rush ride to the seaside filled with sunflowers. We’d been waiting for the sunflowers but got then in abundance today.

A fantastic day of riding on a blisteringly hot day. Just a shame I lost concentration towards the end of the day and headed in the wrong direction for 5 miles – with no option but to turn around and ride 5 miles back again to rejoin the course where I left it.

6 July, 2012

Stage 12 from St-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay Davezieux today and the longest stage of this year’s Tour.

Another stunning route with only a couple of Cat 1 climbs early on and after Col de Granier it was virtually downhill all the way to the finish.

5 July, 2012

Stage 11 from Albertville to La Toussuire-Les Sybelles and another memorable day of alpine cycling. Definately my toughest day yet and it all started with the hors catégorie climb up to Col de la Madeleine.

Actually a relatively short day in terms of mileage but one packed with four huge climbs: Col de la Madeleine (2,000m); Col du Glandon (1,924m) / Col de la Croix de Fer (2,067m); Col du Mollard (1,638m); with a summit finish at La Toussuire (1,705m).

4 July, 2012

Stage 10 from Macon to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and after yesterday’s rest day I found myself feeling revitalised and raring to go. This week I enter the high mountains and the climbing starts today.

A wonderful day of cycling filled with spectacular alpine roads and beautiful weather. And the first big climb of my Tour de France today, the view from the top of the Col du Grand Colombier was well worth the effort.

2 July, 2012

Stage 9 from Arc-et-Senans to Besancon and today brought an improvement in health and to a lesser extent weather. A very welcome time trial stage starting from the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans.

The Saline Royale d’Arc-et-Senans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and former factory for the production of salt. Designed by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux it was built at the instigation of King Louis XV between 1775 and 1779.

1 July, 2012

Stage 8 from Belfort to Porrentruy and potentially a very scenic ride around the Vosges and Jura Mountains. Today was the shortest stage so far, by quite some distance, but it certainly didn’t seem like it.

Sadly the heavy rain and low cloud meant I saw very little through my fogged-up, rain-covered lenses. And an upset stomach to boot just made the day feel like a very long, slow and uncomfotable slog.