My Polar Sports Tester HRM has finally come to the end of the road. My wife bought it for me in 1993, and gave it me for my birthday when I went to the World MTB championships in Metabief.

We been through a lot together (yes, the wife and the Polar, but I’m talking about the Polar). I remember using it to win my first ever LVRC road race. I deliberatley wore my best mountainbike kit, and rode off the start line as if the finish was just around the next corner in the hope that the seasoned veteran roadies would think I was some idiot MTBer who didn’t know what he was doing. It worked, and once I was out of sight I settled down and used my Polar to guage my solo effort. In the end I won by just 20seconds. I was told, “Well done, but you won’t get away with that again!”. 🙂

Then there was the time I was racing in the MTB Nationals. I was being pressed hard by Dave McMullen, giving all I had, I glanced down at the Polar it showed 193bpm. I knew I was going well, riding close to my maximum. It was the hardest I’d ever tried in a bike race, I wanted to win so much.

It’s given great service, and it’s been hanging on ever since it’s last soaking in the London to Paris, but this time it’s a goner. I’ve had the back off, and dried it out like I have so many times before, but no sign of life. I’m a bit sad actually, it’s like an old friend. 🙁

I was gonna write a post about the one thing that’s stopped me training properly lately. It takes a lot to keep me off my bike, and like most compulsive exercisers, I trend towards exercising to the detriment of my health. Luckliy I have my wife to stop me from overdoing it…..

… and then, what’d’ya know there’s actually two things!

First, the first, is some nasty hateful bacteria type thing that has taken charge of my bowels thereby turning me into a prisoner in my own home, on a short leash from the toilet. Three days of flush gut! Then just when things were getting hard, I stole a recce of the departmentals circuit to be rewarded with a chest infection. Volcanic toilet action replaced with hacking up of frogs.

I’ve been trying to make the most of it, looking on it as an opportunity! Taking some much needed rest, and doing a little strength work with my Compex. Currently (geddit?) it involves strapping myself into a chair then putting as much current through my legs as I can bear while at the same time trying to flex my quads!

I went to watch some of my friends racing in the Veyrac Vétathlon yesterday. Looked like fun, wish I could’a been one of them. Took some pictures if you fancy seeing what it’s all about. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking towards the Regionals, and I’m getting twichy (might be the Compex). The only riding I’m allowing myself is a daily cruise around the manor on my jump bike.

You know I’m training hard to have a crack at a couple of French titles this year. Well here’s one of my main rivals. Jean-Claude Sansonnet, he rides for the Nantiat club. He’s 61 years old, and has been on the podium in the National VTT Championships no less than 9 times! 9 times I tell ya!

Don’t let his comic pose fool you, Jean-Claude may act the clown, but he takes his racing very seriously. That’s his new bike he’s got there. A Scott Spark Ltd. Around £5000 of featherlight racing machine. That’s a measure of his commitment, and determination.

Someone asked me where they could get the hot emrocation that I mentioned in my post about winter training. So I thought I’d do a bit of an update….
I recommended Muscolor and Equilibrium as good makes to use, as I had tried both. However, Muscolor isn’t avaliable any more, and Equilibrium has become Qoleum. They’re the same see…

My tin of Equilibrium lasted years. You use it sparingly/carefully…….. and now, I back the embrocation up with, */roll of drums/* ta daaaaaa!!!! My homemade kneewarmers!

Yes, laugh if you like, but for me, early season ‘toothache of the knee’ is a thing of the past. Oh, hang on, you don’t think I wear them like that do you? No, I just pinned ’em on the outside of my tights to show what they look like. Normally I just tuck them inside my tights, and the tights hold them in place. Simple! and they work brilliantly.

I made them from the hood of an old duvet jacket (you’d never guess would you), which means that they have a ‘hollofil’ insulating layer. What do you think of them?

There’s a thing that some French riders do, and I think it’s cool, so i’ve done it. I’ve got a little Limousin sticker from the tourist office and stuck it on my seat post. When you do big races, it tells the other riders where you’re from. I’ve seen riders from lots of regions stickered up in the same way.

I think it’d be a useful thing to do for categories in MTB (VTT) racing. It would help you know who you’re battling against when cats get mixed up. All it needs is a little splash of colour down the back of the seatpost….. and it’s so cool 😉

Oh yes, any fool can ride a bike on a nice day when they’re feeling good, fresh and fiesty.

But when you’re shot, just hanging on to the wheel in front, every last half pedal turn is agony, and the bunch engines are turning the screw. That’s different…

Or when you’ve made it into the break to find out that you’re the weakest there, you either go through, or they take it in turns to take you off the back. That’s when it counts…

Like when fate has forced your hand and you’ve taken it on with 5kms to go. All of a sudden it’s like your tyres have gone flat and your riding uphill in porridge against a headwind going no where. That’s when you ask yourself…

Maybe you’re climbing, right on the limit, just staring at the block of the rider in front. Almost at the top, you know there’s gonna be a surge. The rider in front clangs up a gear, gets out of the saddle and kicks. Then you just know…

Any fool can ride a bike 😉

“if you suffer enough you suffer the most, then you will win. That doesn’t only mean the pain in sport, it means the things that you give up in life generally. You have to make sacrifices to be that successful, whether it’s not going out to parties, not drinking, not eating certain foods! Suffering is definitely there, but it may not always be physical soreness, and pain, it can also be heartache. But I think if you can handle it, push it and give it out and take the most pain then racing is easy. And the more you can suffer in training, sometimes you will experience more pain than competition, and if you can do that, it makes competition even easier.” – Article in sports journal by Dr Phlip Moore

Carla, my wife, lover, friend, life-partner, significant other, training partner, co-driver, manager, consultant, massuese, celebrates her birthday today. Happy Birthday XXXXXXX 🙂

Here she is…

Right, can you name these three very famous cyclists? Score one point for each one you get right…

Once you have the names you can get extra points if you can give a reason why each one is an ‘odd one out’ from the other two.

Update and answers РThe famous cyclists are, left to right, Raymond Poulidor, Andr̩ Dufraisse, Eddy Mercx.

For odd one out you could have said…
Eddy Mercx – he’s Belgian, the other two are French.
André Dufraisse – he’s a cyclo-cross rider the other two are roadies.
Raymond Poulidor – he’s the only one of the three that didn’t win a world championship.

The thing that brings all three of them together in this picture is the L’Echappe Belle cyclo-sportive held here in the Limousin.

Who does? Théodore Molina, the president of the Cyclo Club Beauvallet that’s who does. He’s been after Carla for some time now. Even taken to giving her gifts!

Why? Well, first of all, Carla’s no slouch on a bike, she’s been on the podium in XC races before, and has the potential to do it again if she choses. Théo might not know she has podium palmares, but he’s seen her ride, and can see she has class. Secondly, there doesn’t seem to be many lady riders mountainbiking out here in France. Any that do ride are treated like royalty. For example, once when we were out on the trails we came upon a group of walkers. They heard us approaching and were more than happy to let us through. I was leading at the time, I got a ‘bonjour’, and a smile. When they saw Carla, she got a cheer, a clap, and ‘bravo’. See what I mean?

If Théo could get Carla to wear his club’s jersey it would be good exposure for his club. Though I don’t think that publicity for his club is his main objective. I think it’s notoriety….. you know, Théo, the one with all the girls! 🙂

Seriously though, cycling in France is all about the blokes. Théodore’s is working hard to promote ‘girls’ cycling, and he should be applauded for doing so. Well done that man!

By the way, the CC Beauvallet annual VTT rando, ‘Virée des Copains’ takes place on 3rd February. Starting at Thouron, with circuits of 40, 27, and 12kms on offer. Why not go along and see whose riding? As if you couldn’t guess 🙂