Ride like the professionals
April 10, 2017, 9:02 amIf you are going to do the Tour (one week ahead); then (in my head) you do a training camp (or two) to get the miles before the Tour itself.
So in the midst of a little bit of comment – such as “Not another holiday”, it seemed like a good idea to go and do a little altitude training week in Tenerife (well we can always pretend).
So three days after seeing Dr Gary Palmer (@ Sportstest); who said what I needed to be doing was ‘long and flat’ rides, I set off for a sunshine break in Tenerife.
Three immediate things I should point out:-
- Tenerife in March was cloudy, windy and occasionally cold – until the morning I went back to the airport (when it was 22° and getting warmer).
- There is no such thing as flat in Tenerife!
- There is absolutely no such thing as flat in Tenerife!
But I didn’t have any grounds for complaint, two things (on the bike at Mount Teide) – both times riding up through the cloud cover I came to discover amazing blue skies and fantastic scenery. The second time as I “crawled” up Teide; a couple of ‘Bahrain Merida’ professionals cycled past – chatting as if they had nothing better to do – I wished it was that easy!!
The rest a mixture of rides exploring an island with the most amazing rock formations and variations in fauna – with roads that go from super-smooth to the ones that vibrate your hands off the bike.
But it’s done; and as I returned to the UK I realised (following an e-mail from Sarah and Tracey at Tour de Force) – we are under 100 days to the Tour!