Day 7

After a really good night at our hotel in Tora, (many thanks to Mireia at the Tourist office in Calaf for finding this!) we set off for our final day's ride into Barcelona. Approx 20km into the ride we stopped at Calaf for a photo shoot with the ladies at the Tourist Office before setting off again.

Despite my promises that it would all be downhill there were a few hills we had to climb but they were balanced by some really good downhills!!
We all met up again at Martarell for a Tapas lunch in some lovely warm sunshine. With the roads getting busier as we got closer to Barcelona we formed a Pelaton for the final 25km. We were all wearing our B2B Blue cycle shirts and we looked the business!! As we hit the outskirts of Barcelona and started the long ride into the centre, the locals were stopping, staring and shouting out words of support. We eventually reached the Olympic Stadium for a photoshoot of the team at about 5.00pm.

We managed to fit out one of the spare bikes for Tim and found a B2B shirt for him as well. As we left the Olympic Stadium for our final 3km to the waterfront we were now 24 in number!

Finally at about 6.00pm we arrived at the waterfront and a very emotional welcome from wives, partners, friends and families.

We had covered 430 miles, climbed 6 major mountains, been forced to make three diversions, cycled through roadworks that gave us 7 punctures, had to deal with snow, sleet, heavy rain and freezing temperatures. We had seen sights that we will never see again, achieved more than we thought possible, faced up to and conquered everything that had been thrown at us.
We had discovered strength, mental and physical, to carry us through and above all we had found 22 great friends.
A huge thank you has to go to Tim, Corrine and Trudy for driving the support vans, where the word "driving" so inadequately conveys what they did for us. And to Jamie - Thanks for sowing the seeds of the challenge last July; at the time I thought it wouldn't happen. Your determination proved me wrong. What a challenge, what a result.

Day 6

Wearily we dragged our very tired bodies out of bed for a late breakfast (by our standards but early by Spanish standards)at 8.30. We all enjoyed the lie in although the rain was a bit of a depressant.
No matter, at 9.30 we set off for a glorious, fast ride, mainly downhill for 20+ miles into Tremp, where we all met up for a coffee in warm sunshine. Some of us had managed it in under an hour!
Leaving Tremp we headed for what we thought was a small Col of 13km at 4%. Near the base we stopped for a welcome picnic lunch before heading for the climb.

And what a climb it was!! It went on and on, with sections of 9%. It sapped what little energy we had left.

However the descent was a flying pleasure as we made our way to Ponts for another coffee break. As we enjoyed our coffees we could see the storm clouds gathering so we set off for Tora and our penultimate night's rest.

What a gem of a hotel we had booked ourselves into. A superb day of 125km polished off with the really good hotel. What more could we desire?

Day 5

As we prepared ourselves for the additional miles to make our way around the Portillion the hotel advised us that the road was passable by bike albeit we would have to carry them through the road works. A quick vote and we all agreed that the Portillon was a better option than the additional 30 k. We set off on a glorious sunny morning with the road to ourselves and a few lonely walkers who shouted out the occasional "Allez, Allez, Allez" in support.
An 8km climb with a few sections of 12% and we were at the top on the border with Spain. Farewell France and welcome Spain.
We all met up for coffee outside a cafe in Vielha and lunch by the river as we prepared ourselves for the 23km climb up the Puerto de la Bonaigua. Little did we know that this was on a par with some of the French Cols. It just went on and on and on with sections that were 11/12%.

The smiles of relief at the top were on everyone's faces!

However those smiles got wiped off as we made the descent. The Spanish don't close roads when they do roadworks, they leave them open and expect you to cycle through them. For three miles we had to endure the worst road conditions we had experienced ANYWHERE. Between us we had seven punctures!

Eventually we arrived in Rialp by 6.00pm where we found ourselves booked into a lovely hotel. What's more they had a television so that the football fans could watch the Champions League Final.

Day 4

Day four saw us at the top of the Tourmalet, with the promise of better weather than we had enjoyed on Day 3. We set off, carefully, on the descent as the road was still wet. By the time we got to the bottom it had dried out, just in time for our climb up the Aspin. As the sun broke through spirits were lifted particularly as the Aspin was a lot easier to climb than the Tourmalet.
After the Aspin we headed for the Peyresourde, stopping off for a really enjoyable picnic lunch on the way in beautiful sunshine.
Recharged, the climb was almost a pleasure and at the top there was a line on the road plus a road sign indicating the summit. Not ones to miss a chance we lined up across the road and took a photo of the last of the Tour de France Cols. 40 minutes later we arrived in Bagnerres de Luchon, a spa town just inside the border with Spain. A number of the group took the opportunity to visit one of the local spas. The rest off us talked to a few locals and found out that the Col de Portillon was closed due to road works meaning that our route on Day 5 was now 30 kilometres longer.
With that thought in out heads we retired to bed!!

Days 2 & 3

Couldn't get a signal last night hence no blog . However it was a very wet day with some challenging climbs as we made our way through the foothills of the Pyrenees. We were joined part of the way by a French cyclist, Philippe, who kept us company until midday and provided us with lots of advice on the Aubisque and Tourmalet climbs, having done both himself.
We arrived at Beost about 4pm to find that we had booked a Youth Hostel and we were expected to have sleeping bags and towels. Towels we had. Sleeping bags were noticeable by their absence. However the lady in charge was very understanding and provided towels from her house and enough blankets to keep us all warm!!
A few of us took the opportunity to drive up the Aubisque to see what Monday's first challenge was going to be like. Driving it was enough to make us want to go back home. When we got to the top we found that the descent down the other side was closed to cars although bikes were allowed. There was concern about snow and rockslides!!
When we returned to Beost our ashen faces were enough to put the fear of God amongst everyone else. An early night was agreed with an early start, with the first group off at 7.

Monday, and the rain was coming down cats and dogs as we set off. The climb took some 1 hour and others up to 2 hours, but we all made it. It was freezing cold and wet as we took over the log fire in the summit cafe.

After an hour we knew we had to get on with the ride despite the appalling weather. And with the road closed we knew we had to cover 15km without support as the vans made their way back down and around the Aubisque to meet up with us on the other side. Fingers were frozen, teeth were chattering, and it was almost impossible to hold the handlebars let alone grab the brakes. However we all made it safely in a number of groups. It was too cold to hang around so we made our was to Argeles Bezost only to find out that the Tourmalet was closed!! To get to our next night's accommodation we had to cycle to Lourdes and back up to the Tourmalet from the other side. Fortunately the Tourmalet was open on the East side. Or should I say unfortunately! We now had a 16 km climb to La Mongie. The final group made it about 7.30pm having been on the road 12 hours. The relief was overwhelming, especially when we found that we had a really nice hotel!!!

By 10.30 everyone was in bed dreaming of the challenge of the Aspin and the Peyresourde facing us tomorrow.

Message from Home

You're all so amazing! We've been texting each other, talking on the phone, emailing any sliver of information that we get from you throughout the day and I know that I speak for all of the families at home when I say that we're so proud of you.

It's the most amazing achievement - we're in awe of you all. Your commitment and determination has been truly tested today, but you did it!

What a team! Keep going, stick together, everyone back home is behind you all the way. So many people are logging onto this blog to follow your progress - keep it coming, and we'll celebrate in Barcelona on Friday when it will have stopped raining, the sun will be shining, and the sangria will be flowing...

You're the best B2B - love from all your families and friends x

Message from The Children's Trust

So sorry I can't be there to set you off but I would like to wish you all well on your amazing trip across the Pyrenees. I think you have all been absolutely fantastic! I'm so proud of the way you have organised this trip and the professional way you have gone about raising sponsorship for The Children's Trust. It's a truly fantastic sum of money and will be a huge bonus for our new build here at Tadworth.
Every year 1 in 5 children under 16 years old will sustain a traumatic brain injury following an accident or sudden illness. With you help our new centre will be a wonderful purpose designed environment where these brave children, from all over the UK, can come to receive round the clock medical care, and still enjoy space to play and be with their families.
The Children's Trust enables children with the most complex needs to live life to the full. Just think of that when you are struggling up the mountains and I'm sure it will help you get to the top! And when you get to the top and look at the fantastic view remember that's how our children feel when they speak their first words or take their first steps following their accident.
Thank you so much for everythinng you have done so far. Good luck with the ride - I know you can do it! I can't wait to hear all about it so keep on blogging and hopefully I'll see you on your return to the UK.
All the best (and don't forget the Vaseline!).
Lisa and all the staff, children and their families at The Children's Trust.

Day One

After months of preparation and training, apprehension and second thoughts, we finally set off from London on the Eurostar to Paris and thence on to Biarritz care of SNCFs best overnight sleeper. Blearily eyed we arrived in Biarritz at 7am where we met up with Ian and Paul, who had flown down on Friday. We desperately tried to hide our envy as they told us of the full night's sleep they had enjoyed in their hotel.
After a quick breakfast we set about unloading our bikes and rebuilding them. Just as we finished, the skies opened and it poured for the next hour. Not to be put off we made our way to the seafront for a quick few photos. As soon as Hugh gave us the ok, just after 10am we were on our way to Barcelona!! First stop, Mauleon Licharre a ride of 58 miles. Supported by Corinne and Trudy in Van 1 and Tim in Van 2 we soon found out that the roads were hilly as soon as we got out of Biarritz and got more hilly the further we cycled. The roads were superb with very little traffic, long climbs matched by sweeping descents.
It was the first time the group had cycled together and it gave us all the opportunity to work out where to sit in the 23 man peloton. It was also time for the first breakdown (Robert) and first puncture (Mike) which occurred simultaneously about 15 miles into the ride.
The rain cleared at lunchtime and as the clouds dispersed we could finally see the challenge facing us, the PYRENEES!!
Undaunted we carried on to Mauleon in some pleasant sunshine arriving there just before 4pm and our first night's rest at the Hostellerie du Chateaux.

Our support vans

This is what our support vans look like now that the graphics have been added. We won't see them now until Saturday morning!!
More news later.

Something for everyone.....

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

I did it for the Pain - Lance Armstrong

Thanks to Graham, who found this descriptive gem on what we all face!!

Cycling is so hard, the suffering is so intense, that it’s absolutely cleansing. The pain is so deep and strong that a curtain descends over your brain... Once, someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding for so long. ’Pleasure?’ I said. ’I don’t understand the question.’ I didn’t do it for pleasure, I did it for pain."
LANCE ARMSTRONG, WINNER TOUR DE FRANCE 1999 – 2005

The history of cycle racing abounds with stories of endurance, will power and sheer courage on an epic scale. The capacity of bike riders to drive themselves relentlessly day after day through the pain barrier and way beyond makes them a breed apart. They redefine heroism in sport. The suffering is gratuitous, the mileage they cover Herculean, and both make a crucible in which a unique character is forged: an apparently cheerful indifference to the pain inflicted by bike and road, suffused with the transcendent desire to conquer both.
The greatest battle is not physical but psychological. The demons telling us to give up when we push ourselves to the limit can never be silenced for good. They must always be answered by the quiet the steady dignity that simply refuses to give in. Call no man brave, say the Spanish, say only that on a particular day he showed himself brave. Such strength of character radiates from every bike rider who has shown the requisite courage not to yield, has won his dignity, day after day.
The true test of any rider’s mettle is the road. How much punishment can you take on a bike? You will only find out after you hear the voice in your head saying no, no you’ve had it, any more of this battering and you’re going to weaken fatally, and yet, for some reason best left to God and guesswork, carrying on anyway. Every time that happens, into a savage headwind... on the sharp knocks of the Chilterns... the will-sapping hauls of the continental monsters, the experience is part of a continuum, the repeated battle against surrender.
No crowds cheer us lesser mortals up the big climbs, but the mountains are open and mountains are rarely if ever finished with you. No matter how often you climb them, you never beat them: each time you start at the bottom, from scratch. Reputation will not take you up a climb. The physical battle has always to be repeated. Through every repeat, mental strength accumulates.
The Tourmalet, lassoed by mist, 2000m up in the Circle of Death, where Apo Lazaridès climbed off one day to wait for the others for fear of Pyrenean bears. The dreaded Mont Ventoux, Domain of the Angels. Col du Galibier, the Giant of the Alps, ’premier cru’ to the ’vin ordinaire’ of the rest. That’s where you can follow the Tour, into the thin air, up the relentless hairpins, your tyres hissing across the tarmac catalogue of Tour riders who made the same journey.
Suffering is one thing; knowing how to suffer is quite another. You look at the dizzying peaks and say to yourself: What? Up there? Mad notion... and the experience of the hardest most exhilarating cycling you can ever accomplish is on you. The great gauntlet on two wheels, the triumph of inner resolve over disbelief.
For the mountains are the extreme case, where you really find out about yourself, in the scary realms of physical and mental exertion to the limit. Remote altitudes of geography, unplumbed depths in your spirit. Even local folklore recognises the weird forces at work on the cyclist chancing his fate against horrible gradients. Up here, they say, is where the black-hearted ogres of bad luck hang out: the Witch with Green Teeth and Hammerman, quick to pounce on any slippage in your resolve. Bogeymen personifying the mysterious factors which can freeze your nerve with the lonely prospect of failure.
That’s why we speak of heroism in cycling: it’s elemental.
This is the ultimate proving time. The spells of mind-numbing dysfunction when your head fills with disconnected trivia and only the wheels, still responding to the pedal stroke, like the cogwheels in your brain’s clock, seem to have any logic about them. Mechanically you mutter: if the road goes on, so can I. As Brian Robinson, first Briton to finish the Tour de France (1955) said to himself: I looked at the other guys and thought, they’re the same as me - if they can do it, I can. Good reasoning because there’s no ducking the argument. It’s simple: I can’t go on. I must go on. I will go on.
And through the bleak period when your wandering mind gets obsessed with the idea that you’re finished oh, it happens - you persist and you are learning the core lesson of cycling, just as every true rider learnt it: on this road, in this duress, you live in the moment with all your force, in the intensity, the fullness of the moment. Do you know a better definition of exhilaration?
Riding up the Col de la Core one blistering hot afternoon (First Category, Pyrenees) I was passed by a string of Française des Jeux riders. As their last man went by, dangling off the back, he gave me a wave Courage. We all suffer. Keep going.
But if something hurts so much, how can it be enjoyable? At the point where physical stress begins to take you beyond what you imagine to be endurable, you enter new territory of understanding, an expanded psychological landscape. The camaraderie of the hard road is as much in sharing that insight as in the laughs you have, riding in good company. The bike is the perfect vehicle to take you down those secret corridors of illumination. The pleasure comes when you grasp just what has happened inside your head and spirit. It doesn’t stop when the bike stops, when you reach the top of the col or peel off at the end of the ride, so tired you can hardly think or stand straight. That’s where the pleasure begins. The self-knowledge.
Behind glory lies the misery of training, the slog of getting through bad days, the torment of going at less than your best and the absolute conviction that giving up is never an option. Herein lies the heroism of this beautiful sport the inner revelation that makes the cyclist impervious to ordinary weakness because every ride he has ever made exposes him to that defeatist voice; he has known it, faced it and conquered the fear of it, again and again and again.

And there I was thinking that this was going to be a weeks cycling holiday.....

Day 3 could be a long one....

I found these two articles to be the most descriptive of the ride which awaits on Day 3. Early morning calls all round, I fancy.


.........however, the opportunity of riding the infamous Aubisque couldn’t be overlooked, I headed off and cycled to the top of ‘the monster’, all 1709 metres of it.

If you’ve never cycled in France, wow! Every car and lorry gives you enough room to swing several cats tied with a jaunty reef knot, and the roads are super smooth (where I went anyway). The weather was perfect, and passing through Pau and Gan towards the feet of the Pyrenees I was able to fully appreciate the size and potential for intimidation the mountains had. Suffice it to say I felt a little insignificant in comparison!

Anyway, I started the ascent without realising it as I think I may have got lost, as I ended up in a strange sloping piazza, with only the comfort of ‘for sale’ signs hanging off dilapidated spa institutes.

However tomtom in hand (the satnav!) I found the route and pedaled off, passing the 11-km to go board, having unwittingly covered 5 already.

All I can say of the ascent is ‘what a bastard!’. Its completely deceiving as the gradient really isn’t that steep, with only a brief 13% section early on interrupting a steady flow of 8-10% sections. However its the sheer distance and altitude that seems to wear you down, and mentally its very hard to understand what’s happening as your legs begin to struggle, your heart begins to pound, yet the gradient seems so slight!

From 1300 metres up I began to have problems and I couldn’t seem to get enough air in. After riding in Derbyshire all my life up way steeper gradients I wasn’t going to give up! It simply came down to forgetting everything and trying to find a rhythm, which began to reap results as I pulled in a jolly Frenchman on a very nice Look carbon bike, ‘Bonjour’, ‘Au revoir’, a grunt which seemed to say ‘Bastard bastard’ and I was off, eventually reaching the top after an hour of toil, and feeling like I’d been steam rollered repeatedly.

Why oh way don’t the French make decent sandwiches? Fromage and Jambon is no reward after all that work, keep your cheese chaps, and the omnipotent canard, give me fresh salad and chicken!!!!!

After a nice chat with a Spanish lady and the aforementioned Frenchman after he arrived at the top, I set off for the descent which was fabulous, although I was careful not to go crazy as it was wet in places.

At the top I was worried about a lack of energy on the return to Pau, but the Jambon sandwich must have had hitherto unforeseen benefits, as I wobbled along at an average of 22mph for the return trip, passing breathtaking fields complete with continental cowbell percussion.

..........and so to the Tourmalet;

If the Aubisque is a monster, the Tourmalet is a giant, at 2115 metres (6939 ft) the highest col on the route. They don’t come any fiercer than that. The Col du Tourmalet is one of the big five continental climbs - the others are Mont Ventoux in Provence, the Alpe d’Huez and the Galibier in the Alps, and the Stelvio between Italy and Switzerland, and for any cyclist to conquer this col is a real feather in their cap - or so it’s said.

The climb proper (if you’re going west to east) starts from Luz St. Sauveur and is unremitting from the start. Three hours it took me, from 10.30 to 1.30, with a twenty-minute break for coffee at Bareges, which is just before the halfway point.

Someone spotted an eagle soaring round the crags which overshadow this steep little hamlet.It was pedal, pedal, pedal all the way, grinding slowly up a narrow valley and through the inevitable forest - I’ve never seen so many trees as I did in the Pyrenees - and then round a bend and out onto the bare mountain.

You could see the road ahead, twisting its tortuous route over the mountainside, a hideous distance yet to climb, and your heart just sank. It went on and on, bend after bend, hairpin after hairpin.

But the weather was fine - it was a beautifully sunny day, and it was high enough not to get roasting hot. Approaching 7,000 feet you start to feel the thinness of the air, and for the last few hundred yards there’s a very steep uphill pull.

I was shattered enough by then to contemplate getting off and walking it (just to stretch my legs, you understand) but I hung on and, in bottom gear with lungs bursting and heart pumping, made it to the top.“Pass the line!” they shouted to me from the roadside cafe, “You’ve got to pass the line!” Which was a white bar across the road, and I did, and that was it, the Tourmalet gained, a fantastic view on which to look back, and an even more fantastic descent in prospect.

The road down goes through the hideous ski resort of La Mongie, a blot on the otherwise pristine landscape if ever there was one, and then down and down and down. I lost count of the number of sweating cyclists coming up the other way, both racers and tourists, my shoulder aching with the effort of applying the brakes at every bend.

There was little respite at the bottom, just a drink of water and a banana, a right turn and then the slow uphill to the start of the Aspin.

From the west, the Col d’Aspin (1489 m, 4885 ft) is easy-paced, a gentle if unremitting climb through the forest, with a herd of bell-toting cows right at the top. Then a long, flying swoop down to Arreau, locate the hotel and then the bar. A worthwhile day in every respect.

That last bit sounds great doesn't it?

Ian

Rules for cyclists and info on dehydration

What is they say about idle hands? Anyway this lunchtime whilst idling away I came across this useful info on the Cycling Support website.

"Rules for Cyclists – by Vélocio
1. Keep your stops short and few
2. Eat before you’re hungry, drink before you’re thirsty
3. Never get too tired to eat or sleep
4. Add a layer before you’re cold, take one off before you’re hot
5. Lay off wine, meat and tobacco while on tour
6. Ride within yourself, especially in the first hour
7. Never show off
Paul de Vivie 1853-1930

Just being dehydrated will make you feel tired. Drink before you are thirsty is a good tip. A sensible target is to drink about 300ml (half a pint) early in the ride then between 100ml and 200ml every 20 minutes.
There are now on the market a number of different brands of energy products,
which also are of great help though they can be expensive. Raisins and
bananas are also good to help you to keep going.. A combination of bananas
and water can be as efficient as energy drinks however.

If you follow a reasonably balanced diet with sufficient carbohydrate and protein
there is no need to worry unduly about special foods the day before a ride. This
is in any case very much a matter of personal needs and preferences. On the
day of a ride, David Millar has a breakfast of cereal, milk, fruit and yoghurt then
carries a musette bag with jam sandwiches, little cakes and energy bars.

However, after exercise it is important to replace carbohydrate in liquid form
– about 1gram of carb. per kg of bodyweight i.e. an 80kg person would put 80g
into a pint of water and drink it down immediately they get to the end of the ride,
or at most within 20 minutes. Products to consider are: Go Electrolyte, High
Five Energy Source, Maxim Electrolyte or Cytomax."

Oh well, back to work!
Mike

L2B for the B2B riders

To all of those who made it today, what a turn out. 14 representatives of the B2B team either made it to Hayes for the start of the ride at 8.00am this morning or joined us along the way. The cycle shirts looked great and drew many admiring comments from the other riders.
Well done to those who made it all the way to Brighton sea-front. Hope the lift back was dry and comfortable!! And a big well done to those who turned round on Devils' Dyke and cycled back to Hayes. A round trip of 102 miles.
Word of advice for everyone on the B2B: don't follow my directions. Armed with the latest in cycle satnavs I managed to get us lost twice!! Some work will be required before I am let loose on the Pyrenees!
These are some of the photos from today. More will be forthcoming.
See you all on Thursday.
Mike

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LOKING AFTER YOUR BOT BOT!

Saddle Sores

A warm, humid crotch and lots of pedaling can lead to skin problems, including the classic saddle sore, in all its throbbing, raging glory. Cycling dermatologist and Rivendell member, Bernie Burton tells us why they happen, how to avoid them, and if you don't pay attention, how to get rid of them.

The saddle sore develops in three stages.

Stage 1: Hot Spot or Abrasion. This is caused by rubbing your thighs and skin under the ischial tuberosities (ishi al toober aw cities, but from now on, just "sit bones") against the saddle. Pedaling or just riding over bumps can cause this.

Since abrasion is the cause, decrease or eliminate it.

Here's how:

1. Set your saddle to the proper height. If your saddle is too high, your sit bones will rock over the saddle as you pedal, causing friction.

2. Get a good saddle. It should be wide enough to support the sit bones; smooth, so it doesn't cause friction; and it shouldn't be filled with shiftable mushy gel, which can move around, increasing friction. Leather is a good start. It's smooth, doesn't shift, and depending on the model, supports the sit bones properly. Any sort of suspension -- ranging from higher volume tires at lower pressure to Allsop Beams, may reduce friction, too.

3. Wear seamless-chamois cycling shorts (if you're getting sores in the areas of seam-to-skin contact). Some chamois has a baseball-style seam; some have a single seam up the middle; and some have none at all. Figure out what works for you. Seams in cycling short chamois tend to be flat, and most cause no problem, but if you find yourself irritated by them, get shorts with a seamless chamois.

4. Coat your skin and/or chamois cycling shorts with Vaseline Petroleum jelly. Cover under your sit bones, and any place that might rub, or has been a problem in the past. One concern some riders have with Vaseline is that it might plug their sweat ducts. This is more likely to be a problem on faces, where the ducts are smaller. I've never seen clogged crotch ducts. Vaseline is pure, and nobody is allergic to it. If you ride a lot, by all means, get some.

What If I Still Get a Saddle Sore?

Treat the first symptom (the hot spot) with Bag Balm®. This old fashion medication, designed for a milk cow's sore and irritated teats (from too much frictional rubbing) is available at many pharmacies and animal supply stores. Lot of Bag Balm® applied to irritated areas immediately after your shower will usually result in recovery overnight. This will help heal the superficial wound and prevent its worsening while you're off the bike.

If using a goop originally developed for cow teats makes you uneasy, get a prescription for a strength topical steroid ointment such as Temovate®. There are side effects and dangers with frequent usage, and it costs ten to forty times as much as Bag Balm®. Whether you use Bag Balm® or prescription steroid ointments, apply it in the evening, and cover it with Vaseline the follow morning. If, after riding several hours, this area of irritation again appears, smear on more Vaseline.

Stage 2: Folliculitis

This looks like acne -- small red bumps with puss-filled heads. These are found in hair follicles, and there's often a hair sprouting right out of the puss-filled bump. If this sounds like something you'd like to prevent, just ride with freshly-laundered cycling shorts each day, and/or use lots of Vaseline. Topical antibiotic gel or oral antibiotics may help, too.

Note: If you start your rides with a clean crotch and a clean, Vaseline-covered chamois, and you reapply Vaseline daily, you can go a week or two without laundering your shorts. That's how good Vaseline is.

Stage 3: Abscess

This is an infected, red, hot, swollen, tender bump that varies in diameter between a third of an inch to two inches. These frequently scar over and may form sinus tracks with extensions going in multiple directions from the original lesion. In addition, cysts may form that totally surround the abscess after it has been resolved, or may develop directly from the folliculitis stage without abscess development.

If an abscess occurs, quit riding until they're healed. Go to your doctor (whom you should have seen before now), who then may prescribe oral antibiotics.

Soap Tips For Folks With Problem Crotch Skin.
Cetaphil®, Dove® or Purpose® soap. Wash gently and moisturize with simple emollients like Eucerin Creme®, Aquaphor®, Moisturel®, Curel® or Bag Balm®. You may actively reverse irritant dermatitis by using over-the-counter 1% Hydrocortisone Ointment, or prescription hydrocortisone ointments.

A little TLC to the groin to prevent irritation and lots of Vaseline will keep you riding long and pain-free

Box Hill Billy Goat Gruff

A few facts worth knowing just for the sake of journalistic integrity.

1) I was not the only person to leave in a motorised vehicle, Martin Long, please stand up.

2) At no point did I say 'I'm off home now', that would have been flippant and inconsiderate. If I remember rightly I think my parting words were 'Blimey, this car is comfortable, and dry'.

3) When we passed you guys in the car as it was starting to rain really hard we did not laugh, point or attempt to run anyone off the road, a clear indication of a compassionate and sympathetic attitude.

4) While you were benefitting from the extra miles in the saddle I had to suffer the torture of a full roast dinner with all the trimmings (pavlova, cheese board etc. etc.). Just think, your weight loss is my weight gain, I will be carrying those Yorkshire Puds all the way up the Pyrenees.

So, you see, there are two sides to every story. It hurt me more than it hurt you.

J.

 

The reason we are doing this!

Today was the day that a number of us began to understand why we are trying so hard to raise £50000 or more on what is a personal challenge for each and every one of us but which pales into insignificance when compared to the challenges faced by the children who rely on the Children's Trust for help and support.




----------------A huge thank you to everyone who turned up at the Children's Trust today. A day which had promised rain turned out to be perfect weather for cycling. The ride there, from all quarters of London and the South East, was really enjoyable. From the Children's Trust we ventured on to Box Hill for a photo shoot. We even managed to wrest some sponsorship out of the hands of one of the many visitors there. From there we returned to the Children's Trust for a second photo shoot followed by a guided tour by the lovely Lisa. Then it was back on the bikes as we all cycled our way home just as the rain started. All that is except for Box Hill Billy (now known as Box Hill "I'm off home now" Billy) who, having organised the day's events, had also organised a lift home for himself!!