Johnny B in the lounge in Singapore 

The flight was only 4.5 hours long but we managed to get a bit of rest and east some decent food (for a change.   Pretty smooth trip to Taipei from the airports in Singapore all the way to the hotel in Taipei.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that the van to the hotel had WIFI inside it.  This is the first time I had been in a vehicle with WIFI.   The airport in Taipei was very efficient.

Kim arrival at Taipei Airport

After we arrived at the hotel (we are staying at the Shangri La and Dan John and Johnny B are all at the Sheraton) we realized that we did not have a floor pump for our bike tires.  We quickly headed over to Howard’s bike shop to pick one up along with some supplies that we would need for the rest of the week.  The temperature here is much colder than Singapore so many of us needed to get gloves, pants, etc.    Lee was rather excited by the extensive supply of power gels.  Howard is actually the guy who will be leading the bike rides each day.

Lee @ Howard’s Bike Shop

After sorting all the stuff out at Howards, we headed to a well known and popular dumpling place called Din Tai Fung.  I had heard about this place before as we have it in Singapore.  Dumplings were awesome.  It was during this meal I realized that we had forgotten something at the bike shop so I said we had better go back and get what we needed for the early ride the next day at 0630.  We walked out of the restaurant and hailed a cab.  Since the driver spoke no English and we spoke no Chinese we decided to show him the card for Howards Bike Shop.  The driver looked at it mystically and then said ‘Guang Du’ which sounded a lot like Guang Fu (which is where Howard’s Bike shop is) so I figured  this guy must know.     ‘Sure let’s go’ I said.   Needless to say we hopped on the highway toward the airport and realized that he must be taking us to Howard’s ‘other’ shop.   After thirty minutes of complaints from the back seat (read Kim and Lee) the guy finally turned off and then said ‘Guang Du’ in the middle of nowhere…definitely no bike shops around.  So I then pulled out the Shangri La card and said just take us here….(angrily)…….so it was actually a nice tour around the city which was not what we had in mind but S$50 later we ended back at the Shangri La for evening cocktails.  (tipped the cabby for angry-man reaction)

The local beer is called Taiwan Beer (good beer, a bit weak on the creativity on names).  If we had only three it would have been good.   Unfortunately we ended up at the Marco Polo Lounge at the Shangri La Hotel until midnight debating politics, fashion, cycling teams and other strange things.  The final conclusion was that we stayed up too late and that blazers are extremely cool. 

If that was the worst part of the day it would have been fine…but unfortunately I realized I had lost my cycling camera on day 1 of the trip.   No camera on my first trip to Taiwan was definitely not good.

The first ride was to start at 0630 at the Sheraton….so much for sleeping in on holidays.

November 13 – 2010 – Day 1

Today was the day…the first 600km AUDAX ride of the year and the very first qualifying ride for the 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris ride.    This was the second time I would be doing this ride with the first time being in November of 2009.   This year would be a bit different however…first, there would only be six riders instead of the nine we had last time.  Second, I did not have the trusty regulars for AUDAX rides with me such as Lundy, Brian or Gareth to name a few.  None the less, we started at Longhouse Centre at 0500am on Saturday morning on a ride that would take us through a number of places in Malaysia and have us home for dinner on Sunday evening…hopefully.  Today Khina, Jean-Francois, Heng Ooi Keng, Lawrence, Daniel and I would embark on what was sure to be another epic ride.

All for one, one for all.  JF who heads up AUDAX and was the ride leader firmly stated at the beginning of the ride that we would all stick together for the whole ride.  There are a number of reasons to do this with safety being one of the key considerations.  There are also a number of reasons why a group of riders don’t stay together over the course of a 600km ride too…fatigue, tiredness, skills, etc.  Anyhow we had our marching orders and we were sticking to them.  We left Longhouse and made it to the first AUDAX Checkpoint in Malaysia.  After a few corners were turned I took a glance back to note that two riders were already gone…which again is normal, but not in the first 36km of a 600km ride!  Anyhow JF took out his mobile phone in search for these riders, dedicating a whopping 5-6 minutes of search time, before declaring:  ‘ok, we ride on without them’….this was by far the quickest abandonment of the All-for-One policy he likes to think about from time to time…36km!  Needless to say we found out that Lawrence and Heng Ooi Khiang (OK) around 5km up the road as it turns out they took a wrong turn.  I was wondering about this ride now with so much left to go and our first delays so early in the day.

We all made it together to the second checkpoint which was about 80km into the ride.  After that it was smooth sailing to our first meal stop which was lunch…roti prata in Kluang for Daniel and I, and Chinese food for the rest.

The rolling hills before Kluang.

After a hearty lunch we started off on the way to Segamat.  The sun was shining brightly and of course starting to take its toll on the riders.  I was so relieved not to be doing that boring stretch we normally do to Kota Tinggi on the 300km and 400km rides.  I did not care about the heat.  The heat was manageable until you added the strong headwinds….then I cared.

Daniel was feeling strong after lunch so Khina he and I decided to break ahead a bit and capture some extra time for dinner. 

The heat and wind had upped the need for food and water. I was drinking two full bottles per 12km at one point during the day and then went 11km with no water before finding this drink stop.  We were only 240km into this ride and I was really hurting…and starting to worry.   That hurt…I would make up for this at dinner.

Now mostly every cyclist does not eat Pizza Hut and to be honest, the last time I ate Pizza Hut was during the AUDAX 600km ride in 2009.  There are not a whole lot of choices available to riders who do not like local food so you need to take what you get.  You also tend to burn through thousands of calories on these long rides so you also need to eat a ton…maybe even more than you feel like eating.  JF is a bit of a foodie so he was adverse to eating this junk food…instead he brought his own spaghetti into the Hut and sat with the gang as we hammered back some pizza and Pepsi.  This was the final real food stop before we would hit our hotel later that evening or early Sunday morning.  We had already done 286km so far this day and now we had another 140km to go before we would have a chance for a shower and a brief sleep…in the dark night on Malaysia roads.

The dark was not going to be a problem as JF insisted that people wear reflective vests or items to ensure that drivers going 120+km /hour could see them on the small windy roads we traveled on.  Both Daniel and I refused to wear them on the fashion faux pas grounds (see picture above) and because the last thing anybody needs is an extra layer of clothes in hot Malaysia.  We did however enjoy making jokes about the other riders who did wear them calling them security guards and road workers…especially when real road workers were waving at them along the way.  ‘There’s one of ours’ they must have thought.

The evening was not without any adventure though.  after 390km, we stopped for what would be our final short break before we hit the hotel.  Short breaks really meant:  refill water battles, energy supplies, stretch sorry muscles, chat, lie on ground (JF was very good at this) and then find the courage to get back on the bike.  Well it was 11pm by now and we knew that it would be 1AM by the time we got to the hotel…earliest.  Off we pushed one-by-one, slowly but surely.  JF and Khina led the way down the modest hill to get the group going again…making just enough noise to wake up some local dogs at a farm house.  Dogs love cyclists.  Anyhow Daniel and OK slipped by without incident, and by the time I was rolling by it was imperative to put my feet on my handlebars to avoid one of the three dogs running after me from biting me.  Great I thought…at least we are going down hill so I could maybe escape unless one of these dogs knocks me over.  I was gliding down the hill, closing my eyes at times in fear of what would happen if these dogs got to me.  I felt nothing, nothing, nothing and then suddenly heard a ‘ruff, ruff, ruff’ CLUNK noise behind me…I was safe, but what happened? I took a quick glance back after a small hammering forward to see Lawrence lying in the middle of the road.  The dogs got him, he was laying in the road where some crazy driver may be coming, and it was a bit on the scary side to say the least.  We all looked in awe and I was thinking the dogs were eating poor Lawrence, who was doing this ride for the first time in his life. What would we tell his family?   After a few minutes of apathetic delay, JF charged back at a whopping 12km/hour to see how things were going with Lawrence. It seemed that the dogs were cleared and that only Lawrence in his security vest lay upon the ground with his bike blinking like a Christmas tree.  Whilst the dogs did not eat them, I am sure they tried to knock him over.  Dogs 1 – Lawrence 0.  After the coast was clear we all went back to lend our All-for-One Support for Lawrence applying first aid and offering words of encouragement.  We quickly bandaged him up, named him Dawgman, and then set out on our way knowing that we needed to get to the hotel for a few hours sleep otherwise we would be exhausted. 

The last 40km or so were pretty uneventful. We were all tired (JF was actually trying to nap along the way), and we were all charged up when we hit the T-Junction at Rompin – only 2km to the hotel.  All of us thought that this was a very long 2 km not to mention that the driveway for this hotel was another 1.5km long…I actually thought it was the same dump hotel we stayed in last time and was really starting to wonder about that because that place was a real dump!  Alas we arrived and we really wanted to check in fast.

Dinner:  Shower

Desert:  Sleep for 3 hours

The room this year was much better than last – no roaches or things that were carrying Lundy’s bread across the floor- however we did have no hot water.  We were all tired so I am sure it did not matter that much.  After a refreshing three hour sleep, we got dressed and headed down to breakfast.  Once again, you need to eat a ton of food on these rides otherwise you will be lying on the ground and unable to ride.  With the extensive choices available, Daniel mustered up a fried beans-French fry-egg sandwich to start carbo loading for the day.

The quaint rooms featured noisy air conditioners, ceiling fans that sounded like helicopters, never-ending flushing toilets, and CRT TVs all for your relaxing comfort in a musty environment.

Day 2 Begins

After a short rest and some interesting food, we set off for Day 2 of this ride.  If all goes as planned (and it rarely does), we should be home in Singapore by 5pm. That would be great so I could have dinner with my wife, one of my key goals in addition to making this long ride over the weekend. It is always good to have goals on these rides, otherwise you will likely stop, get in a taxi and go home….which tempts many.  Today should be fairly easy as we only had 200km to go….so we thought.  (flashbacks from 2009?)

JF was wearing his natural smile at the beginning of the day.  He knew the pressure was on him after the debacle from last year.  Last year we were supposed to have only 180km on the second day and when we rode 15km and saw a sign that said ‘Johor Bahru – 205km’ we wanted to kill him…well at least Brian, Lundy, and I did…and I am sure there were others.  Add another 20km into Singapore and that was and extra 60km…which is a lot when you have done 435km so far and are tired and sore.  Plus who wants a 10% bonus on a 600km ride?

Anyhow we pulled out on this day from a new hotel where JF guestimated that we had approximately 205km to the border…it was 211km so he is getting better.  Anyhow we had already done 422km during the first day and we all were still in pretty decent condition.

Of course being in decent condition is a temporary thing on these rides.  Anybody who has done AUDAX rides before knows that you can be feeling great one moment, and then feel dead almost the next.  JF, who is very particular about the food he eats, knows this better than anybody. So whilst he refuses to eat the devilish Pizza Hut or KFC, he worked hard to eat enough to keep him going for the rest of the ride.   As you can see from above, JF should have had a few slices of pizza!

This petrol station where JF was napping was actually kind of funny.  There was a huge group of young guys that came ‘roaring’ in on these small motor bikes, each looking at JF as if he were dead, and they were acting like they were a bike gang.   Daniel and I were wondering if this was the local version of Hells Angels.   It was hilarious to see them revving up the engines on these bikes to impress the pretty girls who pumped the gas.  I actually think the girls were more impressed with JF and his dead impression. 

With the exception of the super hot and windy period we had on the first day,  the weather was actually very cooperative.  It was overcast on the rolling hills out of Mersing where JF, Khina and OK dropped Daniel and I.  JF loves that.  Anyhow Daniel and I were keeping our sensible steady pace to ensure we never looked like JF did in the photo above   Dawgman was behind us in search of dogs, elephants or other animals…once again reinforcing the All-for-One policy of this ride.  The rain started to come in which was refreshing at first. 

Unfortunately refreshing took a turn for the worst and the rain became hard and pounding in a matter of minutes.  The thing with the drivers in Malaysia is that apparently they look at rain as an added challenge, rather than slowing down, they keep driving insane speeds shooting huge waves of water over tired and good cyclists like us.

We persevered.  Similar to last year, we had the same number of starters as finishers.  This is truly amazing as this ride pushes all riders to their limits and is very challenging to do both mentally and physically.  The ride ended at the other side of the Singapore border where we all went our separate ways.  I hopped in a taxi to get home at a reasonable time for dinner only to learn later that Daniel (who lives in my condo) beat me home by cycling -  huge traffic accident had my taxi ride last almost an hour.  JF’s wife picked him up at the Kranji MRT station while I waited in the taxi line for a taxi with all the drunks who just finished watching the horse races at the Singapore Turf Club.  They were cool, but they smelled like beer and I wanted a beer to celebrate our ride…and fast.  Nothing came fast that weekend.

I headed out to Cafe Iguana in Singapore with Kim and Daniel to celebrate the ride.  Similar to other long rides, I had more hope than energy and I quickly ate, had a celebratory beer, and decided it was bed time.

I was super impressed by the riders.  Four were first timers for the 600km, and this ride is hard for all, so it was great to see us all start and finish together, with a whole bunch of interesting moments in between.  Thank you all.  Looking forward to starting 2011 Paris Brest Paris with all of you.

JF, thank you for organizing another epic AUDAX ride.

I was having an interesting discussion with a friend yesterday and we had a differing view of a cycling issue.  Everybody knows the concept of getting ‘dropped’ when you go on a group ride however we were discussing how many times it is possible to get dropped when you do a single ride.  Yesterday for example….a group of six headed into the final stretch of a round-the-island (RTI) ride onto Changi Coast Road.  The group quickly became a group of four as two of the riders just could not keep up with the pace of the stronger riders.    Being gentlemen, the Strong Four waited for the weaker fellows at SAFRA golf course to join the group for the last bit down East Coast Service Road.  Once again the two riders fell off the main group, not once, but twice, before hitting the ending point of Fort Road.  So the question is, did the riders get dropped multiple times, or is it a single phenomenon that can only happen once during a ride?

This weekend’s RTI was destined to be a good one….especially after the horrible experience we had last weekend (4 flats, 2 ripped tires).  We had seven riders to start only losing the IT Marine who was AWOL.  We met up at the base of Mt. Faber and started the ride at 0630 Saturday morning.  The first bit was easy as were were able to sit behind a massive group and keep a nice pace of 37km/hour with minimal effort.  We coasted all the way to West Coast and then decided to power ahead of this big group….only to be stopped in 500 meters with our first and only mechanical of the day.  The Kolpak Bar Assist was deployed so we had to stop and fix this before carrying on…this was welcomed by the weaker riders for sure.

After fixing this issue we headed back out and quickly hammered out the rest of West Coast Highway.  As per usual, we hit Kranji runway and the speed picked up considerably….I snapped this photo from the finish line of the guys approaching me.

We stopped at the usual drink station on the other side of Kranji to refuel for the remainder of the trip.

Lee, David, Nicolas and Warren at Kranji Drink Stop

At the drink stop we were discussing which route to take:  Sembawang with its rolling hills, or Mandai.  Lee was keen on Mandai where he had a dream that he dropped me last week on the ‘hills’ there.  So we decided to take Mandai and test out this theory.  I was on the front and I was very keen to make sure that no Pinarello Sky Dogmas passed me on this road….this was easy I thought. I knew I was putting out a decent pace but there were no challenges,nothing…I quickly learned the reason was because we had dropped Lee even before hitting Mandai!  Now he has mentioned something about a train crossing however I have never seen a train at that railway crossing in the 12 years I have lived here…..anyhow I will be honest and give him the benefit of the doubt that he was waiting for a train.  After Lee and Warren rejoined the group we headed down the road on the way to Seletar.

Lance on Mt. Loyang?

Mt. Loyang is a small hill but there were rumours that Lee would launch a devastating attack there to punish the group.  Lee, who fancies himself as a climber, has been virtually training at home and was confident he would win the day with this attack.  We started up Mt. Loyang at a fairly easy pace as the peleton was on edge waiting for this attack…with only 200 meters to go, there was still no attack.  With the peloton stalled in confusion, I decided it was time to punish Lee who had been very active on the blogs, email and Facebook all week (see below some comments from Facebook).  With a powerful surge, I darted ahead, turned and gave a long, slow Lance-like stare to Lee as I shot by him, and noticed that ‘agony of defeat’ look across his face.  He had no chance and most painfully he knew it. 

We headed to Changi Village for a drink refill and the next challenge ahead was the Changi Coast Road- a place where many groups part ways based on skill, strength and pure power.  After a brutal showing on Mt Loyang, I was sure that Lee was going to try to redeem himself on Changi by ‘putting the hammer down’.  And this is really where the question at the top was talked about.

The six of us headed off towards Changi Road at a nice pace. I pulled David Pan aside and told him that we should launch an attack at the traffic light and he laughed and said ok.  So we started the main road and took turns on the front at a respectable 35-40km/hour.  We quickly passed Kim and her group who were doing a slower ride and had left Changi Village before us.  After a couple of kilometers I was on the front and then out of nowhere David Pan flies by at 50+km/hour and says’ come on Jeff’.  Now first I was tired from being on the front, second that was not the traffic light, and third there was no way that he would keep that pace up on his own for the rest of the road which was probably 5km to go.  While I initially tried to latch on I could not and neither could anybody behind me.  After 100 meters or so when David tired out we regrouped as a group of six once again.  It was not long that group became a group of four as the strongest riders quickly upped the tempo to a 40-45km/hour pace.  Saxo Bank and DP could simply not risk their Bintan legs to keep up and decided to slow down a bit.  Later that day when Kim arrived home she said ‘What was wrong with Lee, we almost caught him?’  Anyhow Nicolas, Warren, Kolpak and I hammered out the rest of the road and then waited for the others at SAFRA golf course.

Lee and David Pan rejoining the group at SAFRA

So back to the question…there was no doubt that Lee and DP were shot out the back and dropped on Changi Coast Road.  We waited like good buddies and nice cyclists (Blackhawks welcome) and then started back down East Coast Service Road.  Once again Nicolas said ‘they are off the back’ as we headed 4km or so down the road.  Once again we stopped and waited to make sure they were ok.  Lee had said that he was dropping back to help David out.  David, who was sick, rode an awesome ride given how much he was coughing.

Lee and DP rejoining the group II.

The two riders approaching were actually a young Chinese couple…Lee and DP were the next riders but by that time I had put my camera away.  Anyhow we once again regrouped not to look back until the end at Fort Road.  We rode out the final kilometers and upon arrival at Fort Road realized that Lee and DP were gone.  The core group kept on riding and I turned off to go home as I had a lot of things to do and really could not wait much longer.

So the question is…how many times did Lee get dropped? Once or many times?  Not that it really matters but I just want to make sure I know for the next time….

I was by myself today so I decided to try the infamous Lundy self photo when I reached Phangnha Bay (where James Bond Island is)…Today my bike was in full tuned up condition so I decided to get an early start and left Surin Beach at 0630.  It was an absolutely perfect day to ride and it really did not start to get hot until 0930 this morning.

After this quick stop at Phangnha Bay I started the way back to the main highway over the last 25km of rolling hills.  I hit the highway, stopped at the regular drink stop, grabbed whatever looked edible that was not potato chips (see below), then made my way down the highway for the last 40km.  This section of the ride is normally quite easy but sometimes you can get caught off by the heat or wind.

This is what I ate, and it really provided lots of energy for 5-6km.  Anyhow it was windy on the way back so I knew it would be harder than usual getting home, especially since I was on my own.  At exactly 100km, I was trying to shift into an easier gear when my Campagnolo Ergo Grip broke…and I was in the smallest cog at the back.  So even though my front was shifting, the back was not and that was when all the fun started!

 Anybody who rides with this shifter knows that the part that pushes your rear derailleur is gone! (well in my pocket)..it fell off in my hand, right when I really wanted to shift into easier gears.  Anyhow, I suffered in big gears for the next 24km until I hit Thalang bike shop…lucky for me they were open, and they actually said they had a set of new Campagnolo Ergo Shifters….sweet.  So I sat for 1.5 hours while they fixed my new shifters to my bike….need to go tomorrow to pay the guy as I did not have 12000 Baht on me. After my bike was fixed I rode the final 12km home and just ordered two orders of beef fried rice:  one for me, and the other in case I am hungry still…which I was. Off to get a massage and a nap.

Before this happened it was a perfect day.

Well I woke up at 430 today to build my bike and go for a nice long ride…it was then when I realized that when you don’t use a bike for three plus months in a humid climate that your cables can seize up the way my back brake cable did.  I only know a couple of bike shops in Phuket and none of them are open before noon…so it looks like today’s cycling is shot. 

So instead of cycling I had my healthy cycling breakfast and then went for a walk down Surin Beach. It was by far the quietest day I have ever seen on the beach and a really nice day to use the panoramic feature on my Sony TX5 camera.  After a walk on the beach I realized that my healthy cycling breakfast was not that filling so I went to the Surin Bay Inn for a nice bacon and egg sandwich

I arrived last night for a 5 (now 4) day cycling trip.  In a couple of days Kim and Lee will be joining me and apparently there are a few ‘good riders’ already up here that Kim knows….should be a fun trip.  So now I am waiting here at my condo for the bike shop to open…I did however manage to build Kim’s bike which looks completely fine….

Ok so enough of the panoramic feature….the plan is now to go to the bike shop and then head back to Catch for a little lunch before catching NAP 2 this afternoon.

Well our 2010 trip to ICC was an amazing one. We had a big group from Singapore and a number of people from the USA which formed an excellent cycling and social group. It was a trip of many excesses:  we rode to excess, ate food to access, some ate ice cream and Haribo to excess, and somehow I came home with 5 excess pounds that I did not leave Singapore with.  Pretty hard to imagine gaining 5 pounds despite riding more than 700 kilometers and climbing (at a blistering pace) more than 9000 meters.  We learned a lot of new things about a Campaign of Lies from George, what tier 1 capital ratios are, what Haribo is (candy of various types under the Haribo umbrella, eaten by cyclists and Lee), how hard Monte Grappa is to climb and how to give the perfect ‘Lance Armstrong’ look when you hammer past someone on a climb.  Above Kate is giving that look to Lee, who somehow got dropped from the last ride (again).

While there were many changes, some things did not change. We had exciting rides with Leopoldo (well exciting for some, excruciating for others), we had great food, great wine, great TDF viewing and great experiences with George, the fellow who runs the ICC. While still appearing to be grumpy at times, George still possesses a great spirit and some comedic ideas like his ‘Campaign of Lies’ theory with respect to big software companies.  George noted the increase in the decibels level during each of the meals (with the addition of people from the UK, Ireland, HK and Czech Republic) and noted how peaceful it was when they departed one-by-one.  George also repeated the need for ‘proper gearing’ for Italy and was skeptical when he saw the group show up with full sized cranks to attack the Monte Grappa climb. While most of us (except Damian) never were able to try the Pinarello  Granfondo climb, he was probably correct…next year is a compact crank for sure!  Ivo did a great job delivering cappuccinos to everybody (except Gareth who insisted, to Ivo’s chagrin, on caffe lattes)……and his eggs were delicious as usual.  Carmen delivered great food daily and was under perfect composure almost the entire time during our wine fueled dinner debates/discussions.

It was great to see Pat, Leopoldo, Ava and John Luca (the new guy) all leading the rides based on skill level – although I think we had to re-assess some of the riders after Croce D’Aune. (see below)

This was our third trip to the ICC and we will be back…with a compact crank for sure.
Anybody else in?

Damian? (giving the Lance Look – aka ‘Where’s Lee’ look)

Luci and Andrew?

Kim?

Mike and Gareth?

Colleen & Ernest?

Mr. Haribo (aka Lee)?

 

Ed (Lee II) and Kate?

Keith?

Thanks George for another great year!

We started up the climb which was a narrower road and immediately was on 9% gradient.  The beginning was mostly switchbacks and for the first six turns (of a total 28) were all above 9, 10 or 11% gradients (read hard on my tired legs)….my breathing was very heavy as I churned away in  my gears pressing up the hill.  Similar to Kim the day before, I was checking my Garmin very often to see how much of the 19km I was getting rid of…the only problem was that it was going so slow and  I found I was looking at this thing every 100 meters or so…..on I pressed.  I was closely paying attention to the distance as I was dying to have another gel despite just finishing a big breakfast less than one hour ago. I was using tons of energy.  9, 10, 11% I was wondering where the smoother parts were.   I finally hit a small flatish area that seemed to run less than a kilometer.  I sped along trying to get ride of distance as fast as possible to be hit by sections of 12-15% gradient….even harder.  I started readjusting my gel sequencing figuring that if I did not take more sooner I would not make it to the 17.4km or further distance….I had to survive.  My legs were absolutely shattered from the previous days climb and all the riding already completed during the past week.

I finally crossed the 10km mark on my Garmin, which meant I still had more than 11km to go (19km climb plus 2.4km from ICC)….only three gels left I thought….I had better take one now before I blow up.  I started thinking about other things to eat like grass or whatever because I was using energy faster than ever before.  Now after 12.5km,  I had only two gels…..must make it to the top I kept thinking.   I was dying slowly on this climb breathing massively heavy and sweating like crazy….and started to get cold due to the elevation.  There was a section of 15% that seemed to go on forever.  I finally reached the second small decline of this climb which actually was a bit long…well longer than the first flat section but not really that long….I was reading all the signs on the side of the road to see if they would go faster than the count on my Garmin…unfortunately they did not. I stopped briefly in a cow field thinking about the possibility that I may spend a long time, potentially forever, here in this cow patch.  Onward I went with the goal of reaching the part where this climb intersects the less-hard route I did the day before.   I finally saw the intersection point and it was hellishly steep to reach that point…..press on I told myself…press on.

I reached the final 1km, knowing that my supportive friends who were able to beat me up the climb would be there to offer help and encouragement to get me across the line.  I was staring down at my Garmin without seeing it and looking directly at the road…I had no energy to look up at all.  I heard some noises up top so I knew I must be close.   When I finally rounded the top I put my bike alongside the restaurant, my friends cheered, or jeered, I am not sure, as I approached the counter in the cafeteria.  I muttered the words ‘cappuccino’, and pointed to a strudel as I was too weak to speak anymore.  I started to think about where to sit…I saw an empty seat at the table outside or there were many inside…go out, be social I thought.  I started to walk with my coffee and strudel, only to start trembling…I was sweating like crazy and freezing all at the same time….I almost dropped my strudel and coffee….alas I heard noises from the table….it was Lee…I thought he was offering some words of encouragement and a helping hand, when really he was laughing and getting a camera to snap a photo of me in a rare moment of weakness.  Strange I thought, only a day before I had greeted him with a coffee upon his late arrival at the top, and only a few days before I had dragged him more than 60km to safety after his implosion on a Leopoldo ride.  Anyhow I finally made it to the table and was able to sit with my strudel and coffee…still incoherent whilst sitting with the group. I have no clue what was happening…only 19km with 5 gels and I thought I was going to die.   I was freezing and sweating and then thinking about the long 27km descent I still had to do. 

This was my only picture of the day. Despite the climb being somewhat scenic with nice road markings for the Giro, I could not think about photos…survival was my key thought.

After making the descent, we headed back to ICC while Damian, Lee and Gareth went to Bassano for lunch and to watch the summit finish on the Tourlamet.  We planned on going over after lunch to join them.  An easy ride…well after cleaning up a bit and getting into my civilian clothes, I really thought about how much I did not want to ride…I hated my bike, and I am sure I could not get my leg over it despite the ride was going to be very easy.  ‘how about a taxi?’ I suggested to the group…they agreed and I was relieved.  When we arrived at the usual pub in Bassano I had to prop myself up against the freezer as I was afraid I would have fallen off my chair…I was totally dead.  Everybody has a weak day sometime and this was mine…I was shattered and I was taking an easy or no ride on our final day on Friday at ICC.   This was the hardest ride I have done in my life.  I think I almost cried…maybe I did. 

Well since the long course of the Gran Fondo was cancelled due to weather and course blocks on Monte Grappa, the group was keen to tackle this mountain before heading back to our respective homes.  This climb is very tough and many visitors to ICC never do it, while some do it as one of the major challenges of their trips.  Today we had a big group of people attempting the climb:  Colleen, Kim, Andrew, Lee, Damian, Ernest, Mike, Gareth and I.  This would be fun.

The route we were taking today was 27km, one of the longer but easier routes up the mountain.  The word easy is probably inappropriate, whereas less-hard is probably more fitting.  Whilst this was not the hardest way up the mountain, it was still hard.  The views along the way up and down are amazing.  I could not remember the entire route as I had only descended it before and that was more than two years ago.

Throughout the course of the trip we had been making a number of jokes about giving the ‘Lance look’ after Mike deployed that on the team at the Pinarello Gran Fondo.  Well while Mike decided to use it on an easy climb in the race, Kim decided to use it on the much more appropriate climb on Monte Grappa.  The look is meant to intimidate riders as you pass them up a  climb, especially a steep climb like Monte Grappa.

The top of Monte Grappa has a wonderful café where all of us had coffee and snacks while we waited for the gang to complete the climb. 

We waited at the top and decided to head back to ICC for lunch after Kim arrived…well actually we thought she was not coming all the way so we met her on the way down.  Lucky me, I got to ride the last 2.5km up to the climb again after should would not capitulate… and then we descended together.  Good for Kim!  We met up with the rest of the group for a well deserved lunch.    Later that day, after wine no doubt, people decided to try a harder route up Monte Grappa again the next day….the route that was used during the GIRO this year.   I am not sure why they would want to do this, especially as I was starting to tire after no rest days and some hard riding in the Granfondo…none the less, we would do it! 

Kim on the descent of Grappa. (Monte Grappa that is)

Tomorrow the route we would take is 19km to the top….and much harder.  It is apparently the 12th or 13th hardest climb in Italy.

Today Keith lead us on a nice climbing ride to a village called Enego while the rest of the group went to Passo Rolle, a nice climb in the Dolomites.  We started by doing 30km of rolling hills before hitting the base of the climb which would take us up more than 1000 meters of climbing to a nice resting stop for coffee. Luci was keen to take on the challenge and was keen to secure the Queen of the Moutains title for this climb. Luci overtaking and dropping Kim with 8km to go finished the climb taking QOM!  Great job.

At the top of this climb we had stopped at a nice village for drinks and food.  It was 11am and we decided to descend the same way in order to make it back to ICC for lunch.  Lunch at ICC is very good and part of the reason I gained five pounds last week, despite riding every day (IE. no rest days).  Actually, all the food at the ICC and in Italy in general was good, so I guess I am lucky it was not ten pounds.  Of course with all meals, minus breakfast, the red wine is served and it is very good.  Here is George enjoying a bit of red with lunch in his flamboyant cycling jersey.

Kim was sad to lose the QOM competition on this climb but happy to see a couple of dogs and have cappuccino at the top.

When the ride was over, we hooked up with the other group for more TDF viewing in Bassano.  It was supposed to be a calm day after the ride because tomorrow we would be conquering Monte Grappa, one of the toughest climbs in Italy.  I had done Monte Grappa in 2008 but focused more on drinking Grappa in 2009 rather than putting myself through pain again…this year we would do it at least once…and most likely more.  We spent a few hours at the pub in Bassano enjoying the TDF before making our way back to ICC.  Feeling sad about the tremendous failure of his fantasy TDF team, Lee had a hard time putting on his shoes after the beer session, before Damian lent him a helping hand.  This brings back memories of the Greaves Squeaky Shoe…..a cycling diversion tool.

After an afternoon of TDF viewing and beer sampling, Lee decided to put the hammer down for the first and only time during the trip.  The 27km/hour pace almost prevented me from taking photos along the way. 

Tomorrow we will be attacking Monte Grappa……this is my first time approaching this climb from the planned route.  I have descended this way before and remember it being very steep.

I had done this climb before and it was harder than I remembered…it could be because we had just finished the Granfondo the day before or it could be that some of my new five pounds of weight from this trip had already started to join me.   This climb has amazing views all the way up so I decided to pace myself to enable photo taking along the way.

After regrouping at the top we pushed onto a place called Conco; home of the best almond cookies in town.  Along the way I was hit by a barrage of requests from Damian and Mike who seemed to want every type of cookie except almond cookies.  From the first stop to the top of the mountain in Conco we pressed on to reach the almond cookie mecca.  By the time I had arrived, which was just a minute or a few after Damian did, I learned that they had no almond cookies left at all.  That may be fine if you drove a car up these two climbs but after 17km of climbing on a bike for almond cookies it would have been nice to have one. I had planned to buy Lee I an almond cookie and bring it back to him as he could not make the ride due to Kindle related issues.

Bottom of the descent from Conco

After all the climbing we had a nice 18km descent to Bassano where we started a search for a nice pub where we could watch the Tour de France on TV.  It was all part of the plans, cycle all morning, then watch the TDF all afternoon.  While the cycling in Italy is amazing, the adoption of good flat paneled TV sets is less amazing. Most places had no TVs, small CRT TVs, small computer screens, etc.   We finally found a place that had 1. a TV, 2. beer, 3. TDF on that TV.  This was a great little place in Bassano which we returned to on a number of occasions throughout our trip.

After a few days at this place, we developed a good relationship with the staff.  (check out that flat panel TV!)

Tomorrow the newcomers would head to Passo Rolle in the Dolomites while the ICC veterans would do a nice climb to Enego.  It’s all good.