"Lifers" on the loose

A training weekend in Sheffield was planned by the Tour de Force. This was very well organised by Tracy and Phil who clearly have arranged a few similar events before. This weekend was a great opportunity for riders to meet the people they will be spending a lot of time with later this year and to meet Johnny Wates - William's brother. It also gave the riders a chance to assess their fitness against that of the others.

The weekend was hosted by La Strada cycling club based at Nonna's Restaurant in Sheffield. The TdF riders met up with La Strada cyclists for superb Italian coffee and brilliant cakes at the restaurant on Saturday morning before doing some testing extended climbs through the local hills.  Martin a "lifer" (meaning he has signed up for the whole tour) missed the entire first day as his electronic gears packed up and could not be fixed - he bought a new bike in order to join the ride on the Sunday. It just goes to show that sometimes it is better to be a bit behind on modern developments.

 

The weather was still cold as it has been for most of the last year but it was brilliantly sunny for a change. As the cyclists eased their way out of Sheffield on Saturday one or two of the local hosts ribbed the boys form the flatlands on how they would cope with hills, but they stopped smiling on the ascents where the Norfolk boys really showed the training benefits of cycling into the wind. On the descents however it was a completely different story and the flatlanders were no real contest. The experienced descenders romped away about 20% faster, clocking up speeds of 60kph, this was far too fast for nervy Nick who could only manage 50kph as he hung onto the brake handles, gripping for dear life!

Sunday was a great opportunity for back-to-back rides to toughen up the bum and with some climbs too, to toughen up the legs. Some roads we still impassable due to deep snow which limited the views at times too. The riders all made it back to Nonna's restaurant in time to catch the end of the Paris-Roubaix race, before dispersing to various parts of the country.