The final day! Only 94km to go to the finish and we are done! There is an air of elation in the camp and everyone is excited to be so close to the finish. At the briefing last night we were told there would be a stiff headwind for the first half of the ride. Today, Chris will 'unleash the dogs of war' and see what he can do. I will hang on for as long as I can and finish as strongly as I am able. Mascot 'Gordon the Rat' observes the whole thing from my helmet.
We set off in a big group and the pace is steady and I hide in the pack. I am happy to be hiding out of the wind. Chris bides his time and waits until the hills come and it gets a bit harder. Which of course it does. This is Portugal after all. We start climbing up to a wind farm and the hammer is starting to go down. I'm still just about hanging on. The climbs are not that big, only 100-200m but they are punchy and the accumulated fatigue is showing. Some people get off and walk.
Eventually the elastic snaps when Chris gives it full afterburner and drops just about everybody. I don't see him again till the finish line. I slog on and keep going at the max my body can do.
Suddenly the finish line is on the horizon at the lighthouse and Chris rides back to accompany me to the line. At this stage, I am frazzled and emotional and when I cross the line I finally blow. I face a wall and sob. It is really, really weird and I couldn't care less. I don't know where this is coming from but I feel everything coming apart and blub like a baby. I give Chris a hug and this sets him off too. There's a lot of this going on but most hold it together.
Eventually, I relax and can enjoy the sensation of having finished one of the hardest things I have ever done. I tell Chris he has my permission to shoot me if I ever suggest doing this again. There is a party atmosphere at the lighthouse with a band and a bar. Try re-hydrating on gin & tonic...it is a fantastic feeling!
We soak up the atmosphere and celebrate ourselves and the finish. At this stage, I don't realize how well Chris has done on the stage. Eventually, we find out that he has finished 7th on the day. What a result! I rock up 23rd which I am amazed by.
We eventually wend our way to the hotel and have to face the pain of packing our bikes away ourselves.
Every evening this week, I have gotten off the bike and handed it to a man who takes it from me and when I see it again the next morning, it is like new. These mechanics and masseurs take such good care of us and our kit that the challenge of slogging the length of Portugal mostly off road in 8 days became possible for us.
The race briefing last night warned us that today is a tough day with 3 back-to-back climbs at the end. Suitably chastened, we resolve to take it easy for the early part of the stage and reserve energy for them.
The early part of the stage is through rolling cereal fields and parched pasture. It all looks very relaxing and we get into a group to work together and try to save energy.
Then disaster.....Chris punctures and the group continues. He pumps the wheel and tries to get the tyre sealant to fix the hole and we continue for another few hundred meters. It goes flat again so he puts more sealant in and tries again. We get going for another few hundred meters but it's no use. He has to put a tube in so we stop again. Then it turns out his spare tube has a puncture! A stream of people pass us including those we regard as the 'slower' group. FFS! I give him my spare tube and we get going. We have lost about 25 minutes.
A red mist descends on Chris and his inner cyborg takes over. He winds the pace up and up again. It is all I can do for the next hour to hang on to his wheel. We blast past people who get a bit of a shock to see the blue WEC train go past. We catch up and pass some of the people who passed us when we were mending the puncture.
I am beginning to flag at this point. The high pace has taken its toll and I am struggling on some of the steeper climbs. Chris is different to me and tries to help by offering advice. He does his best to encourage me by advising me how to pedal my bike. This of course goes down like a bucket of cold sick. I deal with problems like this by retreating into myself and gritting my teeth. We have words and Chris backs off and waits for me at the top of each hill.
I am buggered....as they say in cycling terms, I have 'lit too many matches'. I need to back off and recover. Chris on the other hand is flying. He could easily take off and make time up but sticks with me.
Eventually, we start to hit the final climbs and are they hot and steep. The route takes us through some bushes and my tiny Insta360 GO camera is ripped off the bike. I don't see it at the time but notice the loss later. There is no chance of finding it again so I chalk that one up to loss of the video and photos for the day. That's the thing that bothers me the most.
On the last climb, I tell Chris to go on and make up time but he doesn't. I know I can make it to the end but just not at the pace he can, so I encourage him to take off a few more times. Eventually he agrees to go at the end of the climb and flies off.
My tank is empty and I limp to the finish. It is hot but thankfully nearly all downhill for the last 7k which is a relief. The finish line could not come quickly enough for me. Even small hills just before the finish are a challenge. Overall, I think we got back about 15-20 of the lost minutes but the burn to catch up those lost minutes because of the puncture blew my legs. Chris finished 8 minutes ahead of me and got that all in the final descent. Flying!
Despite all that, we move up the leader board again to 21/22! Only one day to go and I convince Chris that tomorrow he must ride for a strong finish and himself. I resolve to hang on as long as I can and see what happens. After all, it is the last day and if ever the tank can be completely emptied, that is the day to do it. Pity there doesn't seem to be anything in mine anymore;-) And another result! Another competitor has picked up my camera and reunites me with it! Woop!
The mercury is rising....28c at the start and this boy knows he is in trouble. The forecast is to rise to 34c in the afternoon, The Irish Committee sit and discuss strategies for dealing with the heat and the advice from other half of the committee (Paul Birchell...bloody fast rider!) is to 'keep going'. Thanks :-) People are waiting for their start time taking advantage of any piece of shade they can.
Today is billed as a recovery day of only 101km with only 1000m of climbing. We are quite a long way south now and so the countryside is looking quite different. Lots of agriculture and orchards and dust. We are all going quite well considering the length of the stage yesterday, Maybe it is the relative shortness and flatness of the stage, but I am glad to take the 'rest'.
Chris is still full of beans and going like a train, I am still going OK but beginning to see some cracks. Towards the end of the stage, we break away from our group and try to stretch out a gap. I confess, it feels good to have this much confidence this late in the race. We have been moving steadily up the rankings and today start about 28th and are beginning to believe the hype. The organizers have commented that they didn't expect to see us showing so well :-) Ha!
Near the end of the stage, Chris eventually puts the hammer down and stretches the elastic with a guy we have caught and I give him my blessing to light the afterburners. We both eat Chris's dust. There is about a kilometre to go, I think, and in that time he puts 25 seconds into me. He is at least part human anyhow.
At the finish, there is a hose and all I can think about is getting myself sprayed down to cool off and Chris obliges. The photo crew are interested in this little man on man hot shower action and a little bit of it makes it into the video of the day.
Eventually, I discover there is a better way to cool down and make it to the pool.
The long hot one...and finally back to Lisbon level. At the briefing last night, they told us to make sure we stayed hydrated as it is going to be a long day at the office. We also heard quietly from the organizer that there is a nasty narrow descent at the 20k mark which a lot of people will find very challenging so best be at the front of the group rather than get held up.
Chris & I need no encouragement to hit the front at 18k to avoid the carnage and so get ourselves a nice little gap which we build on throughout the day. I have to keep restraining Chris's impulse to chase everything in front of us. He is a machine!
We get ourselves into a small group of 3 with a Norwegian guy and crank out the kilometres and share the work cycling into the headwind. Although the wind slows us down, it keeps me cool and avoids my own personal China syndrome for this day.
Our Norwegian buddy punctures and we decide to stop and help him fix it as 3 of us working together into the wind is working very well. I guess we only loose 5-6 minutes fixing it but will easily save that in time working together.
The scenery rolls past and to be honest, I don't really remember much of it, blue skies, brown earth, white houses, saddle with an arse on it in front, shovelling food and water in as fast as I can....and repeat.
With about 70k to the finish, we catch the fast group from our starting time. These are the guys who take off every morning at race pace from the gun. Chris has a small dose of red mist and charges off to try and drop them. Lunatic. I convince him to drop back into the group and work together till we are much closer to the finish. Sanity restored, we save our energy for the later stages. If we had tried to drop them, they would only have stayed on our wheels and had a free ride to the end. At least this way, we get more rest and shelter riding in a bigger group.
The group holds together till nearly the end and we suddenly come upon the finish. I have never been gladder to grab a beer, from the little bar near the finish line. Aptly, the beer brand is 'Sagres', which is where the finish line on stage 8 is. An omen?
This is the day we had all worried a little more about. But nine hours and three minutes in the saddle and we have done it. 5 days done out of 8 and we are beginning to think we might well finish.
We went well today and have come in a very creditable 21st position on the stage. This is the point in the race when we will see whether the strategy of saving energy on the early stages pays dividends. Chris is showing no sign of slowing down and seems full of energy.
The routine every morning is now established. Up early for breakfast and eat as much as you can stuff into your face. Then back to the room to pack up everything you own into the official race bag supplied by the organizers. If it is not in the bag, you have to carry it or it doesn't travel. If you accidentally pack something in the bag which you then realize you need for the race, than god help you find it. This poor chap is having a bit of a problem finding his in the pile outside the hotel.
Today is billed as the recovery stage after the efforts to climb the mountain yesterday. Some people have a weird view of what 'recovery' is. The descent off the mountain top for the first 20K is pretty hectic. The first couple of K are very fast on road and then we turn right onto the gravel.
Leg muscles are cold and have been in static tension for 30 minutes which is not what I would call a good 'warm up'. A fast twisty gravel track with a couple of surprise uphill sections with the occasional hair-pin is exhilarating but slightly scary. A tumble at this speed could put you out of the game but....it is fun. One Prong is mostly out of sight and grinning like the proverbial cat with brain fully detached. I am holding back trying to be sensible. Chris says I am 'no fun and boring'....
In a short stage of only 85k, they manage to pack in a lot of really good riding. One particular delight is the 'roman cobbles'. Only these are not those 4 inch square pretty things you see in towns. Think more like 12 to 24 inch boulders. Riding down these will shake the teeth out of your head and test the suspension of any bike. Chris of course is flying down and waiting to take lots of cool pictures of me being a hero and encourages me to keep going past him so he can film. Pity he doesn't press the start button...otherwise I would be able to present evidence of my triple backflip...
Today is the day we were all told was the big one and probably the hardest stage in the race. I have to say I am quite apprehensive about the big climbs especially if it gets hot. Luckily, the weather gods are on my side again today and supply cloud and and lower temperatures for me. We don our WEC team jerseys and set off for the start.
The profile of the course is relatively easy for the first half and then hits two hard climbs and the stage finishes at the top of a mountain, We have been warned to save energy for the last climb as it is a bugger. The third stage is one of the shortest at 97k but takes a long time to finish. We are expecting to take over 7 hours.
Chris does some last minute body fettling at the start and then we are off. A nice rolling start and we try to reserve energy for the end of the day which we have been warned will be tough.
Some cracking riding through sandy terrain with only smaller hills in the first part of the day. The sun is starting to show itself and though warm it is not a problem. I thank my lucky stars that it is cooler than normal.
We hit the first big climb and start grinding away at it and pick up some of the guys that charged off earlier that day. The plan to keep a steady pace rather than go hard is beginning to pay dividends.
The riding is great and scenery magnificent. More than once, I think how I would like to ride this at a relaxed pace and take a better look around. Looking at the arse on a saddle in front of you gets a bit dull after a while.
The finish line is over the top of that mountain in the distance in this pic. Just at the end of the stage as we are coming to the finish, Chris makes a silly schoolboy error and sits up before the finish line - and drops back 10 seconds.....that will would be the last time he does that :-)
We finish at what is (the only?) one of Portugal's ski stations. Not sure it will be on my list of places to spend a season but is a welcome spot this evening for some very tired bikes! I am glad to hand the bike over to the mechanics and not be bothered with cleaning and lubricating it.
We set off from Peso Da Régua with the goal of taking it as easy as possible. We got a little too frisky at the finish yesterday and let the red mist get in the way of saving our legs for the big stage on day 3. Day 2 was described at the briefing as a ‘true grit’ stage, one where you just have to keep going, so we decide that is what we will do.
The day starts with a bit of a monster climb of about 1000 m straight up from the valley floor to the top of the mountain with fantastic views of the Douro Valley and all the vineyards either side. The climb starts off on the road and is initially quite steady but then it kicks up with sections of over 20% gradient. Everybody is in the bottom gear grinding away dripping sweat. I will never mock anyone with a 52 tooth dinner plate as their lowest gear again as it has become my new best friend.
The middle section becomes very technical and hard to ride and pretty much most people apart from the top five or 10 riders get off and push. Over the top and past a forest of wind turbines, the terrain becomes more flowing and the pace picks up with nice riding into a cool headwind. The terrain could be anywhere in the north of England but is a lot warmer.
We have to cross a few rivers but luckily they have these handy stepping stones so you don't have to get your feet wet. They are not to everyone's taste and we get stuck behind a lady who seems quite scared of the whole thing.
We had been warned that the last three climbs of the day were very hard and that we should save some energy for those. We try our best to not ‘burn any matches’ as they say and to keep our effort under control. When we get to the last climbs they are utterly brutal - get-off-the-bike-and-push brutal in places. I don’t like to get off the bike but it is quicker to walk that it is to pedal.
About 6k from the end, we are in a group of 5 and the red mist descends again. What was supposed to be a nice warm down becomes a hell for leather chase to the finish line. Chris takes umbrage at a Mexican guy who is looking to jump the group and claim the glory so the after burners are lit and a new max heart rate registered. We are all left in his dust.
A good day's riding and we move up the leaderboard a place. That should be a good thing but it is making me nervous as I have no clue about stage race pacing. The weather gods have been very kind to me again today with a cool 22C, overcast skies and even a little drizzle over the top of the mountain. Long may it continue as this boy can’t function in the heat. It is promising to get to mid 30s down south later in the week. Eek!
Today I have my little Insta 360 mini video camera working so I manage to take some shots throughout the day. Some day soon I will edit that stuff together and add it to this blog but for now will have to deal with stills grabbed from the clips. I just don’t have the time to edit the footage at the moment.
First day nerves have us up at the crack of dawn. I slept very badly and think I only got about 3-4 hours. The air conditioning in the room was on the blink and the room was like a furnace. My mind was doing that thing where is flits from idea to idea and I could not get the bloody thing to shut down. I was not fretting about the race explicitly but I'm sure that must have been at the root of it. Or maybe it was the the huge pile of food I stuffed myself with last night. Either way, I am slightly groggy on race morning.
Today's stage was advertised to us as the 'easy opener' so we are feeling semi confident. We have analysed the profile and done some fag-packet calculations and figured out it would be like a good day in the Surrey hills. Lots of times up Box Hill but nothing drastic.109 km with 1800m of climbing. The plan is to take it easy and ride conservatively. All the climbing will be done by 74k and it will be an easy ride to the finish. Mr. Crane didn't get the memo.
We get to the start line, get our obligatory pic taken and then wait for our slot. Official start time today is 11am and with our old age granting us a 14% head start on the young 'uns, we start at 10:26. We soon discover that this is not Surrey and Box Hill is nowhere in sight. The first little lump is not exactly hard but it puts us on notice that we are going to be working. That is followed by some nice gentle disused railway and then a couple of proper steep buggers before we get to the top of the last hill.
We are feeling pretty fresh and that's when the plan goes out the window and we start working with a Belgian guy and are belting down the gravel track at 30-40k for the final hour. It is a blast but completely not in the playbook. The plan is to rest our legs for stage 3 which is apparently the bugger with two back to back difficult climbs at the end. The red mist descends though, and we ride pretty hard. The stage ends suddenly just before this disused railway bridge and the track to the hotel continues on the other side. The official recommendation from the organizers is to climb up the bank and ride on the road to bypass it but they didn't object to us walking across.
The hotel is in the town of Regua and the views of the Douro are magnificent. This is the home of wine in Portugal and I have been looking forward to some tasty beverages, but sadly, this is not to be and we have to make do with an unbranded house red. Which is perfectly adequate...but doesn't quite match the billing. Probably for the best really. Such are the sacrifices us elite athletes have to make every day. :-)
At the end of the day we are lying in 38th and 39th position. This gives me a little frisson of pride but makes me worry... too bloody far up the table for 2 guys who have never raced before. Let's hope we can keep this up. Everything is uphill from here.....the climb out of the valley is 1000m over 15k. Let's hope that today's frenetic chase to the finish line is not a problem tomorrow. Our mascot Gordon is still enjoying the ride.
We have till 17:30 before the official meet and greet session with the race team so have the day to explore Lisbon. Chris, Jane and I ramble off into the city centre via the public transport system. After coming from London where I am used to being able to wave a payment card, phone or smartwatch at a barrier it is a bit of a shock to the system. The system is ticketless but you have to buy and charge up a cardboard contactless token for each service you will use. Underground and overground systems are not integrated. Doh! Buying credit for these cards is incredibly fiddly with lots of screen presses. There is even a stage where you can enter your VAT number.
The next issue to solve is cash as the race organisers warned they wanted the real thing for any expenses incurred. Lisbon is stuffed full of ATMs but apparently they will be scarce in some of the overnight stops . We go to the first one and for some reason it will only dispense 200€, and in small bills. We try the next and get the same. Chris is beginning to look like the Harry Enfield character ‘Loadsa Money’.
I quickly come to the conclusion that Lisbon is a great place to hang out, walk round and generally chill. There is a lot to see and I only get a little taster. The old town with its narrow streets and mix of bars, cafes, restaurants, grand old buildings and crumbly old houses is and easy place to wander and kill a few hours. I try one of these chocolate cups filled with a fruity liqueur…delicious!
We have a lunch date with Chris’s friend Vlad down the coast in a very cute town called Caiscais, and jump on the train down the coast. A tasty treat of mussels and chips washed down with a gin and tonic is not what I thought I would be having today. I'm not sure this is how the professionals do it but it is great to sit outside in 27C and eat a meal in the middle of the street,
A quick dash round the corner to a place that serves coffee and what Vlad describes as the ‘2nd best 'Tarta de Nata’ in Lisbon sprinkled with a dash of ground cinnamon. Fab. If you are in the area, Caiscais is a great place to go for a break. Stuffed full of restaurants and bars and a nice beach, Not the cheapest place you can go I suppose as it seems that the wealthy Lisbon crowd like it here, but I think I'll put a trip to Lisbon for a few days on the bucket list and come out here to Caiscais for part of it.
Tomorrow, we get on the bus to Chaves and all this lounging around comes to a stop. The whole deal gets a lot more serious as we are repatriated with our bikes and get ready to race. The pictures of us wandering around town with a gin in hand will get replaced with sweaty middle aged men in lycra trundling through the Portuguese countryside.
I thought I had it all sorted. My lovely wife Ali supplied the team mascot and he was duly christened and toasted (gin & whisky if you must ask). Ali said it was a mouse called Pip but I am calling it Gordon the Rat on honour of the proprietor of our favourite WEC watering hole.
And the day has arrived. Some last minute work tasks get in the way of the final pack and so I am rushing at the last moment. Nearly 32 months of preparation and I make some silly errors right at the end. I order the taxi with about 2 hours to go and think that will be simple. Midday on a Thursday, no sweat. Turns out my bike bag won't fit in anything they have available so I have to get 'the minibus' which needs a phone around the local drivers who might have one available. I sweat a little as I wait for the callback. A simple thing like pre-booking would have taken all the hassle away and I flub it. A bus is eventually found and I am away.
Today I am trying to channel the spirit of my sister Caitriona. She is the only one I know who turns up to an airport 4 hours before the flight. I never saw the point of wasting time at an airport myself but today I resolve to be early, get a lounge pass and chill with a nice glass of something white. In the bus, I pull out the phone and buy a lounge pass for T3. Food and a drink included and far from the madding crowd sounds like just the ticket. £20...a bargain with my recently acquired REVOLUT premium card. I settle back and 'enjoy' the rattling minibus ride.
We arrive at T3 and then I discover my google search of TAP Portugal vs Terminals at Heathrow must have pulled up a bum search. My flight is departing from T2 but I trundle down the underpass on the 10 minute walk serene in the knowledge that I have time on my side and a nice restful glass waiting for me in the lounge.
I check in and wave goodbye to my race bike (hopefully) securely packed in its sarcophagus and hope the baggage handlers will be kind. It is a lightweight carbon fibre thing which was more expensive than any car I have ever owned. I'm not sure that says much about any of the cars. But to lose the bike now when we are so close to the race would be gut wrenching. Plan B would have to be to pop down the Portuguese version of Halfords and see what was available...
Then I discover that my bargain £20 lounge access (loungepass.com) is only worth a £15 discount in a pub that I could just walk into in T2. Loungepass.com have nothing in T2 so travelers beware. Turns out REVLOUT who sold the loungepass have an equally slippery customer service chatbot. Despite the invitation to get a refund on the 'chat service' , the blasted thing is being willfully ignorant of simple requests of 'refund my lounge pass' and offers all sorts of useless crap about other services, This is going to take more time than I think I want to give it.
The flight is an hour late but that gives me time to carry out some retail therapy, and though Dixons have disappeared from our airports there is one establishment willing to sell me even more technology. 60 seconds of thinking about it sees me plunge for yet another GPS watch which I manage to rationalize to myself as a 'good deal' because it lasts about 15 time longer on a single charge than my apple iWatch. This would therefore provide effective navigation backup in the event that my primary GPS fails in the race. Done. Easiest sale the guy ever had I suppose.
A nice flight to Lisbon and a sunset touchdown. The city looks warm and inviting though ominously hilly from the air and I am looking forward to a cold beer and a shower and hooking up with my WEC riding buddy Chris Crane who has been in Portugal since Tuesday,
Whilst waiting anxiously for my bike bike bag to arrive on the oversize luggage rack, I see this little gem. Someone has wrapped a painting in a single sheet of bubble wrap and consigned it to the baggage handling system.....at it appears to have made it! Hurrah for baggage handlers I think, and out pops my bike bag with only minor scuffs. Maybe next time I should just wrap it in bubble wrap like the optimistic art lover.
Eventually, I relax and can enjoy the sensation of having finished one of the hardest things I have ever done. I tell Chris he has my permission to shoot me if I ever suggest doing this again. There is a party atmosphere at the lighthouse with a band and a bar. Try re-hydrating on gin & tonic...it is a fantastic feeling!
