jimmythecuckoo's blog

The day has dawned and once the office stuff is completed and the other passengers are on board we will be making a dash for the ferry.

Packing the car was an intricate piece of art with frames cross angled and wheels packed in last. It took about 45 minutes in the cold and dark last night but the advantages of not having a rack will apparently become clear in fuel consumption from a lack of drag.

Brief update today... tyre purchased so just have to do the maintenance on the Bianchi tonight before squeezing three bikes into the car.

Straight from work tomorrow will be picking up the other riders and to Portsmouth for the night ferry.

From Le Harve on Friday morning it will be a 12 hour drive to the appartment on the coast near Girona.

How we will fare getting through 40cms of snow near the border and Perpignan is not yet established ...

So three days to go before we head off for our road trip to Spain for a bit of cycling.

The good news is that it is snowing heavily where we are going. See webcam. Rotten luck eh?

Well the better news is that the forecast for the end of the week is looking a little better with up to 12 degrees on Saturday. Cold nights though so we will be huddled up in the appartment as it has been locked with shutters down since September... brrr.

So this week sees the fruition of weeks of planning when we head out to Spain for some miles (and hopefully) sun.

A couple of routes have been specced (as regular readers will know) and there will be plenty of climbing to test us all. Especially bearing in mind most of our recent riding will have been on turbo trainers or in the snowy windswept fens. But enough of me getting my excuses in early.

The original post on this subject was originally back in September (click here). So much wedding planning and other stuff has happened that I didnt get round to posting an update on the site as to where we are and what is happening.

With no specific theme for my latest blog, I thought I would round up some of the recent goings on in my world and planet cycling.

Thankfully after singing their praises, Decathlon came good with their delivery and I am now proudly donning a Bell Crossfire helmet, just in time for the upcoming trip to Girona for a bit of pre-wedding cycling action in the mountains.

Having just placed my first order on their new online service I am possible tempting fate by writing this piece but I just wanted to say how much I love Decathlon!

Some cycle snobs may think this statement is mental but I have nothing but praise for them in general and even in a cycling context.

Forget the clothing that keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer, although that is most welcome.

I spent a little of my increasingly rare down time in front of the television last night and with little interest in Manchester United ended up 'glued' to the Sky Sports review of the Tour of Qatar.

Now before the comments flood in, I know that this is a strategically good event for the UCI in a wealthy (albeit slightly less nowadays) country with great weather to enable the pros to get a bit of sun and ride themselves into form.

I am down with that, honestly.

But it doesn't stop it being the least entertaining cycling spectacle on television.

Clearly great to see BigMat back in the peloton this season, but what's with the flecks on that jersey?

A shocker.

Tonight is the night that every turbo ride of the winter has been gearing up for.

The first after work ride of the year is only minutes away and I can't wait. The mountain bike (for the trail down to the river) is by the back door and my kit is laid out on the bed. The lights are charged for the last few minutes back through the village and all is well with the world.

I am looking forward to the isolation of being alone in miles of fenland and pedalling down the grass track alongside the (not too pleasantly named) Pig Water.