Cycling forum Raid Pyrénéen trip 2012

Planet X

31 degrees. Ye'll be a sweatin' like a whore on a cowboys payday! lol.

TheDocMan

Hi lads, not been following the last 50 pages of stuff but done the Raid in 2011 from west to east and it was fantastic. All the best esp to my county man -Captain!
Any general advice? Start no later than 8-8.30am everyday

More specifically , not sure what gearing you`re all planning to ride but here`s my tuppence worth; I`m not too bad a climber and was! 70-71kg -6ft odd. Never use anything more than 39/23-25 anywhere here in ireland
SO
I used 34-25. Plenty& perfect for all climbs EXCEPT 4km of the Marie Blanc. I nearly exploded and it slaps you in the gob with 170 k in your legs.
Paddy (velopeleton) told us the year they used it in the Etape only the first few hundred got over without dismounting. Best to have one you dont use than to be lookin for one thats not there.

Anyboby want ask anything else i`ll reply if i have clue

Enjoy

manafana

TheDocMan wrote: »

Hi lads, not been following the last 50 pages of stuff but done the Raid in 2011 from west to east and it was fantastic. All the best esp to my county man -Captain!
Any general advice? Start no later than 8-8.30am everyday

More specifically , not sure what gearing you`re all planning to ride but here`s my tuppence worth; I`m not too bad a climber and was! 70-71kg -6ft odd. Never use anything more than 39/23-25 anywhere here in ireland
SO
I used 34-25. Plenty& perfect for all climbs EXCEPT 4km of the Marie Blanc. I nearly exploded and it slaps you in the gob with 170 k in your legs.
Paddy (velopeleton) told us the year they used it in the Etape only the first few hundred got over without dismounting. Best to have one you dont use than to be lookin for one thats not there.

Anyboby want ask anything else i`ll reply if i have clue

Enjoy

yeah marie blanc stood out for me, any other part of lcimbs you found hard? how did you find stopping for water when it was hot

Captain Havoc

I panic packed last night, some odd thing including a group set and bar tape. There's an adidas schoolbag in the camper, it has pretty much all the tools you need to do most jobs, there's also spare cables, brakes and about 10 tubes in there so no need to panic on that one.

le petit braquet

The 410 Raiders might be interested in the perfect sock for part of your route http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CLSOCDT/save_our_soles_col_du_tourmalet_coolmax_socks . In case you get lost it even has the latitude and longitude (42.55 N 0.99 E) on the sole

Warning - they may not be the luckiest of items as I was wearing a pair when I had my spill last night.

lennymc

so, ive been watching the last couple of days TDF with interest, looking for tips, tricks, pointers etc. Anything to give me an edge in the pyrenees. All I could come up with was sideburns.

manafana

lennymc wrote: »

so, ive been watching the last couple of days TDF with interest, looking for tips, tricks, pointers etc. Anything to give me an edge in the pyrenees. All I could come up with was sideburns.

well my plan is too wait for my team leader even thou im the strongest climber and too show off by talking on my phone ande holding handlebars with one hand why guy behind me fights for my wheel. my new name is hofdog

Idleater

lennymc wrote: »

so, ive been watching the last couple of days TDF with interest, looking for tips, tricks, pointers etc. Anything to give me an edge in the pyrenees. All I could come up with was sideburns.

You obviously haven't been paying attention, you need a Froome not side burns :-)
I've no issue taking on that role , however without race radio I'm liable not to hear team orders to return to the leader. :-) you'll have to give me the look me when I blow up 1km further up the hill.

AstraMonti

velopeloton

Best of luck to everyone, hope you have a great trip.

Captain Havoc

In order to make the bike lighter on the climbs and to reach maximum speed on the descents, I've removed my brakes

Astra, do you still look like a terrorist, if so please play with your phone while speaking Greek on the plane, should be fun.

manafana

Captain Havoc wrote: »

In order to make the bike lighter on the climbs and to reach maximum speed on the descents, I've removed my brakes

Astra, do you still look like a terrorist, if so please play with your phone while speaking Greek on the plane, should be fun.

sounds like somethings astra would do.

Planet X

I spent 10 years in Riyadh so I can start screaming Arabic. You guys on for this?

Captain Havoc

Planet X wrote: »

I spent 10 years in Riyadh so I can start screaming Arabic. You guys on for this?

Durka durka, Mohammed jihad.

AstraMonti

Sorry beard is no more...

manafana

Captain Havoc

I'm gonna put in a final plea here: sponsor me because the charity I'm raising money for is super awesome and stuff. Seriously though proper end of life care is something that can give a lot of relief for family and patients. Unless a patient lives close to a hospice they will be separated from their families, families are also under constant pressure to care for the patient. Home care teams are over-stretched. There are no hospices in Kilkenny or any of the surrounding counties so it's not just for Kilkenny.

Click on this link if you want to sponsor me.

Sean02

Hi I,m looking for informed opinions. 2012 tour planned for end August. Anglet,Oloron, jaca,trempt etc to Barcelona. my main concern is what col to enter Spain. Drove to tunnel on Somport recently was not impressed by heavy trucks sharing very narrow road, Next I considered Col Pierre st Martin .CTC reports it much quiter but a much tougher climb. Then to the left of Somport is Col Pudalac (spelling ?). This again is described as very senic with minimal traffic.with least steepest gradient. At 67 and totally dependant on Granny gear most of the time I would welcome your opinions by thread or IM. Gracias Sean

velopeloton

Col du Portalet would be your best bet.

gearoidkerry

Hi all having been following yer story with interest as my sel and my brother doing same in September.just wanted to say the very best to yea all:)

Super Freak

Bon Journay Raideurs!!

Captain Havoc

We got into Biarritz and decided to get a taxi to Hendaye. There was a bit of a prologue this evening with Lenny attacking. We covered 8 km or so in 24 minutes, Idleater, Lennymc, manafana and myself, Hendaye to across the river into Spain, around town over there and back. Weather is fairly hot. Early rise to discuss tactics tomorrow, we're breakfasting at 7 and plan on leaving Hendaye at 8, 200km will prove difficult.

G rock

Bon route!

le petit braquet

Vas-y les Raideurs Quatre Cent Dix! Bonne chance!

lennymc

Day 1. My plan is to attack the breakfast buffet.
Nom nom.

nilhg

Enjoy yourselves guys, best of luck.

Chips Lovell

Passed through Hendaye myself yesterday, cycling to San Sebastian.

daragh_

Have a blast lads. 410FTW

Super Freak

C'mon lads

F5
F5
F5.......

g0g

Hope today went well and the rest of the trip does too! like many on here I've been following the thread with great interest the past few months so am really looking forward to reading some reports, seeing some photos and (most importantly!) looking at Strava uploads!