Marmotte 2015

Jim Stynes

In Dublin airport now and ready for the trip up the road to the north. I'm going to start preparing for next year ASAP. First thing is to get rid of another stone and half. Half the people doing the event looked like they had eating disorders!

FB- delighted you made it round safe and in one piece.

I'm a little more pissed off that I didn't get to the bottom of the alp now than I was yesterday. All I had to do was descend into Bourg.

What an event! I will never complain about any hill in Ireland again.

07Lapierre

Jim Stynes wrote: »

In Dublin airport now and ready for the trip up the road to the north. I'm going to start preparing for next year ASAP. First thing is to get rid of another stone and half. Half the people doing the event looked like they had eating disorders!

FB- delighted you made it round safe and in one piece.

I'm a little more pissed off that I didn't get to the bottom of the alp now than I was yesterday. All I had to do was descend into Bourg.

What an event! I will never complain about any hill in Ireland again.

Oh yes you will!

fat bloke

Jim Stynes wrote: »

First thing is to get rid of another stone and half. Half the people doing the event looked like they had eating disorders!

Lol'd. I'm with you there. It was the first thing we noticed when we arrive and started asking around for directions. Skinny scrawny fcukers everywhere!

Mayo self-build

Huge congrats to everyone who took part this year. Fantastic to hear the stories. Did it last year, and was so conscious that the weather was so manageable then. 45C... I'd have been cooked and don't think I'd have managed in that heat at all.

Reading of those that made it, nearly made it or were cooked... Chapeaux to each and every one of you.:)

gambeta_fc

Bloggsie wrote: »

Fantastic effort by all of you who took part.

I'll second that. Sounds like a fantastic experience, have found it really interesting following all of your progress on here.

It may just be the adrenaline kicking in after reading FB's last few posts but seriously considering giving this a go next year!

See you in the 2016 thread ...

uphillonly

fat bloke wrote: »

Couple of other things -the machine gun popping of tires and tubes on the hairpin descents. Honest to God I'd say I passed at least 30 people repairing blowouts on the Glandon descent. It was something I was very conscious of myself - not to be constantly feathering the brakes. I was cadence braking on and off and back and front like an abs effect to make sure the rims had time to cool.

I was warned about this on an Etape training camp when I first started out on road biking. Apparently many of the blowouts will be due to patched inner tubes. Long braking descent in the heat can cause the patch to de-bond. Ever since I've only patched as a last resort, if out of tubes & then replaced the tube when I got home.

Having previously toured thousands of miles with patched inner tubes on a MTB without problems I was unaware of this issue on road bikes. I assume it's the higher pressure & perhaps the smaller area for heat to dissipate.

Chapeau again to everyone who rode this year. Sounded brutal.

Jim Stynes

The tiredness is just hitting me properly today! Thank god I'm a teacher and off all summer to relax and cycle!

fat bloke

Indeed. Fellow teacher here too .

For anyone interested in doing it next year, I certainly wouldn't dare discourage anyone from going but you'd want to go in with your eyes wide open. I'd say there are huge numbers of people badly bitten every year after underestimating the challenge involved on the day. From the half way point it was unbelievable how many people you would see on the side of the road, very fit looking people, of all ages, with fabulous bikes, sitting at the side of the road looking very disconsolate, or lying prostrate in the ditch looking in distress. Not to mention the sheer carnage on the Alpe d'Huez. We arrived at the top, fecked around for an hour or so eating and chatting and recovering, and then cycled down the alpe, which in itself I'd say nearly took a half an hour, and right at the bottom of the alpe, this must have been approaching 7pm (11 hours after departure in the morning) there were plenty of people only then commencing the climb and a LOT of them already walking. -Now however hard it is, or long it takes to cycle up the alpe when you're tired, I can't imagine how hard it would be or long it would it take to walk up it in your cycling cleats, pushing your bicycle. And I reiterate, I'm not talking about ROK Fred's here with beer bellies and rusty hybrids...

But, having said that, now's the right time to be thinking about it and getting yourself in order .

FYI. It might help people to know what route people took to get to and from the event itself. Myself and my colleagues did it as minimalistically as possible and from talking to friends who went to Killarney for the ROK I reckon our Marmotte trip was cheaper. I reckon, including the entry ticket, we were over and back for less than 600 euro each.

Entry was 85 quid. We flew Dublin to Lyon return which was about 270 quid each including bike box. We rented a VW California campervan froma place in Lyon called We Van.
http://www.we-van.com/location-california-confortline-volkswagen,camper-van,2.php

It was pretty cosy to say the least, but it represented transport AND accomodation in one go. It was 400 quid for the van after all insurances and extras and excesses were factored in, and then it was another 100 quid for airport pick up and drop off. Also, they minded our bike boxes for us for the weekend which was really handy. -Downsides were having to sleep in such close proximity to your sweaty-balled cyclist companions. Upsides were being able to park up wherever the hell you wanted. We parked about 50 yards from the sign in place at the foot of the Alpe d'Huez, which was fantastic.

We flew Dublin Lyon on Friday noon time. It was a two hour drive to Bourg d'Oisan but between delays in the flight, getting to the campervan depot, transferring the bikes from the boxes to the van and then getting to Bourg and assembling bikes etc etc, it was nearly midnight and us actually getting to bed. We slept v e r y little on friday night. It was so hot and there was noise from the road and.... well, it's three guys and three bikes in a small van.... But we slept Saturday night alright (you bet your a$$ we did). And then we flew Lyon to Dublin on Sunday afternoon.

So it can be done in three days no bother and for a lot less than you might think.

Any questions, ask away.

DenisGDutch

Hey, I recognize that camper van! I was parked at exactly the same parking space that day. One of you guys asked me if I wanted to buy his bike afterwards, because he didn't want to see it ever again! It still makes me laugh out loud just thinking about it ;-)

fat bloke

DenisGDutch wrote: »

Hey, I recognize that camper van! I was parked at exactly the same parking space that day. One of you guys asked me if I wanted to buy his bike afterwards, because he didn't want to see it ever again! It still makes me laugh out loud just thinking about it ;-)

Ha ha, that was me . Small world. You missed out on a good deal there on a trek 6.9

Jim Stynes

Jesus FB, you didn't give yourselves much time to get settled!

Just some random advice in no particular order:

Anybody that is looking to do it next year then I would seriously start getting some sort of plan together and aiming you training towards it. Of course some people will be fitter and won't need to do as much training to catch up but 99% of people won't be able to just rock up and do this event. Obviously not burning yourself out by going and doing 100mile a day from now until the event but at least keeping it in the back of your mind.

Start looking for sportives or events that you can pencil in dates to train for. Longest and hilliest ones are the best Ultimately, the Wicklow 200 and the other ones are all a walk in the park compared to this though.

If your carrying too much weight like me then you would need to drop it in time for this event! 90kgs and over 5000m of climbing doesn't mix well. As I said earlier, everyone looked so skinny. I would look to get down to 80kgs! I would look ridiculous though.

If you have never rode in the alps before then I would try and get a trip out there or somewhere that has those continuous climbs. It really is hard to describe how long these climbs go on for! You simply cannot train for it in Ireland. I would love a watt bike or power meter to train with over the winter to try replicate that continuous effort.

Try and get some friends or club mates to go with you. They probably won't be a friend after they find out what you talked them into. Anyway, it would make a big difference on the day having someone to talk to. I started at 7.15am and didn't get talking to anyone until FB and his club mates rode past in the afternoon. It was great to just talk to some Irish people for a few minutes and share the pain with.

I'm currently risking divorce by trying to find a way of getting out to the alps for 4 nights in August with a mate.

I'm going to miss this thread but I am sure I will see you all in the La Marmotte 2016 thread at some stage!! Either La Marmotte or the Etape next year!

Bloggsie

Jim Stynes wrote: »

Jesus FB, you didn't give yourselves much time to get settled!

Just some random advice in no particular order:

Anybody that is looking to do it next year then I would seriously start getting some sort of plan together and aiming you training towards it. Of course some people will be fitter and won't need to do as much training to catch up but 99% of people won't be able to just rock up and do this event. Obviously not burning yourself out by going and doing 100mile a day from now until the event but at least keeping it in the back of your mind.

Start looking for sportives or events that you can pencil in dates to train for. Longest and hilliest ones are the best Ultimately, the Wicklow 200 and the other ones are all a walk in the park compared to this though.

If your carrying too much weight like me then you would need to drop it in time for this event! 90kgs and over 5000m of climbing doesn't mix well. As I said earlier, everyone looked so skinny. I would look to get down to 80kgs! I would look ridiculous though.

If you have never rode in the alps before then I would try and get a trip out there or somewhere that has those continuous climbs. It really is hard to describe how long these climbs go on for! You simply cannot train for it in Ireland. I would love a watt bike or power meter to train with over the winter to try replicate that continuous effort.

Try and get some friends or club mates to go with you. They probably won't be a friend after they find out what you talked them into. Anyway, it would make a big difference on the day having someone to talk to. I started at 7.15am and didn't get talking to anyone until FB and his club mates rode past in the afternoon. It was great to just talk to some Irish people for a few minutes and share the pain with.

I'm currently risking divorce by trying to find a way of getting out to the alps for 4 nights in August with a mate.

I'm going to miss this thread but I am sure I will see you all in the La Marmotte 2016 thread at some stage!! Either La Marmotte or the Etape next year!

why not take Mrs Stynes & your mates mrs(or mr)with you to vist the vineyards or go shopping while you and you mate go for a few spins

Jim Stynes

For a four night trip it wouldn't be worth it. The whole thing would be based around fitting as much cycling in as possible and then resting that night. I couldn't think of anything worse than taking a bit of drinking and eating crap at night then going to cycling up a 25km HC climb. I would love to go for a few weeks with another couple though and then do the whole holiday thing with a few spins mixed in. France is stunning. I went into Annecy on thursday before heading to Alp D'Heuz and would love to go back with the wife for a few nights and then make our way down to Nice or somewhere.

fat bloke

I reckon to do it at the start of a family holiday would be a great move. Get it done on the first day and then have a week to relax and enjoy with the wife and kids. There was a bike shop in Bourg as well advertising bike rental, which would be a handy option too if the bikes are any way decent.

Red Belly

fat bloke wrote: »

I reckon to do it at the start of a family holiday would be a great move. Get it done on the first day and then have a week to relax and enjoy with the wife and kids. There was a bike shop in Bourg as well advertising bike rental, which would be a handy option too if the bikes are any way decent.

This is basically what I've done. I drove over on Mon/Tues did (most of) the event on Sat, up the Alpe on Monday and relocated to Annecy. Wife and kids flew into Geneva on Tues and kicking back today and for the next week and a bit. Very nice.

Farloo

Jim, was that you in met on Saturday from Lurgan?!

fat bloke

Ye probably know this already but photos are up on www.photobreton.com and www.griffephotos.com

They're awfully expensive. 19 euro each per downloaded copy. I can appreciate the costs of printing and posting but emailing???

Jim Stynes

Farloo wrote: »

Jim, was that you in met on Saturday from Lurgan?!

Are you a Longford man? You were powering on!

Farloo

Jim Stynes wrote: »

Are you a Longford man? You were powering on!

That was me alright, I was hoping you got to finish! You were in tough luck with the mechanical! It was a tough day for it especially with the heat! There were a lot of very weary looking people as it went on! There were people falling of bikes with dizzyness, getting sick, lying in streams to cool down, lot walking the bikes up the Alp! Shows by the amount of people who DNF how tough it was! You'll be back stronger next year!!

Jim Stynes

Farloo wrote: »

That was me alright, I was hoping you got to finish! You were in tough luck with the mechanical! It was a tough day for it especially with the heat! There were a lot of very weary looking people as it went on! There were people falling of bikes with dizzyness, getting sick, lying in streams to cool down, lot walking the bikes up the Alp! Shows by the amount of people who DNF how tough it was! You'll be back stronger next year!!

Cheers! How did you finish? You were looking really strong. And only doing the event with 2 weeks notice was amazing!!

christy02

Jim do you think hiring a bike was a mistake with the mechanical trouble you had?

Would you bring own bike next year?

Following this thread with interest. Kudos to everyone who did the event. Sounds brutally tough.

Leroy42

Just on the bike hire thing, I have hired bikes on holiday and brought my own.

For an event like Marmotte I would always bring my own bike. For such a tough event I would try to limit anything that could add potential problems, and no matter how perfect a new bike always feels different. Even if all the geometry is spot on, the handling will be different. The wheels will be different. How it reacts under braking, how it handles the downhills. While the hire bike may well be better than your current bike (in most cases that would be true v's my bike) I am used to the way my bike handles, the tension of the brakes etc. and I can adjust them in the few weeks in the lead up to make sure I have them the way I like them (or least as good as I can get them with the equipment)

So unless you are 'upgrading' so a significantly better bike by hiring I do not think it is a good idea. There are of course times when it is impractical to bring the bike and that is when hiring makes sense, but it would always be a second option for me

On the mechanical side, well I would assume that the hire bike is checked by a mechanic prior to you taking it so not sure there is any real difference. I saw a guy with a snapped chain at the start of the Glandon, not sure there is anything you can do pre-ride to avoid that.

Jim Stynes

My mechanical wasn't due to the bike I hired. It could easily have happened to my good bike at home. I would have been more pissed off if I brought my bike over and got it wrecked. I know a fella who is pissed off that he got his good bike banged up at the event. He was involved in two crashes. At least with the hire bike I could hand it back. The fella in the shop said he would have had to replace the bent rear derailleur but didn't ask for me to pay for it or anything.

Im still not sure what I would do regarding bringing my bike over. I would have had to spend money on changing my gear ratios etc for this event. Although it would have been much more comfortable for me. Saying that, the bike I was using was quite good and comfortable, it was the saddle that was giving me bother. So if I was hiring again I would definitely bring my own pedals and saddle. If keeping costs down was an issue then it probably works out cheaper to rent. 100 euro for 4 days I paid. If I brought my own bike I would have had to pay to for new gear ratio, hire a bike box (if my mate couldn't lend me his), baggage at the airport and the worry of it not arriving would have had me bad with my nerves.

Ultimately though, there is no doubt doing this event on your own bike would be an advantage but it wasn't the reason I DNF.

fat bloke

What happened in the end Jim? What happened the bike? When we caught up with you going up the Croix de Fer I could hear that the spokes in the rear wheel were ping ping pinging off your rear derailleur. I don't know if my on the bike diagnosis was clear to you at the time . But if the derailleur is that close to the spokes then it's only millimetres from getting caught up and dragged around altogether. It happened to me on a lovely Storck training bike I had. Made sh1t of the wheel, the derailleur and even the frame cos it snapped a piece of the frame off at the back.

For that reason I'm ultra sensitive to that pinging noise.

You weren't the only one I came across whose derailleur was playing Russian Roulette with the spokes either.

Jim Stynes

fat bloke wrote: »

What happened in the end Jim? What happened the bike? When we caught up with you going up the Croix de Fer I could hear that the spokes in the rear wheel were ping ping pinging off your rear derailleur. I don't know if my on the bike diagnosis was clear to you at the time . But if the derailleur is that close to the spokes then it's only millimetres from getting caught up and dragged around altogether. It happened to me on a lovely Storck training bike I had. Made sh1t of the wheel, the derailleur and even the frame cos it snapped a piece of the frame off at the back.

For that reason I'm ultra sensitive to that pinging noise.

You weren't the only one I came across whose derailleur was playing Russian Roulette with the spokes either.

Your diagnosis was pretty spot on. The noise got worse and it eventually got to the stage where I could only use the big chain ring for some reason. I got off a few times and tried to see what the problem was but hadn't a clue. Had to walk to summit of Croix de Fer and see some of the mechanics. They got it back in the small chainring but smallest gears were still making the noise. That stage my cleats were completely gone and I couldn't clip in at all. Who the hell carries extra cleats. Frustrating as I had the long descent and flat road to look forward to. Also the next day I couldn't use the two lowest gears for the Alpe D'Huez TT. Luckily I was using a compact 11/32 and didn't really need the lowest ones for that length of a climb.

Anyway, I left the bike back into the fella on Sunday and he said to me straight away that my rear derailleur is bent. I sort of played stupid and said it wasn't working right on the day and someone maybe banged into the bike in the storage garage. It did actually get hit at one of the food stops so I think that is when the damage was done. Still a great day out and got some cracking photos, including one of Christian Haettich cycling past! The cyclist from Haute Route fame. One arm and one leg! Amazing.

Jim Stynes

FB - have a look at this
http://www.griffephotos.com/index.php?fn=image&lang=en&pre=g&lo&nb_page=96&numpage=1&searchword=pm1096
hopefully that link works for you

fat bloke

Way hey! So we were definitely there then. Seems like a million years ago now!

Lumen

fat bloke wrote: »

Way hey! So we were definitely there then. Seems like a million years ago now!

Leg warmers! How hot was it?

fat bloke

Lumen wrote: »

Leg warmers! How hot was it?

Hot!

They're actually great, even though they look a bit naff. They're very thin, light, UV-protection leggings. The white actually reflects the heat away, and of course blocks the sun. Sure my legs don't see the sun for 9 months of the year I'd say. :rolleyes:

Jim Stynes

I was reading some very sad news about a Dutch man losing his life last week on La Marmotte. Extreme dehydration or something. Not entirely sure what happened but not nice news to hear.