It's probably no surprise that after preparing all of this winter's firewood Guy now has a bad back. Two nights ago he visited a local physio' for some massage and a bit of hip re-alignment.

A few things we had planned for the weekend have now been canned as a result - no mountain bike randonnee on Sunday for a start.

Fortunately gentle swimming is one thing that won't further aggravate the muscles, so tonight we headed to the lovely indoor pool in Vaujany for a few gentle stretches and a bit of light breastroke. While I was doing the gentle stretching and breastroke, Guy descended the flume for most of the evening working on his speed technique with each descent!

Little surprise then that he returned home in a slightly worsened state.

Something unique occurred this summer.  Someone took something from us without asking.  Let's not call it theft.  Just a misunderstanding.  Or an oversight, maybe.  But the one and only bit of blue Park Tool genius that I've ever owned - my gloriously effective cable cutters - disappeared from the bike workshop without trace.  And they had been a birthday present too, from Helyn.  It just came as a shock; everyone who comes to us is just so fantastically honest and friendly.

So, anyone who has information relating to the whereabouts of said cutters (like these ones: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Park_Tools_Professional_Cable_And_Housing_Cutter/5360008671/), will be rewarded not only in heaven but also with copious cake and gratitude here at King of the Mountains!

Guy

PS: There is also a side-reward (largely chocolate-based) for anyone who can track down a chap called Pim, who I gave a wheel to on the Galibier last year during the Marmotte and has not returned it!  He could be Belgian or Dutch.  Not exactly Crimewatch levels of forensic data to go with there, I know.  

www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

Since our previous blog post we have at last concluded the annual ritual that is firewood. We have 2 sheds full of the stuff now as well as a giant 'Jenga' stack next to the house. I was excused from lumberjacking duties after only 2 days to take up a new post in the office - end of year accounts - don't really know who got the worst deal there; Guy wielding a chainsaw or me squinting at spreadsheets?

So, the wood is ready, the garden furniture in storage, chimneys swept, new snow stoppers on the roof (to stop large slabs of snow sliding onto your head and to keep snow in place for insulation), snow shovels and ice axes in position and snow tyres fitted on the van. We have been in the loft and hunted down hats, gloves, boots and various winter 'toys' too; cross country skis, snowboard, downhill skis, snow shoes and sledges all at the ready. We have never been more prepared for winter. As soon as we'd done this however the weather made an abrupt change and the snow receded back up the mountains!

This time last year we had heavy snowfall, a good few feet that stayed on the ground here in the village until mid April. Yesterday could not have provided more contrast; the sun was shining, the sky blue and temperatures that felt like a summers day. We were quick to push the winter kit to one side and get the bikes out again. We had not anticipated being able to road ride again until spring so this was a gift, a real 'Brucey Bonus'. Heading over the Col d'Ornon, we made our way to the 'Trieves' area and by the time we got to the village of Mens it was 22 degrees C and we were stripped down to summer kit, shorts and short sleeved jerseys. We stayed lowish to make the most of the warmth and rode a great little circuit taking in 3 fairly low cols the highest, the Col de Mens at 1,117 metres. Even at dusk the air was so warm that all we needed were armwarmers. The Col de Mens is a great little col, very rural, very quiet and offering some of the most expansive mountain views around, it's a big favourite of ours and is the halfway point in the ride that some of our guests may know as 'the lollypop ride'.

Today we have had another warm day but a few showers. I spent a several hours in the garden and workshop giving my bike a very thorough (and well overdue) clean and service ready for 'mothballing' until spring. Looking at the forecast for next week however there could be more reports of sunny rides to come - put those skis back in the shed Guy!

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

We have had our first snow (see picture top left).

About 4-5cm fell in the village here but soon disappeared as snow turned to rain and then slush. There's still a good covering on the mountains behind the house to about 1,500 metres. Sadly the cols Croix de Fer, Galibier and Glandon are now all shut as a result, an end to high altitude cycling for the time being. Still, it's good news for those coming to ski with us this winter.

As usual at this time of year we are busy moving, chopping and stacking firewood. We have 15 square metres of the stuff to shift before the snow really arrives in earnest, somehow it seems to take a lot of the romance away from the idea of a crackling log fire!

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

On Monday we spent the evening at the 'Palais des Sports' velodrome to watch the 5th night of the 'Grenoble 6 Day'. The velodrome is an amazing facility, though incredibly outside of this event is shut for the other 359 days of the year. It used to be open in the evenings to local cycle clubs which, in this snowy part of the world, must have been great for winter training. I know I'd be down there like a shot if it ever re-opened its doors.

Despite both of us having ridden the track once many moons ago (http://www.calshot.com/cycle.html), we have never seen the pros in action.

The evening opened with juniors and women and then moved on to the men's' teams. There were some big names present; Gregory Bauge and Kevin Sirea to name a couple as well as Bernard Thevenet in the audience.

The speed and handling was incredible, at times in excess of 65 km/hr, there were moments when I expected the centrifugal force to fling a rider out of the apex and into our laps! The Madison had us in awe and confused in equal measure; so many riders weaving around one another with so much speed it seemed miraculous that there were no crashes. Despite a big screen and commentary, we were still none the wiser as to who was actually winning - it requires some dizzying deep concentration that we could only maintain up to about 11pm - we could have stayed on 'till the early hours, you certainly get value for money with a 7 hour programme each evening.

France is famous for its cheese, between the races on Monday we were subjected to a different kind of French cheese - the cabaret! Think early 1970's badly choreographed Strictly Come Dancing meets Zippos Circus and you may be part the way to imagining how dreadful it was. The 'Paris Follies' were a low-light - topless dancers in this day and age (not so dreadful I hear some of you saying)! Still, it was a new French experience, just a shame that the cycling seemed to take second place for a good part of the evening.

Helyn
(Sorry, no photos of the Paris Follies available!)

www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

At the end of October I spent a week in the UK visiting friends and family.

It's been a year since I was there last and I was amazed to see how, in 12 months, cycling still seems to be on the increase as a participation sport and as a mode of transport.

My first stop was Eastbourne to the TriStore where I was very kindly lent a bike for my own transport during my stay (thank you Sarah http://sarahlovelock.blogspot.com/). On my 18 mile trip back from the shop I was pleasantly surprised by how well UK motorists treated me. We hear so many stories to the contrary so it was nice to feel so safe and to have such a positive experience.

I'm from East Sussex but left there at 18. It was after this that I took up cycling so unusually I have never really ridden the roads and lanes of my own home county. I have surprisingly never ridden the 35 mile round trip from my former home up and over the much talked about Ditchling Beacon. Ditchling Beacon, known and dreaded by those thousands of riders who take part in the annual British Heart Foundation London to Brighton bike ride.

Making an early morning start I set off via the quiet country lanes; Isfield, Barcombe, Plumpton...Ditchling. Approaching the foot of the Beacon I had the same sensation as the first time I ever rode Alpe d'Huez; a rushing recall of all the horror stories I'd ever heard about the climb and how once I heard it called 'the green monster of the South Downs'... The climb is roughly 1km at around 12% and I have to say that it was not easy at all. After about 7 minutes I eased off anticipating the sighting of the resident ice cream van only to find that it was a false summit...on and up again... To my disappointment I was too early for a 99, the Whippy van was not yet there, I did however get the reward of an amazing view of the sunrise over the sea, beautiful.

My experience was that I found the climb very close to an Alpine ascent in terms of its unrelentless gradient, it was tough. We are very often asked by newcomers to riding in the Alps how to train for the climbs here and what to expect. Our response is that the most difficult thing to replicate when training in the UK is the sheer length of Alpine climbs. This is true of Ditchling Beacon, too short to really resemble an Alpine climb, however...hill reps on Ditchling Beacon would have you getting a good feel for the riding out here. There's an idea for all you masochists out there!

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

It's been a while since we 'blogged'. The irony of blog posts is that the more you have to write about, the less time you have to write it!

Our summer season 2009 ended at the beginning of October, time for our own holiday! Our trip did not take us too far from home; some light cycle touring from here and around the island of Corsica. Using saddle bags that attached to our seat posts we whittled our kit down to a mere 3-4 kg each, handles off toothbrushes, the works! The lightweight nature of our kit depended on good weather (no longs, just shorts and jerseys and only flip-flops and shorts for after ride wear) and us not camping but staying in various B&Bs along the way. Thankfully we had great weather (average daytime temperatures 25-30 degrees C) and always found somewhere good and friendly to get our heads down of an evening.

We had no firm plans as to route or accommodation but our neighbour, Yves, who has cycled the island several times, gave us great route advice. One bit of advice we did not take however was to book a sleeper cabin for the 10 hour, overnight ferry crossing. Error! Instead we attempted sleep on aeroplane style seats arranged cinema fashion, surrounded by a few hundred others also fighting insomnia brought about by the regular and loud announcements on the ferry intercom system!

Traveling as foot passengers we were the first off the ferry and pedaled immediately north to complete a loop of the top of the island 'Cap Corse'.

The coastline we touched upon around the north and west of the island was magnificent; a contrast between rocky, plunging cliffs and soft white sandy beaches, kilometres long. One bit of 'luxury' kit squeezed into our packs were our swimming costumes and they got a good bit of use each day.

The interior of the island was arid and had a real Mediterranean meets wild west feel with amazing flowers and trees (unusually including lots of well established Eucalyptus trees) and some hostile looking cacti. A novelty too were the free roaming animals; goats, sheep, cows and pigs - on one particular descent we go a very close look at the flanks of a cow who was very reluctant to move! The pigs were especially entertaining, foraging for the island's famous chestnuts and trying their luck at sharing our cereal bars too!

The riding was undulating at all times, much gentler undulations than here though! Climbs were generally gentle gradients and with very few switchbacked climbs. The opportunity to cross dozens of cols on a ride was big, most cols were fairly low, between 400 - 600 metres. Wherever possible the coastal roads were just that, hugging the coast giving great sea views. The road surfaces were pretty good, though inland there was some deterioration with some long stretches that felt a bit 'Paris Roubaix'!

My favourite col was the highest on the island, the Col de Vergio (1,477m). I know I am about to lay myself bare as an utter col geek and purist, but I loved that we climbed its' full height from sea level - in fact, we started riding fresh from a dip in the sea at Porto, it doesn't get much better than that. I can vouch for the ascent from Porto being tough but truly stunning rising from the sea to high mountains to beautiful pine forests. The descent into Calacuccia, well, that I can't tell you much about as we did it in the dark! Arriving at the summit a little before 7pm it was already dusk. Our minimal packing only included one rear light... Punctures - an inconvenience in any circumstance, especially repairing them by the light of a mobile phone! Now with no daylight left at all and entering a pitch black forested section we had to resort to the most basic of navigational systems - ride on the white line in the middle of the road! The aforementioned roaming livestock was also a concern so we had to make as much noise as possible to hopefully shoo them from our path - somewhere in Corsica is a pig who is still probably deeply traumatised by my nocturnal singing!

When, at 9pm, we eventually arrived at our accommodation we were doubtful as to whether we would get any food as all around seemed to be closing up for the night. Still dirty from our ride and adjusting our eyes to the glare of light again we entered a small restaurant which was thankfully still serving fabulous traditional Corsican food and well earned beer too (Pietra).

We are already looking forward to next years' visit to the south of the island which we did not get time to explore on this trip - and this time we'll pack lights!

If you are interested in seeing photos of our trip visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/kingofthemountainssummer/CorsicaCyleTouring02#

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk