Rides worth doing: The Tour Rides

For those of who have been keeping tabs on this blog would have seen that The Prostate Cancer Charity in the UK are trying to become the charity name behind cycling. Just the same as running is for breast cancer, they would like to make cycling the sport for prostate cancer. A natural association if you like.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and as a result, one man dies every hour from this horrid disease, not to mention the 35000 men that are diagnosed with it every year. So it’s not something to shy away from. But rather a disease that we need to fight against.

With that, the Charity has teamed up with The Tour of Britain to offer cyclists of all abilities the chance to ride a stage of The Tour, in The Tour Rides. Taking place in September, cyclists can try out the same routes that the pro’s get to race on in the Tour.

The same attention to detail and event planning is put into delivering a Tour Ride as staging The Tour of Britain. With extensive route signage, marshals, motorcycle support, official cars on route and neutral service, the Tour Rides offer a unique full-support experience.

Plus, there are carefully located and well stocked feed and drink stations along the route as well as hot drinks and sandwiches. I’ve been informed that this year’s Tour Rides will also incorporate timing splits and timed King of the Mountains sections (Pro Tour Ride).

The neutral service is being provided by the team at Saddleback Ltd who bring to the UK market those awesome racing machines, FELT – as currently used by the Garmin Transitions cycling team the Tour de France, as well as Lance’s groupset of choice, SRAM.

So on Tuesday 22 June, I was lucky enough to be invited by the Charity to go and try out the Stoke route of the Tour Ride. This route forms as Stage 2 of The 2010 Tour of Britain. It was a clear hot day – 22 degrees celcius. A perfect day to go out for the ride – as you will see from the pictures below. I had been looking forward to doing the ride for a whole week running up to it, especially as it was time out of the hectic schedule we were on for The Tour Series, plus I got to have my last ride on the Felt FC.

As it was a media ride, we weren’t going to do the full day’s worth of riding (ie. Pro Ride). We were only aiming to do 60+ km’s. However, we were going to take in the hilliest part of the route. Our day started off in Rocester, the home of JCB. From there we made our way to Leek taking in the stunning views of the Staffordshire Moorlands.  On the ride we took a short break in the village of Longnor, where we were welcomed with open arms by the owner of the local coffee shop called Cobbles. A true cycling fan, he offered us teas, coffees and sandwiches on the house. How could we say no to that? So if you ever in the village, make sure you stop by Cobbles.

From Longnor we made our way towards Leek, not before taking in plenty of 10% climbs and the well known, Gun Hill. I felt great at the start of the ride but the climbs were relentless and they began taking their toll. I have to say that Gun Hill was not easy at all and I can see why people gather along it when the Tour races over. There were some great downhills too (not too many of these unfortunately), but did manage to get up to speeds of 80km/h.

It was a great day out and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. If you’re on the fence about whether to take part, I would urge you to go for it. Sign up for The Tour Rides, you will not be sorry. And feel good in knowing that you are also putting money to a good cause.

I would also like to say a HUGE thanks to Andrew and team at Saddleback for providing me with the Felt FC to use on the ride! I loved riding it so much, I am now looking to buy it.

And last but not least, below are pictures taken on the day of our ride. These were taken by Joolze Dymond who is also the official photographer for The Tour of Britain and The Tour Series. If you get a chance, make sure you check out her website: www.joolzedymond.com

Remember, there are three routes to choose from and three rides at each, for the exception of London, which offers only one ride. For more details on all the Rides on offer (dates, distances, etc) in The Tour Rides, check out my previous posting on The Tour Rides.

Enjoy the pics and sign up!

Starting out in Rocester where our ride began

A beautiful day to be out riding the bike

Making the most of my last day on the Felt FC

The start of many many climbs to come

Easy for some, others not

The scenery was just spectacular

Riding on roads that were virtually clear of traffic. Made for a superb day out

You can almost see the heat come off the road

Some more uphills

Working the Felt. Plus, enjoyed the SRAM groupset. Definitely a convert to its style

How can you say no to that?

Peter and Liz helping us out on the ride, a day after the Chester round of The Tour Series

Some more ups

Peter trying the typical 'fan with water bottle' you see in the Tour de France

He was loving it

...and the fact that I was getting wet

Mind you, afterwards it did feel quite refreshing

Then just for the camera decided to do a typical rider 'response' to getting wet

Maybe over doing it a little 🙂

Watch out for the BIG hand! Getting a fresh bottle from Liz

Seriously enjoying my day out on the Felt. I think I should keep it!!

And there were some downhills too

But what goes down must go up

Liz and Peter enjoying their day out of the office

Quiet roads

Coffee stop in the village of Longnor. Check out Cobbles if you are ever there

Making our way towards Gun Hill

But before we get there, a few more clims to negotiate

Boy it was hot out there

There were loads of these too - 10 per cent climbs

Doing some close ups for the Charity

Taking the mick out of Joolze who's sitting in the boot of the CRV

Suffering on the first killer section of Gun Hill

Really thankful that Paul was there to encourage me along

My legs were hurting big time

Finished the second killer section

Enjoying the fact that Gun Hill levels out towards the top

Almost there

Joolze making us sprint for the top. She loves to see us suffer

Freewheeling into Leek

Enjoying the post ride chat with Paul...

...and laugh

The 2010 Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides – registration now open

The Tour of Britain and The Prostate Cancer Charity have today revealed three new amateur cycle rides for 2010 – The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides.  According to the press release, cyclists of all levels will have the opportunity to measure themselves against the pro riders from The Tour of Britain, by taking on the same full stages from Britain’s national cycle tour event.

The events – scheduled to take place in September – are:

• Sunday 5 Sep – South West: A brand new addition to The Tour Ride roster  will see riders take on a tough route from Minehead to the South Devon Coast covering a total of 150km.
• Saturday 18 Sep – London: The second year this event is happening, will see cyclists ride a route that takes in some of the most iconic landmarks in the capital, just before the final stage of The Tour.
• Sunday 26 September – Stoke-on-Trent: The inaugural event in 2009 saw 1,300 plus cyclists take to the surrounding roads of Stoke. Included in that field was British Road Race Champion Kristian House (see pic below). This year sees the 145km event start and finish in Stoke (although exact route is still to be confirmed). For those who follow my blog will remember me going on a ride with 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt on this very route last year. Read more about that here.

For the exception of London, both South West and Stoke events will also offer  challenge routes of 70km and family routes of 20km. This is great as now people of all ages and abilities can take part, allowing more people to spend their day out on the bicycle.

According to the Tour Ride website, the rides will cost £40 for the full stage distances, £30 for the 70km distances and £20 for a family of four to do the 20km Family Rides, in both Stoke-on-Trent and the South West.

Entries close on 1 September 2010 but as places are limited and expected to fill up fast, riders are being encouraged to sign up as soon as possible.

So, if this tickles your fancy and you’d like to spend a day out on the bike experiencing what life as a pro taking part in The Tour of Britain is like, then make sure to sign up for the event as soon as possible.

Last but not least, here are some pictures from the 2009 Tour Ride event in Stoke-on-Trent:

The Tour of Britain lead vehicle getting ready to lead out the riders for the Tour Ride

British Road Race Champion Kristian House and the team from Sharp4Prostate

Neutral service on The Tour Ride provided by Saddleback, distributors of SRAM, Felt and ZIPP

Free food and drinks at all the food stops on The Tour Ride

Specialized to Unveil New Range of Bikes at Cycle 2008

Specialized Tarmac

Looks like this year’s Cycle 2008 is going to be a cracker. Just had news in that Specialized will be unveiling its 2009 range at the show, including cross-country bikes and  pro peleton road bikes. On top of this, the latest Body Geometry (BG) equipment and clothing will also on show.

According to the company press release, the following are a few of the headliner bikes and equipment areas that Specialized have been working hard to develop and deliver:

Epic – The Brain of the Operation
Totally redesigned for 2009, the new Epic are the fastest Competitive XC mountain bikes ever created. Total suspension integration and a no-compromise approach to engineering and development have made these amazing bikes a reality. No other competitive XC bike has boasted a better combination of light-weight, incredible efficiency (thanks to FSR suspension, BRAIN technology front and rear as well as incredible BB stiffness) and unsurpassed control (derived from FSR, proven geometry and enhanced torsional rigidity).

Roubaix SL2 – Nothing is Smoother and Faster
Watching Tom Boonen win Paris-Roubaix in April on his prototype Roubaix SL2 was simply incredible. Together Specialized and pro athletes have been pushing to change cycling so that high ergonomics means high performance. The 2009 Roubaix SL2 is the outcome. With all of the vertical compliance of previous Roubaix, vibration damping of Zertz technology and lateral and torsional rigidity approaching the Tarmac SL2, this bike is performance and ergonomics incarnate.

GLOBE – Powered By Apples and Bananas
With environmental and wellness concerns and soaring fuel prices, there most certainly are clear problems. And, as we know, bikes are the solution! Following on their success with the Innovate-or- Die contest, Specialized have innovated with a totally redesigned GLOBE offering, focused at getting people out of cars and onto bikes. Its category-leading, light weight, ergonomic touch points, dialled in geometry and flat resistant tyres perfect are perfect for utilitarian riding. The Globe is an exclusive line available only to Specialized dealers.

Designs for Women
Specialized road families and mountain bikes have independent, experience specific families that allow for even further frame and specification tuning – just for women. As the Ruby and Dolce have been free to develop exclusively based on the needs and wants of women, the 2009 Designs for Women mountain bikes have been created from a clean sheet of paper so they fit, perform and ride as well as possible for women.

Body Geometry Shoes
Body Geometry technology has proven to increase efficiency and power output. Specialized continue to work with Dr. Andy Pruitt to advance the shoe range which not only offer all the benefits of Body Geometry, also have the world’s lightest shoe with a mechanical closure (the S-Works Road). The key models to watch out for are the new Pro Road and Mountain models.

Apparel
Specialized’s apparel business has been growing at a very brisk pace. Engineered down to the finest detail and purpose built to deliver an optimal riding experience.

BG F.I.T.
In conjunction with our close partner Dr. Andy Pruitt EdD, PA, we continue to refine and improve BG Fit Integration Technology (BG F.I.T.). This system integrates bike fit training, bike geometries and key components such as adjustable stems and handlebars and key equipment categories like shoes, saddles, apparel, gloves and bar coverings. The BG F.I.T. intensive dealer fit training program through SBCU has been a great success with over 20 technicians completing this course.

So, lookout for my posts on the 9th as I will be walking the show aisles at Earls Court in the hopes of bringing you info and pictures on the latest in cycling gear to make its way to the UK shores.