French training camp - action pics

[Sylv]

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Who said we were going to do any cycling?

[size=50](Make no mistake though this was the hardest week of cycling I have done yet).[/size]

[Michelle]

Arrrggghhhh!

I know you guys are in France, but someone could have tamed Paul's underarm growths

[Andrew G]

Sneaky Sylv [size=50](the small print)[/size].

It's the shoes and socks, cyclists tan, and swimming trunk combo that's really frightening.

[Paul H]

Well I think everybody enjoyed Hone Holiday training camp.

Some of the highs/lows include:

Mt Ventoux
Stu Sh!tt!ng himself on the first ride
Col de Bel Hone
All you can eat Mussells restaurant
Mt Vinagarette
Beach
LBP riders have a slow recovery
Stu eating all the food
Swimming in lake cassein

[Sylv]

Yep it was awesome, cheers Paul. Stu and Paul are now my favourite comedy duo.

Funniest moment (you had to be there): second to last day, start of the ride up a shallow climb. Stu is at the front which is a rare occurence, Paul is behind me. We are not moving very fast, but Stu starts fiddling with his small ring gears and we drop even more speed. I hear Paul mumbling "what's going on". Like I said, you had to be there.


Second funniest moment: Paul is 50m into lake Caillan,

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,looking back at Stu and me booking a pedalo. I wave at him in a very camp manner, and he replies "HELP! HELP!", I thought the pedalo lady was going to hear him and send out for rescue.

[Stu Merckx Man]

that was a fantastic week.

the best place for riding ive ever been!

i think i will list some highs and low alsos-

highs- the EPIC battles over the climbs 11 miles before we got back to the camp site each day, my new tan lines, tennis, the women in cannes, a new ability to suffer more than i have ever suffered on a bike due to chasing paul for 11 miles, then counter attacking him and holding him off for the win at the camp site on one of the last days , mont vontoux, the blast back from cannes me and sylv had, dropping paul on all the descents, watching sylv descend .

lows- bieng reduced to having diarrhea in the woods down a dirt track naked with no form of loo paper sweating like biatch 20 miles from the campsite as a family with 2 young girls come along..... although as time goes on it is becoming more of a highlight and is great dinner conversation with friends and family.

[Stu Merckx Man]

what do you mean!?!?

[Sylv]

other bits

paul driving all night on coffee and mi-cho-ko, waking up during the drive to see some cloud-thick fog with 10m visibility, which didn't seem to phaze paul, spending 5min at 180+bpm on the first ride trying (and failing) to keep up with paul, the perma-smell of TCP, paul's rowing mate richard riding in a rowing suit, normal shoes on clipless pedals (he forgot his shoes), in a huge gear, and still managing a couple 40+mile rides with us, paul's other mate charlie wearing his superman boxer shorts under his lycra, the old fat men playing tennis bare-chest and so effortlessly it was annoying, the women playing tennis, paul wandering in decathlon bare-footed, stu trying to speak french to whoever spoke to him, me bonking badly on a couple of the rides and having to watch paul and stu disappear in the distance, putting down 400w downhill so strong was the wind, descending the vinaigrette climb trying to drop what looked like an ex-pro well into his 60s on an old banger, only managing it when overtaking cars into a hairpin, paul getting annoyed at roadworks, stu and paul having an all-you-can-eat mussels contest, snickers-flavoured ice-cream, paul's '80s compilation cds, having to ride 4km with two mighty hills to get breakfast, introducing stu to a proper breakfast instead of his usual coco pops and shreddies, starting rides at 11am, nutella on bananas, ovomaltine in yogurt, falling asleep on the beach after a ride, stu's red arms which he insisted were brown, paul's epic rowing stories, paul and stu's diverging views on training and recovering, getting a sore neck from the 20min ventoux descent, drafting behind cars and lorries on the coast, riding through Ste Maxime where I spent many a childhood's holiday, snow on the ventoux, paul's pronounciation of french village names, almost dying trying to keep up with paul on a run, putting 2min on paul on a 5km downhill, all those fights up the climbs, riding with my powermeter, paul admitting he's never cooked anything,

[Michelle]

Well, drop my jaw to the floor, Paul's never cooked anything! That is just too atrociaous for words, it's as bad as a war crime that is.

Get him a Delia book on the double. One of the early ones like how to boil water to make tea .

Glad to hear you had such a great time, and that you survived the boys only camp. Sounds a blast.

[Sylv]

Let it die, Michelle, let it die

Thankfully we had our biatch to do the washing up

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