Granfondo Yunnan 2018...Part 1..

Ni Hao !

Ciao & Welcome to China in the beautiful & colourful Yunnan area.

A view of Mangshi from the Temple.

For me is the second time attending the lovely Granfondo Yunnan thanks to the great relationship with Niclas Hellqvist & Kris Van de Velde from Nordic Ways.

We(Tom & I) arrived from London on Friday in the local town of Manghsi where Kris picked us up from the airport to go to the hotel followed with a lovely catch up chat to inform me of all the new changes are in place this year edition since 3 years ago when i have last attended.

The Start Line!!

The Saturday,which I was supposed to be home due to wife’s birthday, I was instead a prepping the bikes and get few bits & pieces(cit A.P) sorted before the 8.5KM Prologue (Individual Climb Time Trial) in the afternoon.

As expected knowing the great qualities of Kris to pick and choose for his events only the best routes, that in the afternoon we were going to have a go at something peculiar & stunning.

The start was by the side of a lake next to a dam,then we had to race around the perimeter of this lake with some “mangia e bevi” before hitting a nice 1.1 Km tree covered climb with 8% average incline finishing at the top by the entrance of a temple. Some of the serious boys here racing for the prizes made it in a stunning pace.

Saturday night local dinner in Mangshi Square

Stage 1, on Sunday was the so called “ Border Ride” ,105km race to the town of Ruili coasting along the border with Myanmar(Burma) and finishing at the border check point. Due to the location & altitude the climate is tropical, where trees,plants & flower grow freely all year round to enable us to experience an enrich sceneries with plenty of colours & smells.

Lunch Stop.

After the stage some of us went together for lunch to an amazing restaurant.The groups of us was a mix of 14 riders from 4 continents and 13 nationalities.Taking part at Nordic ways events are always great experience,because thanks to our passion of cycling individuals from different origins comes together for the sport.

Dinner time.

Stage 2,on Monday we start & finished from the border check point routing us through the city of Ruili before hitting only after 9km from the start a nice 16Km climb with an average of 5% with peaks up to 10%. The ascent was pretty via little villages & nature before reaching the peak and throwing us descending into a false plain with a misty & foggy atmosphere. Followed by that we had at km 56 a climb for 10KM with an average of 6% before riveting in a serious of roller coasting hills taking us back to the finish line…

Tom being chased.

Kris has been good to all of us participant giving us a rest day,so we could rest but also move from Ruili to Tengchong for the Queen’s stage(Stage 3) of the event with 185km with a total climb of 3000m.

Teng Chong at Sunset.

For now is Ciao & Arrivederci from Yunnan on Sunday the 11th of November part 2 will be published…

STAY TUNED TO BE CONTINUED……

SD

Ventoux

Our guest writer & friend Leigh send us few lines about his experience with us at Mt Ventoux a couple months back...

Firstly thank you so much for organising it Stef. Even when it went tits up with the airport strikes you managed to sort it all for us.

It was an amazing trip and I look forward to going on more with Saddle Drunk in the future. I was surprised how easy it was to get to Ventoux from London with the bikes on the plane and train. It was great that you had booked everything for us. Made the journey very straightforward, even after I went to the wrong terminal to begin with.

The accommodation was perfect. Plenty of space for us, very near Ventoux and came with great chef 😉. I loved the warm up ride to the very snazzy bar on the mountain. Excellent way to prepare for the next day's ascent(s).

From a cold grey London in the morning I was now sitting on the mountain in the afternoon, enjoying beautiful views with great beer and greater company. Who could ask for more. I absolutely loved climbing Ventoux.

I couldn't have asked for better weather and better climbing companions. Apart from obviously reaching the top twice the highlight really was the hybrid pain au chocolate/almond croissant (most delicious pastry I have ever had).

I will definitely be back to climb the mountain again. I need to bag the 3 ascents now. It is an addictive climb which really is legendary. Thank you to yourself and Dave for making the weekend such a joy.

Thank you very much Leigh & if you like more informations for our next trip across the continent please email us at ride@saddledrunk.com.

Merry Xmas.

Helping young people with Causeway Foundation

Ciao A tutti,

It has been a while since the last blog.

Few months ago Andrew from Causeway contacted me in reference making a kit for their epic ride Land's End to Bourne End.

The Causeway Foundation was established in 2011, primarily to support and relieve the needs of disadvantaged and exceptionally talented young people. Through funding, event organisation and use of our expertise, we strive to help them develop their skills, capacities and capabilities, to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.

One of the organisations that has benefited from the Causeway Foundation is the Infant Jesus Convent Health Centre in Bangalore. So far, we have provided funds and assisted with the building and conversion of a hospital maternity unit, providing necessary equipment and by sponsoring / funding a full time on-site doctor.  

If you like to support this great cause please visit this link.

Until next time be safe on the road.

SD Team

Survey for the University of California

Morning all.

Few days ago I have received an email from Thomas Gaither, Research Assistant at the Department of Urology at University of California,San Francisco asking for me to share with fellow cyclists and sports people their survey.

Below are few words from Tom:

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Urology are conducting a survey study to uncover new connections between exercise and men and women's health, aid patients and better inform the public about ways to improve their health. The impact of different forms of exercise on sexual wellness is not well understood and deserves more study. 

All are welcome to participate by doing a short anonymous survey, here is the link for the survey:

https://redcap.ucsf.edu/surveys/?s=CC488NWYAA .

Thank you for taking part in the survey,Please share it with other riders.

SD TEAM

An affascinating long weekend in Mongolia

Last Wednesday night I flew out from London to Mongolia to be hosted by the Mongolian Cycling Federation to discuss a potential partnership for the future.

I met with Kris,from Kuai Sport Promotion in Beijing to travel together into Ulan Bator.For both of us was the first time travelling to Mongolia and the excitement was fuelling our feeling of joy.

Arrived in UB, Naran Zundui the general secretary picked us up to take us to the hotel & then to visit the beautiful Genghis Khan Square and the museum of the History of Mongolia.

Another Local delicacy.Yak Meat

Naran, prepared us an intense program for our 3 days visit in UB and the first evening we had the pleasure to meet up for with the President of the Mongolian Olympic Committee,a former Olympic silver medallist to discuss about cycling in Mongolia.

The following day we travelled around to various cycling sites in the capital to then finish off at the office of the Mongolian Cycling Federation situated at the Olympic Centre in UB.

I presented the MCF with the samples kit for the National Cycling Team to discuss the potential relationship of SD to be the Kit Supplier to be worn by the National Team at UCI world championships, UCI races & at the Olympic Games.

SD is pleased to announce that the Mongolian Cycling Team will be wearing SaddleDrunk clothing until the end of 2020.

To celebrate the great news for us, Naran & the president took us to dinner to an amazing  Mongolian Restaurant.

The Mongolian cuisine is a rich diet consisted mainly in Mutton,Yak,Horse & beef products. The landscape is ideal for those animals . Green Grasslands with the freedom to move,free from pollution & clear blue sky, made those Mongolian delicacies on the top 3 on my list out of 56 countries I have visited so far in my life time.

Genghis Khan Square in UB

On Easter Sunday we were whisked away from UB to the “TERELJ NATIONAL PARK” on a 4x4 vehicle , which made me that we were not going via normal roads but off-road. Infact I was not wrong ,I was just astonished by the sceneries of the landscape , the piece and calm of the surroundings ,the warmth of the people along the villages and the stunning Mongolian Ger Villages.

Some local delicacies

My conclusions from this short trip is that I will return to Mongolia to visit more of this beautiful country.I will certainly spend more time in this country which it is 5 times the size of France.

Terelj National Park

I would like to say thank you very much to Naran for the great hospitality and for looking after us 24/7. Thank you very also to everyone we met that made us welcomed.

Stefano.