LONDON 2 PARIS 2016

As promised we are back for our famous ride.THE L2P "SADDLEDRUNK" RIDE.

Enjoying an Ice Cream in Isle St.Louis

Enjoying an Ice Cream in Isle St.Louis

Please find the following links to our 24 Hour London to Paris Challenge.  I would suggest the following dates:

1.       June 10rd- 12th 

24 hour ride from London to Paris taking place over a weekend totalling approximately 180 miles (288 Km) and 7,500 feet (2,300M) of ascent with an overnight stay in Paris before returning via Eurostar to London.  Participants will ride the classic London to Brighton route then on to Newhaven where they will catch a ferry to Dieppe before continuing on to Paris.  Participant bikes will be brought back to London by Viva Velo. 

Ability level: Commuter cyclists and upwards.

Loving is Caring.

Loving is Caring.

Leave London Friday lunchtime and arrive back London Sunday.

VIVA VELO will  provide:

  • 2 x Ride Captains (at least one to be First Aid qualified)                                                                    
  • 1 x Driver/Mechanic to accompany the group
  • Support Vehicle to provide mechanical and emergency assistance as required
  • Baggage transfer from UK to France
  • Bike return from Paris to London
  • Hotel 3 star (twin/double occupancy) on B&B basis
  • Ferry outbound including private cabin(twin occupancy)
  • Eurostar
  • Special Edition SaddleDrunk Jersey 

For any further details please contact staff at VIVAVELO or email at store@saddledrunk.com.

All of us here at SD Team wish you Merry Xmas.

SD Team

Stretching at the Station.

Stretching at the Station.



Alex Jones and the National Para TT Championships

Our guest writer/rider Alex Jones talk to us about his last experience at the National Para TT Championships.

National Para TT Championships

 As soon as I returned from Manchester it was time to start preparations for the National Para Time Trial Championships. Time Trialling is not an area where I have had a lot of experience but I had not done badly in the World Cup so I was motivated to keep training hard.  The course was a rolling 36kms in the beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside. We travelled up the day before so I could at least drive the course a few times and get familiar with the tricky bits and try to make a plan.  We were lucky with the weather on the day, with bright sunshine and next to no wind.  I was slightly nervous to see that the current National Champion was setting off a minute behind me so I knew that I would have to be strong mentally as he sailed past me and resist the temptation to chase him down at a speed that would be unsustainable and make my legs die on me before the end of the race.   I put everything into my performance, with GB coaches there watching our every move once more,  and at the end of the race I had no idea if I had medalled or not as the times seemed very close for 2nd and 3rd places. 

Checking the results board I was genuinely over the moon to see that I had come second, earning a silver medal, proving that every second of effort counts.  I went away inspired by the other riders and whilst I continue my physio exercises I know that I can continue to overcome my muscle stiffness to improve my position on the bike for next year.

It has been a very long and exciting season for me but it is not quite over as my first ever Track International competition is coming up in November so I have been training every week at the London Velodrome so I can attempt more pbs and improve my racing technique.

The SD Team thanks Alex for sharing his cycling experiences with us and all our followers. We wish well and we look forward to hear more interesting stories.Good Luck for the rest of the season.

SD TEAM.

Ps: don’t forget to vote for us http://www.timeout.com/london/lovelondonawards#/vote/ealing/shops

Supporting the New Para National Road Champion

SaddleDrunk Team is pleased to announce the start of an amazing relationship with Alex Jones the New Para National Road Champion.

We have asked Alex and his mother few question about Alex's cycling career.

Introduction

What an amazing trajectory it has been for 17 year old Alex Jones, since he started cycling competitively only 3 years ago! Having been spotted by British Cycling's Talent Coaches winning gold at the London Youth Games TT in 2012, he has been on the Olympic Talent programme Regional schools of Racing,  learning the trade on track and road - and the levels of hard work, sacrifice and discipline that it takes to succeed.  Born with mild cerebral palsy, last year he caught the eye of the Great Britain Cycling Team para coaches and after a successful first Road World Cup in Italy in June he has gone on to become 2015 National Mens para Circuit series winner and National Mens para Road Champion, a remarkable acheivement for a Junior rider. He has also medalled in each of 5 track events at the UK Games and is looking forward to competing with Paralypmic greats at the National Track Championships at the end of this month.  

History

Alex always enjoyed sports as a child but developed an interest in cycling at the age of 14, joining the Kingston Junior Cycling Club. The coaches there advised him to trial for the London Youth Games, (where he won Gold for the following 3 years) and he was spotted by revered British Cycling Talent and Regional Development coach Graham Macnamee who remains an influential mentor and voice of experience.

Mac nominated Alex for BC’s prestigious Regional Schools of Racing, part of the Olympic Talent Programme where over the next 2 years Alex learned the foundations of competitive road and track cycling and the high standards and hard work expected not only on the bike but off the bike too including nutrition, organization, preparation, discipline and the dedication required to be a top rider. Along the way he was supported and encouraged by his clubs (Twickenham CC, HIllingdon and Prestige), family and school, particularly by his PE Teacher and International Triathlete Mark Yeoman, who showed unwavering belief in  Alex’s potential.

Alex’s passion for riding grew, fuelled by fantastic experiences such as meeting the Team Sky riders and Shane Sutton on a training camp in Majorca where he rode up Mount Lluc with them and being taken behind the scenes at the Tour de France with Chris Boardman, Ned Boulting and Gary Imlach.  Off the bike, Alex is a BC level 1 coach and regularly helps teach young riders at Hillingdon CC.  His other interests are cars and music.

Alex did well in regional events but due to his mild cerebral palsy affecting his performance at an elite National level, he missed out on a place on the Olympic Apprentice programme. However, in a stroke of luck for Alex, he had caught the eye of his current coach, Andy Pitt who offered to take him on a one to one basis in July 2014, starting a fantastically motivating working relationship.   BC’s para cycling programmeidentified his potential and  nominated him for his first para Road World Cup in Italy in June this year where he was classified by an International panel as a C5 rider.

Following an impressive performance at his first World Cup, Alex went on, under the effective guidance of Andy Pitt, to win the National Men’s Para Circuit Series and after an amazing season has become National Men’s Para Road Champion in his category.  He has just returned from the UK School Games having medalled in each of his 5 events and is looking forward to the National Track Championships in Manchester later this month where he will be competing with Paralympic multi-medallists such as Jody Cundy and Jon Allan Butterworth.

After an exciting first year competing as a para cyclist alongside his regular racing commitments, Alex is now undergoing assessments  and training with the Great Britain Cycling Teamand his fierce ambition is to continue to learn and improve and earn the opportunity to ride for GBCT at the 2016 World Cups and World Championships and start BC’s four year preparation cycle for Tokyo 2020. Alex is also a Level One BC coach and spends his spare time teaching young riders at his old club.

From next month Alex will be wearing the national champion colour cycling kit made by SaddleDrunk after being approved by British Cycling. 

Good Luck Alex.

SD Team.

Do not forget to vote for us at the Time Out Love London Awards.



Les Enfants a Velo'.London2Paris 2015

Today guest riders from the last L2P are Derek from the beautiful Scotland and Andy from Essex.

A french delicacy,Steak Tartare.

A french delicacy,Steak Tartare.

Why did you decide to do it.

I have been riding with SD for some time now and it’s great to be able to ride with like-minded people from an excellent coffee shop in Paperback so close to where I live. 

So, when the Paris trips were announced  signing up was an easy decision to make.  Slightly more difficult was which month to choose. I opted for July as the weather was “ bound to be good”  ( how wrong could I be) and it coincided with the climax of the Tour de France.

What did you do to prepare for it?

Preparation involved a range of different SD group rides comprising Richmond park loops , hill reps and longer Friday rides to Windsor and beyond and of course plenty of Paperback coffee. 

How did you find it?

I really enjoyed the ride and was pleased that the training had put me in good stead for the event. An added bonus was no paperwork such as train/ferry /hotel bookings as this had all been taken care of courtesy of Stefano.

The mileage and terrain were fine the key challenges being the overnight ferry crossing ( ie no bed ) and the shocking weather, both of which I was able to mitigate to some extent with my self- inflating travel pillow , long bibs and overshoes. The rain was biblical in proportions and more akin to Scotland in Spring rather than the south of England in the height of summer. 

It was fantastic to arrive in Paris together adorned in the SD customised yellow kit, albeit slightly weird to have posed for so many strangers’ photographs in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower !.

Derek landing in Dieppe with Heavy Rain & 42 Knots Wind Gusts

Derek landing in Dieppe with Heavy Rain & 42 Knots Wind Gusts

Would I do it again?

I wouldn’t hesitate and would encourage others to sign up.

What was going through your mind during the ride

The full gamut of emotions depending upon heaviness of rain, time of day, intensity of sun, speed, terrain and how the group were feeling but mostly......................I can’t wait to do more of these !!

Next is Andy with his speech.

Why did I do it?

I wanted to do the ride last year but unfortunately an injury meant I had to put it on hold, so this year I set myself some goals; what started out as personal goals soon became a reason to ride for a charity which is ‘Tommy’s.

How did I prepare for it?

I have been getting out on my bike whenever I can mostly during the week days and always on my own, I didn’t know anyone near where I live to ride with, so it has meant a lot of lonely training sessions. I have been gradually building up the miles riding 40, 50 then 70 then doing lots of spinning classes when I couldn’t get out on the road. I have also now joined Romford Cycle Club which is local to me and they are a great bunch of people, very welcoming and lots of good riders which makes the ride outs with them at times hard as they do push you on and I will always try and keep up with the stronger riders!!

How did I find the ride?

I had an absolute nightmare on Friday just to try and get to the start, I set off at 12pm in the car to be dropped off but the horrendous wet weather caused huge traffic problems on my route to the start. This meant that I never actually got there!! With the group setting off to the train station having taken the sensible decision to catch the train to Brighton where I had to meet everyone there. This was not something that I had contemplated we might have to do and was a bit deflated to start with, but the group were really upbeat and I soon perked up when we eventually set off to Newhaven.

I found the ride to be easier than I had thought it would be, maybe my training paid off after all!! Riding in the company of such a nice bunch of people also made it really enjoyable and despite the weather I had a great time riding through some great scenery and pothole free roads.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely!! I’m trying to convince my wife to take up cycling and do the trip next year.

I was also able to stop on in Paris to take in the Tour De France final stage which was a big highlight to be able to watch the professionals do their thing…they are so fast!!

I will be recommending the trip to everyone I speak to, who cycles next year it may well be our own stage of the TDF. Stefano has done a great job in organising the whole thing and was our very own Sat Nav at times.

Andy in Paris

Andy in Paris

What was going through my mind during the ride?

Mainly try and keep with everyone and don’t fall off!!

OK, so I was the only one to fall off…..!! but I did keep with you all.

The weather did it’s best to dampen spirits but to be honest I don’t mind riding in the wet I see it as just another challenge, I ride a motorbike and have ridden in all weathers including snow, so really didn’t mind it that much. However when the sun came out it allowed everyone to dry out before getting into Paris, I take with me from the trip some new friends and experiences and fond memories. I felt quite emotional riding to the Eiffel Tower where my wife was waiting for us to arrive and seeing the face of Craig when his mum tapped him on the shoulder was an absolute picture!! worth the journey on its own.

My thanks to everyone for making the ride so enjoyable and to Stef for organising, you don’t know how much I have been inspired to ride more often and will definitely being doing more rides and sportives.

Laundry in the room balcony.

Laundry in the room balcony.

Thank you Derek & Andy to pass over to others your experience.

Be safe on the Road.Be SaddleDrunk.

SD Team.