Tom and Careen's Tumblr

I personally abhor Rapha and everything they stand for. But -...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:48:22 +0400

I personally abhor Rapha and everything they stand for. But - this is still a good clip.

Harold ‘Aitch’ Nelson BEM, in Rouleur magazine....

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:59:00 +0400

Harold ‘Aitch’ Nelson BEM, in Rouleur magazine. Cycling coach. Legend.

The man says, “My lads not only make it in sport but in life, too.” (He more famously said, “just get out there and kick their a***s.”) Not a man you want to let down.

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon 2012. A surprise 3rd place in...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0400

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon 2012. A surprise 3rd place in the relay event. With Katie and Kevin Garvey.

This summer’s outing.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0400

This summer’s outing.

HCT/Western Region DevelopmentCorporation Tour of Al Gharbia,...

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0400

HCT/Western Region DevelopmentCorporation Tour of Al Gharbia, January 2011

Old bloke with dodgy camera going down big hill on a bike…

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:04:39 +0400

Old bloke with dodgy camera going down big hill on a bike…

Thanks to the wonders of the interweb, it looks like I have been...

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:24:00 +0400

Thanks to the wonders of the interweb, it looks like I have been able to enter the 2011 Etape du Tour. Finally, everything online, no fuss, no faxes, no frantic doctor’s appointments for medical certificates, and no last minute trips to FedEx. To overcome the problems of over subscription, the organisers are putting on 2 Etapes du Tour this year, each with 10,000 riders. Personally, I still think they should prioritise by body fat percentage, but hey, what do I know? Anyway, if all goes well, I’ll be here on July 11 2011, along with 5999 riders, and 4000 fat tourists.

PS Oh dear, things went far from ‘well’. Spent the week of the event holed up in my sister in law’s flat in Edinburgh with flu. Man flu is real folks.

No Etape du Tour this year as my name didn’t make it...

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:53:00 +0400

No Etape du Tour this year as my name didn’t make it through the lucky draw. Plus of course if the organisers hadn’t sold most of the entries to fat newbies (and why do they all ride Scotts by the way?) who won’t make it to the finish, then they wouldn’t need to put the rest of us in a draw - but that’s another gripe.

This picture from the epic ‘Bataille de Joel’ on Mont Ventoux July 2009.

Abu Dhabi Triathlon March 2010, coming on to the final lap on...

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:07:00 +0400

Abu Dhabi Triathlon March 2010, coming on to the final lap on Abu Dhabi Corniche having just punctured. 100 km in 2 h 35 mins, must learn to fix punctures 5 mins faster! My last race for a bit as I made a solemn vow to try being a fat lazy bloke for a while. Thanks to Padraig Hyland for the photo and support.

Etape du Tour 2009 - Some Thoughts

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:46:21 +0400

Well, it was a great day out for everyone who participated in this most prestigious of ‘sportive’ events - wasn’t it?

For some years now, the organisers, ASO, have sold a number (3000 this year I believe) of entries to tour operators in various countries. Those tour operators offer a variety of packages, including one where you buy only the entry, and make your own travel and accommodation arrangements. These are up to 10 times (yes ten times) more than you would pay if you entered through the Velo magazine application form. Fair enough, it’s a money making venture. Some years, including this year I believe, if your postal address was in a country served by one of those tour operators, you had to enter via a tour operator. If you applied directly through the application form published in Velo magazine, your application was rejected.

The result? On rolling up to the start line, you saw hundreds of cyclists who, with all due respect, would look less out of place in a darts match. But, hey, they paid the money, so why shouldn’t they be on the start line to find out what it’s like to “ride a stage of the Tour de France”?

Well, I can think of three reasons why not.

First, you didn’t need any background in sports to realise that these guys (yes, they were guys) wouldn’t make it as far as the second climb, let alone the finish. They’ll go home a few thousand pounds worse off, exhausted, and utterly disillusioned with cycling.

Second, it’s going to cheapen the image of the event. Why would you want to pay for and train for for an event like this if anyone with the required cash, regardless of athletic ability, can enter it?

Thirdly - and this is a moral rather than financial argument - there are many fit, dedicated, experienced riders who happen to live in countries served by these tour companies who can’t, or won’t, pay tour company prices. Their places are being hijacked by people who will pay, but haven’t a clue about what preparing for and riding an event like this involves.

Cycling is not “the new golf”. It requires months of sacrifice and preparation. It’s physically exhausting. It demands a thorough understanding of how your body reacts to physical stress. And we don’t wear argyll trousers. The etape should recognise this and bring back some sort of entry criteria rather than just allow anyone who can pay tour company prices.

Summit of Mont Ventoux about a kilometre from the end of the...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:23:00 +0400

Summit of Mont Ventoux about a kilometre from the end of the 2009 Etape du Tour. Perfect weather this time. Starting from number 8710 I was in the last group of 1000 to set off, and when the 500 riders behind me jumped into the next door starting pen, I started last of the 9500 riders! Bad start and it meant a lot of overtaking, but had a great day out and finished about 2000th.

The summit of the Glen Quaich road descending towards Kenmore on...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:17:00 +0400

The summit of the Glen Quaich road descending towards Kenmore on the shores of Loch Tay. With rides like this, why would you ever want to ride anywhere else?

The Perth United CC Eddie Morgan Memorial Road Race, and...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:12:58 +0400

The Perth United CC Eddie Morgan Memorial Road Race, and I’ve just won the sprint for the prestigious 22nd place award. 80 crazed Scottish riders doing 45 kph down narrow mud covered farm tracks - what UK road racing is all about. I’m still cleaning the grit out of my kit 6 weeks later.

Article in The National

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:52:00 +0400

Had a very interesting interview with The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi last month. Here’s the result. Words by Helena Frith Powell, photos by Phillip Cheung.

Sometimes you don’t feel like training. When that...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:51:38 +0400

Sometimes you don’t feel like training. When that happens, remind yourself of this photo. Then get on your bike.

Etape Time Again

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:46:35 +0400

Wow, one whole month since the last post. Either I’ve been lazy or training too hard. Guess which. We’re packing for the flight back to Edinburgh, then I’m off to do Etape du Tour number 7, this time up the fearsome Mont Ventoux on July 20. This mountain is famous for two things - the death of British cyclist Tommy Simpson in 1967, and the hailstorm which closed the road when the Etape last finished here in 2000. I still remember that descent as one of the coldest, scariest things I’ve ever done. Some of the things I saw riders do to warm their hands up enough to grip the brakes can’t be repeated here. Anyway, this year the sun will be shining, guaranteed.

It seems to have been the month for interviews too. The Amaury Sports Organisation, organisers of the Tour de France and the Etape du Tour called up out of the blue, hunting down survivors of that freezing day in 2000 for an article in the Tour de France programme. I don’t know if my French was up to the task of explaining to M. Louis Doucet quite how cold it was, but I managed to describe the descent as a ‘zone de guerre’ becasue of the number of bodies at the side of the road!

Second interview was with the delightful Helena Frith Powell of the National newspaper of the UAE, followed by a photo shoot with the hugely talented Philip Cheung. We started the photo shoot outdoors in 42 degree heat, then Philip politely asked how I trained in that heat. When I said I trained indoors, we beat a hasty retreat to the flat and continued the rest of the shoot there. I should see on Saturday what the results are, but surely photographing some kitted out cyclist riding like a dervish in the comfort of his own apartment must be one of the more bizarre photo shoots he’s done.

Another one from Barry.

Sat, 09 May 2009 14:17:34 +0400

Another one from Barry.

A big thank you to ‘Iron Boy’ Bary Lee and his Mum...

Sat, 09 May 2009 14:12:33 +0400

A big thank you to ‘Iron Boy’ Bary Lee and his Mum and dad for sending on the photo from the last (ever?) Jebel Hafeet duathlon. Barry’s only 17, already an Ironman finisher, and is going to go a long way in triathlon.

You win some you lose some.......

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:39:00 +0400

Good news and bad news last week. I got through the entry lottery for this year’s Etape du Tour, so have the fearsome climb of the Mont Ventoux to look forward to on July 20. Shortly after this, I got a surprise email from a journalist working for the Tour de France organisers ASO on the official Tour programme, which includes a section on l’Etape du Tour. He’s interviewing ‘survivors’ of the Etape’s last visit to Mont Ventoux in 2000, where we had hail and temperatures of 2 degrees on the summit, and when the police closed the road with about half the field still to reach the summit. I’ve since managed to erase most of the pretty horrific memories of the descent from the summit that day, so being interviewed about them will be a suitably traumatic experience!

Unfortunately, the Etape is now the only event left to train for…..

Meanwhile, back in never never land, the third Mercure Duathlon up Jebel Hafeet was cancelled due to lack of interest (big hand to certain ‘triathletes’ in a certain UAE emirate who have consistently failed to support this and other events in the UAE by failing to actually show up). Then, the Dubai Tri Club cancelled all their events due to bad mouthing by a minority of participants.

People need to know three things:

If you want to be called ‘triathlete’ you have to actually take part in triathlons, rather than just train for them or talk about them. Otherwise you’re not a ‘triathlete’, you’re a ‘poser’.
If you don’t show up to events, there won’t be any more events.
If someone organises an event for your benefit, the thing to say afterwards is “thank you for organising the event”, rather than making snide comments to or about the hard working (mostly voluntary) organisers and marshalls. That’s just plain dumb, and now the rest of the sporting community in the UAE pays the price for your selfishness. Well done to you whoever you are. Go back to your golf course/football pitch/wherever, you’re in the wrong sport.

Dubai Triathlon Club Olympic Distance Triathlon

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:05:00 +0400

Another Friday, and other triathlon. This time it was the DTC Olympic distance triathlon. That’s a 1500 metre swim, 40 km bike, and a 10 km run. Once again, Team Tri2Aspire were up for it. It seemed every other triathlete on the course was in our team colours, a great turnout. As usual, I wimped out of doing the whole thing, and was able to find two willing accomplices, Jamie Atherton and Chris Sellar, to join the team event. These are two of the stars of the team. Jamie has previously represented Great Britain in his age group, but suffered a career threatening neck injury two months ago while swimming. This was his return to competition, and we wanted to make it a good one for him. Chris is also a fabulous athlete, having won the 2008 DTC Half Ironman triathlon in appalling conditions with a really gutsy run. Having recently become a dad (congratulations Chris!), he was happy to find an event which fitted into his new schedule of nappy changing and getting woken up at odd hours.

As last week, we were able to line up with former world Ironman champion Faris Sultan. As usual, the start line was the last most of us saw of him. If you were lucky, you heard the turbo whine as he passed you. A deeply impressive thing to watch.

Once again the weather gremlins struck a DTC event. This time there was a 20 knot wind blowing off the sea. There were two potentially strong teams in the team event, and we exited the water with a 10 minute deficit on the first of them. The bike leg was tough with the wind, but, unlike the much feared ‘Ghantoot wind’, it was steady, cool, and predictable, so hard work but not too challenging. Like all windy events, it seemed to go on forever, so I was surprised to check my lap split to find I was lapping at 18 minutes, getting in in a shade under 56 minutes, and leaving Chris with a 2½ minute deficit to make up on the run section. Like the star he is, Chris made it up by 5 km, and we came in to win by almost 2 minutes (results here). Which makes a hatrick for Team Tri2Aspire in this years team triathlons.