Croissy rando

The weekend before last was the Croissy Sur Seine randonnée. Admittedly, you might think this a come down after a Cyclosportif like the 1000 Bosses, but randos are just for enjoyment and a generally easy ride. And seeing as the Croissy rando is my local I haven’t got an excuse. I dragged myself out of bed at 6.30am, met Neil at 7 and cycled all of 400m to the Croissy clubs clubhouse and signed on. It was a damn windy day, so even if we had at one time considered riding the 150km rando, we decided it would just be the 100 today.

For a rando it went a damn hilly way at the start, up the Bandido legendary Stray Cat Hill, a short hill the maxs out at 14%. Neil as usual went dancing off, being such a show-off, and this guy we had picked up on the way (in a cycling sense) set off in hot pursuit. He got 3/4 of the way up, then blew up completely, and I eventually caught him just as we crested the hill. He stayed with us for a while longer, until we eventually dropped him on a windy section about a 1/3 of the way round. The route took us into the Vexin, before the half way stop where we scoffed as much cake, chocolate and minty drink as we reasonably could. In fact this far it had been a very familiar route to me as it was one my own club often take.

If I was familiar with the route, the route back was even more so, we actually rode past Neil’s house! And then back the usual way we take to my house, past the radar station across to St.Gemme, through the forest and back through Marly instead of L’etang la Ville. So much for seeing new places on a rando. We got a good soaking on the way back for 15 minutes too.

We got back to the clubhouse and started chatting to a guy in French. At which point he says to us in English, “that’s not a French accent”. To which we admitted we were English as was he. He said where was I from and when I said “Southport”, he said he was as well! Small world. OK, Southport is not the greatest town in the world, but it was nice to meet a fellow Sandgrounder so far from home. He was impressed as we were the first back from the rando, we had done the short route after all, but he still proudly told his fellow clubmates that les Brittaniques sont les premiéres arrivants!

La Scott 1000 Bosses

Everything should have been perfect, I had a nice pasta in Lyon the night before, I wasn’t too late to bed, although sharing a room with Neil C. in the hotel, but he’s fine to share with. I was very nervous in the morning and did more or less skip breakfast having just a banana and a Grany bar, I know that’s not really advisable but I get like that before a race.

The cycle to the start is only 8km but involves a little climb, but we took it steady and we got there very early, around 8am for the 9am start. Gabriel was there too, already lining up in the first row behind the 200 riders with a priority start. I should have gone back a bit, but I was a bit too proud and lined up alongside Gabriel and stood around for the next hour.

The start was fast and as dangerous as I can remember, despite being uphill, at one point I hit a kerb on a roundabout and nearly lost control, it was a scary moment. I followed the lead group of a good 150 riders and soon my heart rate was way up, too high at around 187! I kept on as I could, but I soon realised it was beyond me, after 20 minutes at this pace I was going, and the lead group was away, and by 30 minutes I was shot to pieces. I had really overestimated my ability at the start and suddenly all these riders were passing me. I realised I had been stupid and had to get myself together, it probably took the next 30-40 minutes, I didn’t really recover till the early climbing was over at around the 38km. I did feel alright for a while and didn’t feel the need to stop at the ravataillement and I got myself in a good group for the second hour of the race. I followed the wheels and climbed with everyone and started to believe I could have a good ride.

Into the third hour and I was riding pretty well, my average speed was up over 30km/h and I thought maybe I could even pull off a gold! I was getting some bad stomach ache by now, probably as a result of skipping the breakfast, but I was coping. The second too last climb is the steepest but not too short and I rode that well, though my average speed did slip back under 30. I stopped for a drink at the ravataillement at the top and to swap my water bottles round. I was tired, my stomach was in bad shape but I was hoping to keep going. Into the last climb, which started with a very steep section at the bottom and suddenly I was gone. The climb is very gentle but I couldn’t take it, at first I could only just keep up with the others, and then they were passing me now and then. I felt really tired, and hungry, but I just couldn’t eat with the stomach ache. The ascent clicked by as my average speed dropped and dropped, I was losing way too much time here, it was disappointing but I just didn’t have the form in my legs. I the top and heaved a sigh of relief, only to find 2km further down the road a further 3km climb. I managed it ok, and set myself for the descent.

The last descent is long and fast, of course I am the worlds worst descender but I hung in there on the back of the group for a long, long time. We got to the flatter descent at the finish and the speed was still high, but only 5km to go. I had been hoping still to make 4h45 but that slipped by and with 1km to go I ran out of energy completely. It just went and quite a few riders passed me, I just couldn’t turn the legs and I cruised into the finish in a slightly disappointing time of 4h5017s.

I was pretty glad to finish, it had been a struggle at times, but I got through alright, slower than I wanted, but sometimes you ride a stupid race, and/or you just don’t have the form in your legs when you need it, and that was today. I was still second to finish of our expat crew, so not too bad.

Result: 373rd out of around 800 starters. Not sure of my position in my class. Another Brevet d’argent to add to the collection I am sure.