Vaison la Romaine- Annecy-La Clusaz

Apologies dear readers for missing a day - laptop was in van en route to Geneva with the rest of the luggage to pick up the other campers. I'll keep this one short and concise, peppered with photos to tell the story and of course ensure it doesn't turn into a tedious monologue of wattage and other metrics.....yawn.

Pizza dinner post Ventoux and sampling the local fermented beverages...

Vaison la Romaine and the Roman bit. Day after Ventoux dawned bright and early at 3.30 am, hurrah for jet lag !! Made it out for a run at 6.01am, a minute too late to join JN's 6am run group but hey, who wants to run at 4.45/km that early anyway?!! I used the run to actually be a tourist and take a few photos as am a bit slack in that department and rely on everyone else to take photos...... After brekky and bikes, multitudes of day bags which had to suffice for overnight stay we were off to Annecy.... 3 hrs or so later and lots of busy traffic, we were dropped at our hotel then JN and Dave sped off to Geneva so we appointed Gordo in charge til we were reunited with the others in La Clusaz. Quick change and we headed off on the Semnoz loop - 51 km around 2100m asc. Once out of town its a 16km climb, I found it a pretty nice climb and had expected it to be steeper; had a few pitches but a pretty pleasant 7% average for the 16km. Altho its all relative, after the abject misery inflicted by Mont Ventoux the day before. It was a bit cloudy uo top but oh the sweet, sweet sound of cowbells. Yes, am finally on hols, in the Alps.

Top of Semnoz- winners are grinners A long descent followed by another long descent ( thank GOD we hadn't done the loop in that direction!) and once on the outskirts of Annecy it was designated bike path all the way back to the hotel- these were terifying actually - e-bikes whizzing past at top speed, kids, scooter... felt more hazardous than the road and I could feel a bit of rage building internallyu but then remembered I'm on holidays and its time to be zen and grateful and #blessed so just CTFO

Me CTFO . And getting some of my 5 a day. Dinner in Annecy was a pleasant affair... we found a restaurant that wasn't serving pizza ... much to the waiter's amusement the order was for 7 burger with fries. Bien cuit. ( well done- didn't want to risk burger tartare....)

Thirsty work this triathlon stuff :-) Today ( Wednesday) after thankfully a long and quality sleep, we started off with a swim in the lake. How beautiful, clear 21 degrees, flat and glassy. Had a struggle to start with as felt my wetsuit was strangling me and stiff back abd shoulders from all the long descents but that eased off although I stil felt as if it was really hard work- but of course, tired from all the riding etc. Until I got out and realised my float bag hadnt been fastened properly and had been slowly catching water as I swam.........so I emptedout about 10 litres or more... haha. #resistance training

Will swim for views. After a hearty repast at the hotel, where I had to exercise (some). restraint on the baked goods and a pleasnt wander by the lake it was time to leave for La Clusaz( 37.5 km 900m asc). Gordo had stated it was a no drop ride so after another fraught expedition along the bike paths, we were out into some beautiful wee villages and rolling climbs albeit toasty in parts we arrived at the hotel in La Clusaz to the chaos of bike assemblyu, bags etc etc as the others had all arrived from Geneva. Its very ski town? Sound of Music here..... but thats what we come for, right?!!

Will also ride for views...as long as its sunny. Right its almost dinner time - then John gives us a brief on whats on tap tomorrow ( bike/ swim/ run/bike I think ) which fills me with trepidation although I have to remind myself this isn't quite so intense as a tradiitional Epic camp so its OK - just CTFO Chrissie and #wine o clock. Living the dream.....

Knocked the bastard off- Mont Ventoux pre Epic camp adventure

Well, after an eternity of travel involving long layovers in Singapore and long tranist time in Frankfurt combined with Lufthansa's highly inefficient bulk baggage system. "Go over there to the bulk baggage queue" he said. "Since you have a bike". Sweet, this wil be alot easier given I'd just spent an age to clear immigration with my European passport that is now persona non grata post Brexit so had to stand in the queue with half the population of CHina and the Arab emirates so it wasnt quick! But no, arrived at the bulk baggage queue to find around a hundred people waiting with trolies laden with multiple Cases, small dogs with large animal carriers, backpacks, golf clubs.....and it moved at the rate of an advancing glacier. An hour and 10 mins later I got to the counter to find out that the extra bag I had paid for needed to be specified as a bike; anyhoo.... the lady was very helpful so one meltdown later it was al;l sorted and I could finally get through security, have a shower. Got to Geneva with my luggage, emerged into the smoky fug at the arrivals door and Dave was there to greet me with the hotel shuttle. Nailed a good sleep that night after a short run and build of the bike, managed a 10 km run into Geneva to finally snap the lake ( all for the 'gram you know....) then once packed up we set off for Vaison la Romaine - home for the first 2 nights. Staying in the same place as 2016, within the walls of the medieaeval village- cobbles galore.

Took the bike for a wee tootle to check all in working order then twisted John's arm to upload all the map files to my Gramin for me which he duly obliged. Cheers! And phew!

Managed another reasonable sleep altho had a period ofinsomnia between 3am and 4am, mainly flashbacks to the last time I climbed Ventoux and some inner ponderings about life choices; why don't I choose holidays that involve lying on a beach with cocktails? Hmmmmm. Our little group of 3- myself, Tanya and Jeremy set off at 7.45 for Bedoin... made it to the sign that says 19km to the summit and that was that. Temperature was already climbing. All i can say was that the first 12 km are quite brutal with an average grade of 9-10%, road is similar to NZ road surface and quite narrow.....had some good tunes banging in my ears and plenty inner motivational chatter reflecting on gearing choices and lack of long rides in a Chch winter. Once past Chalet Renard, the road opens out, the surface improves and the gradient is a little more kind. Arrived at the top, couldnt find the summit sign for the obligatory selfie ( again, for the 'gram...) and there seemed to be thousands of people up there... on bikes, walking , driving, motorbikes. Jeez. Found the support car, jacket on , waited for the otheres then a nice albeit pedestrian descent for 20 km and then coffee and a snack at the restaurant at the base near Malaucene. had to drink my Americano black however, the waiter said he could do a cafe au lait but could not provide us with a small amount or splash of milk for the coffee... eh?. I spoke to him in my best French too altho suspect I sound like the policeman in Allo Allo..... but God loves a trier, right?!! 10 km home from there... relieved its done and the ghosts of 2016 laid to rest... lack of sinus infection and snottery head lurgy really does help! Off to Annecy tomorrow..... the logistics are proving too much for my fatigue addled ( perimenopausal??!!) brain to comprehend so hoping itll make more sense after a wine or 2 later.

At the summit, dropping some internal F bombs of relief.

Another Epic camp imminent- better get this blog rolling again :-)

Apologies for my 3 year hiatus readers and fans ( hi Mum!!).....the road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say: so looks like I'm definitely headed for at least purgatory....... Epic Camp Lite Alpe d"Huez is. looming.. my first full camp since 2019 in the Pyrenees ( see prev blog posts) although its apparently an Epic camp Lite but as John always says, "Its not easy camp" so I'm pretty confident we will be doing some big days on the bike with an obligatory swim and run somewhere. But thats the type 2 fun we sign up for , right?! Winter training in Chch- all variations of weather.....all you need is a good playlist and buddies, right?!

Quick update in photos - had a brief hiatus from triathlon and into some ultra trail running, which I loved but it ain't tri! Mini- Epic camp in Queenstown April 2024, lots of vert, great crew and also the weather gods were on our side. Apart from the descent of the Remarkables; thats likely the coldest I've been in my life... colder than the day we climbed the Cold'Ordinho and the Port d"Envalira.. Some photos day 1 - Glenorchy return. Swim in Lake hayes and then a run round the lake track:_

Day 2- Triple Peaks, the biggie- Remarkables, Crown range, Coronet peak

Day 3 - freezing pootle at Moke Lake while the speedgoats did a cross country mission. Post camp bubbles in the Koru lounge Qtn, of course !

Im not as fit especially cycling fit as have been on previous camps- new work is quite full on and also involves a weekly commute to the West coast ( which I love ). But life is good and this is actually a late celebration for a milestone birthday and also rediscovering myself after an existential crisis combined with global pandemic...haha. Although ironically, I'm still a "Novid". Or perhaps a "Lance" would be a better term ( never returned a positive test....right?!)

Epic camp mini NZ - day 4 - The Final Grind. Murchison to Nelson.( 152km 1400m asc, ~ 400m swim, 2km run )

Had surprisingly the best sleep on Sunday night in Murchison, even in the 1970's porn movie style motel room, but it had the comfiest bed :-). My legs didnt feel too bad when I woke up considering the day before, had a bit of food fatigue so couldnt force much down for brekky other than chopped apple and peanut butter with a bit of banana. It had looked a pleasant morning but by the time the grupetto was ready to roll, it was drizzling which got slightly heavier for a bit. Ugh. It was 35km on the highway to the St Arnaud turn off which is rolling but a net uphill, the road was not too busy but any traffic that did come seemed to be a huge logging truck; for us which always seemed to occur on the part of the road that had zero shoulder. Most of them were pretty good although it does feel a little like Russian roulette at times. Once we turned off at St Arnaud, its a very quiet rolling road which winds up by the Buller river ( guessing the source must be Lake Rotoiti...). I have to admit I was feeling a bit dark about the whole thing, my right glute was burning and I felt a little annoyed about the bumps in the road so guess I needed to eat more. ....... We rolled in to the lake front greeted by the local gang of sandflies, bees and of course the other campers who had had a nice leisurely break to rest the legs... 15 mins til eliminator run start time. Eh ?!! Shoved down a half pack of Gu blocks then we did the first 500m just as a warm up off our times, Rebecca and I were off on the 30 sec handicap and we had also been in the same bunch so we lamented the lack of rest in our legs !! Needless to say once we hit the 2nd lap ( 50 m smash it downhill, 450 m run hard ) we were both eliminated although looking at the 5km times people submitted I'd say there was a LOT of sand bagging!! I trotted another 1km by the lake track to get the legs moving differently then it was swim time, hopefully to get away from all the winged pests that were gatecrashing our party. It was pretty fresh in there ( ice cream head +13 deg ?), but oooohhhhh so therapeutic on the muscles, super clear, deep water and bonus was I didnt spot any eels lurking underneath. Almost felt like a new woman when I emerged from the lake - even better I had fresh full cycling kit to change into, sure my bum would be thankful too. Scoffed a wrap,shrouded myself in a cloud of DEET, a bit of pizza, some fruit, bit of choccy ( hmmmmm, def underfueled this morning) then we were off under the illusion of a fast 88km of net downhill to Nelson which started with a bit of a climb , rolling , then a reasonable slog up to Tophouse saddle. Our little group of 4 had splintered apart by now but I had some music to keep me company and distract me from abject misery and deep existential nihilism. Its a super quiet road but was grey and bleak up there, almost with the threat of rain. The road then turned onto a rolling road which led to Wakefield, it had a few pinchy climbs interspersed with long false flats ( both up and down ). Arrived at Wakefield and an enthused bunch of campers at the aid station, had a quick pee stop and grabbed some food and bent to peer pressure to leave with everyone else so again, didnt get much rest and as anticipated, the speed bunnies sped off and I tried to hang on as best i could but eventually my foo foo valve did blow butonly 18 km to go. Nicole kindly waited on me in Richmond as was worried I didnt know where I was going ( I didnt really know where I was going ) and we manged to wind our way through the bike paths and do an extra tour of the wee estuary by Monaco and add 4km on... !! Rolled in to a reception of coffee, hot chips, smoothies, beer... bloody brilliant!! Final dinner was a tasty 3 course repast at the Anchor Inn.... another camp ticked off!! Thanks to Gail and Kylie for their unwavering support and enthusiasm for us all and to John for his excellent organisation and route choices. Herding a load of hangry cats takes a special type of person !! I'll write an epilogue in next few days to wrap up my personal thoughts but for now ( back home as I write this) I had better tackle the mounds of smelly, damp kit that needs washing and psych myself up for dealing with work tomorrow. :-(

Epic mini NZ day 3 - a day for Grinders

Today was a big day, we rode from Takaka to Murchison which is stunning, the weather gods played ball + the sun was out, no rain. 180 km with almost 2k climbing. Im too tired to write too much tonight, so just check out the pics and have noted a few bullet points of random musings :- - climb from Takaka side of Takaka Hill was not as bad as anticipated. Better than the Bastard (( local Chch climb) - I know why its called Hope Saddle.... - I was literally and figuratively 3rd wheel as Graham towed myself and Laurence home from the top of Hope Saddle  - Dinner at the Commercial was ready as soon as we got there and the beer was cold - and they had soft cushioned seats, much to everyone's delight- glad was not just me with a sore bum!! - Thanks to Darryn for sorting my cleat , shim removed so hoping can get both sit bones on the saddle tomorrw. -

Epic camp mini NZ day2 - Takaka: where the animals go in two by two....

Day 2 beckoned after a reasonable sleep, after a delicious meal and a wine or 2 last night, woken up occasionally by the sound of the heat pump - eh ? Nope, that was rain. I was awake at 5.30 am and couldnt get back to sleep, made some coffee while watching the rain go from torrential to biblical to torrential with a few wind gusts in between. Plan was a swim at Tata beach, 100m elimination reps. Driving there past stormy, brown seas and waves bouncing off rocks wasn't particularly filing any of us with excitement but it was slightly calmer at the beach ( ie pretty rough and decent Northerly wind gusts making the rain horizontal ) . Hamish spotted a seal swimming which at least assured us there weren't any sharks around. I did get into my wetsuit but decided against getting in, being the slowest I was to be first guinea pig in the water anyway but it was just too rough for me. Yes, yes- I know you dont improve by not tackling the rough stuff but I know my limits. I did make use of the time by rescuing errant jandals that were flying off in the wind, always got to see the positives - would hate to see thongless campers . Ha. Kudos to everyone that braved the conditions !! We returned for brekky then left at 10.30 for the drive to Farewell Spit ( was supposed to be a ride but it was THAT wet and also windy- shame as would have been a great ride, almost trafficless). We headed up a load of paths over rolling gren cliff tops, some parts very muddy, some sandy, rooty. I had decided against wearing contact lenses after a blurring incident descending Mt Luxmore in the rain at Kepler... bad idea as I couldnt see very well and was descending like a mountain snail ( again!! Sorry John Hancock, I think I am deserved of your moniker now....). The trepidation of a potential rolled ankle and being stuck there didnt appeal so I proceeded with ( a lot of ) caution. It was wild, windy and could see the wild Tasman sea bashing against the cliffs below- nature at her best !! We had to cut it short and head down a shingle road due to some flooding but thenwere able to join a coastal path to Whiriraki beach, then turned around, piled into the steamy van and back to Takaka for 2nd hot shower of the day. Gail and Kylie our super support crew laid on a fabulous lunch including soup, perfect!! I am sharing a unit with Jana and our living room/ bathroom is like a Chinese laundry, its not really too cold but the heat pump has been on to dry clothes all day........ yes, its still biblical out there and its 7pm :-) A few of us walked down the main street to grab a coffee then back and loaded into the van as John was taking us to a tourist destination for a walk. We ended up on the track to Wainui Falls which is part of the Abel Tasman National Park ( its probably just over the hill from Totaranui somewhere). That was a spectacular amount of water and worth the 3rd soaking of the day, in fact absolutely drenched.... however, I'll take it is we can get a dry day tomorrow as a big ride to Murchison is on tap. Guess my butt will be happier tomorrow for a day off the bike today, lack of recent long rides never tells in fitness I find but in all the other areas......!!!! Right its nearly dinner time, heading to some other local joint tonight. As long as its licensed, I don't care. Just cooked myself a head of broccoli from the supermarket as it was only a dollar and I was craving some greens. #weirdo. Also spotted 2 shoeless people wading through puddles with their groceries - wtf is the deal with this place ??? !!!!!

Epic camp mini NZ Day 1- Nelson to Takaka via Kaitereiteri with aquathon in the middle

Stats - ride ~ 121km, 1383m asc swim ~ 850m run- 4.2 km, trails + steps The grupetto ( mostly girls plus Paul ) set off at bang on 8.30, weather was dull, mild and little wind which is perfect riding weather. Finally made it through the rush hour traffic ( my god Nelson is busy, traffic, trucks everywhere. We turned off on to the road / climb to Moutere saddle which is very pleasant; full of fruit orchards and wineries. Quick aid station stop at 50km then on to Kaiteriteri which was a stop for a swim run. Ugh - after last night's uphill battle with the tide, I wasn't looking forward to it but it was awesome !! A bit fresher but the water is so clear. My Garmin said 225m ?? for 16 min ish of swimming. Piss off!!! Average readings on everyone elses was around 850 m so I'll take it, an improvement n last night! Quick T1 then a run up over the track to Little Kaiterteri ( read: multiple steps, sand, hilly trails ) return the same way then head up to a point at the other end of Kaiterteri. It was only 4km but a little gut busting!! An icy cold shower, change back into cycle kit and we were off, regrouping at the base of Takaka Hill to be chaperoned by Ian, the man in charge of traffic management for the whole site. The roadworks stretch 3.5km and the traffic is down to one lane; when you see the massive craters and work they are doing its an mammoth task! The rain had started as we left Kaiterteri and wa sgetting heavier and heavier as we climbed Takaka hill ( its 16 km from this side). Zero visibility, and was getting quite chilly.....not as bad as the Col d' Ordinho though eh!! A great climb, and I rode better than I expected. Added an extra layer or two at the top and then started the 10 km descent which was as fucking miserable as anticipated. Next bike is def going to have disc brakes, also thought that i would be challenging the mountain snail for his title of..... well, mountain snail!! The rain eased a bit at the base and I knew it was only 21 km to the motel so I just put the hammer down, listened to some stomping beats and hoofed it to Takaka where it wasnt raining. We are here for 2 nights which is great, once showered and snacked, John took us to Pupu Springs - google it, its amazing and serenely peaceful but I cant be bothered explaining right now( too tired :-) Dinner was at the Mussel Inn ( somewhere out of Takaka on the way to Collingwood), yummy. Self composting toilets too !! Heavy rain warnings are in place for tomorrow; so looking like a swim and trail run. I;d like to go have a look around Takaka as its 18 years since I was last here. People are still walking around without shoes on so seems like not much has changed !! Right - better get to bed, more exciting installments tomorrow ..... promise.