Yep, I set off from Liege in Belgium tomorrow to cycle the entire route of the 2012 Tour de France â all 2174 miles of it â in only 20 days. Thatâs exactly the same number of days as the professionals will take. And no, Iâm not a professional cyclist, just a mad amateur. The route includes 25 significant mountain climbs (over 18,000m of climbing), topping out at the 2115m Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees which features on stage 16 together with 3 other climbs known as the âcircle of deathâ to give over 5,500 metres of climbing and 123 miles on that day alone. Itâs been estimated that over the ride Iâll burn 198,000 calories which is the equivalent to 707 Mars Bars or 404 Big Macs.
Iâve been training very hard and have covered 4326 miles since 6th January and Iâm probably the fittest Iâve ever been, but Iâm still wondering quite what Iâve let myself in for. We spend the first week in Belgium and Northern France, so whatever the weather is doing here, itâs also doing there - i.e. raining. Then we travel down through the Alps, across the south of France, spend three days in the Pyrenees before heading back up to Paris to finish on the Champs Elysees on Sunday 15th July.
Iâm raising money for the William Wates Memorial Trust who fund a variety of youth projects. If anyone is feeling generous and would like to sponsor me then drop me a PM and Iâll send you a link to my fundraising page.
More info here: Tour De Force
Iâve been training very hard and have covered 4326 miles since 6th January and Iâm probably the fittest Iâve ever been, but Iâm still wondering quite what Iâve let myself in for. We spend the first week in Belgium and Northern France, so whatever the weather is doing here, itâs also doing there - i.e. raining. Then we travel down through the Alps, across the south of France, spend three days in the Pyrenees before heading back up to Paris to finish on the Champs Elysees on Sunday 15th July.
Iâm raising money for the William Wates Memorial Trust who fund a variety of youth projects. If anyone is feeling generous and would like to sponsor me then drop me a PM and Iâll send you a link to my fundraising page.
More info here: Tour De Force
Total 
