My impressions of Milan

Things I like about living in Milan

The compactness of the city: I can walk to work if I wish. In fact, I do so most days. It takes 40 minutes, but I like the exercise. If I decide to take the tram due to bad weather or some other reason it takes me 20 minutes. I never lived this close to my work in London.
Also, because it's easy to live quite close to the centre since the place is so compact. I live about 15 minutes walk from the Duomo. To get to Linate Airport I can walk to San Babila and take a 20 minute bus journey to the airport. If I'm going to Malpensa it's a 15 minute walk to Cadorna station for the Malpensa Express. Most of the other activities I do are within walking distance too.

The public transportation system: Milan has buses, trams and a metro system, as well as their answer to Boris Bikes, a Radio Bus and Taxis. I haven't taken the public transport that much, but when I have done it was pretty efficient. Also it's not as expensive as London. I ususally by a carnet of 10 tickets for 13 euros and it takes about 2 weeks for me to get through them.

 There's always something going on! I guess that's what you would expect in a major city. The good thing is the activities are within easy reach of home, since the place is quite compact. I have joined a book club where we read novels written in Engish and discuss. There are cycling groups (which I haven't been to yet), there are running races, and I have even been to a knitting crochet group. Last week was Milan Design Week so the worlds designers descended on the place and it gave the town a feelgood uber stylish aspect. There were lots of social gatherings, and sound systems etc and people giving away mini freebies. And I never actually went to these do's. They are what I came across on my way home! You never get bored in Milan!

Milan is a hub city: People always say that. Milan is considered as a working city. Most people who are there - Italians or foreigners are there for the work opportunities. Very few people are actual born and bred Milanese. It also seems that people's preference is to live in Milan during the week, and then escape from the place at weekends. It's central location means that it is easy to get to other parts of Italy by train or plane quite easily, and it is also easy to get to other European destinations. Many people just go up to the nearby mountains and lakes around Varese or Lake Como. I haven't yet been to these places, but I have managed to head south to Pavia, as well as the nearby quaint towns of Abbiategrasso and Vigevano on my bike. They were all pleasant days out away from the city.

The Navigli: These are the canals around Milan.In bygone days the city was very dependent on the canals for trade etc, but now they are pretty much disused and some of them are there now for leisure/ecological value. Near me are the Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese. These two navigli are also quite fashionable areas for going out - they are probably on a par with say, Old Street in London, or Bastille, in Paris. ie they were a bit industrial and working class previously, but old warehouses etc are being converted into arty shops and trendy bars. Lots of people hang out there on any night of the week.
I take my early morning exercise along the Naviglio Grande - either a run as far as the city limit of Milan, or a bike ride into the suburbs. On a weekend I go all the way along to Abbiategrasso, then take the Naviglio Bereguardo down to Pavia and then return to Milan via the Naviglio Pavese. That whole circuit is 50 miles, so it's good old work out. As it's pan flat it's not a hard 50 miles - a good warm up before tackling the mountains!
In the future I hope to follow the Naviglio Grande right to the end - to Sesto Calende, on the edge of Lake Maggiore. There is also the Naviglio Martesana which heads north-west towards Lecco via Gorgonzola. These canal paths make for pleasant traffic ways to explore the immediate area around Milan.


Things I don't like about Milan

Shabbiness and scruffiness: Maybe all Italian cities are like that but either I didn't take any notice because I was too busy enjoying the fun touristic things, or maybe Milan is particularly scruffy. There definitel seems to be more graffitti on the walls than I have seen in any town in Milan. In fact there seems to be more graffitti than even the roughest neighbourhoods of London!
I always used to think that Italians were not big smokers. If they aren't then they become big smokers when they arrive in Milan! There are always cigarette ends on the ground everywhere - so much that it just makes the place look so scruffy. Even the area around the Duomo is not that great. Then there is lots of other rubbish and forms of litter. The irony is you are always seeing dustcarts cleaning up the place, and people cleaning the pavement outside their properties, but it doesn't make much differenc!

Queuing: Or rather, the lack of it. When getting on a bus or other form of transport, nobody queues. It's just a case of piling on, every man and woman for themselves and with no regard for letting women or old people on first. They don't even let passengers off the transport first before climbing on. The same applies in a shop. If someone pushes in front of you, it's your problem. You have to summon the courage to square up to them and hold your position - not always easy to do, and of course being British you don't want to cause a scene over something relatively petty! (Occasionally, I have had to do so though!)
In an attempt to instil a queuing mentality, alot of shops, banks, cafes etc have a ticketing system where you pick up a ticket with your number and wait until our number is called before you get served. That's all fairly organised and people adhere to the system which is even very helpful. So now you get overkill of queuing. I went into a shop to look at mobile phones and even at the door to the shop a man asked me what I wanted to look at - data plans or phone calls only. He then issued me with the appropriate ticket and told me to queue in a particular space. Basically I couldn't go into the shop and browse. I had to pick up a number and queue, just to look at a options! The same goes in a bank, and even when buying a coffee and a sandwich. One place to queue up for your coffee, one place to get your sandwich and another place to pay! All very stilted and tedious, but I guess if that's what they do to stop Italians surging forward like animals then so be it. It's a shame that common politeness and descency can't just prevail.

Food is expensive: Or maybe I've been going to the wrong shops. I have been to a few supermarkets. All of them were tedious experiences as I couldn't find anything I liked, and the few things I did buy I ended up queuing for ages at the check-out. Most of the tills were unattended, and there was just one women having to deal with a queue of more than 10 people. And for all my trouble, the shopping bill still came out about 20-25% more than what I'd pay in London. Cereal is not less that 3euros 50 for a 375g box, compared with about £2 for one of the cheaper boxes of cereal in London. There is alot more choice in a Tesco supermarket than what you get in Milan. They don't seem to have any large supermarket chains like what you get in the UK. Britons are spoilt. In Milan we have to content ourselves with a chain called PAM and then some other small stores. There is a big Carrefour on the outskirts of the city, which will probably be good as this French chain of supermarkets is the 2nd biggest in the world and operate like Tesco - but bigger! That's a bit far for me to go to, so I think I will try the only Carrefour Local I have seen in Milan. It is 15 mins walk from me. I probably pass about 5 Italian supermarkets to get there, but I think it will be worthwhile and the quality and prices may be better. I must admit I have not tried the market yet. There is a bit twice-weekly one at Viale Papanaio, near me. People say the fruit and veg are good, so maybe I will try it. Maybe that's where I've been going wrong. Supermarkets are so 1970s - and when you go into one you will see that it is like stepping back in time!

First Bike Ride a Milano

I did my first bike ride in Milan last Saturday. It wasn't too far and thankfully, passed without any drama - well, apart from the tram that nearly ran into me!

Yes, riding around Milan's streets takes some getting used to. It's a little bit random. The road where I live has a cycle lane that is separate from the traffic, so you feel pretty safe in it. The only thing is it then suddenly comes to an end when you reach another busy road.

To get to the canal towpath where I wanted to ride involved going through the town centre. One section of road had tram lines on it so I made sure to give them a wide berth to avoid any mishaps. The only thing then is that the positioning of the lines meant that I was either riding quite close to parked cars so that made me vulnerable to folks opening their doors or pulling out. If I rode to the left of the tram lines I was practically riding in the middle of the road, which made me also vulnerable to traffic riding up behind or trying to overtake me.

I managed to find an optimuim position, but then went through a junction thinking I had right of way when a tram that was turning left in the on-coming lane almost ran into me. The driver didn't look too pleased and made one of those angry Italian driver faces, while I looked a bit embarrassed and sheepish!

Once past the tramlines, I then had to negotiate the cobbles. The weren't Paris-Roubaix cobbles, but medium sized old paving stones that are not neatly put together and jut out in random directions, so it still made for a bumpy ride.

So that was what I had to contend with, just the 10 minutes to get to the canal towpath, also known as the Naviglio Grande. It's a nice area for going out in a trendy bar. It's the type of place that was probably a bit run down and industrial previously, but has now become arty farty and hip.

There was a nice feel there on Saturday, and I felt tempted to stop off and hang out along the canal side (which is currently devoid of water at the moment). Instead I pushed on and followed the path to a small town called Abbiategrasso. Once past the Milan conurbation the area became greener and rural. The path is quite good for doing a training ride, and there were many cyclists out doing just that - as well as leisure cyclists. The route was also pan flat, which is good for me considering my very unfit state!

I plan to make this my regular quick spin ride as it is near where I am staying and easy to do - it is also traffic free, which is always good in a busy city like Milan.

First Day at Work

I survived my first day at the ad agency!

In true style I arrived and was immediately set to work on a pitch. After quick introductions to my colleagues I was given a number of clinical papers to read up on about diabetes and was told that I'd be attending a pitch meeting tomorrow morning. In fact, it later transpired that one of the main contacts from the company was in town and he wanted to have a meeting and teleconference with some key opinion leaders as a preliminary meeting. And guess what, the client services manager asked if I would attend this meeting - these meetings actually. One meeting was scheduled for 4pm - ok. The other meeting was scheduled for 7pm - one hour after the office hours officially finish!! Well, I'm not afraid of hard work, and I don't mind staying late to complete work. I had been forewarned of this at my interview anyway. But being asked to do this on my first day, when I'd spent the whole of yesterday travelling, and I woke up this morning half asleep, was a bit much.

I initially said that I would attend the teleconference at 7pm, but when 6pm came and I could feel the shutters going down, plus my other colleagues were packing up to go home I began to question whether there really was any mileage in me staying back.

Also, the pitch is tomorrow - first thing. So from 9am until 2pm I will be stuck in this client meeting and will have to sound like I know all about diabetes and the management of impaired glucose tolerance, when I haven't done this stuff in depth for a few years! Err, not ideal.

I therefore excused myself from the meeting saying I would rather prepare for tomorrow. I'm not actually preparing anything right now. Maybe I shouldn't be writing this blog and should be still swotting up, but I need to do something else to relax!

On a less scary note, I met some of my colleagues who are very friendly. We had a nice lunch in a local restaurant and my boss paid for us. The food was really good - just as well as it's the only meal I'm having today!

I walked in to work from my flat - something that is completely unheard of in London. It was lovely to walk there across the park and along the boulevard in the morning sunshine - something that put me in a good mood. It took 25 minutes, but that is all good exercise.

Also, I've got a couple of things to look forward to this weekend - the Milan-San Remo bike race is on this Saturday so I hope to get out and see the riders. In the evening I am going to a St Patricks Day celebration, which has been organised by work colleagues. Also, I am going to a client symposium in Rome on 29th March, and have prolonged my stay there so I can do a bit of sightseeing. And the best thing of all about my stay in Milan so far is that there is a wool shop, just across the square from where I am staying, so I can crochet happy in the knowledge that I have easy access to all the yarn I need! Things are getting better!

Hello Milan!

Officially, this should be Milan chick's rambling notes as this is now where I am based, and hopefully where I will be for the next 12 months.

I arrived here just today. My impressions, I can't really say as I was just whisked from Linate airport to somewhere in the business district of Milan.

I got a quick glimpse of the Duomo and the Brera area, which look nice enough. I only really saw the cycling up close from my taxi.

What I noticed is that drivers don't seem to an enormous amount of attention when they go down the road, but they pay just enough attention to narrowly avoid a collision, or screech to a halt in the last second.

Cyclists aren't much better though. Even though it was getting dark when I arrived, hardly anyone was using lights, and a luminous high visibility jacket was a definite no no. People are dressed in civvies, even high heels - and no helmets.

It's a far cry from what you see in London where people like to don lycra and not just any lycra but club kit or replica trade team kit. There appears to be a hierarchy on the road, depending on how much you look like a "serious" cyclist. Here, everyone just rides their bike without any hang-ups.

I have noticed that they do Boris Bikes here as well. They are known as Mi-Bike. There's a station at the end of my road, so I hope to try it out maybe this weekend. Also this weekend will be the Milan-San Remo professional cycle race - the first of the Spring Classic races. I'm looking forward to going up to the start and seeing the riders and hopefully soaking up the atmosphere.

In terms of my club cycling I hope to get out at some point and do some cycling locally with a club - though I would like to train first and learn to look good while riding, Italian style before I venture into the world of Italian club cycling!

The other thing that the few Italians have spoken about is bike theft. So no change there from London. They have just said to not leave a road bike unattended for a few minutes - even when locked. It the thieves can't steal the whole bike then they will just steal bits off it until you come back and just find only your frame left.

Maybe I won't leave my road bike in the shed downstairs.

Overall, I am quite positive about Milan. My flat is nice, and I am even picking up more Italian - so I can't complain. I am looking forward to more adventures here.

Women's League Over and Out

The local women's cycling league that I had been involved in came to an end last week. It was a bit of  damp squib, but I'm glad that it's over. I shouldn't say this, I suppose. But really, I'd been wanting to get out of it for a while. It could have been a case of a fond farewell, with a speech about how I've enjoyed it and am passing the reigns on to someone else. But I can't be bothered with all that sentimentality.

In truth I should have stepped down at the end of last year, after the inaugural league and prize giving. But I thought I should do just one more year to bed things in. This proved not to be the best move because I got tired of it fairly near the start and no longer felt commited, but didn't know how to step down at that stage.

The fact of the matter is that even the first year the league had been hard work for me. To get these things rolling you need a lot of energy, commitment, dynamism and willingness to motivate others and get them on board. I had done all that, and that's why it proved to be successful. The fear of failure and the wish to prove myself kept me going. Everything went well in 2010. However, once I'd proven to myself and to others that I was capable I wanted out. I sweated and grafted hard to achieve this and it had made me tired in the process. I was like a swan. Wherever I went I seemed to manage it all rather gracefully, sometimes even seamlessly. But people had just not been aware of the endless emails, telephone calls, running around, social networking (both on and off line) as well as making sure the whole show was coordinated.

It had tired me out, cost me my racing season, I had sacrificed other projects. It had literally cost me. There were occasions when I hired a car using my own money to drive to a race that I wasn't even racing in - just because it was a league race and I had felt an obligation to be there.

Sure, people appreciated my efforts and had really enjoyed the league. But I received nothing for it. No payment, no perks, no recognition, no job. And that was the snag. At the time when the 2011 league should have been getting underway I found myself out of work. I was busy running around trying to find work, and struggling to put food on the table. With my CV in my bag, detailing my achievements, including those with the league I knocked at many doors and was turned away. I was rejected even without interview from jobs where they were looking for women's cycling development officers. I felt I ticked the boxes, but I didn't get a look in. At quite a few jobs my women's league activities had just been seen as extra curricular activities that were largely ignored. Recruiters wanted to see what I had done at a professional level in sports promotion and development. The answer was a big fat zero. So, I'd spent a large amount of time running around co-ordinating a significant project but in the grand scheme of things it counted for nothing. People were very happy for me to run these types of projects for nothing. But when it came to payment, I was apparently not good enough or experienced enough to be paid for my efforts. Couple that with the fact that a few sponsors of the league had let us down and I had to run around finding others, as well as the fact that about half the women who had said they would help with the league suddenly disappeared.

I concluded that this was a project that had no mileage for me, so I resolved to do just the bare minimum. It made me feel sick when people and women were asking me to do things. They asked me because they knew I was capable of organising things and getting things off the ground. But it still made me sick because no one knew how much work it was for me, and they assumed that these were effortless tasks. Somehow they could get away with not helping on the grounds that they had work, training and other things that kept them busy. They seemed not to realise that I was in the same boat but still had to carry this enormous baby.

Luckily I had help from a couple of girls - one who took care of admin duties, and another one who updated the website and did the rankings. We had a woman who put herself forward as a press/publicity officer but then she suddenly went AWOL a couple of months into the project. I did what was necessary, and that was it. At one of the local races the women from our league, like other local clubs had to provide marshals on one particular week for a local race. We needed 10 women, but yet we struggled to get the numbers. Many women turned up at the race, but they came over to race. They had no intention of helping out. In the end we had to make up the numbers by getting some of the men to be marshals. It was truly disappointing, and it made my blood boil the way that some of the women, at the end of the race were bragging on about how well they raced blah blah blah - but yet they showed no gratitude for the volunteers who had given up their time on the umpteenth occasion to stage this race. These women couldn't even marshal just once. I made a decision not to do the prize giving. But one of the girls helping me felt that it was our duty to run it and we should honour our commitment to doing so. It could also be a time to let people know about the need for folks to get involved and help. Overall, people had noticed that the league was not the same as last year. It did not have the same buzz. I know that. It was because I hadn't put in the enthusiasm, and I had no reason or incentive to spearhead this project so avidly, like I had done last year.

Our prize giving this year was a downer. Where last year we had a packed cafe with standing room only - around 80 people, this time we had just 15 people turn up. It was slightly embarrassing as I was MC for the night and I was talking to the women cyclists sat at two of the tables in the cafe. The rest of the folks at the other six tables in the cafe were there for a social night out that had  nothing to do with cycling!

A girl from a clothing company had made a unilateral decision to sponsor us late in the summer. For me, she was one big bugbear. She had unilaterally decided that what our league needed was sponsorship and that she would be our guardian angel turning up with her expensive brand of women's cycle clothing to give out as prizes. Fair enough. But what really galled me was that she had no interest in knowing how the league was working, or helping us with our infrastructure. Her words were that she could tell us what to do, but she wouldn't be doing it. So she had assumed that I didn't have a clue what to do!!?? Fine. What she didn't seem to understand is that it's people like myself who make sure that there is any league at all for her brand to sponsor. I have become sceptical of sponsors in recent months. They prey on voluntary not-for-profit outfits like the league because its free advertising. Even if they gave away 10 jerseys that are valued at £100 each that still represents good value for a season long campaign for them. Cyclists would be wearing their jerseys at races and they'd be getting press and photographic coverage. And what would unpaid people like myself get?

On the night of the prize giving the prize winners were very happy with their stylish jerseys and this marketing manager became their new best friend. Me and the other two who had worked hard to keep this league running got absolutely zilch - not even a pair of socks or a water bottle.

People were naturally surprised and disappointed at the low turnout. Some people even wrote to me saying we could have done such and such to generate more publicity and get more people to attend. The fact is, I know exactly what we could have done to get the turnout. Of course I know, I did it last year. It's a question of whether it's worth my while doing it. And what people don't realise is that I had concluded that it wasn't.
I wasn't surprised or disappointed at the low turnout. Sure, it would have been nicer to have had a packed room. And it would have made for a better farewell to the league. But frankly, my emotions wouldn't have been any different. I was tired of people taking advantage of my talent without me getting any proper reward for it, and I was sick of corporate organisations using us as free publicity. Anything that made me feel like I wasn't being exploited was the most favourable feeling for me!

Some people later emailed me saying they would like to be involved in the plans for next year. Well, they are talking to the wrong person. I will be having no hand in it at all. I'd better draft a resignation letter.

You are doing a great job....

...How about doing the same for us, for nothing! People don't actually say that, but that's what it all smacks of. A couple of years ago I and a few other women set up a mini local bike racing series to encourage more women to get into cycling. We had no idea how successful it would be, but fortunately it went well - better than expected. The series became well known in the cycling community and we had various sponsors wanting to get involved. More importantly many women were happy with their season and said that the series had really motivated them to go out and race. For me, at a personal level it was a real coup as I was able to prove to myself that I could successfully organise such a scheme, and associated events from nothing.

The problem I am having now is that everyone is automatically asking me to do various things for women's cycling. Last autumn I coordinated 3 London women's cycling teams for a national cyclocross competition.  It was a good day out and we even got silverware. The cyclocross coordinator declared in his annual report that I would be the women's coordinator the following year. Not only had he not bothered to ask me if I would be able to do the job, he actually wrote in the report that although he had not asked me about doing the role he was sure I wouldn't mind being volunteered into the role. What a cheek!

I have since had even more people writing to me asking me to promote their event through my "networks."
As for the series people automatically think that it will continue on like last year. Women are emailing me asking about their prizes, complaining that their ranking being wrong etc., and expecting things to be sorted out at the drop of a hat. The thing is I am not paid to do this and folks are suddenly asking me to do stuff as though it were my main function in life!! It wouldn't be so bad if I were being paid!

The latest now is a branding consultant who wants to hook up with this women's series as a way of promoting the brand she represents as being commited to women's cycling. It's great when a company wants to provide prizes but why on earth should I do their work for them?  Why should they be telling us what types of activities and initiatives we could be doing? It's all very well that this is her day job she has been retained to the clothing company as their branding consultant. However, I am a volunteer - doing this in between juggling with my day job amongst many other things.

People need to realise that that even the most simple activities done in aid of this women's series are time consuming. For example, for women to get their prizes it involves me emailing/phoning sponsors, travelling across London to pick up the prizes and spending time in discussions and presenting the league. I have even turned up at races that I am was not capable of racing in. I was there simply because I had a responsibility to get the series to work. I could have been home doing other things, notably writing articles for which I get paid!

People should not assume that this series runs effortlessly and they should think before they ask people to do such and such activity - especially when the person is not being paid. The thing that galls me the most is that I was out of work earlier this year and armed with my organisational skills as well as marketing experience and qualifications I applied for a few jobs around developing women's cycling. One job was actually with British Cycling. I didn't even get called in for an interview! So people are very happy for me to do the work I do in women's cycling. They tell me what a great job I'm doing, how amazing it is that I made something successful, even how inspirational I have been. But they have no intention of paying me to do the work. 

Even worse was that last week at one of the local races, women were asked to marshal and help out at the event. It is customary for local riders to be encouraged to put something back into cyclesport by helping out once a year at least at a cycle race. Lots of women turned out at the event - to race. Many girls were not willing to marshal and gave various reasons as to why they had to race. It was very disappointing to see how few women were willing to give up just one race in the year to marshal at the race. We were short of marshals and we ended up asking a few men to help out. Some of the female regulars just didn't show up at all, probably to avoid having to marshal! Nevertheless these same people are still expecting to come to a gala presentation where they show off their racing prowess pictured with their trophies in the photo opportunities. They won't care to know how much work has gone into organising the event and ensuring that they have their prizes and ready for their moment of "glory" - work that has been done by unpaid volunteers. Well the news is that I will not be doing the gala dinner. People don't deserve my time. If they can't even turn up one evening per year to help out at an event why should I be working unpaid for them week in week out all season. No way. Now let them go and complain that no one does anything for women's racing. Sorry, but I am no skivvy!

So what's wrong with Cornrow?

A judge recently ruled that a school in Harrow was guilty of unlawful indirect racial discrimination when it operated a ban on cornrow hairstyle in its school. The case was brought by the family of an 11 year old boy who was banned from starting at their school because his hair was worn in a cornrow plaits. Apparently the school operated a "no cornrow" policy because it associated this hairstyle with gang culture and that by allowing pupils to wear their hair in this way it would encourage gang violence.
The boy's family argued that styling hair in cornrow is an African Carribean tradition, and the boy had plaited his hair into cornrows from birth.  By sanctioning him because of his hair style was racial discrimination.

The parents were pleased with the verdict, though the school plan to appeal against the decision.

I think it is such a sad state of affairs that in the society we live in today, the way that a universal, traditional hairstyle worn by a culture of people can give negative connotations and trigger so much controversy.

As someone who has worn her hair in cornrow for the last 15 years I find it quite offensive that institutions should think to ban me from wearing my hair in a way which is not only part of my culture, but also a style which I happen to find very neat and practical!

Having my hair in corn row has saved me from hours of standing in front of the mirror trying to style my hair each morning. It gives me one less thing to think about, and the hairstyle makes me look prettier and younger!
If my employers decided to ban the wearing of hair in cornrow I would be in a quandry. Straightening my hair and all the maintenance required would be quite expensive, and in the long-run would damage my hair. Leaving it as an Afro would be a frightful mess, and would be frightening for those who would have to look at it!

So why would anyone think that plaiting my hair into corn row would be synonymous with some sort of gangland violence?

Furthermore, I hate the way that people say that I am making a statement about my ethnicity or my culture. Many white women who don't style their hair in any particular way will put it into a quick pony tail or maybe a French plait. Is that some sort of statement they are making? Is there some cultural message being communicated by tying your hair back?

Black afro hair can be quite unmanageable if left to just grow out. Tying it back in some way is much neater and more practical. Back in the days when I would go swimming alot, corn ow was also the style that caused the least damage to my hair. So no, there is no ethnic statement being made - unless you want to include the wish to keep my hair healthy and tidy!

One thing this court case has done is to highlight some of the wider issues regarding wearing hair in corn row. Some of my peers who apply for professional jobs say that black women are more likely to secure managerial roles if their hair is straightened or styled in a Caucasian hairstyle.  A few women who did not want to subject their hair to the chemical damage from perming have had to resort to wearing straight-haired wigs while in the work place.

I have never thought to change my hair style when going for a job interview or when working in a professional capacity, but I must admit that I have seen very few black women in positions of influence wearing African braids.

Whether it's Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, 2012 Olympics Ambassador Denise Lewis, or the BBC's  Brenda Emmanus, it seems as if they have had to style their hair in a Caucasian cut as their image profiles increased. Even Alicia Keys, who many years ago championed cornrow hair, now has a perfectly straight long mane.

So what's wrong with corn row. Is it the embarrassing cousin that you only want to be seen with in selected places, and gets marginalised most of the time? I think we should stand up for the cornrow and wear it with pride. That way, society will begin to see this hairstyle in all its positive highlights. And now, I'm off to the hairdressing salon!

Cycling stuff gets all consuming

I enjoy cycling. I don't know how much I've been into it but it seems like it's been all my life. I only got into competitive cycling when I was well into my thirties - which is comparatively late.

But I remember as a teenager going to Doncaster, the nearest big town to where I lived, and looking at the club cyclists in admiration as they took their cafe stop. I really wished I could be able to ride a bike from our village in North Lincolnshire all the way to Doncaster, all dressed up lean and mean in brightly coloured Lycra on a racing bike.
I had no idea where people bought that type of clothing from. I didn't even have a racing bike. In fact I didn't have any bike. I had access to an old Raleigh 20 that I shared with my sister.

My parents didn't like me cycling. I remember the great disappointment and upset I felt when my parents refused to let me take part in an 11-mile sponsored bike ride. My dad claimed that I wouldn't be capable because I'd had knee problems. From then on I was even more determined to get out one day and ride 10 or 11 miles.

The first time I rode that distance was one Saturday afternoon, when I rode from Scunthorpe back home to Crowle. It was a very windy day but I was determined to keep going on my beloved steed, a brand new Falcon mountainbike.
I was so pleased to have made it. Of course, as a 19 year-old I was free to do what I wanted, but I still had to keep this adventure a secret from my parents.

Fast forward 20 years and I am very much within a cycling community. I have several bikes, have taken part in lots of bike races, I have been on cycle 100-mile bike rides around the UK and Europe, and yes I have lots of Lycra and I know where to find them.

The thing is, I am now wondering if you really can get too much of a good thing. I enjoy the racing and the camaraderie that goes with it, however I am so wrapped up in it that at times it is difficult to escape from it.

Racing regularly means you have to train more and more, to the point that it is the only thing you do outside of work, eat and slip. You can easily stop seeing your family, unless they are racing cyclists too. Your spare cash gets spent on bike bits, bike clothing and entering and travelling to races. You even lose out on social life. Suddenly it's no longer practical to have a night out with friends as you need to be up early the next morning to race. And forget about a leisurely Sunday afternoon in the summer. If you are not racing you are doing a 70-mile training ride!

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed doing those things, but it has gotten to the point where I don't have a non-cycling social life. My holidays involve cycling. Even the new people I meet are cyclists or connected with cycling. What's more it is also the yardstick by which people judge you! How friendly someone gets with you, and how popular you are is dependent on how fast you can ride your bike!

Yes, this biking business can take over your life.
That's how it is feeling for me. And I'm beginning to not like it. As an avid twitterer I take a voyeuristic interest in what others are doing, thinking and feeling. I'm getting a bit fed up of seeing people tweeting the same old "I went on a bike ride" post, with details of their heart rate and power readings, their post ride meal or how they "wish they were out on their bike" instead of being in the office.

Some even talk about a void in their lives due to the Tour de France not being on, or injury keeping them from cycling. Cycling is fun but it should not be an emotional handrail. I don't want that to happen to me.

Developing Women's Club Cycling - It Aint Easy!

So there's a lot of talk at the moment of the development of women's cycling. Apparently it's the fastest growing side of the cycling market. Maybe it is, but I don't think it's a very easy sector of the market to grow. It may be fast growing, but it's growth rate probably only appears impressive because of its very small base. I mean, if a club starts off with one member, then increases to two members and then four members over a one month period, that looks good doesn't it - 200% growth rate, and during the winter months too!

But what is the proportion of women cyclists in the whole market compared with men? As a marketer wouldn't it make more sense just to keep on targeting men? Women are fickle!

As someone who is captain of the women's section in a cycling club I have found women to be very erratic and inconsistent in their ways. It has made planning for things very difficult.

When I first became captain we only had around 4 or 5 women who were active members. The membership has steadily grown, and we now have around 30. However, gettting them to take part in anything has been a real uphill struggle.

When there were just a few of us, most of use raced and wanted to do so. I remember a tough 3-way competition to get the highest number of British Cycling ranking points. In the end the girl who won, achieved 80 points. She beat the other girl by 5 points. Both made significant inroads towards moving up to 1st category level racer.

Now, despite the swell in numbers we just haven't had such competitions. Sadly, the zeal for racing has not matched the zeal for women wanting to wear the badge that says "I'm in a cycling club." This year our top cyclist, who was quite talented, got 39 points from not having done many races. This was one point away from her gaining a 2nd category licence. She could easily have moved up to 2nd category in the season but her lack of commitment failed her. Joint second place were two riders who obtained just 9 points.

What makes things look worse is that the winning woman has now gone to race for another club. We still have to award her the prize of top racing cyclist in our club though, because these points were achieved while she was a member of our club.

I find the whole thing galling on two fronts: firstly, this girl who has left to join another club had never really shown that much commitment to racing. She claimed this was her first year and she just wanted to take things easy and learn the ropes before taking the 2011 season more seriously. It was her natural racing ability which gained her quick success. The thing this, even though she was just trying things out, she was the only girl in our club who raced consistently. The girl turned up at a number of races alone. Sometimes I went with her, though my ability was pretty poor and we couldn't have developed any tactics together.
After having done an introductory year with our club, and particularly with me giving her advice and support she has now decided to go and race for another club - without so much as a word of thanks.

I think she could have stayed with us and helped to develop women's cycling by sharing her story with others and encouraging people to come with her to the races. We could have even tried to build a team around her.
But she has wasted no time with us, realising there's a lack of a team structure and she's gone.
Maybe I shouldn't blame her. Afterall, she can't have felt good turning up at races alone, as a beginner, doing well and having no team mates there to cheer her on.

The second reason why I find this all pretty galling is that we have experienced racers, but none of them bothered to get out and race much. Our experienced racers gave a whole gamut of reasons as to why they couldn't race - weddings, weekends away, they don't fancy that particular circuit, etc. Frankly I think they were being precious. They only wanted to race if they thought they could be in contention, and didn't want to have to face the new crop of women from other local clubs who have trained consistently and are doing well. When I asked the experienced girls about coming out to race, they always seemed to have a way of maintaining silence on the airwaves. Then suddenly, a week before the big race they would respond to me saying how they were apparently "gutted" to not be able to race due to some family gathering, work commitment, holiday etc. That was the sequence for the whole of the road racing season. Furthermore, the experienced racers were very reticent about coming to the social evenings, where they could have shared their experience with the many new members. This lack of support for racing/training among the women members in the club has really disappointed me.

At the same time, other new members who joined the club saying they wanted to race did not bother to turn up at the various training sessions organised for women. There were a number of beginner races put on as well. Again, same old story - I'm away that weekend, I'm busy, I'm not sure, sounds like something I might like to try some in the future....!
So, with such lethargic team mates is it worth anyone wanting to get involved in such a club? I should be more angry with them than the woman who has just left us.

So, after countless women's captain bulletins, email alerts, a number of socials and social bike rides I realise that this job is just not worth it. I was particularly pissed off by having our chairman and others getting on my case telling me I needed to "rally the troops."!! I was doing my level best! If the girls couldn't be bothered to get involved why should I be blamed?? The men's captain is getting so much praise. He has set up a racing egroup and has encouraged women to join. Needless to say none of them have. But then he has all the men within his remit though, and they have joined. They are turning up at races, organising training rides etc. Men are naturally competitive and like to race so the job isn't that difficult for him. Women aren't built that way, and it is unfair that a lack of activity on the women's side should be seen as a reflection on any ability on my part to carry out the role. It is more a reflection on women themselves.

Our club dinner and prizegiving is coming up, and I am damned if I'm going to it. The girl who thanked the club by jumping ship will be awarded a trophy. There will be trophies to some of the unsupportive experienced riders as well. Of course, it's the typical story. They didn't do much, but they did just enough to win a trophy! Meanwhile, the likes of myself who got so busy organising cycling stuff it became difficult to focus on being competitive - the ones who spent alot of time and effort working behind the scenes get nothing!

Well, the club don't realise how lucky they have been to have someone who had so much enthusiasm. The girls probably don't realise what a lucky position they are in to have someone to hand-hold them through the processes and keep them informed of all things in local women's cycling.
I am tired and I've have had enough. This activity is meant to be enjoyed. I am not enjoying it. I'm going. Good luck to the next person who thinks they have the magic solution for getting women in our club into cycle racing!

Sponsored Cycle Racing Teams and Poaching

Sponsored Teams

It's that time of the year when folks are putting together their cycle racing teams for next year. At professional level we hear about it in the cycling press, and it probably sounds quite exciting to know who the Schlek brothers or Bradley Wiggins will be riding for.

At local level just as much machinations go on as well.

I guess the difference is that the team may just be "sponsored" by Joe's Energy drink which offers riders the chance to pay £30 a year, spend oodles on their snazzy kit for the sake of riding as part of a competitive team where you get told where you should race, how you should race (more often than not, for someone else), and any prize money you happen to win doesn't go to you but to "the team coffers." Oh and you will have to do national level races which are ages away from home but you just make your own way there, and you will have to stay in the chosen "team hotel" which will end up quite expensive as that's the only one which will accommodate all the riders, Directeur Sportives, sponsor representatives, with Uncle Tom Cobley and all! But hey, none of that's a problem. You're in a sponsored team wearing kit that makes you look like you're a somebody in the cycle racing world, so why should you complain? After all, as part of the deal you get free inner tubes and 10% off labour when you bring your bike to their shop that's 50 miles away!

Yes, local sponsored teams are not always what they're cracked up to be. There are a number of ordinary cycling clubs that offer more!

So, my clubmate Deborah has been approached by one such "sponsored team", Gels Incorporated. She is quite new to racing and had quite a promising first season in 2010. Naturally, she is thrilled and flattered to have been approached by this lot, and is considering leaving our club.

As women's captain in the club I would be sorry to see her go, but I am not one of these people who gets all possessive about riders. I like to look to the future and I feel confident that our club will have other good riders coming up through the ranks. It has to be said though, that Deborah is a strong, keen rider and an all-round nice woman. I was looking forward to racing with her next year.



Poaching

A few things are bugging me about Deborah being approached by the sponsored team:

I find the guy who is running Gels Inc, Jake, a little dodgy and not altogether honest to me. I got to know of him last year when he expressed a wish to organise a women's cycle race at Hillingdon on the same day as the Smithfield Nocturne - a London Women's League event, and a big day on the racing calendar. British Cycling pointed this clash out to him, but he still went ahead and organised the race.

Some time afterwards he told me about how he was disppointed at the low turn-out of women at his race. He omitted to say that he organised the race on the same day as one of the biggest cycle racing events in London, and preferred to make it sound like women just couldn't be bothered to turn out.

When he told me he was forming a women's team he said that it was disappointing how no women had come forward to join his team. But yet, as someone who reads the cycling press I have not seen a single press release or advert appealing for women riders to join their team.

He has described the team that he was forming as a "feeder" team for the professional Horizon Fitness women's team - the number one UK team. My understanding is that Horizon recruit women from everywhere, not from any specific team. Technically, all racing teams are feeder teams to Horizon Fitness!

Finally, Jake said that his team would be composed of women who race but find themselves to be the sole racer in their club. Deborah is one of seven women who do road racing in my club. We have raced the team series and the London Women's Cycle Racing league. Although we didn't threaten the top riders we have still had a presence and by no means can Deborah be described as the sole rider.

What I also find galling is the fact that Jake spent time discussing with me his intentions and then goes on to poach a rider from my own club where I am the women's captain!!

I don't want to sound precious about my clubmates being approached, but I do think that this behaviour is described as sly to say the least!

Which brings me on to him approaching Deborah.

Deborah is new to racing and probably doesn't really know what constitutes a good or a not-so-good sponsorship deal. I guess if anyone walks up to her and says words like "racing team", "sponsor", "team training session" and/or "team tactics" in the same sentence cycle racing suddenly sounds sexier, and new riders who don't know everything that's out there can be easily tempted away.

It seems like that's what Jake has done.

When I asked him what sponsorship deal they offer their riders, what he described didn't sound like a very good deal. It was very much like what I've described above, though of course he gave it more positive packaging!
The other thing which I don't think is particularly good is that he said that he would expect one of the riders in Gels Inc to be a team manager, deputizing to him. He would be out and about with sponsors so would be too busy to be getting on with the day-to-day running of the team. He would therefore like one of the maturer more experienced members of the team to double up in the role as sponsored racer and team manager! And you still have to pay your way to do all this!

I note that some of the women Jake has recruited so far are quite young, probably of an age that would be appealing to Horizon Fitness if they were looking for new recruits. Deborah is not a youth or an under 23 - in fact she is nearer to my 41 years than the young'uns who do top flight cycling. I am therefore concerned that he may be keen on her not only because of her racing abilities but also so that he could lumber her with the role of "de facto" team manager. Now that's not so appealing.

I understand that he approached one woman, a very fast veteran track racer from Willesden CC and she turned down the offer. He is therefore probably doing the rounds of all "women of a certain age" and Deborah is one of them. Should she still be flattered?

I feel bad because when Deborah excitedly told me the news via email and asked my opinion, I gave a brief reply along the lines of do what you feel is best for you and make sure you are happy with the deal you are getting. I suppose I didn't want to sound like I was being possessive or bitchy.
In hindsight, and also on the advice of my other half, I think I should have just told her the above. After all, if she is so new she probably doesn't know what a good/bad deal is.

For instance, non-sponsored clubs like Dulwich Paragon contribute towards travel expenses, Surrey League pay entry fees to National Team Series races, London Dynamo pay entry fees and travel expenses. Sponsored teams Mule Bar Girls and Rapha Condor Ladies gave free items of kit and contributed towards race entry fees last season. Gels Inc give nothing - well actually, a couple of inner tubes and an unpaid part-time job! In short it seems like life would be alot easier and more pleasant if one stayed with their regular club than ran off after this! I think I should have a word with Deborah......

Finally, I feel like I can do something right!

Well, not sure how I would define "right" but in terms of me taking part in local sports competitions, for me that means gettting a result which is respectable. It doesn't even have to be a win. It just means finishing in a time or a position that is not in last place, or one of the last few finishers. It means getting a result which looks like you trained a little and took the competition at least half seriously.

I finished 134th out of 372 runners in the cross country running race yesterday. I completed the 6.5km course in 28mins 1s. The winner did 20mins 48s. That doesn't sound like a result to set the world on fire but then again the last finisher took more than 52 minutes, and I beat a couple of women who completely trounce me in the cycle races. So I am pleased with my result.

This sort of thing is good for me as I sometimes get pretty fed up when I turn up at cycle race after cycle race and come last or 2nd or 3rd last. It gets abit tiresome and quite demoralising. Of late my goal has been to not come last. Many times I have failed to achieved that. And in a few cases not only did I finish last but I finished way off the back, like even a lap down on the person who finished in 2nd last position.

The irony of the result that I achieved yesterday is these days I don't consider myself to be a runner. I describe myself as a cyclist. True, running is the sport that I first took up and have done it since a very young age, but these days I don't do any specific running training. I run 5km once or twice a week to keep my weight down, but I don't do any hill reps, track sessions or fartlek. I spend much more time in the cycling environment. I ride my bike to work, I go on the rollers and the turbo trainer when I'm home, I even go through phases of doing intervals and hill reps. I have done lots of cyclo sportives and long distance bike rides. But for some reason my cycling efforts just don't seem to convert into anything useful in a race. Or at least that's how it feels.

Last week's cyclo cross race had a field of 41 women of various levels from all around the country. I finished in 39th place. One of the women who finished behind me was a team mate who had suffered with stomach cramps during the race so was obliged to slow right down. So in reality I would have finished 2nd last. I rode the course as though it was my first ever cyclo cross race. I had no confidence. When I finished the race I was not out of breath because part way through I couldn't see the point in riding hard only to lose places by falling down, failing to remount the bike properly or just generally making an ass of myself on the corners.

I felt ashamed to see the guy who first got me into cyclo cross in 2003 watching me ride no better than I did all those years ago. When he arranged the London teams to ride the Inter-Area Champs back then I finished 2nd last - just like last Sunday. "You may not believe it," I said to him, "but I do actually train, honest." And I just skulked away feeling like a laughing stock and a complete failure.

I have had these feelings on more than one occasion after a cycle race, and I have really begun to develop a complex where I believe that many riders won't give me the time of the day now because they don't see me as someone who can be bothered with their racing if I'm turning up week in, week out with a poor run of results.

So, finishing the way I did yesterday at the Surrey League cross country race at Denbies Vineyard was a real boost to my sporting ego. It made me feel that I could do something reasonably well. I don't train much for running, but yet I am able to pull out respectable results in the races. This is the sweetspot that I need every now and again to keep me soldiering on and persevering! Hopefully, this "can do" feeling will seep into the cycling aspect of my training.

London Women's Cyclo Cross is the new road racing

It's that time of year when most of the cycling I do is on the muddy stuff. I usually commute to work by bicycle so I do put in 15 miles a day going into Central London and back, but in terms of the club cycling I do, it's mainly about off-road riding, and in particular the London Cyclo Cross league.

When I first started taking part in the league I really enjoyed it. It was not so sharp end like the road races. It was relatively low key, but alot of people took part as it was seen as being accessible. The range of abilities was wide, and people who weren't that fit could have a go. The fact that it was laps of an off-road course meant that spectators couldn't tell where you were in the race compared with others. So you didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of everyone watching you come last! Also people could ride any off-road bike they had. Most people rode cyclo cross bikes, but many had  mountain bikes and even there were a few people on bmx bikes! It didn't matter.

In short, cyclo cross league was a chance to play around in the mud at speed on your bike, but it didn't really matter where you finished in the field. You had a chinwag with your fellow competitors and then you went home, looking forward to the next one.
I have never been particularly strong at cyclo cross, but a couple of times I have finished 4th in the league. One year I even finished 2nd.

Nowadays it's all different. Among the women, cyclo cross is just seen as an extension of the road racing season - except that we are off-road. Everyone shows up on a cross bike. More and more are using tubular tyres with their racing wheels, and they are bringing spares for the pits. A few even have spare bikes. That was something you only really saw at National Trophy races rather than at local league races.

What is really striking is people are doing specific training sessions to prepare for this - turbo trainer intervals, off-road training rides, some have even taken up running!

So now, when I race a London Cyclo cross league race I am lucky to get in the top 5 out of 10 women. More often than not I am one of the last finishers. Yet I'm riding faster now than I did back then. Someone has changed the game. It's like in musical chairs when they go from taking away one chair when the music stops, to taking away three! It's quite disheartening at times and I almost why I should bother with this anymore. Thing is I enjoy doing cyclo cross races and I shouldn't be put off by the arrival of a number of really fast women. Ultimately I will continue to do the races as long as I enjoy them, but to be honest it is a shame that the romance of just taking part in the hour-long challenge is not enough. People have to put up Twitter entries about their power outputs, analyse their techniques on a video, check the British Cycling rankings and have a distinct race plan when the whistle goes.

Admittedly, this serious training paid off for the London team. At the recent Inter-Area Cyclos cross champs London had more women present than any of the areas in the country. Our A team finised in second position out of 11 teams in a 40-strong field of women. One of the members of our London B team also finished in the top 10.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the competive girls where the ones who ended up with the medals, I wasn't one of them! That was great for London and I'm really plesed for the girls. However, I can't help thinking that we are losing the salt of the earth end of local cyclo cross racing as this is all getting put aside in order to use the 'cross races as a warm-up to National Trophy races, which are in turn the foundation of the roa racing season. Then I really will feel under pressure to "make the cut" - which I invariably don't.

The men have a hard edge competitive end to the sport, but they have a laughing group end as well. The women don't seem to have that. Hopefully this is issue is just a phase that will fizzle out, and some of the women will go back to plain old playing in the mud, with our British Cycling points tally being the last thing on our minds!

Quick Word on the Rest of the Weekend

Sunday 22^nd August was actually an easy cycle day. We rode up to Vence via an area called the Hauts de Cagnes. Cagnes sur Mer is divided into 3 areas. There’s the part by the sea, Cagnes sur Mer, then there’s Cros de Cagnes, slightly further in and then there’s Haut de Cagnes at the top of a very steep hill that we went up. I hadn’t been expecting to ride up such a steep hill so early on in the ride! The photo Fred took of me was one of shell-shock!

The ride into Vence was quite straight forward. It’s only about 10 miles if that – maybe 12 miles, it’s quite easy to find. We took the long way round because we wanted to ride around the suburbs of Vence, which is quite a spread out town. Once we reached the historical centre we found it to be a very picturesque artistic town. There were a lot of people there on an afternoon out looking at the buildings etc so we stopped and had a little lunch there before heading back to Nice via La Garde and St Jeannet, plus other little picturesque villages. It was quite a pleasant afternoon. I think it was a good antidote for both of us from the previous day. I had spent the whole week riding through France, and Fred who had probably not had much sleep the previous day, trying to get to Nice from London.

Once we returned to Nice we sunbathed for a while on one of the private beaches attached to a bar. It’s always much more pleasant than the public beaches in Nice. At least you’ve got somewhere reasonably nice to sit and it’s quite secluded and neater. You can relax more than being piled towel to towel up against loads of screaming kids and families!

The following day, Monday 23rd, we rode quite a long way. We had thought of riding up to Sospel ski resort but we didn’t get that far. What we did do was long enough anyway.  We set off on our usual Grand Corniche route which is always very pleasant, though I always underestimate how tough it is to get up those inland slopes! There's also the col d'Eze to get up during the ride. The ride is always very rewarding though on account of the views over the coast and the various villages and Monaco. We didn’t go into Monaco. We got as far as La Turbie and then turned up North, away from the sea and went to a small town called Peille. This involved more climbing and we also went up to a place called St Agnes which involved going over the col de Madone de Gorbio. This is apparently a well known climb as it’s the one that Lance Armstrong uses to train on when he’s in the cote d’Azur. I don’t think there’s anything massively special about it, but it’s just the fact that Lance does this climb so everyone now does it, and it’s got a cachet. Admittedly it is a good climb to train on, but it’s no nicer than any of the other climbs in that area. In terms of difficulty, it’s like a long version of Box Hill. It’s probably a climb you could train up at speed and hurt yourself on, though in absolute terms it’s not that steep.

So we went from Peille to St Agnes and then it was a long quiet road to get to the col de Braus. This road is marked on the map as not very well maintained. In some areas it was actually a decent road with a decent surface, but there were other areas where it turned to dirt roads for off road bikes. In fact if we had wanted to ride the col de Castillon to get to Sospel, which was not far away we would have been on an off-road trail – what Italians would call a strada biancha. So we were on a road with a reasonable surface. It was very quiet and on single carriageway. We may have only seen two cars over the 10-12 miles that it we rode. It was all uphill, but it was very gentle climbing. There were probably 3 cols that we crested, but none of them were long or onerous.

Then, just when we were thinking “this is brilliant riding on decent quality roads” we hit a dirt track. Oh dear, we had around 4 or 5 miles of this to get through to reach the col de Braus. It wasn’t particularly hilly but it was a dirt track with lots of stones and potholes and I was just worried about getting a puncture. At least Fred had turned up on his cross bike with hard wearing tyres. I was on my cross bike but with smooth road tyres. I just wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with punctures especially as it was coming up for 6pm.

So we pressed on to the dirt track. Fred kept suggesting we turn back and maybe ride to Menton and catch the train to Nice. But I really wanted to ride over the col de Braus because I was looking forward to the descent. It’s one of the best you can get. The hairpins look impressive from a visual and photographic point of view, so we continued anyway and I managed to get through it without any problems or punctures. We went down the col de Braus. For Fred it was a real joy for him and he just couldn’t believe the road he was on. The hairpins were literally just stacked on top of each other. The descents were quite steep – between 12 and 15% in gradient on the hairpins. It was a real whizz down! I’d forgotten just how good the descent was. I’d say that’s one of the best descents you can do on a road bike. There’s a real adrenaline rush and in fact we barely did any pedalling from the summit until we reached Nice. It took about an hour to get from the heart of the mountains at over 1000m, into the suburbs of Nice. This descent failed to disappoint! Once in the surburbs we had to pick our way to the centre of Nice. I’d forgotten how busy and sprawled out this town is. I guess it’s no different to riding in any major city. We reached the Promenade des Anglais, just at sunset – around 7.30pm. It had been a long day but we were pleased we had done it.

Our last day in Nice, Tuesday 24^th was spent riding along La Basse Corniche, the coast road, to reach Monaco. It was a nice ride but it’s not an adrenaline rush. The road is slightly busy and once we got into Monaco it was a bit of an anticlimax. There was a lot of traffic and not much fun to ride through as a cyclist, with all the various busy tunnels as seen in the Forumula One races!  I guess you do there more because it’s gotta be seen. We returned to Nice, sunbathed a little and then rode back to the airport to get our flight to London.                        

Memories of My Trip to Nice

Arriving into Dieppe by ferry at 4am with a whole group of other cyclists. People were going to various destinations in France. I felt I’d be on a mega trip going all the way to Nice, but I met a couple that was going to Bordeaux in a recumbent! So a few other eccentrics around apart from me!

Riding through the night and through the morning mist in Normandy was another notable memory. Even though it was 10am I still went through areas were there was hanging mist.

In Paris the ride from Gare St Lazare to the East side of Paris was a bit of an adrenaline ride negotiating the rush hour traffic. Funnily enough, although Parisian drivers may be used to seeing cyclists on the road, thanks to the Velib scheme, they are not used to seeing cycle tourists – and female cycle tourists at that! So of course taxi drivers were shouting across to me at traffic lights trying to make conversation – asking Comment ca va? Where are you from? Where are you going etc.. I just got on with riding my bike!

One thing that I learnt more about was the terrain in Paris. I know everyone talks about Montmatre being particularly high up and particularly hilly, but no one talks about the 19th arrondissement. My ride along La Petite Ceinture to get to from Porte de Pantin to Bercy actually involved quite a climb over the Buttes de Chaumont. It’s just as hilly as riding around Montmartre but I guess people talk about Chaumont less as is not so touristic.

Also, watch out at traffic lights. Red goes to green immediately, with no amber light in between. Green goes back to red via amber but very quickly, and immediately your lights go back to red, a green light goes on in the cross flow lanes of other traffic. Junctions are wide and are often star shaped rather than crossroads, like what you get in the UK. They are not that quick to cross. Ergo, those who want to try and jump a red light think again!

Road surfaces are ok, but can be sketchy sometimes and with intermittent tarmac and cobbles. In some parts I got a good old rattling – especially when going down Champs Elysees at speed!

The other thing I recall certainly through the Northern part of France is the Cote d’Or, just outside Dijon is very picturesque. It’s worth a trip in itself, especially as all the Burgundy vineyards are nearby.

From Dijon to Bourg en Bresse there was a very nice view on the approach to Bourg, where I got my first glimpse of the mountains.

One of the let-downs of the trip was not really seeing that much of Dijon. Sadly the weather was so abysmal that it really wasn’t a place to hang around. Something to try for next time. I’d love to visit the centre of Dijon properly as it’s quite historic.

Another place nearby which is worth visiting as well is Macon, which is close to Bourg en Bresse. Again I missed out that town as I just wanted to get a move on the weather was closing in.

The ride from Bourg en Bresse to Aix les Bains would have been really good except that it was cancelled. That stage was cancelled again because of the poor weather. I think the terrain would have been good. In fact the day before I would have ridden it there was a professional bike race that went over the col de Grand Colombier. That would have definitely been a place worth going through. It looked really good, everyone said it was really good but unfortunately it wasn’t safe for me to go up there on that rainy Monday. So another memory is the disappointment of not having ridden that section.

However, the following day the ride from Aix les Bains to Grenoble is highly recommended. The ride through the Massif de la Chartreuse is brilliant, as well as visiting the town of Chambery. I’d also say that the area around Aix les Bains is very sporty and very cycling friendly. There are lots of cycle paths around the Lac du Bourget, and the ride from Aix les Bains to Chambery consisted of following a well sign-posted purpose built cycle path that went through the woods on a very smooth surface. It’s definitely a place to be recommended if you are into cycling and running.

The descent from the Massif de la Chartreuse into the town of Grenoble is lovely and whooshing! After the last climb, col de Porte it was basically 18km of straight descent all the way through into Grenoble, with great views of the conurbation as you approach the city. It’s a lovely panorama. Once you are in the city you are by the river – the Isere, and you can see all the little telecabins or eggs that take you to the highest point of the city. Definitely to be recommended. I also need to remember that the road to get to the youth hostel to the South of the city is Avenue Jean Jaures, and don’t follow the signs that say Echirolles as they only serve to confuse!

The ride from Grenoble to Serre Chevalier was pretty straight forward. I think that it involved a lot of what I ridden before. There wasn’t really anything new there, but I did feel a massive sense of relief when I descended from the summit of the col du Lautaret into Serre Chevalier. For about 20km I didn’t need to pedal at all! It was brilliant. That was another great descent.

The other good descent was the one from Sauze into the valley to reach the Lac du Serre Poncon, near Embrun.

I would recommend the route from Embrun into Barcelonnette. It’s very good for a cycle tourist as it’s very pretty and it doesn’t involve any really tough climbs and it’s also a way of showing that you can actually ride through the Alpine area without needing to go over horrendous mountain passes.

Although I didn’t take it, locals talked about the road from Briancon to Embrun being another really nice road for cyclists – one to bear in mind as an alternative to the col d’Izoard.

Along my whole trip different people stopped to chat to me and were curious about what I was doing. Roadies on their club ride would say “courage” as they passed me. Just outside Dignes les Bains a man rode with me for a few hundred metres and struck up a conversation. When I told him I was headed for Nice, his words were – “I don’t want to shock you but you will have a few small kms to go before you reach the sea, enjoy the day!”

I realise that although cycling is big in France, cycle touring isn’t. the French enjoy cycling on club runs or while on holiday but it’s not really in their culture to load a bicycle and ride from one place to the next nomad style. It’s probably not the stylish thing to do! I got the impression that the French admire people who do that sort of thing, and maybe they have a secret desire to do it themselves, but not knowing where to start on the logistics front may put people off. And maybe some just don’t think it looks that stylish!

In Briancon, notably, a few people actually came up to me asking advice. They’ve always wanted to do cycle touring but they didn’t know how to plan it, what bike to ride, how to plan accommodation, what to wear, etc. Standing on the citadelle there with my bike taking photos of the area almost become a cycle touring advice surgery! So who knows we may begin to see more French cycle tourists.

I didn't go out so much in the evenings as sometimes I arrived at  places a little late. Of course I went out in Paris and met up with a friend, I also went out in Serre Chevalier with a Czech woman I shared a room with. That was a fun evening. The best evening was a night out in Digne les Bains for their "international salsa evening" which basically played all the kitsch pop songs like Macarena, and yes I danced around with the locals! The thing is, when on holiday and nobody knows you you can dance to this stuff and feel safe in the knowledge that however unstylish you are none of your fashion conscious friends are there to make you hold back your inhibitions or feel embarrassed by you!

Accommodation was very varied – I stayed in youth hostels, Formule 1 hotels and small independent hotels. People were generally amicable, though food and standard of room varied vastly. In all places proprietors had a place for me to put my bike – even if it meant keeping it in my room, as was the case at Formule 1!

I would definitely recommend the run into Nice via Greolieres and the Gorges du Loup – lovely scenic rocky outcrops and gorges, and in that directions it’s a lovely adrenaline filled descent.

Dieppe to Nice - Part Five

Saturday 21st August

This was going to be my last day as a cycle tourist, which I actually felt quite relieved about. Riding around with 10kg extra on your bike is quite tiring. Roads that you think you can ride along very easily suddenly become twice as difficult. For example earlier in the week I’d ridden up the col du Lautaret and I it was really tough work even though I’d ridden up it times before, and even up steeper climbs before without really getting any problems. But when I rode the col du Lautaret I was so tired and out of it and in a way I think that it was good that I didn’t do any of the other classic climbs such as col d’Izoard or col de la Bonnette. So today was going to be my last day. From what I could see it didn’t look like the road would be too difficult. In fact everyone had talked about this famous Route Napolean and it would be just downhill from here to the sea, near to Nice. Just downhill all the way and I’d love it. The road would twist and turn, great stuff. So I was looking forward to it but I was still taking with the a pinch of salt the fact that I’d be descending the whole way – for all of 80 miles? Not sure I believed that! I knew that there’d be at least one or two climbs.
So I set off, and the other great thing was the weather! It was hot. It was even pretty hot! At that time of the morning, at 9 o’clock, it was 22 degrees.

So I set off from Digne les Bains, knowing I’d be in for a long day. I wasn’t really sure if I’d ride all the way to Nice or if I’d just go to Grasse and get a train or to St Laurent du Var and get a train. I wasn’t 100% sure, but I just decided to keep pressing on as far as I could and just keep riding.

Saturday was a day of contrasts compared with Friday. Friday had been very rainy, where Saturday was very sunny. Friday was a day where I hardly did any mileage. I probably only did about 15 miles in total. Saturday was going to be the longest day in the saddle. On Friday the proprietor of the hotel I stayed in was ok but she was abit frosty and the meals she served were very lean. I felt sorry for some of the guests. They looked skinny. My meal was abit small but some of the burly big guys with probably a much bigger appetite than me were served meagre portions of rice and endives for dinner. Breakfast had been an even more measly affair. But the place where I was on Saturday, the Hotel Provence at Digne les Bains served a very generous breakfast. There was lots of bread, ham, cheese and cereal, fruit and yoghurt. He even laid on more food for me because he knew I was cycle touring and he was very impressed with it. He wanted me to be nicely set up on my way. He was very friendly and it is definitely a hotel I’d recommend to others. In fact he was quite excited to hear that I would be passing through the place where he was originally from – a town called greolieres, in the Alpes Maritimes.

So I set off. The ride certainly was not down hill to start with. There were a couple of minor cols to do, including one that was very dramatic that went round a gorge and through little stony tunnels. It was very hot too. Funnily enough I felt ok. My back didn’t hurt at all, probably because the gradients were never severe. They were always shallow gradients that could be ridden just by twiddling without even needing to get out of the saddle. I didn’t feel any pull on my back.

I actually spent quite a lot of time on the N85 road which is known as the Route Napoleon. It’s quite a well known road. As I cyclist I enjoyed it, and I think motorbikers seemed to enjoy it even more. It’s a road that twists around lots of gorges and mountains in the Alpes de Haute Provence region. The road was not too busy and there was wall to wall sunshine the whole time on this very hot day.

So my ride into Nice was very hot. It was a very hot day, with probably more climbing than anticipated. Nothing too strenuous but it was by no means downhill all the way as people had told me. It would have been nicer if I didn’t have to do a series of mini calls. To help me on my way I stopped at that well known tourist attraction at Castellane – no, not the Gorges du Verdon but the Casino supermarket where there were lots of people gathered! There I was able to get lots of supplies and keep myself well stocked up for the journey, especially with my favourite energy source for that week, a French brand of almond biscuits and Coca Cola! So I passed through Castellane, which is a place that Aodan and I should have passed through. But we didn’t pass through because I’d made an executive decision to not spend the weekend at the Gorges du Verdon but to just stay in Nice and ride around free of panniers or cycle touring bits and pieces. I did make a point, as I passed through Castellane of checking out what I would have missed. I have to admit that it is a very nice town and was incredibly touristic with people there from all over Europe. They’d all come down specially to see the Canyon du Verdon. And if Castellane was busy I can only imagine Moustiers Ste Marie must have been ten times busier because that’s right in the heart of the Gorges. In a way I don’t know if I was that disappointed to miss out on all the crowds and the tourists, but I imagine the actual sites of the canyon and the gorge would have been quite spectacular. Sadly I wasn’t going to see that this weekend, so it’s still something to do for another day.

My ride continued on past a number of small villages and after a series of descents I left the Route Napoleon and I headed out towards Greolieres and Tourenc, which are places that have actual ski resorts. I’m not sure exactly how big they are but they were all being advertised as open so I imagine they were being used for mountain biking or walking. I didn’t go into the resorts – I just rode past them and I just stayed on the main road through that area. I was reasonably familiar with this area because that’s where I’d been on a previous occasion to ride La Vencoise cyclosportive, so I felt like I was in familiar territory. Also the nice thing was I felt like I was actually in Alpes Maritimes, and therefore not far from Nice. For the first time I began to think, “hey I’m going to ride all the way into Nice.” So I wouldn’t need to catch a train. My map was quite clear. I was going to ride through Greolieres and then go down through the Gorges du Loup and very small villages that would get me into Cagnes sur Mer, then ride in along the sea front. And that’s exactly what I did! The terrain from here on in was very easy. There was barely any climbing at all. It was pan flat with just gently rolling roads. The road surface was good and very straight. It was well sign-posted and very scenic and you could see that there were lots of little farms. I think I went past the Lac du Tourenc where they were holding a car boot sale, something which seems to be quite popular in France these days and after Greolieres I reached probably the best part of the ride, the descent through the Gorges du Loup.

Just outside Greolieres I came to an area, the name of which I can’t remember, which was basically a rocky gorge – a gorge which had loads of rock formations all along with caves that had irregular erosion and it was quite dramatic looking. As well as that there was a massive twisty descent – the sort of road where I had to really had to challenge my braking skills and cars had to toot their horn quite a lot when going through the numerous tunnels. It was a real adrenaline ride to get all the way through and finally arrive in Greolieres and then head towards La Tourette sur Loup and then I was following the Gorges du Loup. Again that was a very dramatic natural feature. You could see that it was a mini canyon with rapid streams and various areas where people stopped for picnics. All this was just within 15 miles of Nice. Again it was very dramatic. I stopped to take photos but it was difficult to get the full perspective. I would really recommend that area from Greolieres to Cagnes sur Mer. I pedalled on. I had kept in touch with Aodan over the course of the day. He had arrived at the hotel at around 2.30pm and had already warned me that Nice was very hot, but the hotel room was very nice and he just needed to catch up on sleep and be out in time to meet me somewhere in Nice – probably along the Promenade des Anglais.

There’s always something quite frustrating about being on the edge of the town and you’ve been riding all day. You know that you are near but it feels so far away. That was the case with Nice.

I wasn’t far from the beach which was a nice feeling and it was just a case of getting through the massive conurbation which is on the edge of Nice. I could smell the sea but I couldn’t see it, which is quite frustrating. It was quite hard to believe that I wasn’t actually that far. I went through various small towns outside Nice, like St Laurent du Var, Cagnes sur Mer and towards Tourettes sur Loup and La Colle sur Loup. Of course I should have realised from the name that this town would involve going up a hill! That was probably the steepest climb of the whole ride. It was quite a steep gradient that went through the whole town and the main street. It was about 15% and not very pleasant, especially as it was unexpected! The main road was quite narrow, and although there was a cycle path I didn’t use it because it was full of crap which could have caused a puncture so I just stayed on the road and held up the traffic as I crawled up on my bike! The thing that reminded me I was in France was that there were loads of pharmacies. There seems to be a chemists shop on every corner. They always display the time and the temperature, and they were showing 35 degrees! Thank god I hadn’t ridden in those temperatures all day! So here I was, having braved 28 degrees all day I was about to hit a boiler room at 35 degrees with about 15 more miles to go, after done about 70 miles.

The great thing about this area is that once you are near the sea there is a cycle path and that made me feel that I was tantalisingly close. The slightly irritating thing is that the cycle path runs for literally miles and miles. So although I was on the cycle path I was still about 6 miles from the centre of Nice. I was in Cagnes sur Mer, following the cycle path on and on, thinking I’d pass the Cote d’Azur airport at any moment – which marks the entrance into Nice. I could see lots of aeroplanes but there was no sign of the terminal. So I just pressed on and pressed on, weaving round rollerbladers and people who couldn’t ride a bike in a straight line – another sign that I was in the south of France. Eventually I passed the airport and I was on the Promenade des Anglais, the main coastal throroughfare in Nice. At that point I rang Aodan and was able to tell him I was in Nice. The great thing is arrived at my destination within 5 minutes of my estimated time of arrival. So he was able to walk down and meet me on the coast. It was really brilliant because as I rode along I was getting nearer and nearer to where he was and he was able to see me from quite a distance – standing out like a sore thumb with all my cycle touring panniers in bright yellow. He got his camera ready as I approached him near the Beau Rivage bar, and he got a photo of me just as I reached the stopping point. Class. We then celebrated my arrival with an ice cream. I was just so glad to have arrived in Nice. My Garmin showed that I’d done 89.96 miles, which I couldn’t quite believe! It had definitely been the longest day. This had certainly made up for what should have been the climax of the tour the previous day. This was the best day I’d had in the saddle on the whole trip, and I was just glad to have made it from Dieppe all the way down to the South coast.

Dieppe to Nice - Part Four

Thursday 19th August

I woke up this morning feeling quite rough. I have to say I had another late night in Briancon, or rather Serre Chevalier. I’d thought I’d go to bed early but in fact that wasn’t to be. On Wednesday night at Serre Chevalier I arrived within about 20 minutes of another girl arriving – the only other girl that was staying in my dormitory. She had actually arrived by motorbike. She was also going to Nice, having left from Strasbourg. So she came up to the room and was introduced to me a few minutes after I arrived. I have to say the two of us were there and appeared to be the only guests in the youth hostel as well. To me it didn’t see right to have gone out and had dinner on my own and just left her behind so I went to the local restaurant, ordered my dinner and then ran back to the youth hostel and said to her, look I’m in this restaurant if you want to join me so you’re not alone. She came along and we had a good evening. Her name was Ivana and she’d lived in France for about 10 years but was originally from the Czech Republic and was living and working in Strasbourg. So we had good evening and were out till quite late. It was just a nice touch to be in Serre Chevalier with someone else who seemed very friendly but as a result I went to bed late. I was going to get up early and try and leave for 9o’clock, but instead I put my alarm clock back an hour and so everything was put back by an hour. I felt I needed to do that though as my back was aching and I was also quite worried about the day ahead and how I was going to get through it, given how I felt. I thought of all the different options but I wasn’t sure what to do. In the end when I woke up I decided to just take the public transport and just have to accept the fact that I wasn’t going to be riding up the col d’Izoard as I would have liked. I just had to think about staying healthy and not injuring myself.

I didn’t want to injure myself or do myself any damage so I made the decision to not ride any of the hard cols so I knew I would get either a train or a bus from Briancon, but I didn’t know what it was going to be. I didn’t know where they would be going either. In the end after having done a bit of sight-seeing around Briancon and taken photos around the old town I then I got a train ticket to Embrun. The idea was that although it was longer than if I went to Mont Dauphin and over the col du Vars looking at the map it seemed that it would be a flatter route and there were certainly not any cols involved so that’s what I decided to do. I’m glad I went that way as it was very pretty. I went past the Lac du Serre Poncon which was really very picturesque with lovely views of the moutains towering above the lake which had a really clear blue tint to it. Also along a certain part of it there was a beach with loads of people out sunbathing and loads of holiday makers. It was a shame I couldn’t join them. As far as the ride went the part out of Embrun up to the first village, Savigne le Lac, and the village that I got to later on, Les Sauzes involved a lot of climbing. I was almost regretting have taken that route. Then after that there was a lovely descent with brilliant views of the mountains while being right next to the lake. In the end I was glad that I’d made that choice. I then went along a main road to reach Barcelonnette. In fact that road was an uphill slog but it didn’t feel too bad as it was just a false flat. I was able to twiddle in my lowest gear without it being too taxing. I arrived at Barcelonnette and rang the hotel to let them know I was on my way. I was slightly nervous when the proprietor wished me luck for my ride between Barcelonnette and La Condamine. I was worried that meant the road would go up really steeply. But it didn’t at all. It was just a false flat all the way up to La Condamine Chatelard. In the end I did 42 miles.

In the end I did 42 miles from Embrun to La Condamine Chatelard which is just outside Jausiers and I didn’t do any of the cols – the col d’Izoard or the col du Vars which I had originally thought of doing. Here I am in the hotel. My back is aching still but not as much as it was yesterday. I don’t feel that I taxed it so much so I’m pleased about that. Of course the thing that I do have to do tomorrow is tackle col de la Bonnette. I’m not really sure how I could do this because really if I go over the col de la Bonnette it’s just one climb, 24km long but once I’ve done that I will have done most of my climbing for the day, which will be a total mileage of 81km. If I go via the other route that avoids col de la Bonnette, i.e. the col du Cayolle and col d’Allos, then I would end up doing around 105km and I’d rather keep the mileage as low as possible. So I’d prefer to just do the 81km albeit over the col de la Bonette. The signs today say that it is open, so I am assuming it will be open tomorrow as well as the weather has been good. It’s been hot and the sky has been clear so hopefully it’ll be open as well tomorrow and I can over that. I’m just hoping I can manage to twiddle a low gear for 3 hours and get it over and done with! After that I’ll just go downhill through the vallee de la Tinee and end my ride at Saint Sauveur sur Tinee.

It’s a week since I left London. It’s been quite a holiday. I have to admit I keep forgetting about the things I’ve done. I’m glad I’m recording them. Overall I’ve really enjoyed it and being in France. I’ve had all kinds of comments from people all about how amazing it is that I’m doing this cycle touring on my own all the way from England. In fact in Briancon I had a few people come up to me and randomly start a conversation with me – which was quite nice really. People were saying they liked my bicycle and they were asking about my cycling and telling me about the area. One woman walked right up to me while I was trying to take photos of the citadel in Briancon. She was saying how she would like to do some cycle touring herself but she didn’t know what bike to get and could I give her advice. So people have been very talkative and it’s been quite a lot of fun. Of course I get the comments about my French. They are impressed with my language skill and can’t believe that I’m English and speak French so well! I always like that bit because in reality I don’t do that much work on my French nowadays – not as much as I should. I do try and listen to the radio and I have been to the French meetup groups in London. I could have done more, so it’s nice to have people still compliment my French and know that it’s still good enough! I have to say speaking French has been a really good asset for this trip. It has certainly helped to break the ice and facilitate communication and you just get so much more information about how to get things done quickly. So, hopefully that trend will continue. Tomorrow will be my last day really in the high mountains, so I will make the most of it by going over the col de la Bonnette which is advertised as Europe’s highest mountain pass, at 2802m.


Friday 20th August

This was actually going to be my last day in the Alps riding, with the piece de resistance being the climb up the col de la Bonnette. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. When we woke up in the morning it was pouring with rain – not quite what we’d been expecting. Supposedly the forecast had talked of early morning rain that would clear up very quickly. Then there’d be sunny conditions thereafter. But unfortunately it was just heavy rain and you could barely see the tops of the mountains. In fact in the hotel at breakfast time the locals were not at all in agreement with what the forecasters had said. They said when the sky is as it is you know that rain isn’t going away any time soon. We are likely to have this for most of the day. So that pretty much scuppered my plan to ride up the col de la Bonnette. I had wanted to go up the highest climb in the Alps – in Europe even, but I certainly didn’t want to do that in those conditions. So I was prepared to wait a while to see what happened, rather than setting off at 9am. I decided to wait a couple of hours and make some plans from there. The hotel was a bit strange. It wasn’t at all touristic. It was mainly local tourists – people who had been there for several days walking around the local trails. They exchanged stories about how tough the trails had been, how wet it had been, what a rainy week it had been etc. In fact for them, all this rain was nothing new, whereas for me it had been quite a surprise.

After breakfast, which I must admit was a pretty lean affair – very much in keeping with the dinner they’d served the previous evening I got a newspaper and sat in their café catching up on the local news while watching the rain. Then around 11.30am the rain seemed to come to a stop, unlike the false alarm I’d had earlier that morning. I was able to very quickly don all my waterproofs and get the hell out of the place. Sadly I wasn’t going to go up the col de la Bonnette. Even though the weather was not particularly inviting the col was still open, and I could have ridden up it if I wanted, and I saw some cyclists riding up the path. For me, really there was no way that I wanted to go up in those conditions. More importantly than anything, on those types of rides it’s the descent that is the problem. Descending in the wet with just cantilever brakes with 10kg of luggage would be quite risky considering that my brakes may not have even had the stopping power to stop safely on a descent that’s starting at 2,800m above sea level. So I had to go all the way back and retrace my footsteps back to Barcelonnette. This was quite and easy ride as the route was mainly downhill – just a steady descending false flat. I was actually really lucking with the timing for I arrived into Barcelonnette, having ridden around the town a couple of towns looking for the bus station I suddenly came across a couple of buses with people queuing up. I guess that was the bus station! Low and behold there was a bus going to Gap. It wasn’t quite the destination I was going to. I would have preferred one that was going to Digne les Bains. But it was a choice between get on this bus and head vaguely in the direction I wanted or hang around for about 4 or 5 hours to get to Digne les Bains and not really have much time to really find anywhere to stay or make further plans.

I caught the bus at Barcelonette to go to Gap. I think I was the difficult passenger he could have done with! I was the last person to arrive at the bus stop – just as he was getting ready to leave. I had a bicycle to dismantle to get it into the boot of the bus. In those parts they charge for carrying the bicycle – so I had to pay an extra 6 euros for my Planet X. Of course in true French style, where people mind your business for you people began to make comments – “Oh, here she is doing cycle touring, then she’s getting on a bus with her bike – what d’you call this, you lightweight?” I just humoured the guys along anyway. So the journey to Gap was about an hour. I was quite tired and wet and I have to admit I was quite glad to have been on a bus rather than out in the elements because the rain really didn’t look like it was going to stop any time soon. It did at times seem to get heavier. The bus stopped at Gap train station where a lot of people got off. I was hoping I could catch a train straight to Nice. Of course, because so many of us got off at Gap train station the first thin you did was to join in a long line to the ticket office. These stations aren’t like stations in big cities where you can buy your ticket from a maching. You had to queue and then line up at one of the kiosks. As it happenend the people behind me were doing the same thing – they also wanted to get to Nice that day. The rumour was that there would be no train. I would have to get a train to Sisteron, then a bus to somewhere else. Then O’d have to get on a train for Nice.

When I did actually manage to get to the front of the queue and talk to the lady at the ticket office she said that there would be a train all the way to Nice. It would be a TGV and that would get me there for about 8pm. At that time it was around about 1.30pm so I could have got on the 2pm train to Marseille and then at Marseille get another train that would get me in to Nice, having taken me approximately 6 hours. I really didn’t fancy that and I fancied even less the fact that it would cost me 53 euros, so at that point I decided not to do this. I would just catch a train to Sisteron and then maybe find a hotel there, see a few of the sights. Apparently this town is a touristic area and I would just get on and see where things took me. Either way I knew I would not be going to Nice today, and it was gonna be a case of just getting as far as I could that day. The train journey was fairly straight forward, though I was a bit tired. It seemed a popular train. There were a lot of people on it, who looked like they were there specifically to visit Sisteron. It appears to be a good base from where people go hiking. Outside, the sky looked pretty threatening and grim, and I didn’t feel like going sightseeing there. I was also glad that I hadn’t gone down to Nice in the end. The other folks I was talking to in the queue at Gap train station also said there was no point going to Nice today as they had pouring rain there too. So I was abit naughty because I didn’t get off at Sisteron as my ticket had shown. Instead I stayed on up to Chateau Arnoux-St Auban. I then decided to head to a place called Chateauredun. However, after doing a number of circuits around the village asking directions I found out that I would need to get to Digne les Bains first and then after that, found Chateauredun. According to my map there was a short cut to get to this town, but on the road I couldn’t see exactly how I could get to it. Instead I just pressed on and headed for Digne les Bains.

The weather had improved by the time I reached Chateaux Arnoux. I wasn’t raining at all, and I was abit happier about cycling in those conditions. Nevertheless I did feel abit embarrassed that what should have been the big day of going into the highest mountain pass in Europe had been abit of an anticlimax and a damp squib. The rain had put paid to many things. I had had to go back on myself to Barcelonnette, where I’d been the previous day, then here I was going to a place that I could have got to quite a lot easier if I’d known the previous day what I know now! So it was a case of just going on and ploughing on to Digne les Bains. This place was actually quite a pleasant town. I felt really lucky because the first hotel I went was fully booked, but the second hotel I tried out, the man just said “yes, I have only one room left here – and it’s a single room – my last one. It’s 50 euros and you’re very welcome. He was the friendliest hotel proprietor I’ve met. He was keen to please, and said, yeah, yeah I can recommend these places to you for food. Oh, and there’s a dancing festival on tonight in the main square etc. So I made the most of the facilities on my last evening before reaching the seaside. Digne les Bains is a very pleasant town. There’s an old town which is nice to look at. There’s a cathedral. Also aside from the aside from the spa places you find in a spa town there is also a festival – the Festival d’Outremer where they were various cultural activities going on. On this particular night it was salsa evening, where there was a great big marquee. I think salsa is the loose sense of the word as the music they play was very much the kitsch end of the scale – La Macarena, all similar party songs that you wouldn’t normally be seen dead dancing to, but I was on holiday and no body knew me so I felt free to join in. I also probably danced to some of the other really trite French pop songs, I can't remember. But hey, I had a good time, as well as a few drinks. It was all quite good spirited.