Author: Will

53.1 km On the way back from Lyon we stopped at beautiful Annecy. The brave Doreen had to do a 26km run as part of her marathon training program and Annecy has a wonderful bike/running path around half the lake that was a former railroad line – completely traffic free. Meanwhile, I biked the Annecy path and then up the Col de la Forclaz – a horribly steep but short climb (8km) that was used in the Tour de France last year and is still littered with road graffiti cheering riders on (see my January 5th post). Total distance 1,841.4…

65.1 km We went to see Olympique Lyonnais play (the top football/soccer team in France). A super game with an amazing crowd. The home team scored the winning goal with 10 minutes to go and we all danced and celebrated the rest of the game. Lyon is about 150kms from us – so I scoped out a cycling route near Lyon taken from a cycling route collection I have and programmed it into my GPS. The route was nice enough but the roads were soooooo bumpy it was a bit of a pain (literally) on my road bike. Total distance…

56.7 km My favourite route from home includes a stretch where I cross the Rhone river into France and then climb 5 kilometres up to a little town called Challex. Often I time myself up this climb. Well today I broke my record. In fact only once have I even beem close to today’s time – and that was when I was desperately chasing two guys up the hill. Unfortunately there is an asterix by the record as there was a super strong wind right in the middle of my back that made a HUGE difference. Total distance 1,723.2 km…

33.1 km I’m still not sure why Doreen drew a picture of a pig, while asking me to pick up some milk yesterday. Total distance 1,666.3 km will-davies.com

61.2 km I love riding after a rest day. I feel so much stronger (or “jumpy” as I call it). I blew past a few riders going up hills – and that always makes me cheerful. Total distance 1,633.2 km Total Ascent: 17,814 metres Total Calories: 55,625 will-davies.com

34.1 km I had planned to take a day off today. But it was so bright and clear that I couldn’t resist a short, easy ride. Total distance 1,572.1 km Total Ascent: 17,194 metres Total Calories: 53,360 will-davies.com

39.0km Last year I wouldn’t of dreamed of biking on a day like this. It was cold, it had snowed the night before, the clouds were ominous, and it was very lightly snowing – but what the heck – I decided it was a good day to bike. About 15 minutes in to the ride the heavens opened and it began to seriously snow. But I was feeling pretty good so I kept going. 30 minutes later the snow had stopped and a little bit of sun popped through the clouds. Everything was white, beautiful and quiet. Glad I got…

39.0km There I was riding about 25kmh into a 25kmh wind. Super noisy, like a mini hurricane and hardwork even if it was a bit downhill. Suddenly I turn a couple of corners and there is total silence and pedaling seems too easy to believe, even though I’m going slightly uphill. Life is better with the wind at your back. Total distance 1,495.4 km Total Ascent: 16,499 metres Total Calories: 51,488 will-davies.com

34.2 km After some research – including a book by Lance Armstrong’s coach (a B-day present from my mom!) – I have decided to add more “active recovery” days. In other words, days where I ride, but at a low intensity. Total distance 1,456.4 km Total Ascent: 16,159 metres Total Calories: 48,877 will-davies.com

51.5 km Took the road bike out today. Went really hard and felt pretty strong. My cold is finally all gone and I’m feeling a little bit fit. Below is a chart of todays ride. The green area shows the altitude changes. The red line is my heart rate . It really spiked on that 5km Challex hill early in the ride! The purple line is Cadence (how fast I turn the wheels). High cadence in an easy gear works the lungs and low cadence on a hard gear works the leg muscles. My lungs are stronger than my legs,…