The entry is in & we’ll see the Tour!

The beginning of November saw the release of the Etape entries and also Sports Tours International’s package trips. I was due to be in meetings all day at work but luckily Dan was able to do the dirty work and make sure we got a booking in.

As soon as entries were released Dan had booked us places for the 3 day trip staying in Central Pau. Based on Dan’s previous experience (he’s done the Etape a couple of times before) we wanted to go for a little longer than just the 3 days. Afterall, there’s no point in going to the Pyrenees with your bike and making a rush trip of it – Especially the case when the Tour de France is due to come in a few days later.

As a result, we’re booked to go out a day Earlier (the Thursday) and come back on the following Wednesday. This gives us time to do a recce and spend a bit more time riding and watching stage 16 of the Tour:

The whole trip works out to have an extraordinary cost to pain ratio, in that it’s bloody expensive and no doubt painful. An odd way to spend the hard earned but it WILL be worth it.

The trip itinerary will be along the lines of:

Thursday: Travel out
Friday: Do a recce ride and check it all out
Saturday: Collect race numbers and admin stuff
Sunday: RIDE!
Monday: Recovery ride / rest
Tuesday: Ride up the mountain to watch the Tour come through
Wednesday: Travel home

It’s going to be a few long hard months of training…