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Bonjour from Paris

Arrived safely in Paris and are now the hotel in Versaille WE are waiting on other members of the group who are coming on other flights from around the world.spent a pleasant afternoon having a walk around and taking in the sights and of course we had to sample the first of many French pastries .

we are up early in the morning to board our bus and head down to the heart of the Pyrenean mountain town of Bagneres De Bigore .that's where this trip really begins! Stay tuned.

Tour De France 2011

Only 2 more days till i head to France to follow the tour again,The excitement has been steadily growing and more so now that the race has started.  My training has gone well and i feel   I'm climbing better than ever thanks to a loss of 13kg!but i will need to be on top of my game when i look at the mountains we are to ride.
This year the tour route takes us over some iconic mountains including the tourmalet,luz ardiden and of course the alpe duez.
I will try to update my blog whenever the vagaries of french hotel wi fi connection will allow.

I must add a big thank you to all those that have phoned or  emailed this week to wish me luck,it really means a lot to me,thanks.
Also i have to say that i would not be able to follow my dream if it was not for Diane's support.I realise that when I'm out on my bike each day it's only possible because Diane is there to carry on running the business and making incredible meals for me when i return, thanks mate.

I am asked by many people where i will be so they may see me on the side of the road but the short answer is ;who knows? we will be on the course somewhere each day,we don't know ourselves due to the huge crowds and where we are on the road when the gendarme stop us from riding to allow the tour to go past. so keep looking,you never know!vive le velo! viva Le tour DE France!

training update

With only  a little under 3 weeks to go before i head to Le Grande Boucle (the tour) my training is reaching the stage where i finish off my conditioning and put the final touches on my fitness.
The last 6 weeks i have steadily increased the distance/time i have been riding, averaging 3 hours per day with a few longer rides (4 hours) and a couple of 5.5 hour rides thrown in for good measure.
As i have no choice but to ride hills, my climbing is improving but it still hurts!

Magic makeover

Been busy this last 2weeks working on the stern and deck area of the boat.the paint had been applied poorly by previous owners and was showing it,s-age.

Some areas had rot which we have cut out and replaced with new timber then glassed over.
At the moment I am covering the entire area with fiberglass cloth to make it totally waterproof .
Then the big task of repainting the boat.

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A blog from my iPad

Trying to set up my iPad to enable me to update from France .not sure if we will have a lot of wifi coverage but will try and write up a report and send some pics whenever I can.

Magic maintenance

Trying to spend as much time as possible when I'm not riding the bike or in the shop down at the Harbour working on the boat.
Both corners of the deck/cockpit had a small amount of rot so have been cutting the old rotten timber out and glueing new timber in it's place

After lots of filling and sanding I will cover the entire area with fiberglass cloth then more sanding'filling and more sanding before I can start to paint.

Of course this is only the start of a major repaint of the entire boat, we will take the boat out of the water in late august and paint/antifoul the hull so i hope to have the topsides finished by then. lots of work ahead of me!