The July 2007 Tour De France Bike Challenge (Page 4)

wurkit girl, sf biggest loser, and doloresm2 of the newbie group are going to kill me ... but sign me up for 20 (I mean, they only have to be 15 min. minimum, right?) for the 20 stages of the Tour de France.

I have no excuse.  I'm at work and looking at five stationary bikes as I type.  I think there's 40 more around the corner.

Go newbies!!! AND WE STILL NEED ONE MORE ...

Hey all - just a quick update one where we are at... the challenge currently has 50 riders 

If you havent decided on the number of rides yet, dont worry too much as you do not need to makes your final commitment until the teams are assigned!

Initial team line ups will be announced in this forum on Wednesday (USA time) and I have all of the team requests and commitments to date.

We will of course take new riders right up to the challenge so no one misses out, and with the current preference towards Tour team names I have a full list of the current 20 teams for the Tour if individual teams want to go that way.

As always any questions, suggestion etc please let me know... only a week to go!!!!

If there is any more room, I would like to join.  I need a challenge to get me back into the routine AND to do "hills" work in the saddle.  If requests can be made and you are using Pro Team names, I want to be on Euskaltel - Euskadi since I ride an Orbea.

Here is my plan (I apologize in advance):

I am in for 21 rides (can't forget the prologue)...on the days the pros ride, I ride.  I will also try to emulate the type of ride that is being conducted (knowing that I can always jump on the trainer in the morning while the race is on for the 15min qualifier as a last resort).  When there is a time trial, I will spin on the trainer for the same amount of time as the stage win in 2006 (except for the prologue which I will double).  The distances are pretty close.  The "plains" rides will be ridden on my flat courses at the distance of 1 mile for every 10km in the Tour.  The "mountain" stages will be ridden on my hill courses....moderate on the "medium mountain" and hard (for me) on the  "high mountain" days.  I would love to keep the distance conversions but I don't have the skill (yet) to do both distance and climbing. Rest days are rest days.  And to add to the plan, I will celebrate the finish of each ride with a beer from the country the Tour is in.  Is this over the top yet?  Probably so, but the Tour only happens once a year.  A breakdown is as follows:

P:    July 7     time trial     16:34 (2006 - Thor Hushovd, 8:17)   
1:    July 8     plain     20.3 miles   
2:    July 9     plain     16.9 miles    
3:    July 10   plain     23.7 miles
4:    July 11   plain     19.3 miles
5:    July 12   med mountains     moderate hills course
6:    July 13   plain     20 miles
7:    July 14   high mountains     hard hills course
8:    July 15   high mountains     hard hills course

       July 16   rest

9  :  July 17   high mountains     hard hills course
10:  July 18   plain     23 miles
11:  July 19   plain     18.3 miles
12:  July 20   med mountains     moderate hills course
13:  July 21   time trial     (2006 Honchar 1:01:43  52km)
14:  July 22   high mountains     hard hills course
15:  July 23   high mountains     hard hills course

       July 24   rest day

16:  July 25   high mountains      hard hills course
17:  July 26   plain     18.9 miles
18:  July 27   plain     21.1 miles
19:  July 28   time trail     (2006 Honchar 1:07:45  56km)
20:  July 29   plain     14.6 miles     champagne!

Good luck to everyone! 

I'd like to fill the last slot of the newbie group if it's still open.  Considering my first tri is the day this challenge starts, am I eligible?

Put me down for 10 rides.  Two of those should be training rides for me on the course for savageman, which is the closest to a mountain stage I'm going to find around here.

No problem will put you down for the team - welcome to the challenge

And if any more newbies want to join you are more than welcome!

And welcome to everyone who has signed up to date!

DMarkSwan - 2007-07-01 6:55 PM I feel like a wuss, but put me down for 7. That's on my normal schedule of 2 a week and how those rides fall in the time frame. In my defense, we are expecting our second child during that time, so fitting my normal rides in around labor and delivery and sleepless nights with a newborn is a challenge.

don't feel like a wuss! i'm only doing 12 because my plan has me down for four rides a week.  anyhow as kat would confirm its about consistency not frequency! good luck with the birth

I thought about trying to simulate each day with my training, but being married with three kids just ain't gonna let that happen!

I don't care what team I'm on, so put me wherever I'm needed.  But I will hit my goal of 21 (as Triaya said, some of the days will be fairly short rides on the trainer to make sure I get them in ..... but knowing me they will all be at least 10 - 15 miles at a minimum - it will make for my first real month of mileage in a while).