CycleFit - Jules and Phil Etape di Tour Blog

JULES AND PHIL'S ETAPE BLOG - May '09 ISSUE
JULES STORY
Preparing for any big event can have its hiccups and Phil and I seem to have more than most, it was only a question of time before I offered my response to Phil’s Brompton Flyover.
Amy and me On the 27th March I met Amy on Tooley Street, it was one of the few occasions I had ridden my bike in March, having had two colds and a hectic work schedule any exercise had taken a back seat. Amy stepped out from behind a bus in queuing traffic and we clashed heads, there was no time to brake or avoid her I just wacked into the side of her with my cheekbone and down we went. It is the closest I have been to an attatractive young woman in many a year.
I was up on my feet first after the Starsky roll and tottered back a few yards on my cleats to help Amy to her feet and put her shoes back on. We took her to the side of the road and exchanged details and checked she was OK, my head hurt but it felt like just a cut eye or something. Amy was escorted to work (PWC) by a kind gentleman, I remounted and road on to Cyclefit, the remaining journey was a bit of an unstable affair, I remember part of my front light falling off in the underpass on the embankment.
Got to work checked myself in the mirror: there was a dent in my face and I had a black eye….best get changed and head off to A&E – the usual routine. I checked in and took my usual place outside X-Ray.
Nil by Mouth After three days of a liquid diet I checked in at UCHL on Sunday evening after leaving a distressed family on the train platform , apart from my youngest who was obliviously looking for bugs. I was scheduled for an op on the following Monday, nil by mouth Sunday night/Monday morning; but then the operation was cancelled as my condition was not life threatening and they needed to check my eyes out. Some drops were put in my eyes to make the pupils dilate which made my vision blurred I stopped reading my book in the waiting room ('In Search of Robert Millar' which I highly recommend). I strolled back to my room wearing only my nighty with my ever expanding file under my arm, I thought I would listen to the radio on my return; however I could not read my credit card to purchase the TV/radio service. I will use my phone instead I thought I couldn’t see that either, I couldn’t even call the wife to bore her. So I lay there in silence and did nothing for several hours, a very unusual experience in this day and age. I slid down the operating theatre’s list of priorities on Tuesday, on the plus side and by pure fluke I had my own room.
On the Tuesday after my op was cancelled I slipped out for lunch to meet Phil and the wife before returning to my room for my evening check up via Tesco metro for some ‘soft’ rations - how very civilized.
Had the op Wednesday and had some plates and wire inserted and then spent the rest of my stay laid-out on the bed waiting in anticipation for the sound of the trolley bringing tea and snacks. By my fourth day I was becoming institutionalized I was getting used to the routine but when the tea lady was late in the evening I found myself pacing the room and peering down the corridor; I even considered smearing my room with faeces in protest.
My care though was excellent, so many doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff were involved in my care, and care they did - that is what I will take away from my experience. I counted the number of people that helped me get better from this accident: 43.
44 for if you include Phil whose hair has grown copiously since my accident.
46 including Kimberly and Warrick - whose hair hasn't grown - who both endure our antics with a resigned stoicism
47 if you include Amy who kept in touch and even threatened to visit me in hospital.
On the plus side though on a diet of chicken soup and green tea for ten days and no alchohol, not even chocolate I lost 3 kilos….just have to keep it off until July (I always have to find an upside for the blog). Ho hum.

Petty, Petty Bastard. Discuss?

In the twenty odd years we have been friends Jules has never struck me as a petty man. But a week in hospital, facial surgery and a month off work just to get one-up in the hapless stakes is, to my mind, petty and attention seeking. See Feb Blog

Head in Hand
So it was that he walked in that fateful morning (end of March) with his bike in one hand and face in the other after having a coming together with a young female pedestrian (Amy). There were clues in our collective projectile vomiting that a more perceptive man may have picked up on? But no we actually had to point out that his injuries were a bit outside of the design envelope of the Nurofen Plus that he already had in one pale hand. So off he went to UCH where he is pretty much on first name terms with everyone anyway. But he didn't come back for a while this time.

Overlap
So I think there was actually about a two day overlap when I had just started riding again and Jules was injury/illness free and riding as well. This might in fact be a record. It is a mysterious thing. In the same way Elton John and The Queen Mother were never seen at the same time - it is also a natural law of the universe that me and Jules are never seen on bikes together. Unless we are crashing into each other.

Lunch at the IV
The dozy pedestrian (still waiting to see if she is pregnant) pretty much did for all of us - but Jules and his family most of all. In the most surreal vignette of that time I walked up to see Jules pre-op and take him some grapes and jelly babies (his staple diet at the time). To be met by Mr and Mrs Jules walking out of the hospital - he is such a regular that they let him out on 'release' to have lunch as his surgery had been delayed till after the weekend. So we sat in Heals cafe (we rightly thought it would be quiet) and had a bizarre meal with Jules still in his wind-cheater to cover all the tubes and pipes still stuck in his wee body. Mrs Jules can be a very comical women - but it took a good few glasses to coax this side of her out under these solemn circumstances. Jules for his part was the stoic we expect.

Tight Ship
We are a pretty lean outfit at CycleFit - take away one of us and it leaves a gaping hole. We filled it by abandoning stuff like newlsetters, blogs, training, tea-breaks and biscuit and cake runs. Many apologies if any of you also inadvertently suffered during this period? The waiting-list for a CycleFit session also elongated to a record ten weeks during this period. It is not much less now come to think of it.

No Quarter asked......
So my riding took a bit of a back-seat - any excuse welcome.
With our annual Mallorca training camp looming large it seemed inevitable plans would have to be ammended. Mark (GPM) Neep was his normal empathic self - "Don't piss me about if are riding like a couple of bed-wetters. Send Warrick or someone - we really can't be arseing (sic?) around carrying the pair of you jokers".
So we sent Warrick to cover for Jules' week and I got the kicking of a lifetime on mine rather than admit to Mark that I was either unprepared or needy. His sardonic smile as he eased the team-bus away from my so-dropped arse just outside Selva with 35k still to go on the biggest day was poetic and predictable. No quarter asked, no quarter given. I rode with all biscuits thoroughly blown - no pump, tube, money, food, drink and then it got dark. At least I got arty pic when I stopped for a piss - see left. I eventually limped in to my room about 7:30 - the last by far.
After a long bath I walked like Douglas Bader to the nearest restaurent at the resort. After eating my body-weight in carbs I skittered home to bed. I imagine Mark grinned all night. Despite being the weakest rider out of the twenty two on the camp, the gorgeous riding, great company and sense of freedom still made the week one of the most cherished on my confused calendar - living like professional, if only for a week year is highly addictive. Be warned.

Normal Service
Since Jules got his face and life back we have all settled back to normal. And me and Jules have resumed riding one more time. Having moved to a beautiful place called Frieth in The Chilterns, I have started to ride one way about two or three times a week. I have even found the most gratifying secret route through the back lanes of Burnham Beeches, Fulmer and Iver Heath. The whole commute takes about two and a half hours and gives me a notional seven to eight hour riding tally for the week - as much as I could ask or handle at the moment. The best thing about this ride is that it takes in a few sections of off-road up tracks and trails.
'Back in the day' - Me , Jules, Guy (Rouleur), Jay and Mark would go off training together and often end up crossing Epping Forest on the MTB trails. and since that time I just love to take my road bike off-road whenever the opportunity presents itself. Not only do you get a great feeling of satsifaction fom taking your bike up a deserted trail, where it was never intended, but also it sharpens up your bike-handling skills hugely - every morsel of grip and traction the reward for correct body-english and line. Another devotee of this kind of riding is Ben Serotta - me, Ben and Jules rode out in Limoges together around the time of the 2004 Etape and spent a good proportion climbing singletrack forest trails on our Ottrotts. We all agreed that the 2005 Serotta catalogue should be shot off-road. But Ben wimped out.

Links:

CycleFit/Balance Physio Clinic
Warrick Climbs Ventoux

Link to January Blog ..more
Link to February Blog ..more
Link to March Blog ..more
Link to April Blog ..more
Link to May/June Blog .. more
Link to July Blog ..more
Link to Etape Aftermath Blog ..more

info@cyclefit.co.uk

www.cyclefit.co.uk



	2009 Here we come! See below. Jules view for week in April Jelly baby Mate? Pink Peril in Mallorca. Blow up - get arty? Top of Col Soller. Lunch for the body politik... Yum yum Small man, big mountain, white legs. Altered face.. My viiew for 35k after being dropped in Mallorca My perfect road.	JULES AND PHIL'S ETAPE BLOG - May '09 ISSUE JULES STORY Preparing for any big event can have its hiccups and Phil and I seem to have more than most, it was only a question of time before I offered my response to Phil’s Brompton Flyover. Amy and me On the 27th March I met Amy on Tooley Street, it was one of the few occasions I had ridden my bike in March, having had two colds and a hectic work schedule any exercise had taken a back seat. Amy stepped out from behind a bus in queuing traffic and we clashed heads, there was no time to brake or avoid her I just wacked into the side of her with my cheekbone and down we went. It is the closest I have been to an attatractive young woman in many a year. I was up on my feet first after the Starsky roll and tottered back a few yards on my cleats to help Amy to her feet and put her shoes back on. We took her to the side of the road and exchanged details and checked she was OK, my head hurt but it felt like just a cut eye or something. Amy was escorted to work (PWC) by a kind gentleman, I remounted and road on to Cyclefit, the remaining journey was a bit of an unstable affair, I remember part of my front light falling off in the underpass on the embankment. Got to work checked myself in the mirror: there was a dent in my face and I had a black eye….best get changed and head off to A&E – the usual routine. I checked in and took my usual place outside X-Ray. Nil by Mouth After three days of a liquid diet I checked in at UCHL on Sunday evening after leaving a distressed family on the train platform , apart from my youngest who was obliviously looking for bugs. I was scheduled for an op on the following Monday, nil by mouth Sunday night/Monday morning; but then the operation was cancelled as my condition was not life threatening and they needed to check my eyes out. Some drops were put in my eyes to make the pupils dilate which made my vision blurred I stopped reading my book in the waiting room ('In Search of Robert Millar' which I highly recommend). I strolled back to my room wearing only my nighty with my ever expanding file under my arm, I thought I would listen to the radio on my return; however I could not read my credit card to purchase the TV/radio service. I will use my phone instead I thought I couldn’t see that either, I couldn’t even call the wife to bore her. So I lay there in silence and did nothing for several hours, a very unusual experience in this day and age. I slid down the operating theatre’s list of priorities on Tuesday, on the plus side and by pure fluke I had my own room. On the Tuesday after my op was cancelled I slipped out for lunch to meet Phil and the wife before returning to my room for my evening check up via Tesco metro for some ‘soft’ rations - how very civilized. Had the op Wednesday and had some plates and wire inserted and then spent the rest of my stay laid-out on the bed waiting in anticipation for the sound of the trolley bringing tea and snacks. By my fourth day I was becoming institutionalized I was getting used to the routine but when the tea lady was late in the evening I found myself pacing the room and peering down the corridor; I even considered smearing my room with faeces in protest. My care though was excellent, so many doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff were involved in my care, and care they did - that is what I will take away from my experience. I counted the number of people that helped me get better from this accident: 43. 44 for if you include Phil whose hair has grown copiously since my accident. 46 including Kimberly and Warrick - whose hair hasn't grown - who both endure our antics with a resigned stoicism 47 if you include Amy who kept in touch and even threatened to visit me in hospital. On the plus side though on a diet of chicken soup and green tea for ten days and no alchohol, not even chocolate I lost 3 kilos….just have to keep it off until July (I always have to find an upside for the blog). Ho hum. Petty, Petty Bastard. Discuss? In the twenty odd years we have been friends Jules has never struck me as a petty man. But a week in hospital, facial surgery and a month off work just to get one-up in the hapless stakes is, to my mind, petty and attention seeking. See Feb Blog Head in Hand So it was that he walked in that fateful morning (end of March) with his bike in one hand and face in the other after having a coming together with a young female pedestrian (Amy). There were clues in our collective projectile vomiting that a more perceptive man may have picked up on? But no we actually had to point out that his injuries were a bit outside of the design envelope of the Nurofen Plus that he already had in one pale hand. So off he went to UCH where he is pretty much on first name terms with everyone anyway. But he didn't come back for a while this time. Overlap So I think there was actually about a two day overlap when I had just started riding again and Jules was injury/illness free and riding as well. This might in fact be a record. It is a mysterious thing. In the same way Elton John and The Queen Mother were never seen at the same time - it is also a natural law of the universe that me and Jules are never seen on bikes together. Unless we are crashing into each other. Lunch at the IV The dozy pedestrian (still waiting to see if she is pregnant) pretty much did for all of us - but Jules and his family most of all. In the most surreal vignette of that time I walked up to see Jules pre-op and take him some grapes and jelly babies (his staple diet at the time). To be met by Mr and Mrs Jules walking out of the hospital - he is such a regular that they let him out on 'release' to have lunch as his surgery had been delayed till after the weekend. So we sat in Heals cafe (we rightly thought it would be quiet) and had a bizarre meal with Jules still in his wind-cheater to cover all the tubes and pipes still stuck in his wee body. Mrs Jules can be a very comical women - but it took a good few glasses to coax this side of her out under these solemn circumstances. Jules for his part was the stoic we expect. Tight Ship We are a pretty lean outfit at CycleFit - take away one of us and it leaves a gaping hole. We filled it by abandoning stuff like newlsetters, blogs, training, tea-breaks and biscuit and cake runs. Many apologies if any of you also inadvertently suffered during this period? The waiting-list for a CycleFit session also elongated to a record ten weeks during this period. It is not much less now come to think of it. No Quarter asked...... So my riding took a bit of a back-seat - any excuse welcome. With our annual Mallorca training camp looming large it seemed inevitable plans would have to be ammended. Mark (GPM) Neep was his normal empathic self - "Don't piss me about if are riding like a couple of bed-wetters. Send Warrick or someone - we really can't be arseing (sic?) around carrying the pair of you jokers". So we sent Warrick to cover for Jules' week and I got the kicking of a lifetime on mine rather than admit to Mark that I was either unprepared or needy. His sardonic smile as he eased the team-bus away from my so-dropped arse just outside Selva with 35k still to go on the biggest day was poetic and predictable. No quarter asked, no quarter given. I rode with all biscuits thoroughly blown - no pump, tube, money, food, drink and then it got dark. At least I got arty pic when I stopped for a piss - see left. I eventually limped in to my room about 7:30 - the last by far. After a long bath I walked like Douglas Bader to the nearest restaurent at the resort. After eating my body-weight in carbs I skittered home to bed. I imagine Mark grinned all night. Despite being the weakest rider out of the twenty two on the camp, the gorgeous riding, great company and sense of freedom still made the week one of the most cherished on my confused calendar - living like professional, if only for a week year is highly addictive. Be warned. Normal Service Since Jules got his face and life back we have all settled back to normal. And me and Jules have resumed riding one more time. Having moved to a beautiful place called Frieth in The Chilterns, I have started to ride one way about two or three times a week. I have even found the most gratifying secret route through the back lanes of Burnham Beeches, Fulmer and Iver Heath. The whole commute takes about two and a half hours and gives me a notional seven to eight hour riding tally for the week - as much as I could ask or handle at the moment. The best thing about this ride is that it takes in a few sections of off-road up tracks and trails. 'Back in the day' - Me , Jules, Guy (Rouleur), Jay and Mark would go off training together and often end up crossing Epping Forest on the MTB trails. and since that time I just love to take my road bike off-road whenever the opportunity presents itself. Not only do you get a great feeling of satsifaction fom taking your bike up a deserted trail, where it was never intended, but also it sharpens up your bike-handling skills hugely - every morsel of grip and traction the reward for correct body-english and line. Another devotee of this kind of riding is Ben Serotta - me, Ben and Jules rode out in Limoges together around the time of the 2004 Etape and spent a good proportion climbing singletrack forest trails on our Ottrotts. We all agreed that the 2005 Serotta catalogue should be shot off-road. But Ben wimped out. Links: CycleFit/Balance Physio Clinic Warrick Climbs Ventoux Link to January Blog ..more Link to February Blog ..more Link to March Blog ..more Link to April Blog ..more Link to May/June Blog .. more Link to July Blog ..more Link to Etape Aftermath Blog ..more info@cyclefit.co.uk www.cyclefit.co.uk