Mind the Gap

Sun 16 May 2010 16:53 BST

Yesterday we had an 'away-day' in Gap, about 2 hours south of here. It was more of an escape than an away-day really as it's been pretty wet and chilly here for a few days now so we were in search of some sun, warmth and dry tarmac. Though having seen the Giro highlights from yesterday I feel a bit of a lightweight saying that I didn't fancy riding in the rain!

We stopped off for a quick detour in Pont-Sarrazin (just off the N94 on the way between Gap and Chorges). This is the site of the dreadful Beloki crash (2003 Tour) and where Armstrong's evasive action took him on a short cut across a field. There was a little too much wheat sprouting for a re-enactment of the cross country route taken but we took a few snaps (see below).

Dan and Will (our regular annual 'season openers') had not ridden in Gap since they took part in the 2006 Etape du Tour (Gap to Alpe d'Huez), so it was nice for them to retrace some of the route and to see some of the beautiful scenery at a more reasonable pace! One of the most spectacular sights is the beautiful azure blue lake of 'Serre Poncon' on which there is a tiny island with a chapel perched at it's centre (see photo top left).

Just after snapping some photos of the lake, Will noticed a rather nasty cut in his front tyre with the tube just poking through. We were a good few kilometres away from the nearest bike shop in Embrun and it had just hit midday closing - time for lunch!

One giant sandwich and a Coke later we set off for Embrun via a lovely climb with great views back down to the lake. All of us were watching Will and his front wheel carefully on the descent. When I heard that chilling and unmistakable 'bang' that is a tyre blowing, I didn't expect to see Dan wrestling to control and slow his bike. Ironically, it was Dan's rear wheel that had blown, the walls were completely shredded and the tube like macrami around the rear mech' and brakes. Fortunately, due to good handling, Dan only had a small 'off' and minimal road rash and damage to himself. As for the rim of his back wheel, that didn't come off so well.

So, we had a 4km or so walk to an amazing bike shop (thank you Alpes 2 Roues) where Dan and Will both received new tyres and Dan a nice new and very shiny wheel.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the workshop Guy got busy borrowing tools and stripping all that was salvageable from the ruined wheel, this earned him the nickname 'Stig of the Dump', which has now stuck!

Now it was my turn for trouble, not mechanical but physical -empty legs! We had a fairly straightforward run to get back to the van but into a strong headwind (the windsurfers and kite surfers on the lake should have given me a clue as to what was in store!). I was finished and Guy, Dan and Will had to tow me back to Gap nursing me up even the most pathetic of inclines - still, at least Dan had a nice new wheel for me to follow for the duration!

Photos below and on our 'Photo of the day' album.

Helyn