Vive la (Tour de) France!

 While we are gearing up for the Olympics (that we 'stole' from our near neighbours) and our 'boys' on the Skytrain were over there showing the French how to win bike races I was inducting a French lad to what Britain has to offer. I was going to introduce Quentin a son of a friend who is a National standard Rower into the fellowship of the wheel, he does quite a bit of bike riding as part of his training so I put one of mine together for him. He lives in the middle of Paris so a trip on the Seine more simple than getting out on the bike and with an interest in going to Ox bridge rowing is a better bet than biking but I thought I might have a go at turning his head.

For a rower Quentin looked good on the bike

As soon as he arrived on the Saturday he saw the bike (my old TT bike) and he wanted to get out straight away but as I was racing that evening I was less keen, my pleas that "One should not train on the day you travel" as your resistance to illness is lowered by going through Airports and such like and we had arranged other delights was met with a stony face. So I agreed to ride out to the friends for lunch where we had arranged for him to meet some other youngsters of his age (and maybe he might like to do something with them) he was less than impressed with an invitation to a party (from a girl!) that night as the temptation of alcohol held no sway but he did polish off quite a bit of Gillian's excellent buffet and we headed home (on the bike)
We rode back from Nottingham's National Water Sports Centre after lunch when it had got too cold watching the rowers ply their fitness in the National Championships. I took Quentin the hilliest route I knew (actually pretty difficult in Leicester) but the wind more than made up for it and we had a ding dong 'bit & bit' along the A46 to finish and I managed to drop him a couple of times but generally he stuck to me like a limpet

It wasn't all training

Monday Is my rest day but no rest for Quentin so as the rain lashed down outside I stuck him on the turbo, put the music up extra loud and set him going. and hour later he emerged saying it was "Hard but a bit boring" I could not have put it better myself

That boy could eat!

The Tuesday evening '10' was my first race of the year when I didn't get rained on, I'd put Quentin up for the event as well so he could see how we produce Tour de France champions - CTT style. I put him off a minute in front of myself but he almost missed his start and I had no time to give him a final briefing on time trialling etiquette, still we blazed off into the breezy evening sun for a bit of 'hare and hounds'

5...4...3...2...1...GO

It took me until 4 miles to catch him but I must have gone to sleep after that as I only dropped him another minute for the rest of the race, 23:12 & 25:16 respectively a decent ride  for a first timer on a 'strange' bike, he beat both the other youth riders and myself only 8th not the best but I had kept dry and made another convert to the time trial scene as we had our cup of tea and cake at the finish

Taking a break from British summer time

On our final day we got a proper soaking on the ride to work, we even had to stop under a garage awning to get out of the worst but it was short lived and the rest of the ride was damp and humid in our capes

Well we tried to do our best to introduce Quentin to the best that Leicester had to offer, we did manage to get some Fish & Chips down him among the flapjack and bananas but the three offers to go out with youngsters of his own age (even one to the gym) all drew a blank, it seems the allure of ordinary life holds no desire for our young charge. All he wants to do is train Train TRAIN! I'll have to have a word with his mum about that we don't want it being too one sided in Rio

Youth and experience (not necessarily in that order)