Keep it Interesting

A few years back, I dreamt up the Tour de 1/1oth.  In it, I ride 1/10th the distance of the Tour de France each day and compare my times with the real riders to see my ranking. In the past, I have either not finished or finished in last place because frankly, even at 1/10th of their distance, when you multiply my times by 10, they are still much faster. This year I am going to try to level the playing field.

To even things out, I will give myself a 1 minute bonus for each extra mile I ride. That will still likely not be enough to get me in the top, but it should help. In the end, I will win regardless of how my time compares to the professional cyclists because I will have ridden a lot of miles and had a good time doing it.

What does Le Tour look like this year? The race will consist of just over 2,194 miles over the course of three weeks. There will be two rest days.

When? Where? Miles
Stage 1, July 1 ITT in Düsseldorf 8.08
Stage 2, July 2 Düsseldorf – Liége/Luik 125.52
Stage 3, July 3 Verviers – Longwy 132.04
Stage 4, July 4 Mondorf les Bains – Vittel 128.93
Stage 5, July 5 Vittel – La Planche des Belles Filles 99.42
Stage 6, July 6 Vesoul – Troyes 134.22
Stage7, July 7 Troyes – Nuits Saint Georges 132.97
Stage 8, July 8 Dole – Station des Rousses 116.20
Stage 9, July 9 Nantua – Chambéry 112.47
July 10 Rest Day 0.00
Stage 10, July 11 Périgueux – Bergerac 110.60
Stage 11, July 12 Eymet – Pau 125.52
Stage 12, July 13 Pau – Peyragudes 132.97
Stage 13, July 14 Saint Girons – Foix 62.14
Stage 14, July 15 Blagnac – Rodez 112.47
Stage 15, July 16 Laissac Sévérac l’Église – Le Puy en Velay 117.44
July 17 Rest Day 0.00
Stage 16, July 18 Le Puy en Velay – Romans sur Isère 102.53
Stage 17, July 19 La Mure – Serre Chevalier 113.71
Stage 18, July 20 Briançon – Col d’Izoard 110.60
Stage 19, July 21 Embrun – Salon de Provence 136.70
Stage 20, July 22 ITT in Marseille 14.29
Stage 21, July 23 Montgeron – Paris 65.24
2194.06 miles

That means I will be riding more than 219.41 miles over the same period of time. I know that it won’t be a whole lot different than normal because I do so much riding anyway, but it will be fun.

It will be a bit more difficult this year because I will be traveling quite a bit during the tour which will make it tougher to get my miles in. I may try to bank some hours between my first trip (today through the 2nd) and prior to my next trip (which runs the 14th-18th) but will most likely be playing catch up when I return. Look for updates as the race goes on and wish me luck!

by Chris Doelle