Dear All,

Well, at 1824 last Sunday I crossed the finishing line on the Col du Tourmalet (2115m), 11 hours after crossing the start line in Pau. It was an epic day and the 3 climbs, particularly Tourmalet, certainly lived up to their pre-race billing!

The enthusiastic support we received along the way was a huge encouragement – each village was out in force cheering us on and spraying water over us to cool us down. Approaching the summit of each climb there were a couple of kilometres worth of camper-vans parked up (waiting for the Tour to pass through days later) with their occupants sitting outside giving encouragement whilst enjoying a variety of food, wine and BBQs – talk about mental as well as physical torture!

It was a hot cloudless day, temperatures into the 30s, which made the ascents hot work but the descents great fun – with the roads closed you were able to really pick up some serious speed. The ambulances, though, had a busy day as a number of riders mistimed their corners with some nasty results.

Tourmalet, as in the Tour itself, was the ultimate test - having already ridden 160km the legs were pretty tired before I started the ascent! It was gruelling work in the afternoon sun, from which there was little shade, but the support from the crowds stays with you and you literally take things kilometre by kilometre. I tried to appreciate the fantastic scenery but mainly it was the bitumen 2 yards beyond my front wheel!

The last 3kms seemed to go on infinitum but crossing the line eventually was certainly a moment that will stay with me.

Your generosity really spurred me on, particularly up those last few kilometres, and I would like to thank you all for this. So far (including on and off-line donations, gift aid etc), I have raised over £2,850 for Help for Heroes and hope, when all is said and done, to reach the £3,000 mark – as with race kilometres the last few pounds seem take that bit longer to accrue!

Thanks once again for all your support.

Nigel.

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Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On Sunday 18th July 2010 I will be attempting to complete L'etape du Tour 2010 - 4 days before the professionals do in this year's Tour de France, albeit in a slightly slower time! The course comprises 181km with a total ascent of 13,450ft and with a maximum time limit of 11 hours to complete, it will be quite a challenge! I have decided to use the ride to raise money and awareness for Help for Heroes - a fantastic charity that provides support for our servicemen and women wounded in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan....so please dig deep ! 

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Many thanks,

Nigel.