As a cycling guide and coach, I tend to work seven days a week, with 14-hour days a regular feature of my daily working life. Ironically, this means I find very little time to ride my bike for myself, so find I’m trying to fit opportunities to cycle in any spare moments.
This usually ends up being a 3.30am start as my recent ride up the Puy de Dome that I wrote about a few weeks ago demonstrates. Despite the unsociable hour, I have almost become accustomed to waking at this time although those brief moments between my alarm ringing and me actually getting out of bed are still a struggle. Once up, however, I always look forward to my ride and never regret my decision for such an early start.
A recent visit to the Massif Central demonstrated this nicely. My alarm had gone off at 4am and, reaching over to silence it, I wondered why on earth I was getting up so early to ride my bike. I quickly dressed, grabbed my bike and quietly sneaked out the door of the hotel I was staying.
I was in the small town of Meyrueis in the Cèvennes and had a plan to ride up to the observatory on the summit of Mont Aigoual, with a detour onto the plateau above the Tarn Gorge.
Even at such an early hour, the temperature was hovering around 22C and sweat was dripping from me as I focused on the first climb ahead of me.
The air was warm and still and moths flickered by, caught momentarily in the beam of my bike light. There wasn’t a sound, and I rode the 60km loop without seeing another person or vehicle on the road.
Mont Aigoual is a pleasant climb up through the forest on steady gradients and although the surrounding countryside is beautiful, there is nothing remarkable about the ascent. However, it does stand out for the fact that Tim Krabbe based his cult-fictional book The Rider on the surrounding roads and climb of Mont Aigoual. The book focuses on the thoughts of a rider in a race as he battles physically and mentally on the course ahead of him, his opponents and specifically the mysterious “man in black”.
I’ve read the book numerous times and although I had already ridden the climb to the summit, I was keen to give it another go as well as exploring some other roads linking up in the area.
The sun started to rise when I was around two-thirds of the way up and by the time I reached the summit I was able to see without the use of my bike-light. Unexpectedly when I arrived at the observatory, there were around 100 other people all waiting up at the summit. I was a bit confused as to why they were all there at 6.30am as the sunrise, although nice, wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. I quickly took a summit shot and then, conscious of getting back in time to start work I started cycling downhill. The first part of the descent heads back into the forest and it was until I reached a break in the trees that I realised why so many people had gathered at the summit. The sun had fully risen and it was perhaps one of the most magnificent sunrises I had ever seen. I actually felt quite emotional witnessing it and despite being on my own I let out a few vocal exclamations. I stood looking at it for a few minutes before reluctantly turning and heading downhill again.
It had been another early start, but yet again as soon as I was out riding any struggle to get out of bed was forgotten. Instead, I was rewarded with solitude on the roads and an incredible sunrise.
Join the Blazing Saddles Strava Club at: www.strava.com/clubs/BlazingSaddlesWeekendCourier
Where to ride: Dundee to St Andrews
Distance: 20 miles/ 34km (one way)
Start: OS Landranger 1:50,000 Maps 54 Tay Bridge NO407301
Finish: Map 59 St Andrews – NO5117
Details: The route starts with a crossing of the Tay Road Bridge, before turning east at Newport-on-Tay along a lovely section of cycle path towards Tayport. The route then carries on through Tayport and into Tentsmuir Forest, before heading back out to Leuchars. A short road section at Guardbridge will lead you onto another section of cycle path that finishes in St Andrews.
