Follow in the pedal strokes of a legend - ride a Queen Stage, live. Who's keen?
In 2010, LABC member and Dr of Bicycle Engineering Mike Pengelly took Tour de France participation to a whole new level.
Perhaps better known for his pre-breakfast marathons and as the inspiration for Heineken’s experimental sports nutrition programme, Mike’s commendable Stage 17 (Pau - Col du Tourmalet 174km) finishing time of 5:07:44 (incidentally the same time as Lance Armstrong) wasn’t the only thing about his performance stealing thunder from Luxembourg’s fast pedalling stage winner Andy Schleck.
As the peleton rolled out from Pau, sometime around 10pm Thursday evening, New Zealand time, Mike pedalled his rollers into life.
Positioned in his lounge and facing a large television sufficiently cranked up so that Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen drowned the whirr of his rollers, Mike found a comfortable position immediately behind team Radioshack.
His race preparation had gone smoothly – a large water resistant mat would contain his sweat and natural ‘breaks’, and three bottles of Raro were positioned within easy reach. The only complicating factor was his Soigneur, who refused to work past 11:30 p.m. His final pre-race act was nailing hardboard over an internal window to stifle noise coming from his lounge.
Getting down to work, his natural high-cadence style helped him ride to the ebb and flow of the peleton. The hours rolled by and it was only during advertising breaks, as riders radioed team directors, that Mike rose from his saddle, allowing blood to flow back into his nether regions.
Just over five hours later, moments after the Schleck-Contador embrace, Mike crashed, the severe gradient of the Col du Tourmalet disrupting his roller’s gyroscopic forces. However, he quickly remounted, crossing the finishing line behind Radioshack’s Lance Armstrong.
Sometime shortly after 3:00 a.m. Friday, Mike stopped pedalling and dismounted.
The reason for recounting Mike’s epic ride is the opportunity to follow in his pedal strokes.
We’re currently scoping a location, Sky TV hook-up and surround sound to host a bunch of cyclists (and their wind trainers) ready to succumb to the magnetism of Le Tour and go head-to-head with Schleck, Contatdor and co.
Ride a Queen Stage, live.
Who's keen?
