Martyn Jones' Tour de France: Final stage
Martyn Jones Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 11.00am
Paris - the end of the road (Martyn Jones)
Stage 21: Etampes - Paris
We
stayed in Orleans
last night to avoid a big drive to the Etampes stage start this morning and it took
less than an hour to get to the start point which was pretty good. Myself and the
crew were in justifiably good spirits and the banter was in full flow. It had progressively accumulated
after nearly four weeks on the road together, reducing our mental ages to half
what they should be! There
were constant references to the film Full Metal Jacket and I ended up being
Private Joker (or the sergeant) whilst Andy was Private Pile!
Banter aside, it was an
important day of course, one that required a focus sufficient to arrive safely
in Paris, negotiating the Champs
Elysees in the process. At the very least I had an obligation to
finish well for the charities I was representing and all of those people who
had supported me and been inspired along the way. I wasn't about to fall at the
final hurdle!
The pros would have the
luxury of closed roads in Paris
meaning no danger in the tunnels or roundabouts during their eight laps of the
capital. For me of course, this wasn't the case and it was too dangerous to
attempt all eight laps, so in order to replicate the same distance I started
the stage many kilometres before the official stage town of Etampes
outside Paris.
I then had one mini-lap of the circuit to complete safely before I would be able to meet my parents
under the Arc de Triomphe and relax.
All was going to plan before
for a mechanical problem struck 20km from the finish. My left shoe cleat - a Speedplay - snapped off on a short climb and I couldn't re-engage my shoe in
the pedal at all! It meant that I would have to 'limp' to the finish as best I
could with the left foot literally gliding over the pedal. I had to be very
careful but managed nonetheless! If that had happened at any other stage in
this tour it would have been very difficult to find a replacement in France.
Phew!
Entering
Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower
in the distance for the first time brought a sense of joy to my tired body. Physically I felt lacklustre, but I was now desperately close to the Arc. I stuck to
the Tour course through the massive and glorious Place de la Concorde before
winding my way up the Champs Elysees in my big chainring, weaving in and out of
the (frankly crazy) traffic. The last 1km felt effortless today and it was
fitting that both my parents were there in perfect timing to greet me.
Time in the saddle: around 5
hrs
Calories: 4,300
Feelgood factor: 8/10
ipod tunes: Spirit -
Waterboys / Bolero - Ravel
Conditions - very humid 30
degrees
Apres Tour - some final thoughts:
I now see the professionals who
actually do this for a living as:
- Prisoners of their own
passion for this sport
- Like convicts of the road
- Kings of the king of
endurance sports
Shortly after I finished in Paris I was interviewed on
the radio and asked why I chose to ride the Tour (to do something so crazy!). Well,
like many extreme physical challenges and the mindset it takes to pursue them,
the suggestion that there is a choice in the matter misses the point entirely.
People compete in the Ironmnan / Ultra Ironman, Marathon Des Sables, climb Everest
etc for a number of reasons, of course, but fundamentally because such
challenges are there to be pursued in the first place. They want to push
themselves - learn more about their capabilities, inspire others in the
process, for good causes and so on. If this still doesn't make sense then there
is always football, rugby, tennis... all enjoyable pursuits but not to be
confused with the above!
To borrow the title of a
well-written book on cycling, 'A Beautiful Machine' – that’s what the Tour de
France is in a way. It's a three week long machine that pushes arguably the
fittest athletes on earth to their limits. I have a deep and genuine
respect for the athletes who choose this brutal sporting professio and also for
the sheer elite nature and grandeur that is the Tour de France.
For this reason I always
wanted to attempt the course as professionally as I could with the resources I
had...to do it properly no matter how hard, and inspire / help people in the
process. I've come pretty close I
think, or perhaps I've even achieved this. I need time to reflect now, look for
a new job and experience civvy street for the first time in four months!
A special thank-you to all
who have supported me on this epic challenge - for those who would still
like to support the causes I have ridden for, my charity page will be
open until early October.
Ipod tune: From now on -
Supertramp (Paris)
Martyn
Jones www.justgiving.com/letour4good
Mob:
+44(0)7740 922832
mhj_456@yahoo.com
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