London, United Kingdom
dugong /ˈduːgɒŋ,ˈdjuː-/ //noun// noun: dugong; plural noun: dugongs; plural noun: dugong //1. a sea cow found on the coasts of the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to northern Australia. It is distinguished from the manatees by its forked tail.// 2013 saw this little Dugong migrate from the warm climes of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, to the more hostile climes on London. //2014 sees the Dugong take on the crazy challenge of the Tour de Force. 21 days, over 3,500km, one week ahead of the (other) pro cyclists in the Tour de France.// Join me in what will be a journey of crazy self discovery, on a bike.//

Thursday, 21 November 2013

FAQ: What is this Tour de Force

The Tour de Force is for amateur cyclists (or wannabe pros) to ride the whole Tour de France route, one week ahead of the legendary peloton, and is that main fundraiser for the William Wates Memorial Trust.

You can do a tour taster, the more sensible option where you do a few stages of the race. Or, never having completed big back to back days of cycling or having climbed any real mountains because your whole sporting career has been in Darwin (which is nearly completely flat), you can sign up to do the whole thing (kind of like that time you signed up for a Half Ironman only having done a little sprint event).

That's 21 days, 2 rest days, and about 3,500kms. Most days are close to 200km. There will be many calories consumed, euphoric smiling, tears of pain and frustration, some self-discovery and some beautiful scenery. And that's probably just going to be the training to get there.

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