Emily's Welcome Blog

Welcome to Le Loop!

Congratulations – we’re delighted to have you with us for 2023 and we’re looking forward to meeting you in Bilbao or beyond next summer .

Signing up for a challenge that’s still nearly a year away can be both comforting (there’s still so much time to prepare) and daunting (how on earth will we keep the motivation going through the dark winter months?). I’ll be writing a monthly blog from January onwards, to help you keep your training on track, and share some of the lessons I’ve learned when preparing for my own long rides.

In the meantime, here are a few suggestions to keep you going for the rest of the year, and to make sure you’re in the best possible shape to kick off what for some will be the biggest year’s cycling of your life!

Make the most of the summer. If we’re lucky, there are still plenty of weeks left of reasonably warm weather before autumn takes hold and a lots of sunny evenings to enjoy before the clocks go back. Try to prioritise your cycling if the weather’s really glorious – even if it’s just a couple of hours one evening, or half a day at the weekend. Every mile counts, and you’ll be giving yourself some happy memories to cling to once winter’s got its claws into us.
Find some riding buddies. Riding with (or against) other people is one of the biggest motivators. It’s so much harder to hit the snooze on a cold grey November morning when you know someone’ll be waiting for you out in the cold. And a little healthy competition can go a long way. Either seek out your local cycling club, or join an online platform like Strava (we’ve got our own Le Loop club on Strava – check it out).
Plan ahead. Have a look at the calendar of sportives and audax rides for the next year, and set yourself a few intermediate challenges. These will function as stepping stones, and help keep you on track towards the main event of Le Loop. It’s much easier to focus on a ride that’s only a few weeks off than one that’s still over six months away, and riding a few back-to-back 200kms will help you identify any weak points while there’s still time to work on them.
Start thinking about your bike and kit. You don’t want to start Le Loop with an unfamiliar saddle, a brand new bike, or a pair of shoes you haven’t broken in yet. On your next few rides, think about which elements of your set-up aren’t quite there yet. Are any of your clothes uncomfortable (don’t forget, we’ve got gorgeous Le Loop kit produced for us by Morvelo available in the shop in ‘My Rider Zone’). Do you have any twinges in your knees, or hands, or back, that could flare up and jeopardise your ride? Now’s the time to experiment – book a bike fit or a physio appointment, try a few different saddle/chamois combinations, figure out where your weaknesses lie, and start putting things in place to make sure neither your body nor your bike lets you down when it really matters.
Nurture your connections with loved ones. They’ll probably have to put up with seeing less of you next year, as you try to balance your training for Le Loop with all the other demands of a busy life. Now’s the time to invest in relationships, to put down the groundwork for the very intense year you all have ahead of you, and to figure out where everyone’s boundaries lie. If it turns out your family aren’t happy with you disappearing for half of every weekend to ride your bike, it’s better to work out the necessary compromises as early as possible.

And above all, make sure you carry on enjoying the ride. There’s no point following a carefully tailored training plan if following instructions just makes you feel miserable. There are countless pathways to ultra-distance cycling, and riders will set out on Le Loop from all sorts of different backgrounds. If you’re riding hard, riding frequently, and feeling fit, then don’t worry about how everyone else might be doing it. You’ll get there in your own way, and we’ll be honoured to share the journey with you.

Emily Chappell – lead cyclist