It's 5.45am and the alarm has just gone off. I peer out of the window into the darkness.
Today was to be day 1 training for next year's L'Etape du Tour - the classic Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, complete with its "relentless climbing and mythical 21 hairpin turns". The Wirral, however, is as flat as a pancake - hardly ideal preparation for over 10,000ft of vertical ascent and 108km. Today's mission therefore? - the Horseshoe Pass in Wales and er... a massive 1,000ft of vertical ascent - but hey, it's a start.
Outside - despite the darkness - all is white. A mixture of yesterday's hailstones, a dusting of snow and sub-zero overnight temperatures have combined to create a frosted glaze. The Ashes cricket is also currently on the TV (until about 8am) and motivation to get up and out is almost non-existent
45 minutes and 1 sausage and egg McMuffin breakfast later and I'm off - the drive to Llangollen is somewhat treacherous but the roads have been gritted, and the only scary moments are when overtaking on the motorway - the fast lane is still pretty icy.
There is about 3-5cm of snow in Llangollen. There is not a cloud in the sky, the sun has not yet appeared over the mountains to the east and the temperature is -2.5 deg. It is crisp morning to say the least
The bike route is all uphill and only takes about 40 minutes to get to the top, whereupon I am experiencing that strange sensation of being boiling hot whilst hands and toes are frozen like blocks of ice. The sun is shining now though and spirits are high - there is noone else around and the views are stunningly beautiful
The cycle back down the pass combines sub-zero temperatures with extra wind chill factor and it is bloomin' freezing. 11 minutes later and it's back to the car and back home for 10am - a cracking, albeit very short, day 1 training
Distance:- 12.5km
Total acsent:- 306m
