Day 12 - Thursday - return home

I'd realised a few days before that I'd bought a return ticket to Poole rather than Portsmouth.  This was on the Brittany Ferries Normandie Vitesse.  I'd booked this because I wasn't keen on rolling off into British road traffic in the dark.  As it turned out, the ferry was still badged as "Condor Ferries" - presumably bought up by Brittany Ferries comparatively recently - but it was very quick, with a crossing time of 2h15.

Exiting Poole was a bit of a shock to the system after the gentle traffic we'd had in Normandy - but once out onto the motorway and A34 we rolled along OK, except for a major hold up due to an accident on the A34.  The A34 becomes more monstrous in its traffic levels each time we use it.  Astonishing to think that a few years ago we were still using it as a time trial course, albeit early on Sunday mornings.

Astarloza's "interesting" explanation for his EPO positive

Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) tested positive for EPO (both A and B samples) back in June - test results which may see hims tripped of his Tour de France stage win.  Over the years, I've been quite amused to read the explanations for positive dope tests proffered by professional athletes.  These can vary from the vanishing twin explanation for a positive test for blood transfusion, to beer consumption as an explanation for aberrant testosterone:epitestosterone ratios.

Cyclingnews.com reports (Astarloza blames positive on training session) that Mikel Astarloza has offere an explanation for his aberrant test results. Apparently his lawyer Jose Rodriguez

believes that Astarloza's problems stem from a session on his home trainer in a hyperbaric tent immediately prior to undergoing a random test on June 26. Hyperbaric tents are designed to replicate the effects of riding at altitude, thereby stimulating the natural production of red blood cells and boosting the haematocrit level.

Rodriguez believes that that if the samples had been taken an hour after Astarloza had stopped training in a hypobaric* tent instead of two minutes after, his text would have been negative.  Excuse me for being rather sceptical.

*I think the Rodriguez means hypobaric, rather than hyperbaric, as hypobaric tents would simulate low air pressures found at altitude.

Removing a botfly larva

Three months after returning from Belize, Vanessa of NatureBreak.org felt and heard the activity of a botfly larva in her scalp (I can recall reading an article in BBC Nature magazine about a cameraman who suffered this - he reckoned it was scritching against his skull!).

Botfly larvae are bulb-shaped, the the posterior spiracles poking out through a small hole in the skin - the main body of the larva is covered in backward pointing spines which serve to prevent the larva from being removed.

Being somewhat more enterprising and courageous than I probably would have been (despite my being a "trained entomologist"), she recorded the removal of said larva and posted it on YouTube.

 

 

Planning for the 2010 season (already)

After the least successful racing season since I moved to England, I think the time has come to re-evaluate my off-season training programme.  In particular, I'd like to be a bit more successful next season, as both members of Team Grumpy will be 50 (thus making 2010 the "Team Grumpy Centenery") and it would be nice to make a mark.

Over the last few years, my out of season training programme has changed from a highly disciplined and progressive training programme (based on Pete Read's excellent "Black Book") to the more loosely controlled, and far less successful, approach. This hasn't been as a result of any intention on my part, more it's been a reflection of the demands of other parts of my life, and principally my working life.

This winter I hope to restore a bit more focus to my training. As I write, I have one event left in my 2009 calendar, the Duo Normand (20th September), and when I return from France, I will embark on the build up to the 2010 season. I'll be planning this as a month by month progression, with October being quite easy training work.

As usual the bulk of the training will be on the turbo, a by now rather rusty affair, with an equally rusty old road bike mounted on it. In an attempt to inject a bit more freshness into my training, I have bought a Polar CS600X computer, with the power meter add-on. While I have my doubts about using Power measurement as the principal means of regulating training intensity (of which more in a later blog article) I think it's going to be very useful in assessing progress through the off-season.

Internet access abroad via Vodafone

So, off to France in a couple of weeks, so I'd like to find out whether I can use my Vodafone USB broadband modem over there, and what the charges will be.

Can I find out from the Vodafone website?  No I flipping can't! It is perhaps the most disorganised customer-focussed website I've ever had the misfortune to get lost in.

Can I email them via the contact form?  No I flipping can't!  I need a Vodafone mobile phone number to do that!

Update!  Turns out there's a forum at the Vodafone page, where I found a link to this page.  Not cheap, but OK for a spot of browsing, I suppose.