A messege from Terry !

Mark,
I enjoyed your blog - brought back memories; some pleasant, some not. I think you're too hard on yourself. I suspect the vast majority of us had the same self-doubt, pain and elation. I was especially skeptical when we got to the top of the Col d-Osquich, 110 km into a 'warm-up' day on an 'easy' col and I was cramping so bad I wasn't sure I could get back on my bike. The remainder of the first day really had me doubting the wisdom of the whole trip. Like you I did okay on the Aubisque but cramps came back as I got off the bike. Also like you I couldn't get into any kind of groove on the Tourmalet - I was out of water, hot and feeling crappy. I made it to a little cafe at the 9 km marker, pulled off and had and Orangina and lots of water and headed out only to get nailed with cramps again. Getting to the top was all that counted. I like the picture you posted on your website - I never saw that side of you.

The group was great. I was surprised to get that many cyclist together and have an absence or at least minimal presence of prima donnas or whiners. James and David were pleasant. I used to roof houses and enjoyed talking to James about thatching, a trade that I didn't realize still existed. David cracked me up at the top of the Tourmalet with his exuberant CS exclamation. I ended up using the maps, my heart-rate monitor and times noted on the photographs to associate names and locations with photos. I still have trouble recreating Days 3 and 4 in my mind...

I'll look forward to reading your finished blog.

Cheers,
Terry