MY BEST DAY ON THE BIKE

Guest Posting By Gary Kendall

I’ve been riding a bike for a long time now and am a committed cyclist. I have raced mountain bikes, ridden road races, timetrials and have done a few sportives including the Etape. Whilst never troubling the finish marshals on a regular basis I have enjoyed some brilliant cycling. However I had not anticipated how my best day on the bike would occur.

This summer my wife, Kay, entered the Alpe D’Huez Long Course Triathlon and, of course, I was only too happy to accompany her and have a holiday in the Alps (as long as I could bring my bike). We asked our kids if they wanted to come and, as they have spent many hours bored at mum and dad’s various races, we expected they would prefer to stay with (and be spoilt by) Granny. However our 12 year old son, Ailbhe, said he wanted to come and bring his bike. He said that he wanted to climb Alpe D’Huez. As we like to encourage his cycling we agreed that he could bring his bike but I thought he would soon dispense with the idea of cycling the Alpe once he actually saw it for real.

Once we had arrived in France and I had cycled (read struggled) up the Alpe I was certain that the climb was too much for Ailbhe and I decided I should gently try to dissuade him from attempting it. As the days went by Ailbhe resisted my view and kept saying that he was going to climb the Alpe. By the end of our holiday my wife backed him up saying he should be allowed to give it a go. My fear was that it would be too much for him, he might have to give up ,exhausted, and that this would shatter his confidence in his ability and put him off cycling for good. I was outnumbered and so relented to his wishes.

Ailbhe, Kay and I went to the bottom of the climb to Alpe D’Huez early in the morning to ensure temperatures would not be too hot during his ‘attempt’. The start of this climb is always bad, but from a cold, standing start the first few ramps are a real shock to the system and, at the second bend, Ailbhe said he didn’t think he could do it. However, despite my misgivings, I now urged him to ride the first 4 of the 21 bends to let his body warm up and to try to find a rhythm (although he seemed to be confirming my worst fears at this point). It seemed to work – off he went with his mum and dad wittering in his ear. We had brief stops at many of the bends but gradually I saw a transformation in Ailbhe as he counted down the bends and progressed up the Alpe. Whilst physically he was becoming more and more tired, he was gaining more and more resolve as he counted down the bends and his determination to climb the whole way to the top increased. We were being passed by many other riders but they all looked on in admiration at the small boy who was taking on such a severe challenge.

We had counted down the bends and finally reached the last four. There are two routes to the top of the Alpe from this point; the direct route they use in the Tour De France stage finishes is the more difficult so Kay suggested to Ailbhe that we could take the easier route. His response was immediate “I haven’t cycled all the way up here to take the easy route now”. Any remaining doubts I had were dispelled in that instant. This boy was going to make it to the top and he duly set off again and dug deep into his reserves of determination. As we reached the top and rode into the town of Alp D’Huez some of the French riders who had passed us on the climb were sitting in a café and greeted Ailbhe with cries of ‘Bravo, Bravo’. To me that moment was perfection – my son’s sense of achievement shone in his smile and my sense of pride was immeasurable. Without doubt my best day on a bike.

Gary Kendall, Bann Wheelers Cycling Club, N. Ireland