In September I'll be riding in France on the Route des Grandes Alpes. That's from near Geneva straight across the Alps to Menton, near Nice. It's 425 miles (684km) and includes 16 passes, some of the highest in the French Alps: six of them are above 2,000m. I'll get fit with steady three-hour rides round Cheshire – usually about 55 miles. The roads are quiet and there are hardly any traffic lights. The other good thing is it's flat; riding on the flat at a constant, steady pace is the best way of building fitness.
I used to go out a lot through Snake Pass over the Pennines – about 80 miles and a great day out. Good views, lots of hard, steep climbs, some great descents and most of the roads are not too busy. I would do it regularly on a Sunday in five hours 10 minutes.
Lots of training programmes nowadays are built around intervals, which are great for turning fitness into speed, but you've got to get that fitness in the first place. If you start doing intervals too early it limits how much energy you have left. For racing it is definitely better to go steady between races, keeping your powder dry for race day. As for how to ride a long ride – much better to start steady and finish hard. It's better for your fitness and you feel great riding the last 20 minutes really strong rather than crawling home wishing it was all over.
Tools of the road
On a long ride I always carry: pump, two inner tubes (though you'd be unlucky to flat twice), tyre levers, a multi-tool, a four-inch long piece of old tyre (to stick inside your current tyre if it gets shredded on a big piece of glass); energy gel/eccles cake, £20 disaster fund and 20p for a phone. Plus my waterproof if there's any chance of rain and some self-adhesive puncture patches, just in case you get a puncture three times!
On longer rides I take the same stuff but maybe an energy bar, plus a couple of gels. I usually have a bottle of carbohydrate drink too.
Safety
The most important thing is to make eye contact with anyone who could potentially pull out in front of you. That way you can usually work out what they're going to do before they do it. When riding in a group, it's really important to ride in tight lines and not to hog the road. If the road isn't wide enough for a car to pass you when you're riding single file, don't pull up tight to the kerb as it just encourages people to pass when there isn't room. I'd rather ride wide and not offer someone the chance to knock me off.
Interview by Dave Hall
