Hi. Well it's all in the title. 

This will be the first contact I've made with another rider; guess it's good to see another Brit in the event.

I'm Luke, I live near Cannes, about 2 1/2 hours away from Limone Piemonte. After a couple of operations, stupid work and demanding family commitments (let's not mention the broken rib last week in training) I'm somewhat behind in my training.

Yesterday I managed a third of an average IronBike day (1300m cumulated climbing) and although it was over 3 1/2 hours and 65km I was pretty pooped afterwards.

I'm not panicking yet, an IronBike day is a Roc marathon and I've managed to get ready for those each year and not feel too crap the following day. But I'm well aware that each following day we'll have to get back on the bike.

At the moment nutrition is a concern, I'm not recovering quickly between rides. I need recovery stuff but there are so many different products out there. What are you using?

I've left it too late to replace the bike, so I'm going to be using my 13 year old Scott Strike. Pissed off I won't be on a 29er but I just couldn't justify the upgrade in my own head (and throwing that much money at a bike also annoys me).

Anyway, looking forward to reading your news; I'm off to have an extended french style lunch break with as many meters' climbing as I can fit in.

Cheers

Luke