Are You Ready To Treadle?

The 2019 Tour de France/Tour de Fleece starts next Saturday, July 6.  As always, the Punkin's Patch team will be loosely following the schedule of the actual race and the primary purpose of this world wide spinning challenge is to have fun learning something new or doing something challenging, but mostly to Just Sit Down And Spin.  

Maisie is going to be our team captain this year.  Yes, Maisie :-o.  We would normally never put her in any position of leadership or authority, but she's been exceptionally agreeable lately so I think our wheels, spindles and wool should be safe...mostly ;-).

The main group will be checking in and cheerleading here (the best fun), but you can spin along with us without joining the online group and just shoot me an email to let me know you are spinning and what your goal is and how well you complete it by the end.  There will be prizes :-).

Ready to start peddling/treadling?

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Challenge Yourself.  
Spin.  
Have fun.

This year, the Tour de Fleece starts on Saturday July 6 and runs until Sunday July 28th, 2019.

Guidelines (NOT RULES):

Spin every day the Tour rides, if 
possible. Saturday July 6 through 
Sunday July 28th. Days of rest: 
Tuesday, July 16th and Monday, July 
22nd. (Just like the actual tour.)

Spin something challenging on the challenge days (usually the toughest high mountain stage: this year, the first one is Stage 12, on Thursday July 18, when, Following the start in Toulouse the route travels flat to rolling roads for more than 120 kilometres before the first mountain appears. The Col de Peyresourde (15.2 kilometres at 6.1%) is crested at kilometre 138 and the riders plunge down to the valley. Up next is La Hourquette d’Ancizan, which is a 9.9 kilometres climb at 7.5%. . The second is stage 19, on Friday, July 26th, when the riders leave for Tignes on a short yet demanding route. Basically, the road goes up once the flag is dropped – not dramatically, but stoically. On rolling and constantly sloping terrain the riders reach Montée d’Aussois after almost 40 kilometres and following a short drop it continues like before. The route moves through Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis and tackles the Col d’Iseran, a climb of 32.9 kilometres with an average gradient of 4.2%. Sure, the sheer distance is a killer, but even more so are the last 3 kilometres with double digit ramps

Wear yellow on Sunday July 28th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’) Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie).