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 This section will grow with time. Below you can read about training progress, other Fireflies events and news live from the ride. Consult the archive on the right to view archived messages. |
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| Fireflies Ride 2005 Day Four Here is the link to Day Four !!!! Day_Four.mov Posted by Colin_Mitchell on . |
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| Fireflies Ride 2005 Day Three Hi guys, here is day 3 at last !!! Fireflies_Day_Three.mov Posted by Colin_Mitchell on . |
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Tidying Up Les Alps                  Posted by Colin_Mitchell on . |
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| The Feared Day Two Day Two from the outset was destined to be one of the toughest days of the expedition. Leaving early from our hotel at Bluffy, the first mountain of the day to be tamed was Cormet de Roseland. This proved to be a long, steady climb with a chilly tabletop finish. With the summit at 1967 metres, we experienced for the first time how the temperature can drop so dramatically on the Alpine ascents. On the climb a number of Fireflies were overtaken by professional Tour de France rider, Michael Rasmussen, of the Rabobank team. His pace on the climb was astonishing. At St. Foy a leisurely and well-deserved lunch (and some skinny dipping), was had by all. Struggling up a gravel path and narrowly fisticuffs with a fascist builder (not substantiated) we were met by a beautiful restaurant set back on the hillside surrounded by trees. Despite the food and the swim, there was little comfort for the beast of a Col that was to follow – Iseran. Iseran was a mammouth climb of twenty-four miles that took the better part of three hours. The final two or three miles were partially snowcapped – an indicator that we were now approaching the whopping 2764 metre summit. We all had our share of extreme pain and suffering! The long descents from the top were taken quickly as the weather and darkness started to close in. At dinner later that evening the group really came together for the first time after a fractious start. Bring on Day Three! Cosmo Kedros – Firefly 12 Posted by Colin_Mitchell on . |
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| Geneva, The Arrival Preparation Day 4:30 am – Wake,wash etc 5:10 am – Cab to airport 6:30 am – Arrive at airport to find a swarm of nervous and excited fireflies Once the travelling was over it was down to the business of bike reconstruction. Had the baggage handlers been kind to the precious cargo? Of course not! My brakes required knowledge far beyond my capabilities to fix them and judging by the cursing heard from the various balconies other riders were experiencing learning curves similar to L’alpe duez. Bikes constructed, tweaked and polished it was time for a hearty dinner. Before dinner the hotel bar was busy with riders calming their pre match nerves with a poison of choice. It was then pointed out that everyone in the bar was a virgin firefly and the remainder of old timers were busy imbibing water and other nutritious delights in the dining room. At dinner Nick invited each person to stand and explain who they were and their reasons for the ride. This for me was both a turning point and the true beginning of the ride. As each person stood it became clear just how common cancer and its repercussions are. Numerous accounts of loved ones and friends recently diagnosed, battling or dying of cancer. This ride was now officially open. Everyone had their reasons and motivations for the ride, some made public over dinner and others held slightly closer to their chest. 10:30 pm – Fell into a deep slumber at the end of a very long day to the sounds of a complete stranger farting. Andy McGraw (Cut and Run) – Firefly 5 Posted by Colin_Mitchell on . |
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| Day One Col De Colombiere Stage One If you plan to ever do this ride, may I suggest you read the following with care and attention. This is seriously hard work. If someone had sat me down prior to the ride, and told me just how much it would hurt, even after a decent four month training period (late nights, fatty foods, beer etc etc), I would have nodded feigning interest, secretly thinking that it can’t really hurt that much. I’m young and fit, so I wouldn’t struggle that much. How wrong could I have been….. The day started well. We were ascending from the hotel we had stayed at after our arrival from Geneva, which was set about 400m up with a view of the Lake. Not surprising really. As lakes go, it is fairly big. We climbed steadily for half an hour at the most, and then enjoyed a beautiful sweeping descent into a lovely village where we enjoyed a nice break over a cup of coffee. The ‘climb’ had been quite tough. Or so I thought. Some of the veteran riders laughed at me when I talked about the ‘climb’ we had just done. It hadn’t been that bad. This would be easy. We were making our way to climb the Col de Colombiere. In the world of cycling around the UK, a ‘climb’ is generally defined as a 15 mins ride up a smallish incline. Admittedly, I’m no expert, and I’m sure there are some very tough rides you can do with the mighty United Kingdom. However, living the sheltered media life I do in West London, a couple of laps around Richmond Park seemed like quite hard enough work on a Saturday morning. Dammit, I was cycling to work most days as well, so I must be fit enough. Wrong. I was about to learn about climbing the Alpine way. We started to ascend up toward the Col. By the time we reach the bottom of the Col, we had already climb solidly for 12km. My suspicions about just how painful this would become, were confirmed when, as I steamed past Nick Livesey, he shouted after me that we weren’t even at the proper ascent yet. What had I got myself into ?? I think a lot of people were probably thinking the same thing. It took about 2 hours (two hours !!!) to get to the summit. The last 7km were so painful it was all I could do to keep the bike going. As I got to the top, I was cheered home by the riders who had already got to the top. I was in tears, utterly exhausted, but elated that I had managed to get up in one hit. We cheered the other riders in, all looking totally exhausted, and descended to our first evening stop. The day had proved one thing. The trip was going to be the most painful and demanding this I had ever done, and day two was going to be a shocker…. James Brook-Partridge – Firefly 15 Posted by Colin_Mitchell on . |
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 The Fireflies' arrival into Cannes has generated great support from the advertising industry and culminates with a hero's welcome at the Palais des Festivals. |
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