what I did on my day off

One of the Johns is spending the month of June working as a cycling guide for VéloSport Vacations in France at its Provence Cycling Camp. You can find regular updates here about his experiences.

Photo of our Wednesday night group dinner.

Each Thursday is a non-riding, or non guided riding, day for the clients. We tackle the Ventoux tomorrow so some people rest, shop, etc. while some go for a little ride on their own. I spent the day preparing the rental fleet for next week's clients. We own about 25 bikes for rent. Clients send me measurements from their current rides (saddle height, stem length, seat set back, etc.) and I get the bike ready for them. They will bring their own pedals and, in some cases, saddles. There are nine rentals for next week.

The fleet consists mostly of Fuji Provences with Campagnolo and FSA components.

But we do have 6 new Felt carbon bikes - also with Campagnolo parts and Stronglight cranks. Yes, Stronglight still makes cranks.


I did have time for a coffee with my buddy Ludo. He is the grounds keeper at the A & V. He is quite a guy. He acts kind of like Bill Murray's character in Caddie Shack.

After wrenching for most of the day I took a late afternoon ride with Jef (yes one f) and discovered some new roads. It was very nice and sunny and felt great to get out.
The benefit of being the team mechanic here is that, if I have time and feel like it, I can keep my bike clean and running smoothly. As you can see it is looking good. Yes those are carbon tubular wheels. Am I a poser for using my race wheels while training? The other John thinks so, but they sure do feel good up the hills.

Ventoux report tomorrow!