DAY 23 – TOUR DE FRANCE CHALLENGE – CYCLING EVERY STAGE + THE TRANSFERS

It’s the 19th July and Amy cycles stage 17 of the Tour De France plus a transfer, starting in Bollene and finishing in Grenoble. She’s cycling every stage of the Tour de France plus the transfers for mental health charity Shout / The Mix.
Sorry for the later upload – wifi issues!

TDF donations – https://www.justgiving.com/page/a-c-a?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015
Tracking link : https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/amy-hudson-tour-de-france-2025/
^ Chai latte fund – https://www.buymeacoffee.com/amycyclingadven

Thank you so much for watching, if you can spare a second to hit subscribe with your pinky that would be awesome.

^ Strava – https://www.strava.com/athletes/30216361
^ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amy.cycling.adventures/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
^ Chai latte fund – https://www.buymeacoffee.com/amycyclingadven

If you’re riding, enjoy it and stay safe x

The following brands support me either via paid sponsorship or gifted items and you will see their products in my videos, I’m beyond grateful & in disbelief that I get these opportunities :
^ Rouvy – Get 4 weeks free on Rouvy with code AMY – https://bit.ly/3NcniAZ
^ AMY20 for 20% off Santini
^ Pinarello UK – https://www.pinarellostore.co.uk/
^ Selle Italia – https://www.selleitalia.com/saddles/
AMY-SI for 15% off Saddles
^ Panaracer – ZAMY10 for 10% off https://www.panaracer.co.uk?sca_ref=6451602.0o2mqK81q5GY
^ https://ukbikefit.com/ AMY10 for 10% discount on shop & bike fit & performance lab
^ Pelotan – AMYCYCLING20
^ SunGod – https://sungod.avln.me/c/COdaXADXNHkF – AMYCYCLES10
^ Garmin – https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/

Bonjour. It’s day number 23, Vant Tua, of my tour to France challenge. And today I’ve got quite a long day. It’s 173 miles and I’m doing stage 17. I’ve already done a couple of miles of it yesterday, but it starts in Berlin. Balen, Ben, and it finishes in Valenc. And then I’ve got after that, so this is the stage which basically goes up all day. Bit of down, bit of up. But it’s not a low profile though. Yeah. It’s only 5,727 ft, which isn’t that much. You’ll feel it, but it’s not bad. Yeah, I’ll just feel it cuz it’s more up than down. And then I’ve got a 70 m transfer, which is basically all up. Yeah. Very flat. But only 1,400 ft. Yeah. So, it looks bad, but it’s not that bad. But I think it will just feel like a drag today cuz apparently I’ve got a headwind as well. So, yeah. But anyway, it’s the 19th of July today. It’s a mon what day is it? Saturday. And on Friday, I finished this challenge. So, not got long to go now. I’ve got really hard days coming up after today. I’m not thinking about that. I’m just going to go. Kyle, how you feeling? Good. Enjoy 30th yesterday. Yeah, it was nice. Good. Taking a photo with me. And we have got my little mascot, Tommy from the top of tom. Fell off my bike, but we’re going to put him back on tomorrow for the mountains. So, he’s going to stay with you today, kind of, and keep you company. Um, you’ve not lost Pepe, have you? I haven’t seen him for a while, which is a concern. Where is he? He’s definitely in the car somewhere. Peppy’s my donkey. Please, can you try and find him today? I bought you before we started this. Yeah, I really love it. Anyway, it’s just before 5:00 in the morning. I’m having an early start because it’s going to get hot again. And I don’t want to Well, I’m probably going to finish quite late cuz it’s a long day and I’m tired. But, you know, better to get off early. We went to bed at 8:00 p.m. So, we still had 8 hours sleep. So, that’s all good. Let’s roll. I am off riding in the dark and it’s pink sky in the morning. Shepherd’s warning. There might be a bit of rain today. I’ve already had to stop twice. I’m only six miles in to readjust my shorts and put some extra shammy on. I think I’ve got a tiny little blisters starting. So, I probably jinxed it yesterday. Um, I’ve got to try and keep on top of that. Keep putting shammy on. Hopefully, it won’t get any worse. I’ve got deja vu from yesterday. Now I’m in Suz Larus with the castle which is where I rode through on my transfer yesterday. So I’m going back on myself now as usual. Here there and everywhere. There’s the castle. Just heard the morning rooster. Every single day I’ve heard a rooster on this trip without fail. I always listen out for it. But I’ve not managed to capture it on camera yet. It’s so beautiful around here. Little castle or big house on the hill. It’s gorgeous. I am trying to avoid the rain. I can see rain over there. Rain over there. Rain behind me. And I saw lightning a minute ago. So, I’m hoping I can dodge it, but I’ve got my rain coat. So, not made of sugar paper. I’ll be all right. Right. I just started absolutely pelting it down. So, I stopped to put my jacket on. Now, it’s stopped. But it looks like it’s going to start again. So, we’re going to keep it on. And I just saw the biggest flash of lightning. Oh, that’s thunder. Great. Honestly, the biggest flash of lightning I’ve ever seen across that sky a minute ago. Right, I’m going to keep the jacket on and sweat for it. But it’s going to stop down there. Have to stop again to take it off. Oh, well, I’ll just keep going with it on and then stop in a minute if it’s too hot. It’s very hot already. I’m sweating. My face is dripping. Right, lightning’s not coming, so just doing a lap of Griggman Castle. Probably said that completely wrong, but you know, I’ve given up on French now. I’m not very good at it. Oh, it stopped raining a little bit, but I think it’s going to start again by the looks of the sky. So, we’ll keep on the jacket. Oh, I’ve just made up a great song for Kyle today. I’m gonna do a song a day now. This time it’s gangsters paradise. We’ll have to wait till I get to Kyle to reveal it. I love doing this. It really does distract me. I just love making little songs up. Makes the time go. Such nice places. Sky is not looking too happy. Think I’m going to get wet again. Oh well, this won’t be too hot. So, I love all these houses. They’re just so pretty. Oh, son of a nutcracker. In the words of Elf, I’ve got 1,0 ft climb to do, but it is 9K long, so at least it’s nice steady gradient. It does look like there’s a few red bits on there, but it won’t be as bad as Blooming Von 2 from yesterday. So, just got to get myself up there really. So, I think my Garmin grouped a couple of climbs together, but I’m going up Cole Deventbrun. There we go. 2K from the top. Little bit of a burner actually. I wasn’t expecting, but it’s not too bad. It’s just really humid, so I’m dripping in sweat, which isn’t nice. Oh well, at least you can’t smell me. Hey. Hey, I made it. It’s gorgeous. Haven’t seen a sign for the top. Maybe it’s down here a little bit, but it looks like I’m going down now. So, maybe there isn’t one. It’s a gorgeous morning now. Hopefully, it’s going to stay dry. Going through Bordeaux, the land of the wine. I don’t drink wine, but mom and dad do, and so does Kyle, so they’d like it here. Probably get themselves a bottle of the old Bordeaux. Sorry, Mom. I don’t have time for stopping. It’s too early. Nowhere open. Actually, I think it might be dad that prefers Bordeaux. Is that red? Mom prefers a rosé. Blooming extra one’s about to crash into the curb here. I love the shutters on the windows. So nice. Come on, mate. You got places to go here. Just that car just went into the curb. Right. Well, I’m 63 miles in. Got my shake. I actually made this last night. Didn’t Kyle You have let you have a day off when you first time you’ve made it actually. Anyway, K, I’ve got a song for you today. You’re going to like it. I’ve written down the lyrics. Hey, get off. Get off me, little beggar. Look at that sheep dog. She’s on the bike. Sheep dog running along the bike. Right. I’ve written down the lyrics, Kyle. Especially for you. So, do you know the song Gangster Podass? That’s by Coolio. Yeah. So, this is the song we’re going for today. You ready? Mhm. Kyle spending most his life living in the swany paradise. He washes Amy’s shorts. He drives the whip and he gets the goods. Amy, you could have said rice there. No, get the rice. Excuse me. Don’t you put my guess. Sorry. Am spending most her life living in the cycling paradise. She rides her bike all day. She gets fed and she goes again together. Oh, hang on. I’ve gone a bit like off. off peace there. Together they’ll get to party and hopefully they’ll still be married. We we’ve got some mountains to come. So better get some [Music] b who’s this me? Anyway, looking at those cars thinking hell’s coming. So I better get Look over there, Kyle. It’s not looking good. So, I’m going to get my jacket on. Might be a bit damp. I’m going to get my jacket on and uh carry on because I’ve only got 110 mi to go. I’m going to rob you from the next. We got 40 m left of stage 17 which finishes in Valenc. And then I’ve got the transfer to Grenobal. Mhm. Well, hopefully we won’t have a repeat of when we start Italy cuz we’ve been there once before and it was puncture paradise. So, I’ve already made you a route that you requested this morning. That’s for tomorrow. Tomorrow. Anyway, going to get this down current. Right, I’m just about to Oops. Sorry, I’m just adjusting my shorts. I’m just about to roll off, but I’m very excited because Kyle has located Pepe Pepe. Pepe under my seat. little under my seat. Anyway, I’ve got for the stage 61K to go. I got 61K to go. I’ve got lots of music in my head today. It’s really helping me. Holy son of a nutcracker. I like that saying today. It’s going to rain and in a bad way. Look at the clouds. It probably looks I think worse in real life, but hey, sunflowers. Love the sunflowers. Yeah, I think I’m about to get absolutely drenched. So, time to knuckle in. At least it’s not cold. There’s so many lavender fields. It’s really nice. I think just smells like lavender. It smells like a spa. Been smelling it all morning. It’s really nice. There’s a thunderstorm just there. I keep seeing lightning and hearing thunder. So, I’m hoping it stays over there because I did get drenched, but now it stopped raining. So, let’s hope it stays that way. And now I’m under the storm. Lovely. Just like being at home. This is what you call a lovely free shower. Oh, horrible. Absolutely drenched. Might as well be riding a wet suit right now to be honest. But it’s not cold, so that’s a positive. It really is getting wet now. Oh, cheap wet. That’s the thunder. Keep on going. I don’t like the thunder. Someone up there is angry. So, I’ve been in the rain for about an hour and I can honestly say this is the wetest I’ve ever been in my life. The rain got so heavy I couldn’t even film and the thunder just sounded like a plane taking off. It was so loud, but nothing I can do is keep on pedaling. Still thundering as well, but not as bad now. It’s a bit scary on the I had a descent and the roads were like water running down. Oh my goodness. lightly up there. There was water running down the road, so just having to be really careful. Yeah, let’s keep on going. I’m 15 miles from the stage finish. It’s still raining, but it’s not quite as bad. Sorry, there’s a bit of rain on the camera. I saw the most amazing lightning in the sky ahead of me. It was a bit scary, but it was also like a little bit mesmerizing. like the whole sky just like flashes of like you could really see the detailed outline of the bolts looking at the spid’s web but not that nice to ride and I prefer to be inside looking out the window at it. I remember when I was a kid I used to love like sitting inside when it was raining and watching the window like run down the glass and the same in the car as well. But anyway, I’m going right here so I turn the camera off. I made my right turn. I’m all right. Yeah, I just think it just reminds you like how amazing nature is. Although it’s not nice to ride in. This will make me appreciate the sun so much more. And I’m also appreciating right now not being too hot cuz if the sun was beating down on me, like it would be boiling right now. So I’d be moaning about that. So you can’t lump it. No. What’s it? I’m trying to think of a good phrase, but Oh, if you don’t like it, you got to lump it. So that’s it. Sorry, I’ve got bike brain. Bonjour little sheepy. They’re the first sheep I couldn’t see. They’re tiny. I’m nearly at the stage finish now. I’m just rolling down into Valent. It’ be absolutely lovely if it wasn’t raining and there wasn’t any traffic, but it’s okay. This is what the trails will be doing on the 23rd. They’ll be rolling down here, sprinting to the end. Unlike me, I’m just getting to the end. I’m in Valenc. I’m on the home stretch. Just got to find where the finish is. I don’t think it’s too far away. There’s not much to tour to France decks other than those signs that say here passes the tour. So, we’ll see if there’s anything nice at the end. But I’m not getting my hopes up cuz normally there’s most of the decorations are at the start rather than the end. Nearly there. I thought the length would be really really busy. I was worried about that, but no. a bit like um what was the other place I was worried about? Can’t remember now, but not many people around basically. I am 120 m from the finish. I report 120 m from the finish. This is where the pros were sprinting down. I’m staying safely on the psychopaths and 70 m time. The course will be fin. It doesn’t look like there’s going to be anything spectacular there for me to take a photo of, unfortunately. Well, my friend, this junction here is the finish line. So no number other than this sign telling the road closed. So yeah anyway now I’ve got an 113.83 km other words 70 mil 70 mi transfer to Grenobyl which is where stage 18 starts which I’m doing tomorrow which is the queen stage and let me tell you one thing that will be a killer. That’s going to be the hardest ride I’ve ever done in my life. Anyway, this is what my transfer looks like. Got a few little bumpies and basically all uphill. So, at least it stopped raining. But that’s Ali cuz standing here ain’t making me go anywhere, is it? Kyle’s here and a lovely man called Sean. Sean lives in the area and he said it’s not rained here for 30 days. So, we’ve picked the best day and he’s bought two bottles of wine for us. So, he’s just finding out where we’re parked and he’s going to drop it at the car for us. That’s really nice. He’s parked near my house. You want a beer? Right next to your house. Brilliant. Fantastic. Oh, so yeah. Near the McDonald’s. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Did you go in there, Kyle? No. But you want to Oh, I’ve had one McDonald’s in front, actually. Well, cool. I know. Thank you so much for coming out. I really appreciate it. 16 miles to the car and I’ve got 70 mi left to go today. So, not too bad. A little pip in the ocean compared to what I’ve done. 16 miles. You got your little podia sticking out you. Not surprised with that wind. I know it’s horrible. At one point, I thought I might turn around and go back in. I didn’t think you were going to ride out cuz the weather. You told me it was headwind all day. So, I think, “Oh, I’ll get a nice little tailwind.” A tailwind. Yeah, I know. You can’t really see them on the camera, but we’ve literally seen this man cycling with a fully loaded bike with a guitar on his back. So, Kyle, is that you in your future life? Cycling with your home on your back. A guitar. With a guitar? A guitar on me back? Yeah. Maybe in the future. Yeah. I think I would have needed headphones on this stage, you know. Why? look pretty. Uh I think the stage is it was a little bit like I think it’ll be a stage for a sprinter. It’s not very hilly stage. Not very hilly. I think it would be a lot more beautiful if I could actually see the views. Like I could see outlines the mountains, but it was so stormy. Yeah, cuz it is a beautiful area. I just think the weather hasn’t done it justice today. Yeah. Yeah. What’s it called? It’s a transition stage, isn’t it? That’s what one of our friends get. Yeah, our friends call it a transition stage. What does that the commentators on TV call it that as well. So, it’s sort of like where there’s no one nowhere else you can really go to get to the next stage, right? So, it’s always going to be like transitioning from one sort of like car. Oh, yeah. Transitioning from one like big stage to another, right? Okay. Well, I’m doing that now. Transitioning from one stage to another. They’re usually like a flatter roll in sort of stage. That’s what it was. It wasn’t bad. Yeah, we’re still going to get to be fair. I don’t I don’t mind that. I don’t mind riding in the rain to be honest. Oh, Kyle’s had a snot rocket nightmare. Yeah, he snotted on himself. I did in the headwinds. It wouldn’t detach. Oh, that must have been massive. Yeah, it wouldn’t. Kyle was joining me for 16 miles. It’s really nice to have some company. There he is. I’m not drafting, don’t worry. I’m still keeping up the no drafting rule. No help. It’s gorgeous. There was another way to get to Renobyl which was straight over those mountains, but I thought not today. I’d rather do more miles and uh save my legs for tomorrow. We’re nearly back. Not too far back. Nearly back to the car, aren’t we? I think we’re about 6 miles away or something. And then I’m going to miss you again. I’ll be on my own. Nobody here to find me. Actually, fair. I’m quite happy on my own. My head doesn’t shut up. So, I’ve got company by myself to be honest. Some funky houses. Kyle says it’s like Balamorei. By the way, notice the really tall tractors. Yeah. And the tiny tractors. I think it’s to do with the vineyards. Have you seen the teeny tiny tractors? Yeah. Like micro. Yeah. I think the tall ones to do with the vineyards. You must drive over the top of the That’s my guess. Yeah. Cuz I noticed it all started in the vineyard region. Especially in uh there’s a bakery pile. Right, I’m at the food stop. I’ve got some chicken. I’ve got some bread. And we’ve got a little bandit here. He’s always barking bond. Super cute. He used to eat anything though. Like if he left plastic or anything, he would try and eat it. So my grandad’s dog at his ear. So your granddad’s dog got his luggage. Oh yeah, I remember that. You want my food, don’t you? But sorry mate, I need the calories. So, um, see that lovely man? Oh, I’m the bag’s heavy. Lovely man gave us this bag of stuff. Two bottles of wine. And then this is my This is what I’m excited about. Brios. I love bri. And I’ve not had any yet in France. I was literally saying the other day I’ve not had any brios yet. This one, not sure what it’s got. It’s got little red bits in. Not just one, my friends. More than one. Also got this one. This one as well. Ingredients origin in France. And that’s not it, my friends. We’ve also got this one. What this is, I’m not sure. Oh, little briesases. God, this is great. I am out of one now, actually. And then, oh, little biscuits. You might as well change. Change my whole kit. Yeah, cuz I’ve got grit. Basically, what we don’t want to happen is this grit to grind into my bum and make the saddle saw. So, cuz I have got a little blister, Kyle, and it’s not feeling too good, but I’m trying not to think about it. list. Yeah. Shopping list dinner for tonight. Um Oh, if they’d sell if you go into a big one and they sell phone covers for my phone. I doubt that because I’ve no longer got a screen protector on my phone because it came off. I doubt which is stressing me out quite a lot. Um pairs if you have any. Um that’s it really. Right. I’m going to get changed and get on with it. Correction, stage 18 does not start in Grenobyl. It starts in V, which is 10 miles out of Grenobyl. I’m riding 10 miles in the morning to get there. Viv this morning, maybe. I don’t know. Can’t remember saying that. Maybe. Anyway, I’m heading to Grenobal now. I’ve got 55 miles to go. So, I’ll see you there then, Kyle. Yeah. All right then. I’m going to stop once on the way at some point for a we and stuff. So, I might be a bit longer than expected and for my bri somewhere nice. 50 miles to go. A man just came out, a French man and said, “Bonchant.” So I said, “Mercy.” I don’t know what the French man said to me at the last one, but I’m a bit He just gone past me again and he like looked at me, but it wasn’t a smiley look. So I’ve just called Kyle just to come and be near me because I don’t know. I just feel a bit weird. Like I don’t know if it’s I felt like he was cheering me. But then at the last one I don’t know what he was saying but when I was cycling away he was like shouting and it didn’t sound nice. So not really feeling too good about the situation. I can see the car up there that he’s gone past again. Quite a way up there. So I think I’m just going to might just stop and just call Kyle and just wait cuz I just feel a bit I don’t know. It could just be me being weird, but I don’t know. It just seems a little bit weird. I think he’s pulled off actually up there. If he’s parked up again, I’m just going to turn around and wait up here for Kyle. Right, Kyle’s here now to the rescue. He’s going to stay near me for a, aren’t you? I’m not sure. Fine. I’m sure it’ll be fine. He probably just a nice person, but I just don’t know. It felt a bit weird. Just the behavior bit weird. Yeah, he drove past me and death stared at me. Yeah, well, I know you can be a little bit over. I know. I worry, but maybe he just hasn’t had his morning class on or something. No, he just seemed a bit just a bit odd. It didn’t seem friendly. I don’t know. It just felt a bit weird. Anyway, I got a bit scared. I can’t do this with one hand. So, we only got 40 miles to go anyway. 43. I’ve just eaten my bos cuz I was stressed. I’ve just stress eaten. Right. Anyway, I’m going to keep going and do my strap up. Yeah. Right. I’ve not seen the man again. And Kyle’s gone to the shop behind me and he’s going to stay behind me now. So, I feel safe. Kyle’s here and rolling on down. I’ve only got 35 mil to go today. It’s gone really, really quick. Just over a club ride to go. Hey there little fella. Now here we have a sign detailing Kyle. But if the eggs, as I like to say, o cuz that’s what Kyle is. No, he’s not really. He’s far from an oath. He’s a superhero driving a Scoda. He’s so good. I don’t know. I wouldn’t be able to do this without him, honestly. Look at this, though. This is gorgeous. Imagine living over there. Oh, bush is in the way. Sorry about that. Well, I’m in the outskirts of Gunnob. I didn’t actually go through the center. It was just a lovely cycle path all the way around the outside. And now I’m just trying to locate where our accommodation is. Arrive at your destination. So I’ve got Google Maps in my back pocket directing me at the roundabout. Take a sharp right turn apparently. So hopefully I’ll get there in a minute. Right. Well, that’s my day. Ding-dang done. This is not from the rain. I’ve had a shower and I’ve washed my hair for once. That day actually went really, really quick. Sorry. Sorry about the color combo here. It’s not matching, but sorry about that. Um, at this point in my life, I’m not about the fashion. I’m just about the comfort. Today went really, really quick. Ride stats for you. 169.8 miles, 273.27 km. Went up 6,827 ft, which is 2,80.87 m. Average speed 15.5 mph. And boom on the saddle for 10 hours, 59 minutes, and 15 seconds in spot. All I can tell you, it’s like a blooming sauna in here. I’m hotting up. It’s about to have dinner. And tomorrow, hell’s coming in the form of the queen stage. Kyle, you’re the DS, so you can run through me. I’m getting too. I mean, you can run through it, not run through me. Sorry, it is hot in here. You know what? I’m cooking to you as well. Sorry. Um, tomorrow you’ve got 118 mi plus 20 mi of downhill. So, I’ve got 138 38 miles, but I’d say 20 downhill. Stage 18. First climb stage 18 colder glandon first climb horse category all three of them 21k at 5.1% nearly 22k then send that then up cold mad lane that’s 19.2k at 7.9% consistent all the way up by the looks of it oh lovely and then you finish on the cold de los route goes up to 234 m 26.4 4 km averaging 6 and a half%. So quite a gentle gradient. Basically that’s the highest I’m ever going to have been on my bike. It’s going to be the biggest climb I’ve ever done. Yeah. I remember started off when we dropped off. Can have a look at that on the elevation. Oh yeah, that’s it. Oh, it is the queen stage. Yes, I told you it was the queen stage. Ah, how did you Well, I was listening to um what’s occurring podcast this morning and Connor Swift was saying that other stage you did with Tomate which I’ve done today. Yeah. Was actually like the second queen stage. So, you’ve had a tough year this year. Well, that according to him, he was thinking that one was just as hard. No, this is definitely harder. It’s like 8,000. Yeah. We had four climbing. Four climbs on that. Tomorrow I’m doing You’re settling into three climbs, can’t 18 I’m doing 19,000 ft of climbing tomorrow. I don’t know what that is in meters, but it sounds like a lot. Is there a light in it? Oh, that is on. Right. Anyway, I’m going to get my head down, get some food in. Got a big day tomorrow. So, thank you so much to everyone that’s donated. It’s really helped me get through. We’re over £43,000 now raised for the charity, which is just amazing. So, yeah, when I struggle tomorrow, I think about that. Two big back toback days coming up now. But we’ve only got 6 days left. So, going to make the most of it. And yeah, thank you so much for watching. TTFN. Tata for now. Goodbye. Kyle, would you like to say goodbye? You’re too busy. Goodbye. busy at work as always. The king’s bonnie. Bye then.