A New Season
We are sat sipping our coffees over-looking Tri-Topia HQ. Its a few weeks until the first guests arrive but we can't wait to share this place with them. It's been lots of work to start the season, but it's all coming together.
The past few weeks have been extremely busy. Number one task on the list was the pool. After having been left over the winter season, there was a mammoth cleaning task. The initial colour resembled that of a tennis ball.
To transform the green and murky waters in a crystal clear swimming pool required several steps and some patience. We would have loved some pool chemistry lessons back at school and perhaps French class could have focussed on industrial cleaning...
We write the steps here for all pool owners and our own future reference:
Day 1: Balance pH + leaf/frog clearance
Day 2: Chlorine shock
Day 3: Filter + pump on
Day 4: Hoover floor
Day 5: Flocculent (Bring particles together)
Day 7: Hoover floor
Day 8: Heater on
Day 9: Wetsuits on
Day 10: First proper swim
We don't offer professional pool cleaning services at Tri-Topia, but we are thinking about it. We are pretty proud of where we ended up! Clear blue water and not a frog in sight.
John the gardener has been extremely useful, taking good care of the all the greenery. We are hoping for lots of our own produce this year: Tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, melon, strawberries, beans and not forgetting courgettes! We can't promise everything is from our garden, but our cooks will do their best. Speaking of eating, we have also been busy sampling from the local pâtisseries. Le Blanc town centre proving to be a firm favourite with its croissant aux amandes... It's necessary to try them all for guest recommendations. We have missed the little bakeries whilst in Lanzarote. Nothing can quite match them.
The winter has been kind to the house, It's a lovely old property so needs more love and attention than most but all that's needed is a good spring clean. To think the majority of the place was built from scratch is mighty impressive. Early visitors to Tri-Topia would be amazed at what it has become. It feels like a great home and the best training venue on the planet! Leanne's parents opened up for us before we arrived to get all the systems up and running - we will be forever in debt to their hard work! My own parents now make the trip down to France for a nice break in the sun but most importantly to take home some good red wine.
HQ is looking ship-shape. Just a few more finishing touches.
Myself and Leanne are balancing work with play. Trying to train whilst sorting out the season ahead can prove difficult at times. We have some fun races coming up and they are motivating us to be fitter, faster and stronger! A local race in Roanne is the first, not too far from Vichy. It's Olympic distance and a nice season opener to get the legs moving again. It will be my first ever Olympic distance race. I've only ever done sprint and a Half-Ironman! It's a tough distance. Not short enough to go all out and not long enough to settle into a pace. It's a compromise of speed and endurance that I don't have yet. Really looking forward to the challenge!
We also had the first visitor of the season - meet our puppy Pippa! She's happy to run with you, swim and bike training will come later. She'll also join you for a rest day.
