View from the saddle - volume 9
03/07/06 17:22
WE DID IT!
WE BLOODY DID IT!
At a few minutes past 4 on Saturday after cycling most of the legendary Monte Carlo Grand Prix Circuit we swung around a corner at the top of fairly steep climb and there it wa.
The Grande Casino, Monte Carlo.
Our target for not just nine days, but for the last year. And we had arrived. Hot sweaty dirty exhausted, but we were there.
It was a monumental moment, almost surreal.
There were suddenly faces we knew, and had missed for all those long hours cycling, rushing towards us cheering, clapping and shouting at us. It was a moment we had all imagined over and over during the last week and sometimes doubted we would experience. But there we were.
And you know what?
It was absobloodylutely fantastic.
Words would not do it justice, so I wont try. Just take my word for it, it was probably the most intense, euphoric, emotional experience I have ever experienced.
And in a moment, we had achieved what we had set out to do.
We had cycled from London to Monte Carlo.
Nearly a thousand, hot, tiring, painful miles.
Nine days that seemed like nine weeks.
Seven cyclists who just wouldn't give up.
A van that now smelled like a dust cart.
A Webmaster in the UK who had diligently updated our site.
And two support drivers who were as integral to the sucess of the ride as our bikes and Lycra shorts.
On Saturday 1 July whilst a team lost in Germany, this team won in Monte Carlo. And we drank long and hard into the night.
I'll write a bit more in a day or so, once it all sinks in and I've caught up on some sleep, but in the mean time, let me just say, again, a great big thank you to everyone that has sponsored us and sent us encouraging words during this ride. You are super stars. God bless you all.
Cheers,
From a knackered but very relieved
Paul
WE BLOODY DID IT!
At a few minutes past 4 on Saturday after cycling most of the legendary Monte Carlo Grand Prix Circuit we swung around a corner at the top of fairly steep climb and there it wa.
The Grande Casino, Monte Carlo.
Our target for not just nine days, but for the last year. And we had arrived. Hot sweaty dirty exhausted, but we were there.
It was a monumental moment, almost surreal.
There were suddenly faces we knew, and had missed for all those long hours cycling, rushing towards us cheering, clapping and shouting at us. It was a moment we had all imagined over and over during the last week and sometimes doubted we would experience. But there we were.
And you know what?
It was absobloodylutely fantastic.
Words would not do it justice, so I wont try. Just take my word for it, it was probably the most intense, euphoric, emotional experience I have ever experienced.
And in a moment, we had achieved what we had set out to do.
We had cycled from London to Monte Carlo.
Nearly a thousand, hot, tiring, painful miles.
Nine days that seemed like nine weeks.
Seven cyclists who just wouldn't give up.
A van that now smelled like a dust cart.
A Webmaster in the UK who had diligently updated our site.
And two support drivers who were as integral to the sucess of the ride as our bikes and Lycra shorts.
On Saturday 1 July whilst a team lost in Germany, this team won in Monte Carlo. And we drank long and hard into the night.
I'll write a bit more in a day or so, once it all sinks in and I've caught up on some sleep, but in the mean time, let me just say, again, a great big thank you to everyone that has sponsored us and sent us encouraging words during this ride. You are super stars. God bless you all.
Cheers,
From a knackered but very relieved
Paul
|
View from the saddle - volume 8
30/06/06 23:39
"And now the end is near although we have to cross the Alps first" go the words of the song made famous by Frank Sinatra after he had a bet with some mates in a pub in London that he couldn't cycle from London to Monte Carlo in 9 days. Unfortunately, fame beckoned for him so he couldn't fulfil the bet.
We on the other hand, have almost done it!
Today was yet again scorching hot! We also found out that humidity is 95% (although, in truth none of us have got the faintest idea if this is good or bad!).
We got up extra early this morning though to try and get some miles under our belt before the real heat of the day kicked in. At 6.20 we got up had a quick bite to eat and sorted our stuff out. We were on the road by 7.30.
The early miles went well. We had a breeze behind us and the air was cool. All feelings of trepidation from the night before and the early morning start began to fade and we soon had 30 miles under our belts. Or perhaps I should say that some of us did. Unbeknown to Mut, Phil, Dan, Gavin and myself, Jimmy had decided to beat my existing record for punctures in a day. Until lunchtime today, it had stood at 3 (which I will add really does ruin your day!). In just one session of cycling though, Jim had equalled this and Ricardo had earned 40 easy Euro's by renting Jimmy a pump and also charging Jim for fitting the new inner tube!
Our lunch stop came atop a mountain after a long steady climb and having looked at the detailed map Moo and G had picked up somewhere we were sure that the final 25 miles to our evening destination would be pretty much plain sailing. Needless to say, it wasn't! Although it started off downhill, a strong head wind meant that progress, even down hill, was very very slow. Now it seemed, mother nature had decided to remove the small pleasure of cruising down hills (pre-realisation that it will be followed by an up!) by blowing a wind into our faces which was as hot as a hand dryer. It was truly like cycling through treacle!
Ah! That reminds me, and just a quick aside, you'll remember that Ricardo's breaks had been sticking for several days? I forgot to mention that he had also been running on tyre's that were inflated to half the pressure they should have been. The safe money here is that if at the start he'd had unstuck breaks and pumped up tyre's, he'd already be finished!
Anyway, like all the other days, we plodded onwards through stunning scenery and enduring the hand dryer wind. We all felt our energy slowly sapping as the miles seemed never reduce.
Never far away though were Moo and G with cooler water for us and salty sweet gunk, and word of encouragement and info on the coming miles.
It was just five miles from the finish of the day that Jim snatched by "day" crown from me by incurring another flat, and I made €20 by fitting his new inner tube! Brilliant! Gav plodded on as he was desperate for the loo and didn't want to be the fourth person to have to perform a "Bear" or the second to perform a "Lithuanian" or an "Angel of the North" (we might tell you over a beer sometime!).
And so we all eventually arrived at our out of season ski lodge (Season 1978-79 we think!), tucked into Pizza and salad and looked onwards to tomorrow.
Conversation this evening naturally turned to finishing tomorrow. We are due to arrive at The Cafe de Paris at the Casino at Monte Carlo at just after 4pm. (There will a couple of bottles of Champagne waiting, courtesy of some a few emails I sent to the Government of Monaco some months back, although i think there may have been something lost in translation and they are expecting a team of British athletes! They are in for a shock! ).
And then on to a bar somewhere to watch the England v Portugal match before retiring to our hotel in Nice (The Best western on the appropriately named Rue D'Anglaterre!) for the mother and father of all parties (probably ending about 10.00pm when we all flake out!).
With all the excitement surrounding the finish, we think its probably wise to leave super early in the morning so, in the spirit of ridiculousness that this trip has all been about it seems, we're up at 5am for some cold rice pudding breakfast then on the road cycling by 6am.
With luck, we'll get a lot of miles under our belts very early while its cool and be able to enjoy the one down hill I've been looking forward to for weeks, entering into Monte Carlo, as I know there will be no more up hills and I'll get to see my wonderful girlfriend who has played such a huge role in helping me get ready for this ride and also in keeping me going when its got very very tough.
Anyway, time for bed now. We've still got quite a few miles before the end and its certainly not a formality. That said, I'll walk it if I bloody have to!
Goodnight,
Paul
We on the other hand, have almost done it!
We got up extra early this morning though to try and get some miles under our belt before the real heat of the day kicked in. At 6.20 we got up had a quick bite to eat and sorted our stuff out. We were on the road by 7.30.
The early miles went well. We had a breeze behind us and the air was cool. All feelings of trepidation from the night before and the early morning start began to fade and we soon had 30 miles under our belts. Or perhaps I should say that some of us did. Unbeknown to Mut, Phil, Dan, Gavin and myself, Jimmy had decided to beat my existing record for punctures in a day. Until lunchtime today, it had stood at 3 (which I will add really does ruin your day!). In just one session of cycling though, Jim had equalled this and Ricardo had earned 40 easy Euro's by renting Jimmy a pump and also charging Jim for fitting the new inner tube!
Ah! That reminds me, and just a quick aside, you'll remember that Ricardo's breaks had been sticking for several days? I forgot to mention that he had also been running on tyre's that were inflated to half the pressure they should have been. The safe money here is that if at the start he'd had unstuck breaks and pumped up tyre's, he'd already be finished!
Anyway, like all the other days, we plodded onwards through stunning scenery and enduring the hand dryer wind. We all felt our energy slowly sapping as the miles seemed never reduce.
Never far away though were Moo and G with cooler water for us and salty sweet gunk, and word of encouragement and info on the coming miles.
And so we all eventually arrived at our out of season ski lodge (Season 1978-79 we think!), tucked into Pizza and salad and looked onwards to tomorrow.
Conversation this evening naturally turned to finishing tomorrow. We are due to arrive at The Cafe de Paris at the Casino at Monte Carlo at just after 4pm. (There will a couple of bottles of Champagne waiting, courtesy of some a few emails I sent to the Government of Monaco some months back, although i think there may have been something lost in translation and they are expecting a team of British athletes! They are in for a shock! ).
And then on to a bar somewhere to watch the England v Portugal match before retiring to our hotel in Nice (The Best western on the appropriately named Rue D'Anglaterre!) for the mother and father of all parties (probably ending about 10.00pm when we all flake out!).
With luck, we'll get a lot of miles under our belts very early while its cool and be able to enjoy the one down hill I've been looking forward to for weeks, entering into Monte Carlo, as I know there will be no more up hills and I'll get to see my wonderful girlfriend who has played such a huge role in helping me get ready for this ride and also in keeping me going when its got very very tough.
Anyway, time for bed now. We've still got quite a few miles before the end and its certainly not a formality. That said, I'll walk it if I bloody have to!
Goodnight,
Paul
View from the saddle - volume 7
29/06/06 23:24
Today's entry is entitled "The Beauty and The Beasts"
The Beauty is the amazing scenery that travelling through this stunning part of the world offers. The Beasts are the aggressive heat and bloody stupid hills we have to battle with all day long.
Today, as days go, went well.
We're all in good spirits, if not a little tired and burnt, despite the factor 50 sun cream. Even Moo and G are feeling the heat and both were made to force down a couple of litres of water so that they were able to keep waiting on us hand, foot and finger. I guess it must get hot inside those crash helmets! Consider the fact that they fell foul to the aggressive heat and you can imagine what it is like for us cycling for 10 hours a day.
The day began with a quick breakfast with Larry Grayson nowhere to be seen. After a fairly steady climb out of Grenoble we headed off into the hills and 10 miles or so in encountered a fantastic down hill where Phil hit a top speed of 47 mph. (He has subsequently been reprimanded by all and sundry!) Those of us with a little less courage met up with him a while later at the bottom.
Now, while the down hills are great fun and are nice and cool too, as you hurtle down the road you can't help the feeling in your stomach growing that tells you that its actually bad news to be going down hill.
But why? I hear you cry!
It's because, generally in the Alps being in the bottom of a valley is bad news for cyclists as it almost certainly guarantees a long slog up hill. And this one didn't disappoint. 7 kilometres of long, long, hot, hot climbing up the kind of slope my car wouldn't even make. And to add insult to injury, it wasn't even marked on the map as a tough climb! But, up it we had to go. And by Christ it hurt. After just a kilometre it felt like someone had poured a bucket of water over me, and I know everyone else was feeling the same. In-fact, if they were ever to make sweating an Olympic sport, you are looking here at the mens squad for London 2012. We were sweating out of places you didn't ever realise sweated!
At times, the gradient got to 16% (that's 1 in 6 in old money I think), which for those with no idea is the kind of gradient you can just about get up.
The saving grace was an ice cream shop at the top where we all took half hour out to catch our breath, wring out our shirts (literally!) and compose ourselves for the rest of the day.
We plodded on, in temperatures touching the upper 30's (it was 35 still when we got here at 6.30!) and on a road that wound its way around mountains and up and down valleys. It was hot, hard and very very tiring.
At lunch time, we sat under some cool trees being looked after by Moo and G who have been totally and utterly fantastic and had a doze, but it was just putting off the inevitable, that we had a long way and a lot of ups and downs to get though before the end.
We got here safely though and have just had a lovely dinner although in all truth we are all to tired to be bothered. If it wasn't for the fact that without a meal tonight we'd be buggered tomorrow, we would all have gone to bed hours ago.
Tomorrow is going to be the toughest day yet. We're making sure we're up and away really early to try and miss the heat, and so that we have enough hours to get to where we're staying on time. We realised a little time ago that in just 48 hours this will all be over, and to a man (Moo and G included, I'd guess), we really cant wait.
But, for now we need to focus on the job in hand and make sure we get through tomorrow and Saturday.
Once again, thank you all for your comments, donations and dedications. You really don't know how much they help! There are times during the day when we all feel low and reading your words of encouragement (and abuse!) really help. Also, its fantastic to see the total raised ticking up. Thank you to every single one of you that have sponsored us. You're great!
I'm going to bed now as I'm shattered and need to be awake enough in the morning to ride across the roof of France.
Cheers
Paul
P.S I have a feeling that the militant faction may be working with dark forces to instigate the "name and shame" program. It's just a feeling......
PPS Can I add that I got up to 55mph while overtaking the van on the last descent into the finish... ...I'm in even more trouble! Phil
The Beauty is the amazing scenery that travelling through this stunning part of the world offers. The Beasts are the aggressive heat and bloody stupid hills we have to battle with all day long.
We're all in good spirits, if not a little tired and burnt, despite the factor 50 sun cream. Even Moo and G are feeling the heat and both were made to force down a couple of litres of water so that they were able to keep waiting on us hand, foot and finger. I guess it must get hot inside those crash helmets! Consider the fact that they fell foul to the aggressive heat and you can imagine what it is like for us cycling for 10 hours a day.
The day began with a quick breakfast with Larry Grayson nowhere to be seen. After a fairly steady climb out of Grenoble we headed off into the hills and 10 miles or so in encountered a fantastic down hill where Phil hit a top speed of 47 mph. (He has subsequently been reprimanded by all and sundry!) Those of us with a little less courage met up with him a while later at the bottom.
Now, while the down hills are great fun and are nice and cool too, as you hurtle down the road you can't help the feeling in your stomach growing that tells you that its actually bad news to be going down hill.
But why? I hear you cry!
It's because, generally in the Alps being in the bottom of a valley is bad news for cyclists as it almost certainly guarantees a long slog up hill. And this one didn't disappoint. 7 kilometres of long, long, hot, hot climbing up the kind of slope my car wouldn't even make. And to add insult to injury, it wasn't even marked on the map as a tough climb! But, up it we had to go. And by Christ it hurt. After just a kilometre it felt like someone had poured a bucket of water over me, and I know everyone else was feeling the same. In-fact, if they were ever to make sweating an Olympic sport, you are looking here at the mens squad for London 2012. We were sweating out of places you didn't ever realise sweated!
At times, the gradient got to 16% (that's 1 in 6 in old money I think), which for those with no idea is the kind of gradient you can just about get up.
The saving grace was an ice cream shop at the top where we all took half hour out to catch our breath, wring out our shirts (literally!) and compose ourselves for the rest of the day.
We plodded on, in temperatures touching the upper 30's (it was 35 still when we got here at 6.30!) and on a road that wound its way around mountains and up and down valleys. It was hot, hard and very very tiring.
We got here safely though and have just had a lovely dinner although in all truth we are all to tired to be bothered. If it wasn't for the fact that without a meal tonight we'd be buggered tomorrow, we would all have gone to bed hours ago.
Tomorrow is going to be the toughest day yet. We're making sure we're up and away really early to try and miss the heat, and so that we have enough hours to get to where we're staying on time. We realised a little time ago that in just 48 hours this will all be over, and to a man (Moo and G included, I'd guess), we really cant wait.
But, for now we need to focus on the job in hand and make sure we get through tomorrow and Saturday.
Once again, thank you all for your comments, donations and dedications. You really don't know how much they help! There are times during the day when we all feel low and reading your words of encouragement (and abuse!) really help. Also, its fantastic to see the total raised ticking up. Thank you to every single one of you that have sponsored us. You're great!
I'm going to bed now as I'm shattered and need to be awake enough in the morning to ride across the roof of France.
Cheers
Paul
P.S I have a feeling that the militant faction may be working with dark forces to instigate the "name and shame" program. It's just a feeling......
PPS Can I add that I got up to 55mph while overtaking the van on the last descent into the finish... ...I'm in even more trouble! Phil
View from the saddle - volume 6
28/06/06 21:49
I think i left you last night in a somewhat sombre mood. The heat had taken its toll on us and there was a huge chunk of doubt about the ride right where a glimmer of optimism should have been.
Well, after slurping down recovery drinks and having a good feed and sleep, we all arose this morning better but by no means 100%.
I was up first and as I sat chomping through the buffet breakfast contemplated the day ahead. Outside, after a night of thunder and lightening the sky was clearing and soon we would be facing the heat of France at this time of year.
As we got our bikes and gear ready, the mood was tense, to say the least. Everyone was doubting if we'd finish the ride and no one was sure whether Jimmy would be well enough.
When he got to the van he looked awful, but, as anyone who knows him will testify, Jimmy doesn't give up easily. After taping a bandana to his cycle helmet so that he looked like a modern day Beau Jest and soaking it with a bottle of water, he insisted he was ok and that we should get going. It was 8.45am. As we cycled out of Bourge-En-Bresse I looked across at a digital clock outside a car dealers and saw that the temperature was already 32 degrees. No wonder the French seemed to take life at such a slow pace.
Early on the road surface was as good as it gets and even cycling at an easy pace to help support Jim we made good progress. At the 15 mile mark we stopped for drinks and some of us exchanged nervous looks as to whether Jimmy should carry on or not. But he wasn't to be dissuaded and so, with a very watchful eye on him we rode on.
Half way through the next 15 miles Ricardo stopped the group and laid the law down to Jim: "When we get to the next drinks stop, unless you (Jim) are looking and sounding better, you're stopping". Jim tried to argue but we knew that it was a decision we'd have to force on him if needs be as there would be no way he'd give up on his own accord. Jim mumbled something back but we knew what had to be done, if needs be.
And so, the next drinks stop came, but we all knew before it that Jim was perking up. His speed was increasing and he looked like he was almost enjoying himself. We topped up our bottles with the sickly sweet salty gunk and as a team pressed on, with Jimmy now almost back to his old self. If you had seen him last night you would never have believed it possible!
Lunch was a fairly leisurely affair. We had decided earlier in the day that with the hills on their way, it was important to try and stay out of the searing heat of lunchtime. And so we adopted the approach of our French hosts. We ate, we drank (no booze though!) and we dozed.
This afternoon we started to see the Alps and encountered a couple of small climbs (600+ meters) which were a warm up for what lies ahead in the next few days. (A warm up, that is, in the same way that a jog up the touch line and a few stretches is a warm up for a football match). And so, onwards into Grenoble, where at 6.30pm tonight the temperature was still 32 degrees.
Having all just sat and had dinner, I think its fair to say that the team spirit is as good as its ever been. Considering the punishment it feels like we are undertaking, we've had so many laughs, and there have been so many incidents and stories to tell. It materialised this evening for example that Ricardo had to use his brakes quite hard to day, which seemed to stop them rubbing on his rear wheel. The fact that he hadn't realised they had been sticking for 600 odd miles really says it all! All of a sudden he was flying along like a pro, rather than the bloke in the Hovis advert!
We have also just had the funniest dinner ever, where our Larry Grayson look alike waiter completely buggered up the order, threw a hissy fit, threw Phil's dinner at him and then stormed off, never to be seen again! Ah, the French, you've gotta love them!
So here I am now, at the laptop thinking about what lies ahead. Tomorrow we start climbing the Alps and our journey across them continues all day Friday and Saturday morning too. Its going to be tough, there's no doubt about that, and the heat will just make it more difficult, but if we take our time, make sure we drink lots and have a bit of luck we should be Ok.
Thank you once again for your comments, dedications and donations. I think my little rant last night paid off as we noticed that the total had increased £1000 today. Thank you. That said, there is still a militant element of our team that want to start naming and shaming....
The messages you leave us and the text messages you send really do make a difference to our day. We all agreed tonight that the last six days seem like weeks and seeing the inspirational messages, new and increased donations and your comments really does give us a spring in our steps. Also so does being told that Jimmy and I are being interviewed on BBC Radio Essex tomorrow (Thursday 29 June) at 11.30am. Jimmy, after his biblical resurrection is now beside himself with glee at getting his hat-trick: Daily Telegraph, BBC Radio AND The Brentwood Gazette all in one week! He has even started saying its been worth it so far. (My view is that he's delusional after his heat exhaustion!
So there you have it. Day 6 of 9 is done.
I hope that this time tomorrow I'll be reporting on another successful day for us. Keep your fingers crossed eh? (And keep that money rolling in!)
Good night
Paul
Well, after slurping down recovery drinks and having a good feed and sleep, we all arose this morning better but by no means 100%.
I was up first and as I sat chomping through the buffet breakfast contemplated the day ahead. Outside, after a night of thunder and lightening the sky was clearing and soon we would be facing the heat of France at this time of year.
As we got our bikes and gear ready, the mood was tense, to say the least. Everyone was doubting if we'd finish the ride and no one was sure whether Jimmy would be well enough.
Early on the road surface was as good as it gets and even cycling at an easy pace to help support Jim we made good progress. At the 15 mile mark we stopped for drinks and some of us exchanged nervous looks as to whether Jimmy should carry on or not. But he wasn't to be dissuaded and so, with a very watchful eye on him we rode on.
Half way through the next 15 miles Ricardo stopped the group and laid the law down to Jim: "When we get to the next drinks stop, unless you (Jim) are looking and sounding better, you're stopping". Jim tried to argue but we knew that it was a decision we'd have to force on him if needs be as there would be no way he'd give up on his own accord. Jim mumbled something back but we knew what had to be done, if needs be.
And so, the next drinks stop came, but we all knew before it that Jim was perking up. His speed was increasing and he looked like he was almost enjoying himself. We topped up our bottles with the sickly sweet salty gunk and as a team pressed on, with Jimmy now almost back to his old self. If you had seen him last night you would never have believed it possible!
Lunch was a fairly leisurely affair. We had decided earlier in the day that with the hills on their way, it was important to try and stay out of the searing heat of lunchtime. And so we adopted the approach of our French hosts. We ate, we drank (no booze though!) and we dozed.
Having all just sat and had dinner, I think its fair to say that the team spirit is as good as its ever been. Considering the punishment it feels like we are undertaking, we've had so many laughs, and there have been so many incidents and stories to tell. It materialised this evening for example that Ricardo had to use his brakes quite hard to day, which seemed to stop them rubbing on his rear wheel. The fact that he hadn't realised they had been sticking for 600 odd miles really says it all! All of a sudden he was flying along like a pro, rather than the bloke in the Hovis advert!
We have also just had the funniest dinner ever, where our Larry Grayson look alike waiter completely buggered up the order, threw a hissy fit, threw Phil's dinner at him and then stormed off, never to be seen again! Ah, the French, you've gotta love them!
So here I am now, at the laptop thinking about what lies ahead. Tomorrow we start climbing the Alps and our journey across them continues all day Friday and Saturday morning too. Its going to be tough, there's no doubt about that, and the heat will just make it more difficult, but if we take our time, make sure we drink lots and have a bit of luck we should be Ok.
Thank you once again for your comments, dedications and donations. I think my little rant last night paid off as we noticed that the total had increased £1000 today. Thank you. That said, there is still a militant element of our team that want to start naming and shaming....
The messages you leave us and the text messages you send really do make a difference to our day. We all agreed tonight that the last six days seem like weeks and seeing the inspirational messages, new and increased donations and your comments really does give us a spring in our steps. Also so does being told that Jimmy and I are being interviewed on BBC Radio Essex tomorrow (Thursday 29 June) at 11.30am. Jimmy, after his biblical resurrection is now beside himself with glee at getting his hat-trick: Daily Telegraph, BBC Radio AND The Brentwood Gazette all in one week! He has even started saying its been worth it so far. (My view is that he's delusional after his heat exhaustion!
So there you have it. Day 6 of 9 is done.
I hope that this time tomorrow I'll be reporting on another successful day for us. Keep your fingers crossed eh? (And keep that money rolling in!)
Good night
Paul
View from the saddle - volume 5
27/06/06 23:42
It's quite possible we have bitten off more than we can chew.
When we were preparing for this ride, we were fully aware that two factors we couldn't easily replicate, the hills and the heat, would be our biggest worries.
Today, the heat started to show its cards.
You may remember yesterday I said that even though today was shorter than previous days we couldn't be complacent? Well we weren't. Upon leaving Dijon the weather was cool, slightly damp and actually rather nice. The road surface too varied between 5 Series BMW and Aston Martin and the terrain was to all intent and purposes flat. We knew that at sub 100 miles, today should have been a kind of rest day. That was before the sunshine broke through and the temperature soared.
In training for this ride I for one have learnt a lot about my body. Not just things like "cycling makes your arse ache" or "if you cycle with your mouth open you get to eat lots of wildlife", but sensible grown up stuff. Things like: how protein and carbohydrates play their own differing role or, how dehydration of just 5% can effect performance by up to 30%. Food and drink stops being just "food and drink" and becomes something much more important. They are the fuels that will get you through the day, keep the pedals turning and make it possible, if you're lucky, to get up the following day and do it all again.
When the temperature soars like it did today, you have to drink a lot more even if you're sitting at home in the garden (oh god how we wish we were), but when you are cycling, sweating and breathing heavily, you have to drink a lot, lot more. All the time. All day. Even when you don't feel thirsty. And we're not talking a nice chilled beer or lemonade, we're talking slightly salty, sweet sports drinks designed for the purpose, which in all honesty, after four days, are not that pleasant.
But we force it down us and we pedal on.
But the heat this afternoon played a strong hand. By the end of the day Jimmy was showing the signs of heat exhaustion and I am dead on my feet. We both thought we drunk enough. we both forced the salty sweet stuff down our throats, but still the heat sapped our strength. Strength which is in dwindling supply following five days of hard hard work. And we still have the Alps to do. Everyone is carrying aches and strains too. Dan's achilles are playing up, Phil's knee and as a team, our spirit is slightly dampened. Morale is not what it should be.
As we sit here tonight, we don't know if we'll finish. People are tired and even the fittest people are carrying injuries. We'll certainly give it our best shot though, and 600 or so miles in, we certainly want to finish.
I'm sorry if this has been a bit down beat today, but as you'll appreciate, this is bloody hard work and actually, pretty dangerous. We'll get some sleep though, get up in the morning and plod on. Psychologically, the Alps ahead far out weigh the fact that we are now more than half way through, both miles wise and days wise. Additionally, the finish is too far away to be a motivation. Tomorrow it's going to be a mile at a time.
Sitting chatting earlier, the discussion turned to those people we all know that have said they would sponsor us, but as yet haven't.
If you're reading this and your one of them, do me a favour and sponsor us now, on line.
You see the thing is, when we stop for drinks we jump on the laptop and have a quick look at the website to refocus on why we're doing this and seeing how much we've raised and sometimes, the generosity of the many is overshadowed by those names that are missing.
Some of the team want to start "naming and shaming", but for now, hopefully a gentle reminder will jiggle your conscience and get you to do what you said you'd do.
On a personal level, I feel that anyone reading this that hasn't contributed is (unless they have a very very good reason) taking the piss. After a day like I've had, I need to sleep not be sitting here typing, but it is a job I must do because I know that all those decent people that have donated money to us deserve to know what's happening. Those that haven't contributed are just gatecrashing the party.
Well, I'm dead on my feet and must get some sleep. What lies ahead is huge. I hope we're big enough to conquer it.
With love
a very tired and emotional
Paul
When we were preparing for this ride, we were fully aware that two factors we couldn't easily replicate, the hills and the heat, would be our biggest worries.
Today, the heat started to show its cards.
In training for this ride I for one have learnt a lot about my body. Not just things like "cycling makes your arse ache" or "if you cycle with your mouth open you get to eat lots of wildlife", but sensible grown up stuff. Things like: how protein and carbohydrates play their own differing role or, how dehydration of just 5% can effect performance by up to 30%. Food and drink stops being just "food and drink" and becomes something much more important. They are the fuels that will get you through the day, keep the pedals turning and make it possible, if you're lucky, to get up the following day and do it all again.
When the temperature soars like it did today, you have to drink a lot more even if you're sitting at home in the garden (oh god how we wish we were), but when you are cycling, sweating and breathing heavily, you have to drink a lot, lot more. All the time. All day. Even when you don't feel thirsty. And we're not talking a nice chilled beer or lemonade, we're talking slightly salty, sweet sports drinks designed for the purpose, which in all honesty, after four days, are not that pleasant.
But we force it down us and we pedal on.
But the heat this afternoon played a strong hand. By the end of the day Jimmy was showing the signs of heat exhaustion and I am dead on my feet. We both thought we drunk enough. we both forced the salty sweet stuff down our throats, but still the heat sapped our strength. Strength which is in dwindling supply following five days of hard hard work. And we still have the Alps to do. Everyone is carrying aches and strains too. Dan's achilles are playing up, Phil's knee and as a team, our spirit is slightly dampened. Morale is not what it should be.
I'm sorry if this has been a bit down beat today, but as you'll appreciate, this is bloody hard work and actually, pretty dangerous. We'll get some sleep though, get up in the morning and plod on. Psychologically, the Alps ahead far out weigh the fact that we are now more than half way through, both miles wise and days wise. Additionally, the finish is too far away to be a motivation. Tomorrow it's going to be a mile at a time.
Sitting chatting earlier, the discussion turned to those people we all know that have said they would sponsor us, but as yet haven't.
If you're reading this and your one of them, do me a favour and sponsor us now, on line.
You see the thing is, when we stop for drinks we jump on the laptop and have a quick look at the website to refocus on why we're doing this and seeing how much we've raised and sometimes, the generosity of the many is overshadowed by those names that are missing.
Some of the team want to start "naming and shaming", but for now, hopefully a gentle reminder will jiggle your conscience and get you to do what you said you'd do.
On a personal level, I feel that anyone reading this that hasn't contributed is (unless they have a very very good reason) taking the piss. After a day like I've had, I need to sleep not be sitting here typing, but it is a job I must do because I know that all those decent people that have donated money to us deserve to know what's happening. Those that haven't contributed are just gatecrashing the party.
Well, I'm dead on my feet and must get some sleep. What lies ahead is huge. I hope we're big enough to conquer it.
With love
a very tired and emotional
Paul
View from the saddle - volume 4
26/06/06 23:45
Well, where to start.
How about........we've had a FANTASTIC day! (Ok, there are better ways to spend a day, rather than cycling 100+ miles, but c'est la vie as they say over here!)
Ok, so it was a bit windy (and that's before you take into consideration the protein drink side effects!) and later in the day, it was a bit hot, but all in all, we've all sat here tonight saying what a great day it has been. Actually, it was still fantastic despite there being two tough tough climbs in fairly close proximity, which (I must add) everyone got up without stopping. EVERYONE! Fantastic!
There are of course many reasons why; a good road surface for starters (not quite Aston Martin, but certainly not 1979 Vauxhall Viva!), some road signs, a direct route (actually meant we didn't need the road signs, but they really are a reassurance!), beautiful, beautiful countryside and also huge encouragement from having read all your comments and dedications last night! Wonderful!
The day was also fairly incident free, believe it or not! We found our way out of Troyes in no time at all, and even managed to find our way here, to our hotel in Dijon, with ease.
Even the fact that my hairy arsed room mate is snoring like a baboon on heat wont dampen the spirit of today. Its been hard work, but great!
As I said to the boys earlier though, we mustn't get complacent. Just because we have now cycled over 500 miles doesn't mean anything. We've still got plenty of hard yards to put in.
Despite being the harbinger of doom though, some (naming no names Mutley, you can count on me) did toast the progress so far with a small glass of medicinal wine with dinner, which like most evenings consists of mountainous plates of pasta and side salads the size of Lithuania. No one can fault the food here, and actually, despite a reputation of being a bunch of garlic crunching surrender monkeys, we have found the French as a nation to be a rather nice bunch. OK, so they are a little odd (one village we went through had just an undertakers and a taxidermist - its true! you couldn't make it up!) and their education system is obviously seriously flawed (some of their English is awful!), but all in all, they have been fantastic! They even knocked 10% off our dinner bill this evening (which adds up to quite a chunk seeing that we had two main causes each!) because of what we are doing. Lovely people!
That said, they could do a couple of things for us, between now and Friday:
1) Build some public loo's to save us having to do what bears do
2) Build a great big Rolls Royce smooth road tunnel from Grenoble to Monte Carlo so we can avoid the hilly bit!
Anyway gang, that's it for tonight from me. Sorry its not as long or juicy as before, but its now gone 12.00 and thankfully today was a great day because we just got on and did what we set out to do. Cycle for Cancer Research.
Before I go though can I ask you all a favour?
Can you send an email to all the people you know: friends, colleagues, relatives, anyone, and tell them about what we are doing and how great it would be if we were to hit the £40,000 target. I'm sure, from the feedback we've had, reading our update and looking at our pics each day is a good way to waste half hour at work. Why not share that with everyone you know? Tell them to log on to www.montecarloorbust.co.uk have a read, donate some money and feel better with themselves because:
a) they've helped a great charity
b) they aren't sitting riding a bike for 10 hours a day
Its just a thought.
Take care and spread the word.
Cheers
Paul
How about........we've had a FANTASTIC day! (Ok, there are better ways to spend a day, rather than cycling 100+ miles, but c'est la vie as they say over here!)
Ok, so it was a bit windy (and that's before you take into consideration the protein drink side effects!) and later in the day, it was a bit hot, but all in all, we've all sat here tonight saying what a great day it has been. Actually, it was still fantastic despite there being two tough tough climbs in fairly close proximity, which (I must add) everyone got up without stopping. EVERYONE! Fantastic!
There are of course many reasons why; a good road surface for starters (not quite Aston Martin, but certainly not 1979 Vauxhall Viva!), some road signs, a direct route (actually meant we didn't need the road signs, but they really are a reassurance!), beautiful, beautiful countryside and also huge encouragement from having read all your comments and dedications last night! Wonderful!
The day was also fairly incident free, believe it or not! We found our way out of Troyes in no time at all, and even managed to find our way here, to our hotel in Dijon, with ease.
Even the fact that my hairy arsed room mate is snoring like a baboon on heat wont dampen the spirit of today. Its been hard work, but great!
As I said to the boys earlier though, we mustn't get complacent. Just because we have now cycled over 500 miles doesn't mean anything. We've still got plenty of hard yards to put in.
Despite being the harbinger of doom though, some (naming no names Mutley, you can count on me) did toast the progress so far with a small glass of medicinal wine with dinner, which like most evenings consists of mountainous plates of pasta and side salads the size of Lithuania. No one can fault the food here, and actually, despite a reputation of being a bunch of garlic crunching surrender monkeys, we have found the French as a nation to be a rather nice bunch. OK, so they are a little odd (one village we went through had just an undertakers and a taxidermist - its true! you couldn't make it up!) and their education system is obviously seriously flawed (some of their English is awful!), but all in all, they have been fantastic! They even knocked 10% off our dinner bill this evening (which adds up to quite a chunk seeing that we had two main causes each!) because of what we are doing. Lovely people!
That said, they could do a couple of things for us, between now and Friday:
1) Build some public loo's to save us having to do what bears do
2) Build a great big Rolls Royce smooth road tunnel from Grenoble to Monte Carlo so we can avoid the hilly bit!
Before I go though can I ask you all a favour?
Can you send an email to all the people you know: friends, colleagues, relatives, anyone, and tell them about what we are doing and how great it would be if we were to hit the £40,000 target. I'm sure, from the feedback we've had, reading our update and looking at our pics each day is a good way to waste half hour at work. Why not share that with everyone you know? Tell them to log on to www.montecarloorbust.co.uk have a read, donate some money and feel better with themselves because:
a) they've helped a great charity
b) they aren't sitting riding a bike for 10 hours a day
Its just a thought.
Take care and spread the word.
Cheers
Paul
View from the saddle - volume 3
25/06/06 22:50
France, we are starting to discover, is a country of contrasts. Gerard Depardieu (ugly sod) v Bridget Bardot (beautiful). Smooth roads v rubbish sign posts. Polite drivers to cyclists out cycling v Noisy buggers when cyclists are trying to get some sleep.
The biggest contrast we discovered this morning though is with the weather. 30 degree sunshine yesterday v torrential (and I mean torrential) rain today. Now I don't mean to moan but when we all said our prayers last night, it was for the weather to be a touch cooler. Or maybe overcast. Instead we were faced with the kind of weather we get in the UK the moment a hose pipe ban is imposed! Lovely!
Needless to say, being hardy athletes (hmmm right), we don't let things like monsoon weather bother us, so set off nice and early from St Quentin (7am) for what we knew would be a long long day (In fact, milage wise, our longest at over 140 miles).
At about 8.30am, after inadvertently exploring all of St Quentin, its suburbs, and a couple of neighbouring villages, we eventually found the road we needed to leave the city on. By now, with everyone wetter than a haddocks bathing costume, morale was running just a touch low. A few people were mentioning things like "Why the heck did I ever agree to come on this flipping ride. It's a blooming nightmare" (censored version of course!), but spirits were soon lifted a bit by the quality of the road we needed to travel. If road surfaces were cars, this was an Aston Martin road surface. Pure bliss. (Its a case of small pleasures on a bike ride like this!)
After a couple of quick drinks stops, which were totally unnecessary as we had all drunk enough road spray, we all headed onwards to our lunch stop with Moo and (British) bacon sandwiches (he had had the good sense to bring it with him in a portable fridge. What a diamond!).
But wait!
Before we could make it to lunch, (a near) catastrophe struck!
Jimmy's mobile was suddenly ringing! It was Mutley. Him and Dan had fallen off on a tricky downhill section into Soissons. The wet conditions, coupled with some oil on the roads had made the Aston Martin surface like an ice rink! Their bikes had slid from under them and both guys were sent sliding across the road into the opposite lane. Thankfully, the oncoming cars had time to stop, and the car behind them had been giving them lots of space so was able to make evasive action, otherwise god only knows what would have happened! Shaken and grazed, the guys re-saddled and cycled on to meet us and almost like an apology, the rain seemed to ease.
By our lunch stop, the weather had dried out and we sat in a lay-bye in a forest in the Champagne region eating our bacon sandwiches, drinking our tea and contemplating the 70 miles we still had to ride.
I spent most of the lunch break repairing a puncher (my third of the day!!!) and getting covered in grease and grime, so much so that I started to resemble a cycling chimney sweep!
And so onwards. through the rolling hills of middle France. through beautiful, deserted villages, and along quiet, Jaguar roads (not quite as good a the Aston Martin roads, but they will do!). By now, the sun was even shining again, which helped raise morale further, as did the ever reducing milage to our finish. A phone call from Sophie Brodie (I think! I was on handsfree and breathing heavily at the time) from The Daily Telegraph also lifted spirits and we hope there will be something in the City Diary today!!
140 miles is a bloody long way. Even in a car its a fair distance, and depending on your age, will probably require a toilet stop!
On a bicycle, it is a marathon. I for one, dug deeper within myself today, both physically and mentally, than I have ever before. There are times during a day like this that you feel awful and really doubt if you can go on (its called the wall) but three things help keep those pedals turning:
1) your team mates, who know how you are feeling and encourage and push you on
2) jelly babies - a great source of instant energy
3) knowing that you are doing it for a great cause and that there are some people, because of cancer, that will never have the chance to be as stupid as us and accept this challenge.
Also, at the end of the day, reading everyone's messages on our website and seeing the total raised rising really helps.
We're an eclectic bunch to be thrown together on this trip, all united by one purpose (not cycling! I bloody hate it!), raising money for Cancer Research UK. We've still got a long way to go, but we're far more confident today, that we'll finish, than we were yesterday, but will be even more confident tomorrow!
Anyway, that's enough from me for one night. I need my sleep. Thankfully, the town we are in, Troyes, is nice and quiet. This being France though, means there has to be a contrast.
The Hotel only had double rooms left, so it'll be a night of wrestling the duvet off of a hairy arsed cyclist.
The sacrifices we make.
Good night
Paul
The biggest contrast we discovered this morning though is with the weather. 30 degree sunshine yesterday v torrential (and I mean torrential) rain today. Now I don't mean to moan but when we all said our prayers last night, it was for the weather to be a touch cooler. Or maybe overcast. Instead we were faced with the kind of weather we get in the UK the moment a hose pipe ban is imposed! Lovely!
Needless to say, being hardy athletes (hmmm right), we don't let things like monsoon weather bother us, so set off nice and early from St Quentin (7am) for what we knew would be a long long day (In fact, milage wise, our longest at over 140 miles).
At about 8.30am, after inadvertently exploring all of St Quentin, its suburbs, and a couple of neighbouring villages, we eventually found the road we needed to leave the city on. By now, with everyone wetter than a haddocks bathing costume, morale was running just a touch low. A few people were mentioning things like "Why the heck did I ever agree to come on this flipping ride. It's a blooming nightmare" (censored version of course!), but spirits were soon lifted a bit by the quality of the road we needed to travel. If road surfaces were cars, this was an Aston Martin road surface. Pure bliss. (Its a case of small pleasures on a bike ride like this!)
After a couple of quick drinks stops, which were totally unnecessary as we had all drunk enough road spray, we all headed onwards to our lunch stop with Moo and (British) bacon sandwiches (he had had the good sense to bring it with him in a portable fridge. What a diamond!).
But wait!
Before we could make it to lunch, (a near) catastrophe struck!
Jimmy's mobile was suddenly ringing! It was Mutley. Him and Dan had fallen off on a tricky downhill section into Soissons. The wet conditions, coupled with some oil on the roads had made the Aston Martin surface like an ice rink! Their bikes had slid from under them and both guys were sent sliding across the road into the opposite lane. Thankfully, the oncoming cars had time to stop, and the car behind them had been giving them lots of space so was able to make evasive action, otherwise god only knows what would have happened! Shaken and grazed, the guys re-saddled and cycled on to meet us and almost like an apology, the rain seemed to ease.
By our lunch stop, the weather had dried out and we sat in a lay-bye in a forest in the Champagne region eating our bacon sandwiches, drinking our tea and contemplating the 70 miles we still had to ride.
I spent most of the lunch break repairing a puncher (my third of the day!!!) and getting covered in grease and grime, so much so that I started to resemble a cycling chimney sweep!
And so onwards. through the rolling hills of middle France. through beautiful, deserted villages, and along quiet, Jaguar roads (not quite as good a the Aston Martin roads, but they will do!). By now, the sun was even shining again, which helped raise morale further, as did the ever reducing milage to our finish. A phone call from Sophie Brodie (I think! I was on handsfree and breathing heavily at the time) from The Daily Telegraph also lifted spirits and we hope there will be something in the City Diary today!!
140 miles is a bloody long way. Even in a car its a fair distance, and depending on your age, will probably require a toilet stop!
On a bicycle, it is a marathon. I for one, dug deeper within myself today, both physically and mentally, than I have ever before. There are times during a day like this that you feel awful and really doubt if you can go on (its called the wall) but three things help keep those pedals turning:
1) your team mates, who know how you are feeling and encourage and push you on
2) jelly babies - a great source of instant energy
3) knowing that you are doing it for a great cause and that there are some people, because of cancer, that will never have the chance to be as stupid as us and accept this challenge.
Also, at the end of the day, reading everyone's messages on our website and seeing the total raised rising really helps.
We're an eclectic bunch to be thrown together on this trip, all united by one purpose (not cycling! I bloody hate it!), raising money for Cancer Research UK. We've still got a long way to go, but we're far more confident today, that we'll finish, than we were yesterday, but will be even more confident tomorrow!
Anyway, that's enough from me for one night. I need my sleep. Thankfully, the town we are in, Troyes, is nice and quiet. This being France though, means there has to be a contrast.
The Hotel only had double rooms left, so it'll be a night of wrestling the duvet off of a hairy arsed cyclist.
The sacrifices we make.
Good night
Paul
View from the saddle - Volume 2
24/06/06 23:51
What a crap day!
Am not going to be able to write too much this evening as today was a shocker for all of us and we're all totally knackered!
With the temperature in the 30's and Frances flat north having acquired quite a few undulations, progress was hard. Very hard. Admittedly, we were really impressed by the way our European cousins give cyclists loads of room, and the roads are generally top notch (one good thing about the EU?), but christ, it was bloody hard work!
Unfortunately, our French cousins seem to splash most of their roads budget on the road surface so it seems they have sod all left for road signs which added to our woes and also added to our miles!
The cream on the cake was Mutt, Dan and Me all falling off (don't worry ladies, all were very low speed (stationary!) tumbles!), and to pop the cherry right on the top of the cream on the cake, when we got here to St Quentin the bloody hotel had somehow cancelled our booking!
Lovely!
Anyway, Moo came to the rescue and managed to get us sorted in two other hotels, although to be honest, Hotel is a bit of a stretch of the truth, I think Le Doss House is a better description!
Well, we're all fed and watered now and in need of some sleep, so until tomorrow I'll say goodbye.
One quick thing before I go though.
Be under no illusion, this bike ride is no cake walk, its 100% hard bloody work, Most of you would probably get a bit tired and hot
pushing your lawn mower around the garden tomorrow in the sunshine. Now just imagine doing that for 8 hours.......... It would be awful wouldn't it!........Welcome to our world!
If you haven't sponsored us yet and are reading this then we hope its just because you forgot. Don't worry though, you can do it very easy by following the link on the "sponsor us page". Why not do it now eh? Then you can happily read our entries and look at our pictures without worrying about it!
If you have sponsored us, we love you, you're fantastic! Any chance of a teensy bit more?
Until next time,
A very tired and emotional Paul
Am not going to be able to write too much this evening as today was a shocker for all of us and we're all totally knackered!
With the temperature in the 30's and Frances flat north having acquired quite a few undulations, progress was hard. Very hard. Admittedly, we were really impressed by the way our European cousins give cyclists loads of room, and the roads are generally top notch (one good thing about the EU?), but christ, it was bloody hard work!
Unfortunately, our French cousins seem to splash most of their roads budget on the road surface so it seems they have sod all left for road signs which added to our woes and also added to our miles!
The cream on the cake was Mutt, Dan and Me all falling off (don't worry ladies, all were very low speed (stationary!) tumbles!), and to pop the cherry right on the top of the cream on the cake, when we got here to St Quentin the bloody hotel had somehow cancelled our booking!
Lovely!
Anyway, Moo came to the rescue and managed to get us sorted in two other hotels, although to be honest, Hotel is a bit of a stretch of the truth, I think Le Doss House is a better description!
Well, we're all fed and watered now and in need of some sleep, so until tomorrow I'll say goodbye.
One quick thing before I go though.
Be under no illusion, this bike ride is no cake walk, its 100% hard bloody work, Most of you would probably get a bit tired and hot
pushing your lawn mower around the garden tomorrow in the sunshine. Now just imagine doing that for 8 hours.......... It would be awful wouldn't it!........Welcome to our world!
If you haven't sponsored us yet and are reading this then we hope its just because you forgot. Don't worry though, you can do it very easy by following the link on the "sponsor us page". Why not do it now eh? Then you can happily read our entries and look at our pictures without worrying about it!
If you have sponsored us, we love you, you're fantastic! Any chance of a teensy bit more?
Until next time,
A very tired and emotional Paul
 Jimmy looks for signs |  St Quentin |
 Lunch day 2 |
View from the saddle - Volume 1
23/06/06 22:37
Well, what a day!
When you start out chatting about doing something like this bike ride, over a few beer, you have no idea where it'll end up. Not literally of course, we've always planned to end up in Monte Carlo, but things like who'll do it, how well organised you'll be and also, in reality, whether it'll actually ever happen.
Well, as we rolled into Dover ferry terminal tonight, we knew it was happening and are, to a man, bloody glad we are involved!
But lets rewind a bit, to 9.00am this morning.
There we all were, nervous and excited outside Mansion House in London with so many people waiting to cheer us on our way! Ricardo turned up, with a bike, like we knew he would (many others thought he wouldn't but we knew), Moo, our trusty support driver had the hire van ship shape and organised, having refitted the inside of it with shelves and stuff late on the night before the off and our super-skintight cycle shirts were all fresh and ready to be squeezed into! (more of a squeeze for some of us!). So anyway, after several million photo's where taken, with everyone it seemed, including The Lord Mayor of London, David Brewer, who was a top man, we said our goodbyes and set off on this great adventure!
With the City of London Police escorting us and clearing our way we were soon down past London Bridge and with big cheesy grins on all the riders faces (we've all since scraped the flys off!), nothing, apart from dozens of sets of traffic lights, could stop us!
And so we rode and rode and rode (which, to be honest on a 984 mile bike ride, you can expect a bit of!) and eventually met up with Moo somewhere in Kent (It all looks the same, especially when you come from Essex!) where his selection as one of our support drivers was proven to be correct as he had half of Asda's bakery section waiting for us (not all the bakery staff! That would have been ridiculous! I mean lots of cakes and stuff!).
From there it was 30 miles or so to somewhere else in Kent (Muttley has just slapped me and said its called Charing and that I'm an ignorant Essex Oik!) where we were again escorted by the Police to what can only be described as a Tour de France type reception of about 50 people who insisted we ate even more cake, and pasta and sandwiches and fruit! It materialised that Gav and I were about the only people who weren't related to anyone (it was hosted by Dan's sister and her husband).
Whilst there we had the honour to meet an inspirational guy, Tony, and his wife, Betty. Tony was diagnosed recently with a brain tumour, but both his and Betty's strength and courage was truly inspirational. By the time we had eaten all their food, drunk their tea and chatted, none of us really wanted to get back on the bikes, but seeing as there wasn't room in the van for us all with our bikes, we saddled up again and rode on, and on (you probably get the message!).
And so to Hythe and Folkstone.
Now those of you that enjoy Miss Marple books might just have twigged that we sailed across to France from Dover.
You'd be correct.
You might also know that Dover is well known for its big white cliffs.
It is.
Unfortunately, they separate it from Hythe and Folkstone!
Lovely!
Just what you need when you've done loads of miles (and eaten loads of cake) is a bloody big steep hill to climb. But, short of carrying out an A-Team style construction project and building a big pedalo, over the cliffs we had to go!
After a bit of sweating and cursing we enjoyed the gentle descent through Little Bosnia and arrived at the port having missed our ferry by about an hour. But not to worry, when you look The Only Gay In The Village, they soon find a space on the next one for you!
So anyway, here we are now, in our hotel in Calais about to get a nice sleep before the next leg of this epic adventure. When I say "about to get some sleep", we will do once our new French friends stop tooting their bloody horns! It was only Togo you beat Francois!
Good night dear readers. Speak to you again soon.
Paul
P.S Thank you so much to everyone that was there today. You made it a truly wonderful day today! At the moment, my smile muscles hurt more than my arse!
After nearly a year in the planning and many miles of training, we've now completed day one! All of us!
When you start out chatting about doing something like this bike ride, over a few beer, you have no idea where it'll end up. Not literally of course, we've always planned to end up in Monte Carlo, but things like who'll do it, how well organised you'll be and also, in reality, whether it'll actually ever happen.
Well, as we rolled into Dover ferry terminal tonight, we knew it was happening and are, to a man, bloody glad we are involved!
But lets rewind a bit, to 9.00am this morning.
There we all were, nervous and excited outside Mansion House in London with so many people waiting to cheer us on our way! Ricardo turned up, with a bike, like we knew he would (many others thought he wouldn't but we knew), Moo, our trusty support driver had the hire van ship shape and organised, having refitted the inside of it with shelves and stuff late on the night before the off and our super-skintight cycle shirts were all fresh and ready to be squeezed into! (more of a squeeze for some of us!). So anyway, after several million photo's where taken, with everyone it seemed, including The Lord Mayor of London, David Brewer, who was a top man, we said our goodbyes and set off on this great adventure!
With the City of London Police escorting us and clearing our way we were soon down past London Bridge and with big cheesy grins on all the riders faces (we've all since scraped the flys off!), nothing, apart from dozens of sets of traffic lights, could stop us!
And so we rode and rode and rode (which, to be honest on a 984 mile bike ride, you can expect a bit of!) and eventually met up with Moo somewhere in Kent (It all looks the same, especially when you come from Essex!) where his selection as one of our support drivers was proven to be correct as he had half of Asda's bakery section waiting for us (not all the bakery staff! That would have been ridiculous! I mean lots of cakes and stuff!).
From there it was 30 miles or so to somewhere else in Kent (Muttley has just slapped me and said its called Charing and that I'm an ignorant Essex Oik!) where we were again escorted by the Police to what can only be described as a Tour de France type reception of about 50 people who insisted we ate even more cake, and pasta and sandwiches and fruit! It materialised that Gav and I were about the only people who weren't related to anyone (it was hosted by Dan's sister and her husband).
Whilst there we had the honour to meet an inspirational guy, Tony, and his wife, Betty. Tony was diagnosed recently with a brain tumour, but both his and Betty's strength and courage was truly inspirational. By the time we had eaten all their food, drunk their tea and chatted, none of us really wanted to get back on the bikes, but seeing as there wasn't room in the van for us all with our bikes, we saddled up again and rode on, and on (you probably get the message!).
And so to Hythe and Folkstone.
Now those of you that enjoy Miss Marple books might just have twigged that we sailed across to France from Dover.
You'd be correct.
You might also know that Dover is well known for its big white cliffs.
It is.
Unfortunately, they separate it from Hythe and Folkstone!
Lovely!
Just what you need when you've done loads of miles (and eaten loads of cake) is a bloody big steep hill to climb. But, short of carrying out an A-Team style construction project and building a big pedalo, over the cliffs we had to go!
After a bit of sweating and cursing we enjoyed the gentle descent through Little Bosnia and arrived at the port having missed our ferry by about an hour. But not to worry, when you look The Only Gay In The Village, they soon find a space on the next one for you!
So anyway, here we are now, in our hotel in Calais about to get a nice sleep before the next leg of this epic adventure. When I say "about to get some sleep", we will do once our new French friends stop tooting their bloody horns! It was only Togo you beat Francois!
Good night dear readers. Speak to you again soon.
Paul
P.S Thank you so much to everyone that was there today. You made it a truly wonderful day today! At the moment, my smile muscles hurt more than my arse!
After nearly a year in the planning and many miles of training, we've now completed day one! All of us!