Stage 4 Vernon to Chateaudun
86 miles
The sun was shining as we arose and the temperature sat at a
steady 15 degrees. We all readied ourselves in the car park and set off at
10am. We rode back towards Vernon before turning South to make our way towards Chateaudun.
A steady 400ft climb out of Vernon ensured we were all warm enough for the day
ahead. After 10 miles we cycled into Pacy-sur-Eure and stumbled across a very
professional looking bike shop called ‘Cycles
Cauchois’. Not missing an opportunity to get a bit of bike shopping in, Foz
stepped off his steed and entered. This was a great opportunity to replace the
chain that snapped on day 1 outside Great Ormond Street in his record attempt
for the quickest breakdown on tour. After Matt established that the French for
chain was chaine, our hosts duly provided a replacement for Foz. We also learnt
that Sandy Casar, the French cyclist who rides for the FDJ professional racing
team, lives nearby. Our sincere thanks go to the team that helped us out at
‘Cycles Cauchois’ – un grand merci!
The pace steadied but the temperature gradually rose, it
reached 25 degrees within the first hour. At the 15 mile mark.......Sssssssssss.........Pete
(renamed Pierre) picked up his first puncture. However, he took it in his
stride and before we knew it we were on our way again.
We pressed on, heading for Dreux which would be our first
stop of the day, but we stumbled upon Chateau D’Anet. What a place! With Pierre
needing the loo, he tried to use the one at the chateau; despite knocking
several times, he got no joy!
We decided to avoid the Dreux bypass to get to our first stop, it looked a busy road and Steve phoned through to confirm it. A decision was made to navigate through the centre of Dreux. Yes it was busy, but with the aid of our Garmin sat navs, it made it easy – thanks Garmin! We found stop 1 at the 34 mile mark and after gorging on stacks of sandwiches provided by Steve (what a star he is) we headed off once again.
A fast pace was set as we had fallen behind time, and very
quickly we put another 10 miles on the clock, despite the road being quite
busy. After a stop for the loo we decided to ease off a bit, going too fast in
the middle of the day in the heat was not to be recommended. We meandered
through Chateauneauf-en-Thymerais (these French towns are beautiful) and hit
the D23.
What lay ahead was not expected, but has to be one of the best bike
rides we have ever done. The road carried virtually no cars, was surrounded by
gently rolling fields and woodlands, the road surface was smooth and the wind
was on our backs. The sun kept the temperature steady at 25 degrees and we
effortlessly cycled along, mile after mile, with great beaming smiles on all
our faces. It was just MAGNIFIQUE! We even stumbled across the sacred turf of a
road ridden by Wiggo:
We stopped again in the beautiful village of
Illiers-Combray, Steve having found another idyllic spot. We must say a huge thanks
to Steve, as he is providing us with the most brilliant support, help, advice,
food, route guidance, and even freshly brewed tea on arrival!! What a star.
Having refuelled again, we had less than 20 miles to go. The sun was still
shining and the temperature remained a steady 25 degrees, but with the pace we
were setting, the miles were eaten up quickly. Thank you route D23, what a
brilliant road to cycle. With 5 miles to go, we turned onto a busier road
heading into Chateaudun.
Foz got the bit between his teeth and before we knew it, we were clattering along at 25mph. The ‘Powertrain’ was in motion, we all took turns at the front and before we knew it a huge Chateau loomed on the horizon. We had done it, Day 4 in the bag. But there is always a surprise round the corner. Foz spotted three WW2 American army vehicles parked up on the other side of the road, just as we were rolling towards the hotel. These guys were headed up to Normandy to commemorate the 69th anniversary of D-day. Good luck on your trip up North guys, we will continue South!
Foz got the bit between his teeth and before we knew it, we were clattering along at 25mph. The ‘Powertrain’ was in motion, we all took turns at the front and before we knew it a huge Chateau loomed on the horizon. We had done it, Day 4 in the bag. But there is always a surprise round the corner. Foz spotted three WW2 American army vehicles parked up on the other side of the road, just as we were rolling towards the hotel. These guys were headed up to Normandy to commemorate the 69th anniversary of D-day. Good luck on your trip up North guys, we will continue South!
The day was done, all safe and sound, another 86 miles
completed with an average speed of 15.5mph. Time in the saddle was 5.5 hours.
Total distance covered since the start is 337 miles, over 20% of our epic
adventure completed. Thank you to all our friends, family, followers and
sponsors for all your help and support. Onwards we go!
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