Day four 4th June 2013

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 69^th 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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Day three 3rd June 2013

Stage 3 Abbeville to Vernon

86 Miles

The day started well with a continental breakfast and copious cups of coffee. Matt and Peter had suffered with splitting headaches during the night. At first we thought it was dehydration, but both had been taking in enough fluids but we all had been careful to ‘drink plenty’ . We think it was caffeine withdrawal as the pair of them normally drink gallons of tea!

We set off and just around the corner of the hotel was a picturesque town square. A quick photo shoot and we were off again.

Our spirits were high and were boosted even higher by the amazing countryside and lovely smooth roads. Although dry it was a bit overcast and a little bit chilly at the start. At 19 miles we had a quick stop at Senarpont and watched the Swifts flying in and out of their nests that were attached to side of a house, delightful.

The next stop was at 28 miles at Aumale in a car park of what we thought was disused railway station. Steve had been shopping and bought delicious Jambon (ham) and Poullet (chicken) baguettes and had a life saving brew on for a caffeine fix (see above). We also tucked into Johanna’s chocolate cake she had made for the trip and to quote Foz ‘It was the best chocolate cake he has ever had’.

Whilst replenishing our used calories we were amazed to see a futuristic (to UK standards) train pull up at the non- disused shabby station.

Off we set again and the clouds started to thin out and the sun popped out. It was perfect, the roads were smooth and the wind was behind us and the infrequent passing motorists gave us plenty of space, such a refreshing change from home.

At about 43 miles we stopped had another short break at Saint Samson la Poterie a pretty little village centre with a memorial made a perfect backdrop for a picture

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We then pressed on looking forward to our next stop at 58 miles. Once again, perfect conditions and sunshine obviously gave us brain fade. Steve had duly set up at the predetermined lay-by and we duly cycle straight past him. We got about 2 miles up the road and a phone call from a bemused Steve pointed out what we had done. He ditched the freshly boiled water out of the kettle and hot-footed after us. 

We stop at Mainnville by a fast running river and we picnicked on the grass bank by the bubbling water in idyllic surrounds.

We then reluctantly set of for the final leg to Vernon. The road was busy but straight for 7 miles. The usual smooth surface and the wind behind us meant very little effort was required and we soon arrived at the outskirts of our destination. Then we had 3 free miles as it was downhill all the way to the massive traffic jam just before the bridge over Seine. We managed to weave away through and took in the brilliant view.

We pedalled on to the hotel and met up with Steve who had sorted the rooms out and was waiting for us. A quick Fozzing (to Foz: verb; to wash, clean, polish, oil and maintain a cycle) of the bikes and putting them into our cavernous bathrooms for storage. Matt reported hearing Foz say ‘It’s the best bath I’ve ever had, I can soak in the bath, looking at my bike’.

Another great days’ cycling we can’t wait for the next stage.

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Day two 2nd June 2013

Stage 2 – Dunkirk to Abbeville

Bonjour mes amis

The day started in the fashion we were hoping for, with the sun streaming in the hotel windows. The outlook was looking fair. Result. The efforts of the first day had obviously taken their toll as pretty much everyone had slept in. Foz was a tad grumpy as he had had to put up with snoring Matt in the same room. Several thumps with a pillow seemed to have little effect on Matt. His only response was ‘Don’t do that I can’t get to sleep !!’. Hah – he was having heaps of sleep while poor Foz was getting zip. Ear defenders had made absolutely no difference to the decibel topping ‘Vesuvius Matt’. Now we know what poor Sam has had to put up with over the years !!.

Formation Cycling

Pete and Steve – when roused from their deep slumber at 08:00 hours- made some lame excuse about the fact their alarm was just about to go off.

A hearty breakfast was consumed, the van reloaded to make it more user friendly on a daily basis and day 2 was underway. We eventually set off at 10:24. The sun was out so the sunny lotion had its first outing and the trio set off through the quiet streets of Dunkirk. Before long a rural landscape beckoned, with a camouflaged vista of greens, browns and yellows. Neat rows of plough furrows left their signature in some of the fields whilst others were left for pasture or flourishing rape seed. The blades of the large air turbines spun lazily, their faces pointing to the north east.

Matt showing us the steps for the Oki-coki

The first thirty miles were pan flat and everyone was exclaiming how easy the day was. Top tip – read your route profile and memorise as the next fity were a lot more lumpy and undulating. We didn’t surpass the 25% gradient of day one, but were met with plenty of 7 – 12% sections which kept the ride ‘interesting’ The big plus was the fresh sea breeze was mostly on our right shoulder or behind us most of the day. The roads in the main were absolutely fantastic with many as smooth as a bottle of Remy Martin brandy. Pedalling on many sections was effortless and without the blight of potholes made the ride a lot more pleasant for the deriere.

Our first stop was at the Carrefour supermarket in St. Omer. Being a Sunday it was closed but as usual Steve had done us proud and sourced some sandwiches and fruit. The second stop was at the Carrefour in Hesdin. A fantastic descent into the latter was a good way to finish the second section. We learnt through the day that you may get some ‘free miles’ (a good descent) but there is always a payback. For every descent, there is always a cheeky ascent that gets the quads working hard.

Matt has a new hobby – spotting water towers. He is contemplating a masters on the variance of water towers in France. Pete decided that today was a good day to help – as often as possible – to assist the French farmers in watering their many and varied crops.

One word of warning. Anyone attempting this route on a weekday may have to take care. The D300 and the D928 are fast roads in places. Being a Sunday, there weren’t many HGVs about. Things may not have been as pleasant had they been.

We arrived at our destination pretty much to schedule. Ride time 5 hours 42 minutes. 82.7 miles covered. Average speed 14.5 mph. Adjustment made to one rear derailleur. (Despite what you may have read yesterday, the reason the chain broke is because Foz has been putting in some training miles and the anticipation of starting the epic rally obviously caused a power surge that managed to rip the brand new chain apart. Lesson learnt).

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Day One 1st June 2013

Well, the 1600 mile journey to Gibraltar to raise money for Great Ormond Street has begun. We set off from Twickenham early this morning with the van packed expertly by Steve. Johanna (Peter’s wife) followed us to Great Ormond Street with Peter and the third bike as we couldn’t fit them all in the back of the van. We parked close by the hospital and set the bikes up ready for the 84 mile ride to Euro Tunnel in Folkestone. We mounted our trusted steeds, ready to break records and raise more money for a great cause. We set off and Foz broke the first record, the shortest distance travelled on a bike before it broke a chain (1.2cm). It was a brand new SRAM chain (bought off ebay!). 

With a quick pit stop and a new chain (another ebay special) we pedalled to the main entrance to Great Ormond Street and took this picture:

Due to the unforeseen maintenance issue, we set off 45 minutes late through the streets of London cycling past the wonderful sights of this great capital such as Trafalgar Square, The Houses of Parliament etc.

During the journey we had a few ‘Garmin surprises’ with a few detours across parks and other unusual back roads when hit the lovely Kent countryside. The ‘Garmin Surprise’ will become a recurring theme as make our progress to Gibraltar. We then settled into a reasonable pace and stopped at Otford for light refreshments.

 

We again set off through the back lanes and took in the stunning scenery which must rate as the best in the world. By cutting the time spent at our planned stops, we managed to arrive at the Chunnel on time and in good spirits and fairly fresh.Booked into the Euro Tunnel and went to the refreshment facility which was pretty grotty and not value for money.

We arrived in France and went straight to the hotel Le Transat Bleu, booked in and later on went for an Italian meal with Italian wine.

As a foot note, we must thank Graham from M & G motors for the free loan of the van and Bob Gould for arranging it, without it the trip may have not happened.

The Fozball team

Ps Apologies for the late publication of this exciting blog, this was due to technical difficulties......

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What's your top 5 items for a cycling tour

The day is almost here and I'm busy packing !  The sun has decided to shine today, which makes everything look different, but we still need to be mindful of the changeable weather and the difficulties that can bring to road cycling.

The great thing about packing for this trip is that we are being supported by Steve and the van.  It means we have a little flexibility over space, rather than having to carry everything ourselves, however, it is not limitless ! Speaking of the van, we have received a humbling amount of support from the local community and our van has been donated for the whole trip by M&G Motors of Carshalton (020 8647 5478) - many thanks for your support.

Here's my top 5 list that I couldn't do without on this trip

Foz's top 5 list of must have items

1. My bike - I guess this had to be top of the list - my trusty steed, my Cannondale Synapse SL - what else is going to get me there !

2. Assos shorts - if I am travelling 1600 miles on a bike, my experience from 2010 LEJOG is that I need to keep my bum comfy.

3. Assos cream - enough said about this but I will refer you back to 2

4. Riemann sunscreen - my original reason for this was to keep me from roasting - but the weather looks more like I need an umbrella !  I am still hopeful that the weather will change for the better, for the impact on the cycling conditions really - but with sun comes sunburn, especially when some of the altitudes are so high.  Of course we wouldn't notice the heat due to the speed we are going ;-}

5. Lastly, but certainly not least, in fact I think the most important one - Steve, Pete and Matt without whom this would never have got off the ground and who are all diamond geezers !!

What would be your top 5 list of items ?

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