The challenge! Day 1 (01/09/10): Blackheath to Dover

I was really apprehensive about the first day. People had said it was the hardest day because it was hilly and there was a time constraint because we needed to make the ferry terminal in time to check in. Added to which, the rumours about the when the first hill would make an appearance started while we were all getting ready, so it was a little tense!


Our trip leader, Marco, introduced himself and the Discover Adventure team and gave us some reassuring words "everyone always makes the ferry" which made me feel a lot better - we later found out he was lying, but it worked!!


Here's the blissful ignorance shot from Blackheath Common just before we set off:

So, we got going and the group (132 of us) soon spread out, especially once we started heading up Shooters Hill, which turned out to be not far away! I was pleased to survive the first hill without walking (one brief getting my breath back stop). With hindsight, the run out of London and into the countryside was probably one of the worst stretches because although we had set off early, we still hit rush hour traffic and it was the first day the schools went back, so it was pretty frantic.


Once we got into a more rural area, it was a bit easier to get into a rhythm, and we were pretty pleased to see a DA van with one of the team shouting "only a mile to the first break" - Yay! What we subsequently learned was that most breaks/lunch stops were positioned at the top of a big hill, so only a mile to go - straight up!!! (I'll admit to a bit of walking on that one!). We got there, and very happy to see snacks and a water refill:

We carried on and found our lunch stop in a churchyard, I think it was in a place called Charing. I had biked with company on the first leg of the day, but this stretch found me largely cycling along which was OK. It didn't really matter, because you were never far away from someone else. I was pleased to find lunch as I later found out that a few people had got lost when they ended up on their own. I guess we were all still getting used to the orange arrows. A really nice spot and we were blessed with lovely sunny weather, and even got a round of applause as we rode in!

For the afternoon stretch, I set off with Jade and Alex who were also raising money for Helen & Douglas House. We lost Alex once we got back into hill territory, so Jade and I spent most of the afternoon together. We were faced with three REALLY big hills - long, steep....very challenging. We decided to swallow our pride, protect our legs for the next few days to come, and did a bit of walking....and we weren't the only ones!!! 


There was one more water stop and then more hills for the run to Dover. Seeing the sign for Dover was the best sight of the day!!! I made Dover ferry terminal by 4.15pm which I was thrilled with because I'd been aiming for 4.30pm. This was definitely one of the highlights of the ride - day one - DONE!

Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of hanging around before we could get on the ferry. It seems that boarding 132 cyclists and their support team wasn't as straight forward as we thought!

Once we got on board, there was a dash for resturants and toilets and the journey passed surprisingly quickly (distracted by my steak dinner - yum!) and we were soon disembarking in the dark at Calais.


There followed an interesting convey ride to the various hotels we were staying in. It was actually quite an awesome sight seeing everyone in their hi-vis and twinkly bike lights riding through the dark.


The Holiday Inn Calais was FAB! Very fancy room with two massive beds, so I took a shower and then waited for my roommate, Charlie. It turned out that Charlie was the photographer for the Oakley team, a lovely chap (not the girl the DA team thought!), so ended up having his own room!


Had a good night's sleep and up bright and early for a 7am start the next morning.


Miles done: 82.91
Cumulative miles: 82.91