The challenge! Day 4 (04/09/10): Compeigne - PARIS!

There was an option of a bit of a lie in today, but I wasn't prepared to take the risk that the big hill would slow me down too much. Timings were slightly off today because we had a target of our meet point in Paris of 2.30pm so that we could all do the last couple of miles through Paris together in convoy. I certainly didn't want to be late for that!


I set off with the first group from my hotel and headed out of Compeigne. We had a few main roads to take on, and I was half way up the mile long hill before I realised what it was!! It felt a bit like a tour de france hill (to me anyway!) because it was long and bendy, so just as you rounded another bend, you saw a bit more of the hill and it seemed to go on for ever! We knew we'd made the top when we saw a smiley orange arrow face on a tree!


We'd only done about 11-12 miles and there we were at the first water stop. I wasn't really hungry having only had breakfast a couple of hours earlier, but managed to get a Tracker bar down, thinking that dinner was going to be a long way off! It was a great spot for photos!

I rode with Sue, who I had not cycled with before and we had a lovely chat on the way. The section before lunch was really pretty, with lots of lovely little villages, through some woods and some cobbled roads which shook everything around so much, I wondered how much of my bike was left afterwards!!


The hills were there, but either they were less steep, or I was getting better at them, because they didn't feel nearly half as challenging as those hills in Kent or on the Calais-Arras stretch! I was really chuffed to do this in one go (with a bit of momentum from the downhill first):

We had an early lunch stop (not long after our water stop), and there was quite a bit of hanging around as they didn't want us hitting Paris too early. However, it was a good opportunity to get my back brake pads replaced and a new back tyre put on. The DA team were brilliant and just took care of everything. 

I set out after lunch with a few people, but again, the group soon broke up into smaller groups. I cycled by myself a bit, but still had others in my sight, so it didn't feel lonely at all. We headed towards the city, and I got very excited when I saw signs for Charles de Gaulle airport!


The route into Paris got quite interesting, through some of the less salubrious suburbs and then into the city proper. I had been with a group, but there were so many traffic lights, I soon got separated and ended up doing the last city stretch by myself. It was really challenging, looking out for orange arrows, avoiding buses and cars, trying to remember the French rules of the road and avoiding the people (it was a busy Saturday afternoon!).


There was one last little hill in the city (just to make sure we'd done our share of hills), but at the top, I found it increasingly difficult to see the orange arrows and no-one was catching me up at traffic lights any more. I was convinced I'd gone wrong and was lost! I started memorising landmarks on the way so that I could try to describe where I was when I phoned in. I was just muttering to myself about a big park on my left hand side when the penny dropped and I heard a loud cheer and clapping.....hang on a minute, weren't we meeting in a park, and is that my name I can hear??!!! Yep, I had made it to the right park and the DA crew and the Oakley team were standing outside the gates cheering (I had shared a room with two of the Oakley girls during the trip).


COMPLETE AND UTTER ELATION!!!

Although this wasn't the final end point, it was such a good feeling to reunite with the rest of the group and know that there was only a couple of miles to do. The Helen & Douglas House gang reunited and posed for pics in our orange t-shirts!

We treated ourselves to ice creams and then regrouped for the convey ride to the Eiffel Tower.


We had a briefing from Marco (accompanied by lots of cheering and some heckling!) and then grouped together in the street. This was by far the highlight of the entire ride as all 132 of us travelled through the city flanked by our support vehicles, with lights flashing, horns beeping and lots of cheering and chanting from us. 


I'm not sure what the shoppers on the very expensive streets in Paris thought of us, but we certainly were a sight cycling up the Champs Elysees! We headed for the Arc de Triomphe and managed to stop the traffic! Then off to the Eiffel Tower......what a feeling! We had done it!! There was champagne and lots of smiles!

Then we headed off to our hotel for the evening, the lovely Pullman Rive Gauche (which coincidentally was the hotel I used to stay in when I worked for J&J). We deposited our bikes with the DA crew who were going to drive them home the following morning, and went for much needed showers! The evidence captured for posterity!

A hard earned beer before dinner (can you spot the orange arrow?)

Then off for our celebratory meal!

Complete with a speech from Marco, who was determined to make us all cry! He mentioned all the charities which were being supported which was a really nice touch, there was a birthday to celebrate and plenty of thank you's to everyone involved.

It was a FABULOUS trip, which we rounded off with a boat trip in Paris the next day, and a glass of champagne on the Champs Elysees

Then it was off to the Gare du Nord for the Eurostar home. It was quite sad that it had come to an end, but I met some great people, had a great time, faced my hill fears and cycled 300 miles!!! 


It was a brilliant experience and I would totally recommend it - just trying to decide on the next biking challenge now!


Miles done: 89.67
Cumulative miles: 300.98 - WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

The challenge! Day 3 (03/09/10): Arras - Compeigne

Breakfast was a pretty chaotic affair because all of us were in the same hotel, but at least the early mornings were getting a bit more routine. We gathered outside nice and early again, and got ready for the off (we had to wait until the first support vehicle was on the road before we could leave).

It was quite chilly again, and this was going to be an interesting day as we were heading for the Somme Valley, sight of the WW1 battlefields. Again, a nice little run out of town into the countryside and I made sure that I started with the leading pack to get a head start on those darned hills!


However, about 5miles in, I began to really worry, because my legs felt really really tired and I seriously thought that today was the day that I would hit my limit. I had not done many back to back training rides and I thought this was where it was going to catch me out.


The first 10 miles felt like a real effort and I didn't particularly enjoy them, but on reflection, I think it must have been that my legs were a bit tired and not warmed up enough. Once I passed the 10 mile mark, I seemed to settle into a rhythm so felt a bit better about the rest of the day ahead. It's quite scary feeling shattered after 5miles, knowing that there's another 75miles ahead!!!


I kept going at my own pace (setting off with a quick group might have had an impact too) and by the first water stop, my confidence had come back and was feeling much better. 


We had a little more time today because the route was a little flatter, so there was time to stop and look at the WW1 cemeteries and take some photos. With the misty chilly air, it was very atmostpheric, a nice way to pay our respects.

It was a much more forgiving morning hills-wise. There were still hills, but they weren't as steep or as long as the previous days. Once thing we had started to notice was that the stop signs (which you HAVE to stop at in France) always seemed to be at the bottom of the hills, so you'd build up lots of momentum on the downhill for the uphill the other side, only to have to come to a complete stop before the uphill started! Very frustrating!!


We were rewarded with some beautiful sights in the Somme Valley though, so the hills and stop signs faded into insignificance.

I was really starting to get into my stride, and on the leg before lunch, was cycling with a couple of guys I hadn't cycled with before. This was one of the great things about the trip, you could go at your own pace and you would end up meeting lots of different people on each day.

Just before lunch, we hit a milestone - the 200mile mark! That meant that the countdown was officially on - only 100 miles to go!

Lunch was a lovely spot (as ever) and for a change, wasn't at the top of a hill!

Having refuelled on pasta and potato salads, I set off with Ruth and Fiona for the afternoon ride, but didn't hear them stop for a loo stop, so ended up with my own company up to the afternoon break stop. It was actually quite nice to take it completely at my own pace and absorb the sights around me. I soon caught up with the rest of the gang at afternoon break, which was by a really pretty little lake in the countryside - not sure why I was so confused by it!

Refuelled by French jelly babies (courtesy of the DA team who made a special trip to the shops for us!), I set off for the last leg. I was worried that if I stood still for too long, my legs would seize up, so I left the others at the stop and set off by myself.


They soon caught up with me though after a sneaky little right turn in one of the little towns turned out to be the bottom of another long hill! The run into Compeigne was quite nice though, and we headed towards our last hotel stop before Paris!


Still feeling remarkably OK at the end of the day, but my hands were getting really blistered and felt quite numb. I was very excited at the prospect of our last day, but not looking forward to the mile long hill we'd been promised!


Miles done: 78.45
Cumulative miles: 241.31

The challenge! Day 2 (02/09/10): Calais to Arras

I was feeling quietly confident having had a good first day, despite the mega hills in the afternoon and didn't have any aches or pains (apart from tingly hands), so was feeling positive when we set off from Calais.


We headed out of the town, and I was up with the lead group for the first part of the morning which was really cool! It was quite chilly and a bit misty, but lovely to be in France. We had to get used to cycling on the right and remembering to stop at the stop signs, but it was really lovely once we got into the countryside.

HOWEVER......as rumoured, Northern France is NOT FLAT! I'll repeat that just for the record: NORTHERN FRANCE IS NOT FLAT!!! I was just getting into a rhythm and cycling with different people and then the hills up to the forest appeared....hmmmm. I was really feeling it on the hills which was a little disappointing, but did the best I could (some walking) and made the first waterstop feeling like I really deserved a break!

I had a snack and a couple of anti-inflammatories (preventative at this stage in the game), and then headed off through the woods before my muscles got too cold.

I got away in front of the people I had been riding with (Ruth, Fiona, Alex, Jade), because I had realised that they were quicker than me on the hills, so I wanted to get a bit of a head start. I managed to stay in front of them right up to lunch time which was very cool!

We all set off together after lunch, but not long after lunch, there was yet another hill, so the others got in front of me. However, they stopped for bathroom breaks, so I took my chance to get some ground and carried on. I had realised that I was quicker on the downhills and flat than most of the people I was cycling with, so we ended up keeping a similar pace overall which was good. 


I was pretty pleased overall with my efforts, mostly cycling up the hills (slowly), but the odd walk, which I'm not ashamed to admit! It was tough going!!


We had an interesting point in the afternoon when we realised we were lost. Apparently a lovely local child had turned one of our orange arrows, so we all ended up at a t-junction with no arrows! It wasn't a problem though, one of us called the mobile number on our tags and we identified where we were and how to get back on track. The DA support vehicle even came back to check that we were OK and back on the right route. We were pretty sure we had the right route when we saw this:

Our afternoon water stop sadly didn't have any "facilities", so Fiona, Ruth and me headed to a local cafe for a cold drink, coffee and a real loo (as opposed to a bush!). We set off for the run into Arras and I really found my stride, so just decided to go for it! There was a very interesting road crossing (4 lanes of very fast traffic!) and then into the town itself, which was also a bit hairy as there was quite a lot of traffic and the orange arrows were pretty hard to see. I tagged along with one of our group and we stuck together and made it to the hotel safe and sound.


We found our hotel and I was chuffed to have made it to the hotel at a very reasonable hour. I should say at this point that I had completely expected to end up in the support vehicle at some point, unable to make it to the end of the day, so each hotel arrival was very rewarding!


We had a nice meal and it was good to have the whole group under one roof, though it did make dinner service quite slow and some people headed off to bed before pud arrived!


Verdict at the end of day 2: legs are a bit tired (but not too bad considering!), a bit saddle sore (Sudocrem is my new best friend!) and hands are tingly, but otherwise feeling in pretty good shape. Nice to be at the half way point.


Miles done: 79.95
Cumulative miles: 162.86

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

The challenge! T minus 1: The night before!

OK, so I'm a bit late getting this updated, but better late than never (or so they say). I managed to scribble a few thoughts down at the end of each day, so these updates will consist of those and what other bits and pieces I can remember!


'Twas the night before......
I had a busy morning in the office, so I was feeling pretty wound up and stressy by the time my friend Geoff arrived to give me and my bike a lift to the bus stop. I was getting increasingly nervous about what lay ahead, so tried to use the bus journey from Oxfordshire to London Victoria to calm myself down.


I arrived at Victoria and then after figuring out how to balance my rucksack, day pack and bike, I headed to Victoria train station and got on the train to Blackheath.


I got checked in at the Clarendon Hotel and then spent most of the afternoon chilling out my room (still trying to pull myself together!!). That evening, I had a little wander around Blackheath and had a carbo loaded pasta dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Then I went back to the hotel feeling very full and very sleepy (good news, as we had a 5am wake up call!).


I spent some time studying the map which had been provided, but there were no contours marked, so I couldn't get wound up about the hills ahead which was probably a good thing!


Got a surprisingly good night's sleep and woke up in plenty of time for brekkie the next morning - phew!

A few pics from yesterday

Despite being shattered, I managed to get a couple of pics along the way!


1st stop on the way to Islip (a welcome shady tree)

The lovely Stanton St Martin (this was the 60mile stop)

And the scores on the doors! Yay!

Europe....

...or was it Bon Jovi? (for a good friend of mine, you know who you are if you're reading this!)


The FINAL COUNTDOWN! ARRGGHHH!!!


Managed an 80mile epic yesterday and can't believe that I can actually still walk today (maybe it'll hit tomorrow). It was a real eye opener - further distance I've ever done, highest top speed (34mph) and longest day on a bike. Whilst I am delighted to have done it, it's made me even more apprehensive about L2) because there's 4 consecutive days of that to come! EEK!


My route was home to Oxford city centre, taking the A4074 which I had thought was going to be like taking my life in my hands, but at 10am on a Sunday morning, it wasn't too bad, and not half as bad as some of the other sections of my ride. Made it to the top of St Giles and then turned out through Summertown, then Marston and out to Islip and properly into the sticks!


Then a sequence of really pretty little villages before I hit Banbury. I was scarily pleased to see a Tesco petrol station because my liquid reserves were running a little low. Then I negotiated Banbury (didn't quite get lost, but it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped, as one little, but critical, section was just off the map!). 


Got out of Banbury and once more into the countryside. I stopped for my 60mile break in Sandford St Martin which is a really beautiful little village. Then I started to see name places I recognised, and having had a difficult 50-60 miles, once I got past the 60miles, somehow I got a second wind, and a smile came across my face as I knew I really was on the home stretch.


I found the Banbury Road, and grinned all the way from Wootton, through Kidlington and back into Summertown. I made a decision to get to the Magdalen Bridge and see how I felt. That was 73 miles, but I really wanted 80. However the light was fading fast and I managed to leave my front light at home. Given that I had the main road to negotiate back home and was feeling pretty tired, I decided to make a call home. I arranged to meet up at Sainsburys on Heyford Hill as that worked time-wise and distance (or so I thought!).


So 20 mins later, my other half arrives at the car park at Sainsburys, to find me peddling round like a nutter because my cycle computer only read 78 miles! I went round and round and round until it clicked 80 and then stopped with a huge grin on my face! Delighted!!! Then I remembered that the button part on the wheel (which transmits to the computer) had twisted round at one point on the ride, so I'd lost some mileage readings, probably about 2 miles in hindsight), so I had already covered 80, I just didn't have the computer readout to prove it to myself! Doh!


Anyway, biggest ride done, chilled training rides between now and next week (ha ha!) and a week tomorrow, I'll be packing my bags!