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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
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:
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
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!
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!
...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!
Actually, that should be OMG! Where did the time go, and how did I manage to let my blog slip for more than 2 months!!!
It's been a challenging couple of months in more ways than one, and I won't clog up the blog with the gory details, but somewhere in the there was a Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, bike training, more work than I care to think about (that still seems to be there) and lots more besides!
My training took a bit of a dip because finances meant that I really needed to dig in and get through some work, at least to the point where I could actually bill some clients and pay some bills! That seems to be much more under control now though, but AARRRRGGGHHHH........L2P is only 2 weeks away now - where did the time go??!!!
I've met lovely Ruth who's also doing the challenge and we met up for a hilly 68miler which was a great day which threw up lots of its own challenges (we're very good at changing inner tubes and repairing them now!). I've also got chatting to a couple of other L2P-ers on the Discover Adventure forums and hopefully meeting up with another one this coming weekend for a training ride.
Had a disappointing day with the tail end of a head cold getting the better of me after 23miles and for the first time ever, had to call on my OH to come and get me because I felt so light headed and had got through all 2.5l of my isotonic drink by then (that was less than a third of the intended ride).
Just been out for a quick spin round the block on an old training route which I've not done for a while. Delighted to have increased my average speed on that route to almost 15mph and got over the "undulations" with a lot less fuss than before (probably thanks in part to the new block I've had fitted).
Fundraising has gone over the £1,000 mark which I am thrilled with, but would love to hit the target of £1,450 before we leave. Getting really excited about d-day now, but still very nervous about the hills and covering the distances on back to back days! EEK!
Anyway, that's enough of an update for now, I'm running late for a game of badminton with my Spice buddies, so signing off, but I promise to update more in the run up to 1st Sept!
Tara for now!
:-)
Dark Side (of the Moon)!
I crossed to the dark side over the weekend and competed in the Rat Race in Bristol. They are GREAT fun and I can totally recommend them. It's a kind of race with a difference. We did a 2.5hr race around the city on foot on Sat evening trying to find various checkpoints and complete challenges along the way, incl drinking beer (!), rolling our teammate up and down a hill in a sumo suit, singing karaoke etc.
Then yesterday (Sunday) we took to our Mountain Bike (hence the dark side reference!) for a 65km ride from Bristol City Centre to Chepstow and back, taking in yet more challenges, incl a couple of abseils (one down a car park, one down the side of a quarry!), kayaking, mud packs on the beach, running up a slippery slope, getting round a BMX track (twice!), and acting at Chepstow Castle.
It was brilliant fun (despite me not being a jogger) and biking practice will be very helpful I'm sure, even if it was a mountain bike. There were plenty of hills to take in too!
Here's a link if you fancy checking it out - there's more Rat Racing in Edinburgh and London later in the year: Rat Race website
Back to the road bike this week though, but maybe not today!
