Day 4 - The Finish Line

Another early start, and perhaps the most ridiculous of the lot, as we had a 5am coach from one Premier Inn in Ashford to the other for a 5.30am breakfast. Maybe the early start had got to the coach driver, or he thought he was still in France as attempted to go round the first roundabout of the day the wrong way.

No harm done, 1/2 hour for breakfast & it was back on the bus for the first muster point of the day at Halfords and a 7am start for the 100km roll back to London. Kent Lanes, a few hills, of which Vigo was the lung busting worst, and then a great 15km charge from eight of our group down from the North Downs all the way to lunch at Dartford Skoda. We regrouped there, but the London traffic is never conducive to formation riding, so we arrived at the last muster point, the Woolwich ferry somewhat in dribs & drabs. Not a problem, as we were to cross as one, rolling, or should I say bumping given the state of London's roads, through the last 10km to Westfield Stratford, and a enthusiastic welcome from a crowd that was about 400 strong, including my wife with a few bottles of bubbly, my parents with some Welsh cakes, and my in-laws. Thanks one & all.

A job well done, a hugely enjoyable week, great people, new friends, a few beers, lots of champagne, early mornings, food to be forgotten, great fun, and £1.8m raised for charity so far.

Would I do it all again - YES!

Day 3 - Roubaix - cobbles & velodrome

With a train to catch later that day, it was another 7am start in St Quentin. Problem was nobody had told Freddie, who ambled up a good few minutes late & then had to do a little spiel for the media. As ever the first dozen or so km were at a slow pace, but we soon wound it up & got the group peloton working very well, continually pushing the average speed up.

The rest stop was taken around 65km, aided by a couple of bottles of bubbles to celebrate Malcolm's birthday. This appeared to inspire the group as once we were back on the road, we really started to rattle along on quality flat roads & finally achieve speeds we were more than capable of delivering, this time without the call to ease off. Talk turned to a race to the finish at the velodrome in Roubaix, but I didn't expect Steve & Andy to make a break 10km from home. Given that I was at the back of the group at the time, paired up with the team leader David, I was unable to go with them. Probably for the best, as the stretch of cobbles we rode over was bone jarring to say the least & probably something you would not want to take chances on.

A few km later, we arrived at Roubaix's famous velodrome and were lucky enough to be able to have a couple of laps (keep your speed up), use the iconic showers & have a drink in the bar. A cracking experience.

After that, it was a bus to Lille, where Terry, Andy & I headed off for some steak, frites & vin rouge (proper food to eradicate the horror of the lasagne the night before), before a short hop to Ashford, and an evening at Pizza Express, ahead of a few hours sleep and the final push to London.

Day 2 - another 156km in the bag

Better weather and more signs of life as we rolled across France.

Following a superb evening at Maison Bollinger on Tues, we dropped in again yesterday, but alas no more fizz. Probably for the best!

Ride was 156km & today it's due north to Roubaix, a couple of laps of the velodrome and then off to Ashford. 125km awaits.

Day 1 done - 167km

An early start this morning - breakfast at 5.30am, bikes ready from 6am & the off at 7am. Actually it's going to be like that every day, but not every day will be 167km.

I was in a group led by none other than Mr Freddie Flintoff, together with tweet buddies and training partners El Tel, Andy, Paul, Simon, Jolyon & a whole host others, and the boss, aka core rider David Butler. The first hour was slightly downhill & we made good progress, something we kept up until the first snack stop, 66km in. The rain had kept away, and the wind wasn't bad, so we were hopeful that the forecast was wrong. A quick stop, a little work from the physio on the left knee, and soon we were back on the road, only for Terry's puncture curse to strike again. Well, he's getting good at changing them, and we were soon back in our stride in the 50km middle section. Terry set his stall out very clearly in that section; he wants the polka dot jersey, as every time he saw a hill he was off.

A quick stop at 112km, and a final section of 55km. Easy it was not, as the wind had whipped up (yes, it was a headwind), the rain had started to come down, and the pace had started to drop. Freddie broke a spoke, and as his wheel buckled, the support car was summoned for a replacement (very TdF), but after 7.25 in the saddle & 167km, we arrived in Chalons-en-Champagne.

A quick bit of work from the physios (thanks guys), a little rest, and then it is off to Les Caves Bollinger for a little bit of sampling. Should be fun.

We roll out at 7am

An early start today & an equally early one tomorrow as we depart Nancy at 7am, which means a 5.30am breakfast. Ouch!! Briefing is done, route map (pictured) handed out & bike all ready. Currently without a tracking device as some have not been returned from the previous stage, but maybe it will arrive in the morning. Well, it's fingers crossed that the headwind does not materialise, and roll on champagne!

Training over, next stop Nancy

The forecasts were wrong & I woke to bright sunshine this morning. Just as well, as I was intent on squeezing in one last cycle before handing my bike in on Wednesday. I was cycling with a friend who had just purchased his first road bike & who would be cycling in cleats for the first time. My brief was a short (approx two hours), and a reasonably flattish ride. Keen to see what Vigo Hill, seemingly the steepest part of stage 5, was like, I devised a 30 mile round trip from Eynsford in Kent that would take in the aforementioned about half way round.

Map My Ride suggested that the climbing would be c320m in total & I figured that would be largely the two hills on the route, with Vigo Hill accounting for the lion's share. I, well Map My Ride, was wrong, as the route turned out to be anything but flat (635m of climbing), much to my friend's dismay. Vigo Hill was a 1:6 gradient, and clearly will be a tough ask 30 miles shy of the finish on the Slam, but at least there is an isotonic refreshment stop stop at the summit, which I am sure will do a roaring trade!

So that's it, the training is done. Bike goes on Wednesday & we follow on on Monday. Can't wait!

Brighton in the cold & wet

When the bike being dropped off on Wednesday for transportation to Nancy, this weekend gave me the last opportunity to get some more miles and my belt. I was tipped off by Shaun Randell, a fellow stage 5 rider about his cycle club's annual Brighton ride. The club is the Big Foot CC based in Hayes, and after a short email to the organiser, I was in.

Another early start, as the briefing was at 8am in Hayes, some 11 miles from home. Heading out a little before 7am on a cold and damp morning, I was in Hayes 45 minutes later. On arrival I introduced myself to somebody with a clipboard and asked what speed his group would be riding at. He told me that the plan of action was to take about seven hours to get to Brighton. Oh dear! Fortunately somebody interrupted and suggested that I went to the other side of the street, where the normal club rides would follow the Brighton route. Shaun and his friend Jon, another stage 5 rider popped over to say hi, but they had opted for the slower ride.

A very impressive turnout of about 90 riders, who were divided into groups based on speed. Big Foot have seven different speed groups, the fastest of which today was what they term level 2/3. Having looked at their website, I felt that I was probably a level 3/4 rider, but as the other option was a level 4/5 ride, I pitched for the level 2/3 group. Our group was a little short of 20 strong, and we heading out and up onto the North Downs. Normal club rules had been abandoned for the day given the cold and wet weather, and when one of the group punctured at Woldingham, the group split. I was in two minds whether to stop, but decided I would carry on. However, the riders in front of me had now disappeared, so I had to chase them down, something that was going to be a little taste of things to come. I caught them up, and soon we were at the first refreshment stop about 20 miles in.

Coffee, cake and a few jelly babies later we were back on the bikes, and heading south. I was in the middle of the pack when we reached the top of Turners Hill, but unfortunately the lead rider decided to go straight on, the usual route to Brighton, but not the route we were taking today. The necessity to turn around saw me drop off the back once again, and this time it was a much longer game of catch up, something only achieved when I got to the next refreshment stop. Freezing cold it may have been, but there was some good entertainment in the form of the passing London to Brighton vintage commercial vehicle rally.

A quick stop, and with 19 miles to go, we soon set off on the final leg. One guy punctured, and I got dropped towards the bottom of the Devils Dyke climb, only to have the guy that punctured pass me just short of the summit. I could see the bunch on the horizon, but I only caught them up about a mile or so from the finish line. It did, however, mean that we all arrived at the same time, the first of the club's groups to do so. A quick coffee on the seafront, and then I and one other took the train back to London, leaving nine hardy souls to commence the return trip.

A big thank you to the guys at Big Foot for allowing me to join them, and in total 65 miles and over 1200m of climbing. If the weather is not too inclement tomorrow, a final 30 miles in the saddle, and then that's the training done. It's almost France here I come!