Today was the only day on the event that had a time limit as we had to be at Dieppe for the ferry to Newhaven for 4pm.
Waking up after spending a night in our 'prison cell' Etape Hotel room the signs weren't good as we were woken up by torrential rain bouncing of the porch roof. After a very brief breakfast we were ready to go at 0730.
About a mile into the ride Tom declared that he hadn't put his bag in the van but had left it outside the hotel so a quick call to Team Cavendish got his back picked up.
The riders were soon in the groove but got a bit spooked by a dual carriage way so asked us to re-route them around it. Rick then had the first puncture of the day and a quick wheel change and we were off again only for another puncture a few minutes later when Jon had a front flat.
Eventually we were back on route and soon passed another team and the guys were making really good progress then Jon had puncture number three. In one town we came round the corner to see Tony dusting himself down after failing to bunny hop a curb - no injuries happily.
After a lunch stop for the finest egg and ham salad butty France had to offer we were off again making excellent progress mildly amused by the trouble Tom was having with his hayfever and the state of his eyes.
We arrived in Dieppe with plenty of time to spare to back the vans, the riders to get changed and for me to get assaulted by a temporary ex-pat.
The ferry trip was a little rocky but uneventful and we were joined by a load of riders on their cycle challenge - Paris to London so we told them we wouldn't get out of bed for that.
Once in Newhaven it was a few beers and bed for the best nights kip so far.
Ride Stats:
Punctures: 3
Crashes: 1
Trust Rick to have a puncture! I told him to take my Supa-Dupa repair kit along. ;)
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your blogs and tracking, I just feel a bit arthritic after reading them. Keep up the good work. Please tell Rick you got a good spread in the Leigh Journal.
Paris to London? (Pooh!)
Ricks Dad