Day 5: Bar-sur-Aube to Beaune (85km sur velo!)

Dear Followers and Friends,

Firstly I must apologise for the absence of an evening blog yesterday - but I'm pleased to report that I'm now back at the keyboard in Domaine Chanson's offices in Beaune, not wearing any lycra and having just an hour ago waved a very fond farewell to my fellow riders (and my bike) as they began the long drive back up to Calais with Bill at the wheel and Rebecca in the co-pilot seat after a fantastic last evening as guests of Gilles and Marie de Courcel at their home in Ecutigny. So, let me tell you how our final day of Le Tour unfolded, we actually managed three separate rides: -

Stage 1: Bar-sur-Aube to Laferté-sur-Aube (25km): after a lovely dinner and a great night's sleep le peloton was keen to hit the road. Tim was so keen he pumped his tyre up until it exploded. Having rectified this issue we headed south out of town, the pace intensified and before we knew it we were at our meeting point with the van. We then had to load the bikes onto the trailer and hop a couple of junctions down the motorway to................

Stage 2: Gevrey-Chambertin to Beaune (35km): after a quick baguette break we unloaded the bikes and were just about to roll down the Cote d'Or when Alan noticed that one of his spokes had worked loose.... it was then that "Monty's Major Mechanical Moment" occured, regretably Alan was left unsupervised in the company of a spoke spanner and when he had finished "tightening" one loose spoke had turned into one terminally deformed wheel. For a few moments it looked as if Alan's tour was over and the doors of the broom wagon opened to receive him. However, Jon had the foresight to bring a spare wheel that fitted Alan's bike and once more we were on our way, but now running an hour behind a tight schedule. All thoughts of meandering through grand cru vineyards were disgarded as GC leader Chris M hit the front and led us down into Beaune at a average speed of 35km (we even went up a hill at 30km!). All of which meant that we arrived at Chanson almost on time and Gilles de Courcel showed us around the cellars before giving us a very well-received and most welcome tasting of a selection of Domaine Chanson's finest wines........... which was of course the perfect preparation for the final challenge of the week!

Stage 3: Beaune to Ecutigny (25km) UPHILL: we left Beaune at 5.30pm and began to ascend a climb of the sort we just don't get in the U.K.... we went up and up......... and up. With Hannah Wiggins setting a testing yet perfect pace staying on the front for the entire 12km climb. The view at the summit was stunning and all seemed well until we discovered that Jon had decided to take an alternative (and even more challenging) route, involving a "shortcut" over the top of a small mountain, through villages and farms that had not seen an Englishman for 300 years. Having consulted with some astonished locals he eventually emerged from the high forest and re-joined us at Gilles & Marie's amazing home, where we ended the week with a delightful dinner accompanied, of course, by some fine Chanson wines, it was a perfect occasion. Thank you Gilles & Marie, thank you fellow riders, you have been the perfect companions and thank you for putting up with me, we've made a good team I think. Thank you Bill & Rebecca for all your support in the van, thank you sponsors and donors. We're hoping to close in on the £10k target for the Benevolent. Next year the Rhone Valley?

Andrew

Day 4: Ay to Bar-sur-Aube (130km)

Dear Blog Followers, thank you for checking in on our progress. I can confirm that we are indeed now in the deep south of Champagne region at Bar-sur-Aube, quite an exotic location for those of us who rarely venture south of the Montagne de Reims - which we left this morning after a fantastic dinner at Bollinger (very many thanks to our hosts, Jerome, Stephen & Hervé, who last night breached protocol to treat us to possibly the first ever pasta dish served in Madame Lily's dining room, it was exactly what we needed). This morning began at 10.00am (special late start dispensation granted following yesterday's exertions and rather a bad night for myself, probably caused by a PSP 22 overdose yesterday afternoon). We had a glorious morning heading south down the Cote des Blancs passing through all the Grand Cru Chardonnay villages at a steady brisk pace before crossing the N4 and heading down to Salon at which point Hannah hit the front of the bunch for a major stint that left us strung out behind , breathing heavily and with Alan's heart rate monitor bleeping alarmingly. I was also enjoying the largely flat stage with sweeping downhills stretches allowing some top speed testing (63.3km/ph today), these conditions also tempting Patrick to periodically surge off the front despite his sore knees. After a superb lunch at Arcis-sur-Aube we had a testing 30km dead straight run down the D441, followed by a pleasant stretch around the Lac d'Orient and then the big wind-up down into Bar-sur-Aube for the expected bunch sprint finish (modesty forbids any further comment - but I would like to take this opportunity to thank my lead-out man Jon). Well done everyone and a particular well done to Alan whose chain did not fall off, (not even once), today. Average speed for the ride now 25.1 km/ph (thank you North-East wind). Tomorrow we leave Champagne and head down to Burgundy - the Cote d'Or awaits! a

Day 3: Peronne to Ay (167km) that's 100+ miles

Dear Readers, I am slumped over my keyboard in Ay but we have all made it down from Peronne after an exhausting but rewarding day on the bikes. Following a rather restless night in the worst hotel in France (avoid the Best Western in Peronne everyone) we set off just after 9.00am and made fantastic time as we headed south in tight formation averaging over 30km p/h for the first 3 hours. A key strategic decision was taken to eschew the scenic route planned in favour of a 20km blest down the juggernaut laden D1, but with Jon on the front, the wind in his hair and a baguette down his vest we shot down to the foot of the first major climb of the day - here Chris M showed his form and crested the summit well ahead of the following pack (Alan's chain fell off). Our speed meant that we lunched in the Aisne valley leaving "only" the climb up to Fismes and then the final 45km to Ay. Suitably refreshed we made Fismes in good shape with 122km covered. The final 45km on the annoyingly undulating road to which extra "gravilons" had been added were certainly a struggle at times (well they were for me), Chris C demonstrated the remarkable restorative powers of "gels" and Chris M sprinted up the final climb to the top of the Montagne de Reims (Alan's chain fell off) to claim maximum King of the Mountain points. We then rolled down the hill to Dizy and here we are. Looking forward to a glass of Bollinger tonight! Tomorrow's stage down to Bar-sur-Aube promises to be somewhat flatter. a

Day 2: St Omer to Peronne (130km)

Greetings from Peronne, scene of Tim's famous helmet cracking, shin bleeding and seat-post breaking crash last year... well we managed to enter the town safely today but it's been a long and interesting day... initially we wondered where everyone was and then we found them all! At a market in Therouanne (Bank Hols), the roads into town were closed but we decided to blag our way in through the barriers thinking we'd walk through a small market and quickly be on our way, thus avoiding a major detour - WRONG. One hour later we were still squeezing our way through crowds of thousands of French persons, tous le monde etais la, quite amazing. That left us well behind schedule but with a welcome tail-wind and warm sun above we then flew back the road towards a nice lunch courtesy of Rebecca and then it was onward to Peronne... the final leg was a bit of a struggle at times, Tim went off the road having hit sand, Monty sustained a slow puncture whilst the embolism on my new rear tyre grew larger and large, nearing bursting point. A major repair session then followed on arrival as these issues were addressed and Chris C received a chain repair thanks to Jon. Everyone has ridden really well today, good peloton discipline and team work... now we're all worried about tomorrow, it's the big one all the way down to Ay!a

Prolgue Report : Calais to St Omer (50km)

Greetings from St Omer at the end of our opening "prologue stage" - a quick 50kms in under 2 hours down from Calais passed without too much incident under a warm sun and with a brisk easterly wind, (Monty's chain fell off, Jon got a puncture on a very Belgian section of "pave"). There was, however, more excitement earlier in the day, when one of the party was found to be passport-less (no names in case the authorities are tuning in!). So we're off for a pizza now, and let's see what tomorrow's long ride down to Peronne brings....... early signs today of form from Chris C and Chris M, with Tim also showing prominently at the head of the peloton. But there is a very long way to go. Over and out for now. A

Welcome to our Blog - 2 days to go!

It's late on Friday evening in the Mentzendorff office and I've realised that there's no turning back now. Rebecca Morrison has masterminded all the logistics behind the trip and Bill Page will once again be behind the steering wheel of our support van which the 8 riders will be following as we begin our long trek south from Calais to the very centre of France on Sunday evening...... Beaune currently seems a very long way away............... the riders have all been training in isolation and so we have very little idea of relative fitness levels and "form"........... although we suspect that Chris Matthews (Team BBR) may now be up to professional standard (he's been very quiet) and Hannah Wiggins was looking frighteningly fit at the London Wine Fair! All will shortly be revealed on the roads of Northern France but we will need to work together as a team if we are to attain our goals. Standby for further updates................... Andrew