Because we are disorganised, we are combining Day 2 and Day 3 for your enjoyment. In fact, you will hear mostly about Day 2 because all we can say about Day 3 is that is RAINED! Wait, we do have some photos of the beautiful lunch we received. And, Alan “accidentally” thought the bidet was a urinal! In addition Alan has joined another tour, unbeknownst to us, and has since missed all group lunches!
Day Two
As the sun crept above the hills, roosters welcomed us with their morning calls, albeit in French. Prisms of light shown from every dew drop heralding a glorious day ahead. With day one behind us we were determined to press on, further into the French country side.
After a breakfast fit for elite athletes (pastries and Nutella) we set off in search of Strava glory. The course promised a hilly start with most of the arduous climbs to be completed before lunch. As such most started at a steady pace; Alan appears to have signed out for a different ride as here was off quickly setting various land speed records on the way to completing the course in record time.
The rest of the group worked well as we traverse country side that is truly wasted on the French. Before we knew it, lunch was upon us in a sleepy little lake where omelettes only come in ham, cheese or mushroom but not any combination of the three.
The afternoon was looking good; a reasonably flat 65kms and a group with high sprints. All was well until a deluge stuck and rivers of water started flowing across the roads. The rain was so harsh some of the group reported seeing salmon swimming upstream in the middle of the road, but in true Jack Pack style the group pressed on. By now Alan was at the finish location, was shower and working his way through numerous pints of beer.
Finally the rain passed and we were left to spend the final 30 kilometres ride in wet kit and longing for a hot shower. Once we arrived at the chateau we all rush into our respective rooms for that much desired shower and bathroom break; the result being that the 14 century plumbing was unable to cope and promptly started bubbling forth in the court yard. It was decided that it might be best to eat out, and we headed around the corner to a local restaurant organised by Peak Tours. A fine end to a tough day’s cycling.
Honourable mentions to Jim who stayed upright today and captured some good cycling footage, Greg for keeping us entertained with many stories and Jill who showed that even if you can ride fast you don’t necessarily need to.
Day Three
Day three started completely opposite to day two. It was overcast and the smell of sewage hang heavily in the air. After the briefing we set off. Alan was spotted for the first couple of hundred metres before disappearing for the rest of the day. While the course was kind to us, the weather certainly wasn’t. Rain come upon us early and was to be a feature of the whole day.
Beyond our group another 14 brave souls pressed on and we had a friendly English chap join our group. It turns out he is a pilot too, and found easy conversation with Biggles. There was that much ‘plane’ talk it was labelled ‘Biggling’ and there was plenty of it.
As the morning pressed on the rain grew more intense. The salmon had been replaced by either large sharks and the occasional whale, and we all search for the lunch stop with waterlogged clothes and blue lips. The plan was for a picnic lunch; however the risk of drowning was too high so a suitable cafe was found. Unfortunately the decision on the cafe was made about a hour after Alan had passed through the town, so he had to contend with a soggy baguette while he pressed on to make more Strava history. For the rest of us a warm three course meal was served while being sheltered from the inclement weather that raged outside.
Finally we left the warmth of the cafe and worked our way through the water laden roads as only the hard elite athletes that we had become would. We finally found respite from the rain with about 10 kilometres to go and we used that time wisely to up the speed and finish before the next downpour. Once the ride was completely some of us cleaned bikes and some went to the local Laundromat to wash all the kit. Alan had been back for over two hours at this point and had drank two pubs dry and was working on the third.
Richard washed Bec’s bike in the hope that she would let him win a sprint tomorrow, so we will find out tomorrow if it was time spent wisely or in vain. RAA Andy provided mechanical support to all bikes, down to individually washing and lubricating each link of every chain.
The day was finished with Italian food, Belgian beer and French desserts. Jim is currently undertaking a Creme Brulee project and will undoubtedly be releasing a coffee table book with him finding.
No honourable mentions today; everyone ride well despite the weather and look forward to tomorrow, albeit with muscles bit sorer than they were at the start of the tour.