July 2007
68 posts
We made the local news →
Day 7. All done and home in one piece
we cycled another 30 miles yesterday from the hotels to the ferry and then from Portsmouth onto Hayling. The ferry crossing was good - lots of champagne thanks to Brittany Ferries and several awards were given out too.
It was good to see support from the police on the British side as they held traffic at junctions so that us 200 or so cyclists could make our way through Portsmouth and Cosham. ...
£1m Celebration Party time
Well, we’re mostly done with cycling now - just a few miles to the ferry and then round to Hayling, so it’s time for our party in Caen Castle.
Everyone is dressed up, some more than others, I’ve seen some dinner suits and ball gowns! I’m sticking with a trusty Fat Face shirt ;)
The party is in the castle with help from some sponsors, Brittany Ferries and the Tourism...
Day 6 - the last one
51 miles today from Le Harve to Caen. We are making our way along the Normandy coast and will be stopping in Honfleur for morning coffee as usual! We finish on Pegasus Bridge a few miles outside of Caen. No doubt there will be a few celebratory beers before our Bastille party in Caen Castle.
Day 5 lunchtime
this is more like it - hot hot hot, finally. We’ve seen much more of the great scenery, villages and rolling hills.
There were a few ‘Tour de France’ moments earlier with fast downhills and sweeping hairpin bends. I don’t think we’ll be joining the peleton just yet!
Lunch, and the wine, are superb once again. Just 18 miles to Le Harve to go so we’re making...
Day 5; Rouen to Le Harve - 71 miles
Hurrah! the weather looks to have cleared and the forecast is looking better for today. There’s a big climb out of Rouen this morning (no pain, no gain we’re told) before our scheduled breakfast stop. Breakfast in the hotel isn’t up to much ;)
Rouen - 86 miles
we’ve done another day of great cycling with spectacular scenery, great villages and lovely hills
wet wet wet
It rained big style from Muids. Many wet riders and lots of late arrivals tonight but everybody seems to have made. The Support crew have done a grand job again today.
Muids was a good late afternoon stop with plenty of beer and cider to be had, some groups seemed to be...
Day 4 lunchtime update
49 miles and fair weather. The views of the Seine have been great today as we’ve cycled alongside the river and over many hills. We’ve passed Monet’s Garden (Soph & Stu have stopped off) but I’m with a group that pushed on to lunch. Lunch isn’t up to the usual standard of many courses and non-stop wine, but that’s not a bad thing today.
There’s...
Day 4 - the big one
it’s the longest day of the ride today, in the region of 90 miles. We will use a lot of cycle track to get away from Versailles this morning and will soon cross the Seine at Meulan with a mid-morning coffee stop at Oinville.
Lunch is at 50 miles; a long first morning for the 3 day riders who’ve joined up with us all now. We then push on to Rouen via Muids, one of the ride’s...
Day 3 lunchtime update
well we’ve made it to another lunchtime stop, which is another 4 courses with wine!! it’s a good job the 45 miles were hard and hilly this morning.
we’ve just 15 miles into Versailles now where I’m sure we’ll have some celebratory beers in the palace park for getting to our mid-point.
The weather has been fine this morning and looks to remain that way all day. ...
Day 2 - we've made it to Chartres; 76 miles
hello all. What a glorious afternoon of cycling we’ve just had! Lunch was another wonderful full-on buffet for €12.50 including wine. That was an hours rest that was well deserved. This afternoon has been one of the best days cycling that many of us have had on a Hayling ride before - fast, lots of downhill, a couple of climbs, sunshine and nice quiet roads.
We’ve been dodging the...
