1 September 2010
Blackheath Common to Calais
84 miles
I was so nervous and excited at the same time it meant I only managed a few hours sleep and I was a little upset with the 5:30am wakeup call. Feeling sick I reluctantly went for breakfast (which wasn't up to much anyway) dropping my luggage outside en route. That's when it all hit me, I am actually cycling to Paris in an hours time!
We got introduced to our team by Marco the leader. There was a couple of support vans, one at back and the other drifting about. There was a water stop team, a catering team and a couple of doctors. For some reason I had it in my head they were all cycling with us but looking back that just wouldn't have worked at all.
So at about 7/7:30am we were all told to get on our way and that was that. About 130 of us all set off from Blackheath to our first water stop about 20 miles away. Getting out of London in the morning rush hour was slow but I woke up quite quickly with the adrenaline rush. Reaching the first pit stop was a relief. There was plenty of snack bars, fruit juice, water, raisins and jelly babies to keep you going for another 30 odd miles to lunch.Hills, hills, beautiful countryside and more hills endured. Wherever possible the route was deep into the Kent countryside avoiding traffic and making the cycle much more enjoyable. Very soon we reached our lunch stop arriving to a chorus of cheers. We ate at a very picturesque little village church, though I have no pictures of it sorry! Lunch was great, a variety of pasta, breads, cheese, salads, beans and lentils with yummy cake for dessert. After a very lazy lunch in the sun and water refills we were soon on our way again, Dover bound!
The last stretch to Dover is a bit of a blur to be honest. I remember being ecstatic when I noticed the first road sign pointing to Dover. There were a few more scarily steep hills, worse than expected but I persevered and insisted on not getting off at any point, quite a few did though!
It felt like'd I'd only just got on the bike and suddenly I was in Dover. It was nice cycling through Dover town rather than the usual way I drive to the port. We were very delighted to have made the 4pm deadline but unfortunately we were all then waiting for about 2 and a half hours before we could start boarding. That was a slow and painful process with random pat-down searchers and various security checks. The most exciting part was actually cycling onto the ferry and first and most probably a last.
The ferry crossing went rather quickly but I could feel myself getting tired and the thought of cycling to the hotel on the other side made me want to cry. I had to find my bike first though to be able to do that. Stupid me didn't take note of where I had tied my bike up leaving me to be the last off the ferry, oops! Everyone had their high viz. jackets on and lights and by the moans and groans I could hear as I cycled off the ferry they were looking forward to bed. Thankfully the cycle to the Holiday Inn was short and I was delighted at the huge double be I had all to myself, accompanied by a choice of soft or firm pillows.
After a quick debrief and reading the notice board which read "wake up call at 6:30am" (5:30am UK time, doh!) I was hoping to be snoring as soon as my head hit the pillows (I chose one soft and one firm!) but unfortunately the excitement was just too much, roll on day two!
The last stretch to Dover is a bit of a blur to be honest. I remember being ecstatic when I noticed the first road sign pointing to Dover. There were a few more scarily steep hills, worse than expected but I persevered and insisted on not getting off at any point, quite a few did though!
It felt like'd I'd only just got on the bike and suddenly I was in Dover. It was nice cycling through Dover town rather than the usual way I drive to the port. We were very delighted to have made the 4pm deadline but unfortunately we were all then waiting for about 2 and a half hours before we could start boarding. That was a slow and painful process with random pat-down searchers and various security checks. The most exciting part was actually cycling onto the ferry and first and most probably a last.
The ferry crossing went rather quickly but I could feel myself getting tired and the thought of cycling to the hotel on the other side made me want to cry. I had to find my bike first though to be able to do that. Stupid me didn't take note of where I had tied my bike up leaving me to be the last off the ferry, oops! Everyone had their high viz. jackets on and lights and by the moans and groans I could hear as I cycled off the ferry they were looking forward to bed. Thankfully the cycle to the Holiday Inn was short and I was delighted at the huge double be I had all to myself, accompanied by a choice of soft or firm pillows.
After a quick debrief and reading the notice board which read "wake up call at 6:30am" (5:30am UK time, doh!) I was hoping to be snoring as soon as my head hit the pillows (I chose one soft and one firm!) but unfortunately the excitement was just too much, roll on day two!
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| The meeting point at Dover port |
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| Going through security |
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| Sarah and myself at the White Cliffs |
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| l'Angleterre au revoir, Bonjour France |
ooooo, I'm so excited reading this and it all happened so long ago now. I am so very, very proud of you, reading this brought tears to my eyes. It reads like an exciting endurance test, an action (or horror) movie ... and can't wait to read on. I'm delighted to see that Sarah managed to join in your fun/adventure/pain. Jelly Babies too!
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