Days 5 and 6

During the organising of this ride, we had done a great deal of research and as part of that we had spoken to many groups who had previously attempted to cycle the 1,000 miles that represents this challenge. Pretty much everyone - both the few groups that had made it to Monte Carlo and the many groups that had not - had said that Days 5 and 6 had been, for them, the first “big hurdle.” The experience of previous groups suggested that, barring injury, most people who were fit enough and had trained enough should be able to get to Day 4 – but Days 5 and 6 seemed to account for a good 30%+ of people dropping out.

And so, as I’m sure you can appreciate we set off on the 68 miles that represented our Day 5 challenge with more than a little apprehension. Not least because, in addition to other people’s experiences, the weather forecast was again pretty grim. But, as if to give us a welcome and to be honest much needed boost on this crucial day, no sooner that we had left the hotel – the sun broke through the persistent dark clouds that had blighted much of the first 4 days. Not only did it “break through” but it slowly but surely burnt off the clouds to leave us with our first glorious blue sky “20 degree” day. What a relief! No rain, little wind and warm sunshine.

The mood of the team lifted almost in concert with the warmth of the orange ball in the sky and the merriment seen all too fleetingly in previous days returned. Laughter returned as boys revelled in the yellow fields............

The less said the better frankly.....

George, Keiron and Matt re-started their “who can roll down the hill the longest without peddling” game, Matt Nigel and Keiron played the “cycling blind with other people directing you” game and Lisa began to show everyone what an incredible hill climber she is on a bike. Having rested his knee for two days, Tony re-joined the team today and cycled all day.

Day 5 was also marked by two big events. Firstly, we passed through 500 kilometres of cycling which represents a third of the way there. This was marked by a traditional group photo as you can see below with the group lying across the "busy" French road we were cycling on!

500 km up and still going......

But perhaps Day 5 will be best remembered by the group as the day our little Irish girl reminded us what this challenge is all about and why, both individually and as a group we aim to beat the 1.5% success rate of cycling the 1,000 miles. 

Up until Day 4, Ally had not found the cycling particularly easy. She has not been feeling great and her bike is broken (in a manner that cannot be fixed en route) meaning that she is unable to select her uphill gears properly. Bespoke Tours estimate that the effort required is double that were the bike to be working properly. During the night Ally also contracted some kind of food poisoning and was sick. This illness carried through to the day and she had to stop several times by the side of the road in the morning. Despite frequent requests by Bespoke Tours to rest in the van, this lady of iron steadfastly refused to give in and cycled every single mile on day 5 with a broken bike and a stomach upset. Fortunately in the afternoon of Day 5 not only did Ally begin to feel better but swapping to the spare bike unearthed a cyclist unrecognisable from previous days. Wonderful news! (Note to Ally: bin the bike).   

Of course a day would not be complete in our group without something happening – and so, following on from Antonio and Renata getting lost on Day 4, on Day 5 Tony, Renata and Matt duly obliged cycling approximately 10 miles in the wrong direction and needing rescuing. They still did the 62 miles though!   

We all arrived at the beautiful Logis Auberge du Lac, Mesnil at around 4.30pm tired but another day under the belt. Whilst the hotel was wonderful, the only problem was that it did not have a bike rack so Keiron, being the nice man that he is obliged. 

Discussions regarding Day 6 over dinner Day 5 evening were all very uncertain. We had two conflicting weather forecasts for Day 6 (one showing sunshine and one showing violent thunderstorms). We also had two conflicting route data, one showing flat terrain and one showing lots of hills and over 4,000 of ascent over the 68 miles to Avillon. As it turned out we were blessed with another warm dry day though the route was very hilly and we did indeed climb over 4,000 feet today.

Now in all previous days someone had got lost. But today we were determined and so we all practised our directions before we left. And it worked as no one got lost today!

If in doubt follow the arrow....

Today, everyone (except for Tony because of his knee) easily voted the day as the best yet. It was a superb day. A fantastic day. As a group we were all strong and we finished the 68 miles in record time despite climbing higher than we had done before – and by quite some way. The injuries we are all carrying (everyone has a stiff or sprained or swollen muscle or joint) seemed to warm up well in the balmy sunshine and everyone coped well with the long hills and the long fast descents.   Ally’s cycling on the new bike continued to be a revelation and Lisa continued to overtake most people going uphill! Antonio has disovered Superman speed and sped off in the morning like a fast train not a cyclist!

The scenery was simply beautiful.

Old wine press

Typical cycle-by view

Nigel took over 300 photos in just one day and all in all it was just awesome. By the end of Day 6 the group has now cycled 424 miles and we will reach the half way point tomorrow.

Of course a day with this group would not be complete without a daily mishap of some sort and Day 6 was no exception. 3 miles from the hotel there is a very long, fast downhill section of about a mile where everyone reaches speeds of 30 miles an hour or more. It was at a speed of 32mph, sweeping round a sharp bend into oncoming traffic that Nigel’s rear tyre exploded and the bike went into sharp uncontrollable movements – applying the brakes made matters worse and to say that it was scary would be a massive understatement. Whilst all is well and no harm was done – Nigel went a new colour of white and gave the group a nice surprise as he was unable to speak properly for two minutes straight afterwards!

The team arrived at the hotel in Avillon at 3.30pm and are resting up for Day 7 which starts with an ascent that continues straight upwards – for 20 miles! The weather forecast is for more heavy rain tomorrow: we shall see.

Ciao.