The race is on ...

It seems the race is one to write the blog tonight ... George, having arrived at the hotel hours before the rest of us has been enjoying a bottle Calvados to himself and is now determined to write this quicker than me.  However, being the sober one here, I reckon I can type quicker and probably make more sense so I'm going to attempt to beat him to it.  

I'll upload photos later for speed purposes! :) 

So today was Day 12 and it was supposed to be a relaxing 52 miles ... or at least that was what we were told when we signed up to this challenge.  Equally we were told it was only a 13 day challenge but it turns out that not one of us can count and its actually 14 days ... and today was over 60 miles ... AGAIN!!! 

That said, a few of us did choose a different route to the one apparently mapped out or us, so George (who left the team once more to head off to the hotel for a Calvados or four) and Nigel who had disappeared early from lunch to take a few more photos actually cycled around the 59-60 mile mark ... more than originally planned but still shorter than the rest of us.  We all managed another 65 mile day ... and the last part was mostly uphill!  JOY! 

So to set the scene the day started very smoothly.  The van still hadn't been fixed but it was only time until we got the phone call saying it was ready. In the meantime, Shaun followed the gang in his people carrier and Paul continued his role as Pathfinder at the front of the group.  We left the hotel at 8.30am, made our way as a group out through the town and back into the rolling Southern French countryside.   The terrain was fairly flat, road surfaces ranging from ok to horrid.   We actually managed to stay as a group for quite a while.

Teamwork paying off

Then from nowhere, George and Matt unleashed their top speed and took off.  I (Lisa) was up until that point leading the group.  Seeing the boys steal my thunder I decided it simply wasn't happening and from somewhere found the strength to keep up with the boys ... well at least until the first stop at 22 miles.  I am apparently now a member of the Elite Speed Racing Peloton Team!  

The next 22 miles were stunning ... passing rivers bluer than the sky and tree lined roads for miles and miles.  Simply stunning! 

Lunch beckoned and we found a shaded spot for a quick bite to eat, in the knowledge that we only had 14 miles left to do (or so we thought).  By the way, its worth noting that today has been by far the hottest day, hitting somewhere in the region of 30 degrees at times. 

And so, with George and Nigel off on their merry travels early on, the rest of the team - Ally, Renata, Keiron, Matt, Antonio and myself set off for a quick 14 miler home.  2 miles in and we all start questioning whether we're on the right route.  No signs to guide us ... something wasn't right.  Next thing we know Shaun the Shepherd is pulling us over.  We've missed a turn off by around 2km.  We now have a team decision to make ... turn back and go the mapped route, or keep going and cycle a route that is roughly the same distance from the hotel (apparently) but on unknown terrain.  After much 'faffing' the onward decision was reached.  And so on we ploughed.  

Just as we turn off the main road into the National Park and a spot of sightseeing, Matt has a blow out.  Don't think I've ever heard such loud bang.  Anyway, with Keiron and Shaun there to help with the fix-up, the rest of us plough on.  Suddenly we hit a hill ... up and up we go ... and up a bit further ... and then a bit more.  Will this hill ever stop.  Thankfully the incline wasn't too bad and after about 45 minutes we hit the top and start to descend.  Whoops and cheers can be heard from all around.  But that ended very soon when we suddenly saw the MASSIVE climb ahead of us.  19km to the hotel ... Are you kidding??? And all uphill by the looks of it.  

And so the climb began again.  This time winding back and forth so as the person in front of you turned a corner you could see them ahead of you, cycling back the way you came ... completely soul destroying.  Just as we thought it was ending we were greeted with yet another hill!  Honestly - today was supposed to be an easy day!

Never ever ending.....

Finally the downhill descent arrived.  Whilst the others revelled in this moment, I unfortunately suffer from quite a severe phobia of heights and this was a little more than I could handle, experiencing my first ever panic attack (albeit a mild one).  Thankfully Keiron is a complete superstar and managed to coax me back onto my bike and we took the descent slowly, him going ahead at every turn to assure me that it was safe.  So, a big fat public THANK YOU to the amazing Mister Blay who I'm not sure I would have got through this trip without! 

Anyway, we're now all back at the hotel safe and sound.  Sadly the afternoon jaunt took a little longer than planned and Shaun is now unable to make it back in time to pick up the van ... looks like that's a job for tomorrow! 

I'm now sitting in the hotel bar with a progressively drunken group of cyclists ... anyone would think  we had something to celebrate!!  Well with two days to go, what's the harm in celebrating early?  :)