LA SHORT WAY DOWN & RIGHT A BIT (London to Paris)

So, day two. 

Exited the ferry fine (day one). Had the individual time trail from the Tour De France on the TV while on the ferry which was good. Another win for Froomey ;-)

The first 5 miles was ok, good tail wind, decent speed, then the pain began. The bag I'm carrying on my back weighs about 15-20 lbs which is pushing my crotch onto my saddle like a vice. I had a sore there to begin with, and this didn't make matters better. I stopped and found a relatively secluded spot to apply some more chamois creme to my nether regions! It helped a little but 3.5 hours of rubbing against the saddle took its toll, so, like a loser, I'm getting the train to the next town, Amien. 

Depending on what my sore situation is like, I hope to finish the last leg of the trip on bike again, but will try stick as close to the train route as possible so I have something to fall back on should the problem become unbearable again. 

Putting the pain to one side a sec, I remembered some of the route, turns, corners and villages from my previous trips in northern France. Some new tarmac found itself in front of me too, but it was nice to see some familiarity. The terrain in northern France is like telly tubby land, rolling hills of green that go on and on and on. They say northern France is flat, but they're only comparing that to the Alps. In the 50-ish miles I cycled yesterday I climbed a total of just over 3,000 ft. 15 minutes of slowly climbing, followed by 60 seconds of descending. Then 15 minutes of climbing, followed by another 60 seconds of going back down again. Zzzzz

The views are incredible though. You can see for miles and miles. Every now and then a small glimpse of the sea on the west coast disappearing behind the tree line that adorns the horizon to your right. The roads are superb too. Far better than the roads back home. The drivers have a lot more respect for you too and will wait patiently, give you more room on the road and give you a polite toot to let you know they're approaching. The only negative review is for the more historic towns you pass through that still have the original cobble stones that were first laid there hundreds of years ago. It's like when you were a small child and slid down the stairs in just your underpants and bump, bump, bump, bump you hit the bottom on the stair. Not the best medicine for a sore #**#, but unavoidable. 

The hotel I stayed at, and currently sitting within its court yard typing this, is called Hotel De France. Having arrived last night the owners were already there and expecting me. I can't remember their names, but he was originally from Cape Town, and his wife, Britain (I'm guessing that one). C Town put a beer in my hand immediately and showed me the way to the restaurant, stroke, tv room which due to the fact the restaurant was closed Wednesdays, he had the Tour De France highlights on ITV4. And for the next 40 minutes or so, talked nothing but cycling. Bloody heaven. What were the chances of finding a hotel like this from the many others I could have picked? The hotel is more like a giant stables. No stables per say, but the rooms that guests sleep surround a square cobbled court yard in the middle of which is inundated with colourful flowers, hanging baskets and trellises. It really is rather nice.

So, looking at the time now I had better get my shoes strapped up, my nuts strapped up and on my way really as I need to catch the train to Amiens. Hopefully I will arrive in time to catch the second half of today's stage from the Tour De France as it is probably going to be the toughest day of the tour so far with a double helping of Alp D'Huez. If you don't know what that is, Google it.

Au revoir! 

LA SHORT WAY DOWN & RIGHT A BIT (London to Paris)

I am currently sat on a South East Trains service to Dover Priory and for some reason the train has stopped and the driver doesn't know why. Good start!

Well actually, the "good start" happened as soon as I got up this morning. Half way to the station I shouted "wait!" Grumbling ensued and I ushered the car to the side of the road. I couldn't remember packing my Garmin bicycle sat nav thing, so we stopped and checked. It was there! This, as well as getting out of bed late this morning meant that I made it to the train station and crossed the foot bridge just as the train was coming in. Had I needed to get the next train to London, I would have had only 30 minutes to get from Dover station, checked onto the ferry and safely onboard, which would have been impossible.

Also, when you intend to travel by bike on public transport, don't pick 8:30 as your departure time. I was fine, relatively speaking, but I was the least popular person on the train from Wokingham to Reading, and then Reading to London Paddington.

So here I am on a now "moving" South East Train service to Dover from London st. Pancras.

So why am I going to Dover and getting a ferry you ask? Well, as a passionate cyclist I was well aware of the fact that this year will be the 100th edition of the famous and biggest cycling spectacle in the world, La Tour De France. I had originally planned to go on my own, cycle down and stay the weekend, then head back. But as it happened, my parents told me that my uncle was due a visit to us from Hong Kong with my two cousins, Blue and Marcus around the same time and was planning a stop off in Paris on the way. Ding dong! Brain wave. I'll meet them there.

Right, going to cut a long story short. They booked direct flights to London, no mid trip stop off to Paris, I was going on my own. 

But was I? After a few house of pitching the idea, of showing night shot photos of Paris and talking my folks through the many different places they'd see whilst there, I convinced them to come. And with my uncle and 2 cousins.

The four of them don't leave until Friday as they are driving and can get from A to B in half a day. I however have only two wheels, two legs and no engine. So I need a little more time to get there. I stay tonight in montreuil-sur-mer, near Etaples on the eastern coast about 40 miles south of Calais. I know this area fairly well having cycled south from Calais several times and the fact we stayed in a small nearby village called Sempy over Christmas week last year, so I felt this would make the best starting point for the main trip. Tomorrow I will be cycling around 70 miles to a bigger town, or maybe it's a city, called Amiens. Roughly in the middle between Calais and Paris. Then, after that, Friday will see me cycle 75 miles into the heart of Paris where I will be heading to our luxury 4* hotel, about 500 mtrs from Place de la Concorde and Rue de Rivoli, which lead onto the Champs De Élysées. These locations mentioned to the left are synonymous with the rich and famous due to its vast concentration of fashion and designer shops. It is said that the Champs De Élysées is one of the most expensive streets to own a property on per square metre in the world. Either way, I'll stick to Zara and Marks and Spencer's, but its nice.

Right, better go. I'll let you know if I see anything interesting on the way. Will be on my own until Friday so I'm using this blog as my companion.

Matt!