Plans change and my trip to the Alps has been cancelled due to the impending arrival of a baby, which is sooner than we thought for various reasons. Thus the Raid Alpine, which was meant to be my last major fitness effort, is no longer. So I knocked out a DIY 300 which took me west into Devon over hilly ground to Honiton, then followed the Valley of the Roacks route up to Lynmouth. This is a beautiful ride and the route cannot be bettered so I had no compulsion copying it.
At Lynmouth I turned right up a staggeringly steep hill which then took me all the way to Bridgwater along the A39. Not a fun road, won't ride it again. Especially as it had started raining and was getting chilly.
A quick nip up to Weston super Mare to get the distance up was followed by a flattish run home to finish at 12.15am in the cold and wet.
320km in total but nowhere to control at the finish so this one will go unvalidated.
Subsequently went down with a cold following the miserable weather on this ride.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Monday, 20 June 2011
Keep the legs turning
Now that qualification is complete the last week has been spent constantly checking the Audax UK website to see if my brevet numbers have come up yet. These are needed to complete the PBP registration so that the Audax Club Parisien can verify that I have actually done the qualifiers.
These have finally come through and so my place is bought and paid for. The panic that has kept me occupied since about September, that all places would be sold out and I wouldn't get a place, never had any basis in fact. As it happens there are about 70 places left to GB participants and the process has been open to the general public for over a week.
With two months to go I must keep my motivation up and not think that just because I've qualified the job is done. More work needs to be done to avoid the process of 'reversibility', otherwise known as getting fat and unfit.
Yesterday I did a DIY 200km from home, which although it was pretty flat, had some long gentle climbs to keep the pressure on. It was my fastest ride ever over this distance. Next weekend there is a 200km from Winchester, and coming up at the end of July is the Raid Alpine from Lake Geneva to the Med; this has always been my planned final intensive phase before PBP after which I will taper and concentrate on shorter distances of up to 50km but ride them as fast as possible.
These have finally come through and so my place is bought and paid for. The panic that has kept me occupied since about September, that all places would be sold out and I wouldn't get a place, never had any basis in fact. As it happens there are about 70 places left to GB participants and the process has been open to the general public for over a week.
With two months to go I must keep my motivation up and not think that just because I've qualified the job is done. More work needs to be done to avoid the process of 'reversibility', otherwise known as getting fat and unfit.
Yesterday I did a DIY 200km from home, which although it was pretty flat, had some long gentle climbs to keep the pressure on. It was my fastest ride ever over this distance. Next weekend there is a 200km from Winchester, and coming up at the end of July is the Raid Alpine from Lake Geneva to the Med; this has always been my planned final intensive phase before PBP after which I will taper and concentrate on shorter distances of up to 50km but ride them as fast as possible.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Super Randonneur. It's official. And PBP qualification complete.
A first 600 for me and quite an experience.
Decided not to stay the night before so 3.30am start. In the scheme of things I didn't think an hour would make much difference.
Started the ride with Tim from London and Gary from Winchester. Although the pace was OK for the first 100km it was just 1 or 2 km per hour faster than I was used to. So I could keep up, but felt the effects later. Lesson No. 1 learned. Round about the 100km mark I had a crap period as I made the mistake of thinking I had to do the same thing 5 more times.
Followed the usual Denmead route to Bishops Waltham, south of Winchester and into the Test valley to the first control Wilton; quick service and beans on toast. What more can you ask for? Then a pretty meander up to Bradford on Avon through some nice countryside, where there were a few riders coming back towards us and we wondered if we'd got it wrong, but they were on the Avalon Sunrise 400. All had that 'been up all night' look which we were working on.
BoA to Cirencester was not particulaly enjoyable. At Castle Coombe circuit there was a 'Bike Safety Day' with motorcyclists ripping it up around the circuit, then tearing round the roads afterwards. There was a bit of other traffic trying to see how close it could get to the end of my bars, and overtaking on corners when there's someting coming the other way just as a giant pothole approaches.
Lumpy around the info at Wootton under Edge and then a straightfoward run-in to Cirencester, except for my only punct*re of the qualifying campaign. Glad to get to sit down in McDonalds. Getting colder now at about 8pm so layered up and fixed lighting in preparation rather than stop again - lesson learnt from earlier audaxes.
Hilly work to Sutton Scotney; first bit flat then 'Lambourn, valley of the racehorse'. The village sign doesn't say it is unique in being a valley on top of a monster hill. In the distance was spectacular lightning and the top of the Membury transmitter to guide us. It felt the only hill in the area missing on the routesheet was Inkpen.
By now I'd had enough. The hills, the organiser and everyone was being gratuitously cursed for my state of tiredness and I was wondering how I was going to keep going for another 18 hours: it's hard not to think of the overall distance but I was more knackered at this point than the end of my 400. Gary was a star and shepherded me to Sutton Scotney for just before 3am, where I was attacked by 1. a rude garage assistant who was too busy talking to his mates on the phone to refill the coffee machine and 2. a huge flying beastie, clearly attracted to my hi viz.
Limped back to Denmead for just before 6am. Black thoughts all the way and could easily have packed but kept going because
(a) I've told the whole world I'm doing PBP
(b) a rational thought somewhere at the back of my mind reminded me I would always regret it if I packed
(c) I recalled AndyH's forum comment on the K&SW when he felt the same and his wife told him to man up and get on with it; he lived to tell the tale and complete and I should do the same
(d) might feel better after some sleep
(e) there had been a bit of effort made to get this far over the last year so another 12 hours of pain wouldn't make much difference
Funnily enough the only genuine excuse I might have had, that I came off the bike last week and was pretty sore having trashed hip, elbow and helmet, didn't even enter my mind.
Got an hour's sleep in the car and felt a whole load better. Had my toothbrush which made me feel reinvigorated - definately on the packing list for PBP. Looking back should have slept earlier, when it was dark and I needed it (lesson 2 learned). Next time I'll take a leaf out of Drew Buck's book, who we had passed having a catnap on the verge, and of whom I felt strangely jealous.
It was a classic audaxing scene - bike lain on the ground and rider horizontal beside it, arms crossed for warmth. I'd read about and seen pictures of people kipping anywhere and everywhere, but never seen it myself and this made the whole long distance thing seem real. I'd always smiled before thinking 'look how knackered they are, just sleeping anywhere'. Now I knew exactly how it felt and I could have fallen asleep on the central reservation of the M25 at that point.
The second loop was down to Lymington which was OK and I managed to keep up 20kph average which I was happy with as I was right on the time limit when I left Denmead. Careful not to thrash myself with 220km to go and gradually got some time back in hand.
Lots of cyclists out in the New Forest along with quite a few tw*ts driving too fast in souped up sports cars, black BMWs or camper vans with blacked out windows. Great views of the sailing boats on the solent on stretch from Bucklers Hard to Lymington, where it started to rain; in fact it was now properly pissing down, all the way to Ower control with another nice hill thrown in at Fordingbridge.
McDonalds chips at Ower services have become something of an audaxing tradition in this house and so it continued, fuelling me nicely for the last leg. As always the last 10km seem interminable but finally got in at 8.30pm for a rendevous with the cashpoint control. Had a chat with the legendary Drew Buck, who has done 5 PBPs including one dressed as an onion johnny (complete with onions) on a 1920s bike, and will be interested to see what he rides this year. He explained that on these bikes he cannot draft becuase the brakes are not responsive enough compared to modern ones. Triple chapeau then to do PBP without ever sitting on someone else's wheel.
The drive home was interesting and all sorts of funny shapes jumped out of the shadows and familiar roadside objects transformed themselves into something completely different. The wonders of sleep deprivation. Who needs drugs for a mind-altering experience? All you need to do is sit on a bike for 40 hours.
So that's my Super Randonneur series completed (a 200, 300, 400 and 600 in one year) and more importantly qualification for Paris Brest Paris in August.
Decided not to stay the night before so 3.30am start. In the scheme of things I didn't think an hour would make much difference.
Started the ride with Tim from London and Gary from Winchester. Although the pace was OK for the first 100km it was just 1 or 2 km per hour faster than I was used to. So I could keep up, but felt the effects later. Lesson No. 1 learned. Round about the 100km mark I had a crap period as I made the mistake of thinking I had to do the same thing 5 more times.
Followed the usual Denmead route to Bishops Waltham, south of Winchester and into the Test valley to the first control Wilton; quick service and beans on toast. What more can you ask for? Then a pretty meander up to Bradford on Avon through some nice countryside, where there were a few riders coming back towards us and we wondered if we'd got it wrong, but they were on the Avalon Sunrise 400. All had that 'been up all night' look which we were working on.
BoA to Cirencester was not particulaly enjoyable. At Castle Coombe circuit there was a 'Bike Safety Day' with motorcyclists ripping it up around the circuit, then tearing round the roads afterwards. There was a bit of other traffic trying to see how close it could get to the end of my bars, and overtaking on corners when there's someting coming the other way just as a giant pothole approaches.
Lumpy around the info at Wootton under Edge and then a straightfoward run-in to Cirencester, except for my only punct*re of the qualifying campaign. Glad to get to sit down in McDonalds. Getting colder now at about 8pm so layered up and fixed lighting in preparation rather than stop again - lesson learnt from earlier audaxes.
Hilly work to Sutton Scotney; first bit flat then 'Lambourn, valley of the racehorse'. The village sign doesn't say it is unique in being a valley on top of a monster hill. In the distance was spectacular lightning and the top of the Membury transmitter to guide us. It felt the only hill in the area missing on the routesheet was Inkpen.
By now I'd had enough. The hills, the organiser and everyone was being gratuitously cursed for my state of tiredness and I was wondering how I was going to keep going for another 18 hours: it's hard not to think of the overall distance but I was more knackered at this point than the end of my 400. Gary was a star and shepherded me to Sutton Scotney for just before 3am, where I was attacked by 1. a rude garage assistant who was too busy talking to his mates on the phone to refill the coffee machine and 2. a huge flying beastie, clearly attracted to my hi viz.
Limped back to Denmead for just before 6am. Black thoughts all the way and could easily have packed but kept going because
(a) I've told the whole world I'm doing PBP
(b) a rational thought somewhere at the back of my mind reminded me I would always regret it if I packed
(c) I recalled AndyH's forum comment on the K&SW when he felt the same and his wife told him to man up and get on with it; he lived to tell the tale and complete and I should do the same
(d) might feel better after some sleep
(e) there had been a bit of effort made to get this far over the last year so another 12 hours of pain wouldn't make much difference
Funnily enough the only genuine excuse I might have had, that I came off the bike last week and was pretty sore having trashed hip, elbow and helmet, didn't even enter my mind.
Got an hour's sleep in the car and felt a whole load better. Had my toothbrush which made me feel reinvigorated - definately on the packing list for PBP. Looking back should have slept earlier, when it was dark and I needed it (lesson 2 learned). Next time I'll take a leaf out of Drew Buck's book, who we had passed having a catnap on the verge, and of whom I felt strangely jealous.
It was a classic audaxing scene - bike lain on the ground and rider horizontal beside it, arms crossed for warmth. I'd read about and seen pictures of people kipping anywhere and everywhere, but never seen it myself and this made the whole long distance thing seem real. I'd always smiled before thinking 'look how knackered they are, just sleeping anywhere'. Now I knew exactly how it felt and I could have fallen asleep on the central reservation of the M25 at that point.
The second loop was down to Lymington which was OK and I managed to keep up 20kph average which I was happy with as I was right on the time limit when I left Denmead. Careful not to thrash myself with 220km to go and gradually got some time back in hand.
Lots of cyclists out in the New Forest along with quite a few tw*ts driving too fast in souped up sports cars, black BMWs or camper vans with blacked out windows. Great views of the sailing boats on the solent on stretch from Bucklers Hard to Lymington, where it started to rain; in fact it was now properly pissing down, all the way to Ower control with another nice hill thrown in at Fordingbridge.
McDonalds chips at Ower services have become something of an audaxing tradition in this house and so it continued, fuelling me nicely for the last leg. As always the last 10km seem interminable but finally got in at 8.30pm for a rendevous with the cashpoint control. Had a chat with the legendary Drew Buck, who has done 5 PBPs including one dressed as an onion johnny (complete with onions) on a 1920s bike, and will be interested to see what he rides this year. He explained that on these bikes he cannot draft becuase the brakes are not responsive enough compared to modern ones. Triple chapeau then to do PBP without ever sitting on someone else's wheel.
The drive home was interesting and all sorts of funny shapes jumped out of the shadows and familiar roadside objects transformed themselves into something completely different. The wonders of sleep deprivation. Who needs drugs for a mind-altering experience? All you need to do is sit on a bike for 40 hours.
So that's my Super Randonneur series completed (a 200, 300, 400 and 600 in one year) and more importantly qualification for Paris Brest Paris in August.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Man down!
The glorious weather broke just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend, so I gave riding a miss on Saturday, plus which I wasn't feeling 100 percent.
Sunday, just did a quick 35km in an attempt to get the speed up. So the big ride of the weekend was to be Bank Holiday Monday.
The first 30 minutes went fine, bowling along at about 30 kph. Just past Dorchester there was small hill up, followed by the down. Got my speed up to about 50kph. A car came from the left and slowed at the junction to give way to me, I was on the main road with the right of way. Then it sped up again and didn't give way. I screamed at it and swerved to the right where my brakes locked up, my back wheel overtook me and I ended up bouncing off my hip, my elbow and my head in that order. Helmet fractured in three places so need a new one of those. Luckily the woman stopped and gave me her name and address and will get the bill later.
A bit shaken but carried on out to Wareham and Corfe Castle. Must be getting fitter because Creech Hill didn't seem too bad, certainly not as hard as it was last time I did it a couple of years ago when it was granny ring all the way.
A good run back, 100 km total.
Sunday, just did a quick 35km in an attempt to get the speed up. So the big ride of the weekend was to be Bank Holiday Monday.
The first 30 minutes went fine, bowling along at about 30 kph. Just past Dorchester there was small hill up, followed by the down. Got my speed up to about 50kph. A car came from the left and slowed at the junction to give way to me, I was on the main road with the right of way. Then it sped up again and didn't give way. I screamed at it and swerved to the right where my brakes locked up, my back wheel overtook me and I ended up bouncing off my hip, my elbow and my head in that order. Helmet fractured in three places so need a new one of those. Luckily the woman stopped and gave me her name and address and will get the bill later.
A bit shaken but carried on out to Wareham and Corfe Castle. Must be getting fitter because Creech Hill didn't seem too bad, certainly not as hard as it was last time I did it a couple of years ago when it was granny ring all the way.
A good run back, 100 km total.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Kernow and South West
Signed up for this online late one Saturday night after a glass of wine too many. However am now going to be a DNS (Did Not Start) as can feel a cold coming on and don't fancy endless hills for two days. Also I want to be sure to pre-register for Paris Brest Paris which opens on Saturday at midnight for those mere mortals who only did a 200km last season and if I'm on the road I may miss my chance.
In order to add interest to the enrolment, the Audax Club Parisien (ACP), organising body of PBP, have got a system whereby they allow people to register in advance if they can prove they are capable riders, with those who did the longest rides being able to do so considerably in advance - i.e. if you did a 600 last year you could have registered at the beginning of April. Audax UK has about 350 places for PBP and the majority of those have already gone to people who went considerably longer than 200km last season, so I want to be sure to reserve my place tomorrow. Despite assurances that anyone wanting to ride will be able to get a place, I want to be sure.
K&SW seems to be renowned as one of the all time great rides (for 'great' read 'hard') so thought it better not to enter and fail as I'm not feeling great, but to marshal my forces for next week's Denmead 600, which was the original plan anyway before the red wine intervened. So I have been a bit of a pussy and withdrawn, and hope to goodness I don't get struck down with anything serious in the next week.
In order to add interest to the enrolment, the Audax Club Parisien (ACP), organising body of PBP, have got a system whereby they allow people to register in advance if they can prove they are capable riders, with those who did the longest rides being able to do so considerably in advance - i.e. if you did a 600 last year you could have registered at the beginning of April. Audax UK has about 350 places for PBP and the majority of those have already gone to people who went considerably longer than 200km last season, so I want to be sure to reserve my place tomorrow. Despite assurances that anyone wanting to ride will be able to get a place, I want to be sure.
K&SW seems to be renowned as one of the all time great rides (for 'great' read 'hard') so thought it better not to enter and fail as I'm not feeling great, but to marshal my forces for next week's Denmead 600, which was the original plan anyway before the red wine intervened. So I have been a bit of a pussy and withdrawn, and hope to goodness I don't get struck down with anything serious in the next week.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Denmead 400
Up at 4am to leave at 5am after the usual bowl of porridge. Made good time and got to the start at 6.45 for a 7am start.
Took it easy for the first few miles, no point in rushing. It was a beautiful morning although a little windy. Many of the usual Denmead suspects were there.
The first stage went along the prescribed Denmead route to Bishops Waltham and south of Winchester then north through Porton Down chemical warfare establishment to Amesbury. The Friar Tuck control is something of a legend in audaxing terms and they served up beans on toast in record time. Didn't stop long, about 20 minutes or so, then continued across Salisbury Plain into a headwind. I had cycled this road before when doing a trip from London to Somerset with a friend and knew what was coming. There were a few hills but the real problem was the wind. Was glad to arrive at Frome Sainsbury's for the next control and a sandwich sitting in the car park with my fellow adventurers.
Stage 3 continued in the same vein and it was a bit depressing to be pedalling hard down Cheddar Gorge. The wind was fearsome, but luckily we were shelted from it going up Shipham hill, which was not as bad as it had been when I did it in January . The turn came at Weston super Mare after about 180km, with a control in the Oxford Cafe which involved the 'chef's special' omlette; basically recycled breakfast leftovers which tried to recycle themselves again over the next few hours. It also took about 3/4 hour to arrive, which was too long.
Heading back south east we had the wind behind us and made good time to Glastonbury, then on to Somerton in the gathering darkness, to arrive at Podimore services at about 10pm. This was home territory as I fill up with petrol here on a fairly regular basis as it is only about 10 miles from the office. It tried to rain but thankfully stopped after a couple of minutes.
I pressed on alone past villages I see day in day out with work and had a scary moment when my chain stuck. I tough it might be curtains for a moment, but luckily I disengaged it and all was OK again. This stage got quite hard with a vicious climb up to Cucklington followed by another long climb up to Shaftesbury where we got off for a rest. It was now about 1.30am and the usual drunkards were asking to borrow my bike. We tried to remember where we had been and could not put a name to Weston super Mare. Fatigue was setting in.
I had been warned that this was a long stage and so it proved, continuing west of Salisbury where there was an unpleasant hill going out of Downton. Probably not too bad in daylight and early in the day, but it seemed to go on a bit. Then through the New Forest with an orange moon off to the right, and a cockerel crowing at about 4am to herald the oncoming morning.
Arrived at Ower services hoping for the traditional McDonalds chips but had to make do with a coffee from the petrol station. It was now about 5am and we pushed on - only 48km to go. The first bit from the services on the dual carriageway towards Romsey seemed harder than it did on the 300, then, after Romsey, the route retraced where we had come from the morning before. It was a strange feeling cycling along the same roads, at the same time in the morning, with the same weather, but knowing that we had been going for 24 hours.
As always, the last few km were difficult and it was good to arrive back at Denmead where I had an ice lolly at 7.15am in the morning. A local gave me a strange look and I felt like telling him what we'd all just done.
Completed my card and posted it through the door, then drove slowly to Rownhams services where I had a kip in the car, before getting home at about noon.
A great ride, good to have done it and crossed into new territory. The SR (super randonneur) series is nearly complete, just the 600 to go, which will mean qualification for the Paris Brest Paris.
Took it easy for the first few miles, no point in rushing. It was a beautiful morning although a little windy. Many of the usual Denmead suspects were there.
The first stage went along the prescribed Denmead route to Bishops Waltham and south of Winchester then north through Porton Down chemical warfare establishment to Amesbury. The Friar Tuck control is something of a legend in audaxing terms and they served up beans on toast in record time. Didn't stop long, about 20 minutes or so, then continued across Salisbury Plain into a headwind. I had cycled this road before when doing a trip from London to Somerset with a friend and knew what was coming. There were a few hills but the real problem was the wind. Was glad to arrive at Frome Sainsbury's for the next control and a sandwich sitting in the car park with my fellow adventurers.
Stage 3 continued in the same vein and it was a bit depressing to be pedalling hard down Cheddar Gorge. The wind was fearsome, but luckily we were shelted from it going up Shipham hill, which was not as bad as it had been when I did it in January . The turn came at Weston super Mare after about 180km, with a control in the Oxford Cafe which involved the 'chef's special' omlette; basically recycled breakfast leftovers which tried to recycle themselves again over the next few hours. It also took about 3/4 hour to arrive, which was too long.
Heading back south east we had the wind behind us and made good time to Glastonbury, then on to Somerton in the gathering darkness, to arrive at Podimore services at about 10pm. This was home territory as I fill up with petrol here on a fairly regular basis as it is only about 10 miles from the office. It tried to rain but thankfully stopped after a couple of minutes.
I pressed on alone past villages I see day in day out with work and had a scary moment when my chain stuck. I tough it might be curtains for a moment, but luckily I disengaged it and all was OK again. This stage got quite hard with a vicious climb up to Cucklington followed by another long climb up to Shaftesbury where we got off for a rest. It was now about 1.30am and the usual drunkards were asking to borrow my bike. We tried to remember where we had been and could not put a name to Weston super Mare. Fatigue was setting in.
I had been warned that this was a long stage and so it proved, continuing west of Salisbury where there was an unpleasant hill going out of Downton. Probably not too bad in daylight and early in the day, but it seemed to go on a bit. Then through the New Forest with an orange moon off to the right, and a cockerel crowing at about 4am to herald the oncoming morning.
Arrived at Ower services hoping for the traditional McDonalds chips but had to make do with a coffee from the petrol station. It was now about 5am and we pushed on - only 48km to go. The first bit from the services on the dual carriageway towards Romsey seemed harder than it did on the 300, then, after Romsey, the route retraced where we had come from the morning before. It was a strange feeling cycling along the same roads, at the same time in the morning, with the same weather, but knowing that we had been going for 24 hours.
As always, the last few km were difficult and it was good to arrive back at Denmead where I had an ice lolly at 7.15am in the morning. A local gave me a strange look and I felt like telling him what we'd all just done.
Completed my card and posted it through the door, then drove slowly to Rownhams services where I had a kip in the car, before getting home at about noon.
A great ride, good to have done it and crossed into new territory. The SR (super randonneur) series is nearly complete, just the 600 to go, which will mean qualification for the Paris Brest Paris.
Brittany and Normandy
After a very busy period at work, managed to grab 3 days off to hop accross the Channel and do some cycling in France. Left on the Sunday night on the ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo, following a very late night on the Saturday for a friend's 40th birthday.
This is the best ferry crossing as you get a decent night's sleep - the boat gets in at 8.15am, unlike the others which tend to be about 6.30am. The restaurant is good and a three course meal with wine is pretty reasonable. Managed to get in the holiday spirit with a bottle of wine, then slept well, although it was quite rough.
The day dawned bright and the sea was a deep blue. The coast road east from St Malo is beautiful; little sandy coves and rocky islands reveal themselves around every bend.
Got to Cancale by about 10am but that was too early to savour the local delicacy of oysters, so continued on towards Mont St Michel, crossing the mrshes instead of the main road. This was a good choice - no traffic and flat roads with glimpses of the Mount all the way. Fantastic.
After lunch at Beauvoir which was incredibly good value (sandwich, strawberry tart, orangina and coffee for 7 euros) the route went inland through lovely countryside where the landscape changed into the Normandy cider apple orchards with cows grazing beneath, where reminders of the local produce were never far way. Alas I had no room to buy any of these tempting foodstuffs.
As usual when cycle touring there were unexpected beautiful places around every corner, in this case the pretty town of Ducey.
Then east, passing beautiful chateaux behind gates such as the Chateau d'O.
The turning point on the route was the French National Stud, home of highly bred racehorses. Started by Napoleon to ensure a steady supply of high quality horses for his army, it is now maintained by the state and is beautifully manicured, with wonderful buildings evocative of a bygone age.
Gentle roads followed, fortunately in between the two big hills I had seen from a distance, to the old town of Falaise, where I stopped for a coffee. This was home of William the Conqueror and his castle can still be seen to this day. Continuing on the countryside got hillier as the Suisse Normande approached. On the descent to the river valley I overtook a tractor going full pelt who seemed a bit surprised to see me pass.
The Suisse Normande is a beautiful area, unspoilt and characterised by twisting roads going up the sides of hills - hence its name. There was not much traffic and this area was a delight, although hard work.
There was one last big hill then a series of typical Normandy rollers which were pretty tiring, before the descent to Aunay sur l'Orne. This is a pretty town which was completely destroyed by the Allies just after D Day to prevent a German counter attack. It has been rebuilt with great care. The hotel was in the centre and the restaurant a delight. The five course dinner started off with local foie gras, followed by a proper 'trou normande', which consisted of an apple sorbet doused in calvados. The waitress was waiting for me to tell her to stop pouring but I did not, so think I got good value. Then a local speciality 'ris de veau' - veal sweetbreads. I don't normlly like innards but this was exceptional, cooked in a rich cream sauce. I cannot remember what I had for pudding as by now my wine had taken effect, but it followed a local cheese board. 166 km today.
Day 3 started off a bit of struggle. The legs were on strike, probably too full of calvados from the night before. I had to get to Cherbourg by 3.15pm and at first this seemed unlikely as every slight incline was a struggle. However, as with most cycling exploits, the easier times follow the hard and luckily there was a section accross the marshes where I had a good hour and covered 35km, thus making up time but as importantly getting over the bad patch and into a good rythmn. Got attacked by a suicidal dog which rushed across a main road to bark at me.
The whole area of the ride saw heavy action in WWII and reminders were everywhere, here of an officer in the Grenadier Guards.
The final 60 km were hard work across rolling country with short sharp hills which are the type I do not get on with very well. Finally, the long descent into Cherbourg arrived and I got to the ferry port at 3.14pm, with a minute to spare. The great thing about travelling by bike is that you get waved onto the ferry first and can be comfortably sitting down before the motorists come on board, having missed the queues for food and coffee. 128 km today.
A great little tour seeing some wonderful sights and unspoilt countryside, jusy right for a fairly athletic three days, which set me up nicely for the following weekend's excursion. The obligatory photo of the bike follows.
This is the best ferry crossing as you get a decent night's sleep - the boat gets in at 8.15am, unlike the others which tend to be about 6.30am. The restaurant is good and a three course meal with wine is pretty reasonable. Managed to get in the holiday spirit with a bottle of wine, then slept well, although it was quite rough.
The day dawned bright and the sea was a deep blue. The coast road east from St Malo is beautiful; little sandy coves and rocky islands reveal themselves around every bend.
Got to Cancale by about 10am but that was too early to savour the local delicacy of oysters, so continued on towards Mont St Michel, crossing the mrshes instead of the main road. This was a good choice - no traffic and flat roads with glimpses of the Mount all the way. Fantastic.
After lunch at Beauvoir which was incredibly good value (sandwich, strawberry tart, orangina and coffee for 7 euros) the route went inland through lovely countryside where the landscape changed into the Normandy cider apple orchards with cows grazing beneath, where reminders of the local produce were never far way. Alas I had no room to buy any of these tempting foodstuffs.
As usual when cycle touring there were unexpected beautiful places around every corner, in this case the pretty town of Ducey.
My stop for the night was Domfront. Hotel was comfortable but the restaurant was closed so had to make do with the grill, which was nothing special. 147 km done.
Day 2 went through similarly lovely country all day. First stop was Bagnoles de l'Orne, a genteel spa town in a clearing in the forests where elderly invalids go to take the waters. The Belle Epoque architecture around the lake was very attractive.
Then east, passing beautiful chateaux behind gates such as the Chateau d'O.
The turning point on the route was the French National Stud, home of highly bred racehorses. Started by Napoleon to ensure a steady supply of high quality horses for his army, it is now maintained by the state and is beautifully manicured, with wonderful buildings evocative of a bygone age.
Gentle roads followed, fortunately in between the two big hills I had seen from a distance, to the old town of Falaise, where I stopped for a coffee. This was home of William the Conqueror and his castle can still be seen to this day. Continuing on the countryside got hillier as the Suisse Normande approached. On the descent to the river valley I overtook a tractor going full pelt who seemed a bit surprised to see me pass.
The Suisse Normande is a beautiful area, unspoilt and characterised by twisting roads going up the sides of hills - hence its name. There was not much traffic and this area was a delight, although hard work.
There was one last big hill then a series of typical Normandy rollers which were pretty tiring, before the descent to Aunay sur l'Orne. This is a pretty town which was completely destroyed by the Allies just after D Day to prevent a German counter attack. It has been rebuilt with great care. The hotel was in the centre and the restaurant a delight. The five course dinner started off with local foie gras, followed by a proper 'trou normande', which consisted of an apple sorbet doused in calvados. The waitress was waiting for me to tell her to stop pouring but I did not, so think I got good value. Then a local speciality 'ris de veau' - veal sweetbreads. I don't normlly like innards but this was exceptional, cooked in a rich cream sauce. I cannot remember what I had for pudding as by now my wine had taken effect, but it followed a local cheese board. 166 km today.
Day 3 started off a bit of struggle. The legs were on strike, probably too full of calvados from the night before. I had to get to Cherbourg by 3.15pm and at first this seemed unlikely as every slight incline was a struggle. However, as with most cycling exploits, the easier times follow the hard and luckily there was a section accross the marshes where I had a good hour and covered 35km, thus making up time but as importantly getting over the bad patch and into a good rythmn. Got attacked by a suicidal dog which rushed across a main road to bark at me.
The whole area of the ride saw heavy action in WWII and reminders were everywhere, here of an officer in the Grenadier Guards.
The final 60 km were hard work across rolling country with short sharp hills which are the type I do not get on with very well. Finally, the long descent into Cherbourg arrived and I got to the ferry port at 3.14pm, with a minute to spare. The great thing about travelling by bike is that you get waved onto the ferry first and can be comfortably sitting down before the motorists come on board, having missed the queues for food and coffee. 128 km today.
A great little tour seeing some wonderful sights and unspoilt countryside, jusy right for a fairly athletic three days, which set me up nicely for the following weekend's excursion. The obligatory photo of the bike follows.
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