L2P - Day 4

The excitement, apprehension and relief of the last day were evident amongst the magnificent 7 before we started to pedal for the last stretch to Paris. Bad weather was forecast for the majority of our riding time today. We have been very lucky with the weather over the entire ride so a bit of rain on the last day surely wouldn’t hurt us. My legs, thighs and bum were really pounding now with the last 3 days starting to take its toll.

We set off a little later again today and after breakfast we collected Ryan as usual who had suffered the Kyriad treatment the night before. Simon led the pack out of Beauvais and our immediate first challenge was a long and irritating hill. It wasn’t too steep but it seemed to go on for a very long time. We were only a few miles in and the rain came and came all over us for a very long time. Along with the rain the wind decided to turn up and add to the torment by double teaming us with the rain. The conditions had really turned for the worse. The wind was driving the rain at us very hard and it was really hurting at times when it hit our faces. The only way to avoid the body getting cold was to get down to business and pedal hard without stopping for too long. This led to more solo riding than the previous group riding and teamwork we had on previous days. Everyone had to get through today at their fastest paces to get out of the awful conditions as soon as they could.

The conditions were awful and naturally there were a lot of grumblings from the group about this. I had done pretty much most of my training in this type of weather having cycled a horrible 80 miler to Oxford in horrendous weather and a previous ride to Brighton for 7 hours of hell so I was well prepared for this. Today's cycling was really head down stuff and just get through it and then enjoy the last few miles riding in to Paris.

Fighting the conditions the group did meet briefly at the 22 mile water stop but we didn’t hang around long as we were drenched entirely through. When we set off again there were 3 sub-groups formed for the last 30 mile push in to Paris with Michael and Ryan teaming up, me and Paul pushing each other and then David, Lucy and Simon sticking together. I enjoyed the ride with Paul at this time as we really spun through it at a good pace. We did however miss the lunch stop and rode straight on through to holding point where the entire group would meet at 2.30. We obviously arrived too early at this point and in this holding area there was really nowhere to eat, drink or keep warm so we turned around and went in to town and found a lovely little café where we had some scram and a very overpriced beer at €12 euros a pop.

After warming up as much as we could and celebrating our achievement so far we headed back to the holding area and meet the group for the ride in to Paris, which was only 3 miles away. As you can imagine it was very hard to coordinate 158 cyclists riding in central Paris and finishing under the Eiffel tower. The good news was that the rain kindly stopped and granted us some respite for the final roll to the end.

Once we got moving on that final 3 miles to the tower it gave me time to think about why I was actually doing this. It was a very strange ride in. I was very pensive, emotional, removed and constantly looking up at the sky. I thought a lot about close family members lost to illness and hoped that the money I raised for my charity Mind could help prevent people going through some of the experiences me and my family have had. I also write this now quite emotional hoping that my father would have been proud of me as that it all I would have ever wanted.

Once we got to the last approach to the tower we came in to the end point where all the cyclists’ families and friends stood clapping us on to the finish. This again was so emotional and I really enjoyed the feeling of all the joy and emotion together at this point. It was an excellent uplifting feeling.

All that was left to do was congratulate each other, sip some bubbles and get snapping to remember and document the superb achievement that this group of 158 cyclists had completed.

I am really going to miss the cycling, the great group of guys in the magnificent 7, the bonds created, jeans man, speed freaks, electric bike woman, vicars and just the experience. I will not miss the 50 notifications on the Facebook group every 10 minutes including SP updates. I feel lucky and privileged to have been able to do this and I am looking forward to many more miles on the bike in the near future. On that note, I love you Rex you have done me proud and did not let me down at all. I might even give you a clean when I get back as a special treat.

Congratulations to all that completed the ride I am proud of you all and myself.

Chris “Big Cog” Lee out...

L2P - Day 3

Waking a little heady for day 3 due to my excessive socialising I had seen on the board in our reception that rain was forecast for the first time on our challenge from London to Paris. Today luckily we had a later start as riders were being released periodically in line with their ability and the slower riders had to leave the earliest. At this stage I have say my legs and thighs were starting to feel heavy and the riding so far and amazing it was taking its toll on my temple of a body. The chat over breakfast was most people were saying how easy the day ahead would be as it was only 65 miles. Today had also been selected by a few riders as fancy dress day if you wanted to subscribe to that. I didn’t! However, today I did actually wear my first cycling top ever to ride in and that was sent to me by my charity Mind. All I will say is that there is nowhere to hide in Lycra and it is not something I will be pursuing.

After downing breakfast we had the call that Ryan had arrived from his different hotel. We scooted around the front of our hotel to pick him up and we were then ready to set off for the town of Beauvais 65 miles away.

Disco Dave led us out for the morning session propelling strength and leadership from the from the front to drive the group on. "credited".

The hills in the morning segment before the first water stop at 22 miles were hard. All these hills were starting to bore me a little now. Monotonous hill after hill! I spent my morning session riding with Simon the Fulham fan and listening to how lucky he was to go to Hamburg for the European final a few years back. I have never seen my team in a Euro final but still have fingers crossed for one day...

One notable point of interest was that Lucy looked a lot more comfortable in the saddle today. A few people had told her in the last few days that she was rolling and to maybe lower the saddle a little as she seemed far away from the pedals. The previous evening under the influence Paul had spat this out in a more "to the point" way by tactically saying “your ass is all over the pace love” and you need to do something.

With the weather holding off we had one last hill until the water stop. It was a very big one and a testing one but that is when the weather turned sour. The rain started beating down and all of a sudden the mood in the group changed. This was now very hard work in tough conditions and not the enjoyable country ride in the sun that all the brochures promised…

Soaked, hungry and slightly grumpy we all arrived at the water stop and we cowered under a marque refilling water bottles and eating bananas, cereal bars and jelly babies. Just before we were ready to go 3 cyclists arrived in their fancy dress attired as the three musketeers. This instantly brought a smile to all in the vicinity. Well done lads!

We had been really lucky with the weather so far and that continued in our favour after our short splattering as after only an hour of lashings of rain it cleared and the sun poked its shy head out again for the next set of miles on to the lunch stop at 40 miles. During these miles the team work as a pack of cyclists was excellent. We were tight together as a group and all driving each other as pack. The cycle to lunch was an easier section and not as many hills as the morning section, which helped. On arrival to lunch we had a great setting with a lovely communal green with football pitch in the middle and an old church as the backdrop. Everyone queued for their fuel and then spread out on the lawn eating. With news from the Skyline staff that storms were predicted at 4pm we set off in haste after lunch to beat the rain.

‎Again, word of the day was teamwork and we drove on as a pack of 7 until 52 miles when…disaster...the first puncture of the group. Now this wasn’t any standard way to get a puncture though. Lucy and Michael collided somehow whilst in group formation and it ended with Michael suffer the fatal punishment of punctureville. The problem was quickly rectified by some sterling work in replacing the knackered bit of rubber with a new one and some air. The air element though caused some interest as the lot of us were not clued up on inflating with gas canisters.

Once we set off again we were all back at it and hill master Michael had one of my most amusing moments of the day. With Michael attacking one hill from the back of the pack and whilst passing everyone on a climb and sledging each member on the way past he had his comeuppance at the top of the hill. As we all followed to a stop point he toppled with a “stuck in cleat moment” at a standstill on the side of road. Karma.

The last section of the ride chucked up strong winds as we came in Beauvais. Ryan led the group with good strength and took the hit with the wind for all of us. The last part of the ride was in busy rush hour Beauvais and also with Dave moaning about the ridiculousness of the organisers taking us this way ot the hotel, in this traffic at this time. Seeing the urbanisation again really made me appreciate all the countryside that we had been riding in previously.

The day was really a great group ride and great teamwork from all. Simon especially had an outstanding day really improving from previous days. Strong.

Final day tomorrow! Excited and sad.

L2P - Day 2

After very little sleep from the previous evening due to circumstances out of my control the day started very slowly. However, at breakfast I had a quick word in the shell of chief organiser Sally about finding a solution to my forced upon insomnia. After consuming a small breakfast that included a deliciously fresh pain au chocolat we set off for the start of day 2.

Our first job of the day was to collect the rest of the group from two other hotels and then let Sally conduct a briefing for the day before setting off. We had a mile cycle up hill to get to the briefing and although it was a pain I would rather have done this today as the other guys had to do this hill last night on Day 1.

‎During Sallys brief she said there will be what she likes to call “undulations”. Later we would all find out that her words were libellous and what she actually meant to say was that your day will be “mountainous”. Naughty naughty Sally!

Once the six amigos had assembled we departed Calais and we saw the actually entrance to channel tunnel before heading on to tuck in some tasty hills. Hills, hills and more hills after this. The first 24 miles were very tough but gave me a lot of practise with my gears and I am finally learning to use the little cog.

The toughest hill on day 2 was ready and waiting for us just before the first water stop at 24 miles. This beast of a hill took it out of most of us, especially after our group had blasted to this stage a decent pace. This had been my most needed water break so far at the top of this hill. After a good rest here and allowing the wolf pack group of 6 to come together again as one we set off again with the mission of getting to 49 miles and lunch.

The next hour we were spoilt by great weather, more beautiful countryside, rivers, bridges, quaint little villages, immaculately kept gardens and elderly people that seemed happy, relaxed, enjoying their lives and friendly enough to greet and wave at you as you passed by.

During in this section we picked up a new rider that was cycling alone - Paul from Beverly. I had a good chat with Paul for a while and he told me that he had recently bought his 3 year old daughter a pony. On first impression I thought that was a little flashy! The group had now evolved from a six man wolf pack (sorry Lucy, 6 person wolf pack) into the Magnificent 7.

With 5 miles to go before the lunch break the group of 7 broke up a bit and everyone took on their own pace. This was nice to get some time to ride solo. There was an amazing decent into the lunch stop with long and winding roads down, down and down that enabled a very decent opportunity to clock big mph’s and get your sprint on.

Lunch was set in a lovely grassed area with very tall trees and a lake as a backdrop. The choice of food was excellent once again and to be able to produce the nosh they did out of just a van was very impressive. After over indulging as always we had to wait a while before they would let us start on our way again. This was due to arriving at lunch in double quick time.

Once we did get going there were only 22 miles to go to the hotel for the night so the only choice was to break up the day with a refreshment stop somewhere down the line. 10 miles further along and bingo, pit stop! This is when I started to understand how “thirsty” Paul was. Likes a tipple does young Paul. There were a few different drink choices for the group overall but I indulged Paul in a pint of Leffe (he didn’t exactly have to twist my arm) and we all consumed our drinks with the sun beating down on our backs.

After 20 minutes of enjoying life and slurping it was back to business and the chimes of multiple Garmins sung on start up followed by that beautiful sounds of cleats clipping in and once again we were on the road as a group. Michael and Ryan were leading the group and it is quite evident that these guys are strong cycling club riders. I think they are helping the group a lot. After staying together for a majority of the time the group then naturally came apart towards the end and again people were riding solo at their own enjoyable pace to get home and rest, shower, blog, phone home and eat or drink.

On arrival to the hotel, with most people tired and hungry, we were not greeted with the best situation. The only thing that you want from a room are some basic comforts like somewhere to be able to wash or go to the toilet, a towel bigger than a flannel and ideally not bunk beds. Unfortunately we had all of these things and more…the hotel was not good and that it putting it politely. Out of 3 hotels on offer our group had once again suffered the worst possible choice. It was all a little too much for Mr Wilson as when he saw his room he had a little paddy and then proceeded to kick his bag in the room and then locked himself away for a while to vent. I am not sure it helped when Ryan, who was staying in another hotel sent him a gloating picture of his palace!

I arrived early at the hotel so I was first in the room. I grabbed bottom bunk and awaited my roommate. DELIGHT! It wasn’t Simon the snorer that walked in. It was a new chap - Paul. The first thing that Paul asked me was “do you snore”. I couldn’t help but laugh. It gets better. He starts to tell me that last night he didn’t get any sleep because when he walked into his hotel room the guy he was sharing with handed him ear plugs and told him that he was going to need these. After I filled him in on almost my identical story we had a chuckle. So two none snorers paired - result. I just wondered whether the snorers were paired?!

Dinner was a good feed at 7.30 and then we proceeded to socialise and had a good chat amongst our group. I spent a lot of time talking to Paul and learning more about him and his family. His daughter has Cystic Fibrosis and that is a condition I didn’t know a lot about so I learnt a lot. He and his family have gone through and are still going through a hell of lot and the attitude from Paul and his family towards the situation is exemplary. After learning all I did about the situation and Paul himself I completely revoked my “flashy pony” thought from earlier in the day. I think I had a few more beers than I would of liked with a big ride planned the next day but good company is good company and many different subjects were covered late in to the night with David telling us about his musical talents of years gone by and an unfair nickname from his school days that wasn’t funny in anyway whatsoever…......

Roll on day 3!

L2P - Day 1

The day started at 5am with a wakeup shower and then a very ropey, warm egg sandwich I bought from Sainsburys the day before. The additional banana and OJ, I also bought, fully set me up for the day ahead though. My hotel was lacking in a lot of quality and this was only exemplified by not receiving any wakeup call from them as previously requested at 5am on the dot.

I checked out the hell hole and struggled with my luggage whilst on my bike a mile up the road to the Crystal Palace Sports Centre and the start point! As i arrived all riders were registering, handing in their luggage and gathering on a set of steps for an impending briefing. There were a few noticeable faces from our FB group that made things such a reality.

Once everyone was together, all 158 of us, we had our briefing. All the rules and regs of the ride were explained along with key stop points and what to do in an emergency. After the briefing had finished we mounted up and then all headed towards the exit and then we were away…all by ourselves on the open road. The route had been marked in advance with bright orange arrows at crucial junctions or 2 mile intervals to help guide us to our end point in France.

In the first few miles it was a bit stop start with the London traffic, numerous lights and road works etc. After about 5 miles I found my pace but wasn’t prepared to start racing ahead, overtaking or leading the pack. Around 10 miles in I found my confidence of navigating with or without group. I also started to make conversation with fellow cyclists and began to enjoy the ride and really start absorbing it. I decided then to cycle in a small pack with two guys - Mick and David. Both very different and both very interesting. We cycled together for a good number of miles and until the first water stop at around 30 miles. The first 30 miles had been fairly undulating and I was actually surprised by the amount of hills on the route. The scenery though was starting to become more and more picturesque as we got deeper in to Kent. There were also many houses and cars showing their patriotism with flags and bunting on them to celebrate St Georges day.

After the water stop Mick and David were very keen to try and find a café to stop for a minute and get a caffeine fix but there were very few opportunities that presented themselves in the small villages that we sped through. At around 40 miles we picked up a new member for our group and this came in the form of Michael from Cardiff. A very nice lad and fitted in well with our group. I got some good advice from him to about bikes and travel.

One of the most interesting things I enjoyed about the day was cycling together as group, as this was my first time doing so. I was learning a new language fo cycling clubs up and down the country and i was really embracing it with hand gestures and signs. Shouts of pothole, clear, car, man with two dogs and lots of gesturing to these things endeared me more the spirit of helping fellow cyclists.

Wanting to push on and get to the lunch stop I stepped up the pace a little and was eventually told by David to “slow down” and take my foot off the gas and reduce down to 17mph but this led to my funniest moment of the day when less than 5 minutes later David then proceed to step up to 20mph for next 20 minutes and I was struggling to catch up. Mr "take it off a wee bit".

Our lunch stop for the day was in local village hall at about 60 miles in to the ride. The organisers Skyline did a great job to in preparing everything for the 150 starving calorie burners and the spread was pretty decent. At lunch we also added to our group to make a 6 man wolf pack when Lucy, Ryan and Simon sat with us as we all stuffed our faces.

After fully loading up with carbs for 30 minutes we then jumped back in the saddle and set off for the last 35 miles to Dover. It was a good job we did stock up on all that energy as we were presented with many many steep and winding hills immediately. They were enjoyable but tough.

About 10 miles in came my first accident. The standard “cleat issue” as always. Our riding group and formation had disbanded a little as the hills challenged us all at different levels, meaning that individuals would take the hills at their own pace. After completing some big hills I joined up with two new guys in another small group. The three of us were heading down the other side of a very large hill that was enclosed with overhanging tress on a very tight single track. Half way down the hill we were stopped in tracks by an old lady riding a horse and walking 4 dogs at the same time!!! They basically covered the whole road and made it hard to round them. when the three of us tried to overtake the guy in front of me hit his breaks very hard as one of the dogs chucked himself in front of his bike. This left me no room for negotiation. I slowed down as much as could and then took the fall like a great oak whilst obviously still stuck in the cleats. No real damage done though and the guy in front couldn’t stop apologising.

The last part of the ride was not so tough, which was nice. It also had very enjoyable views of the countryside. The roads were narrow, single track, bendy and fast to follow.

I arrived at the final “meet area” in Dover at 3pm. With everyone due to meet here at 5pm and ever the opportunist I decided to capitalize on the weather half a mile down the road with a larger shandy in a local public house. After my Vitamin D top up and a good chin wag amongst friends I headed back to meet point where we gathered up the majority of people, but not all 158, and then headed to Dover as a mass convoy.

As we entered the port there were some breath taking view of the castle on the hill in the distance. More hanging around at the dock ensued before it was our turn to ride on to the ferry. Not only did we ride up and on but we also rode inside the ferry itself to our designated holding point. Not many people can say they have ridden on a ferry. My crossing consisted of soup, pasta and two San Miguels in the Brasserie before it was time to disembark and ride on the “wrong side" of the road for a few miles to our hotel. For the first time that day we felt a light drizzle on our heads but I was grateful that my hotel was the first drop off for the 100 or so people looking to get their heads down. Our group was split between three hotels.

I later found out that 23 cyclists didn’t make to Dover for numerous reasons and had to be rescued by the organisers and driven to Dover for a very late ferry to France.

After completing nearly 100 tough miles with a decent amount of hills throughout I only wanted to get some sleep at this stage and recover for the morning and the next challenge. Unfortunately for me I was paired with a snoring machine in a tight box room with two single beds. Simon was a really nice guy but when he presented me with ear plugs when we both got to our room after check in my heart sunk. After a few probing questions I found out he was being 100 per cent serious and this wasn’t a practical joke (that would be a good gag to do in the future). The story deepened after this and he told me that his wife is deaf and that is how there is harmony in that relationship...

Lets see how much sleep will be had…

In summing up I had an incredible day cycling hard up some extreme hills in some glorious weather for April. I had seen picturesque countryside and meet a great bunch of people whilst raising money for a charity close to my heart. Life is good!

The London to Paris "Itinerary"

For those following the blog closely I thought it would be nice to expose the complete itinerary for the next few days of riding. Here are the exact words from the organiser:-

Cycling from London to Paris is one of the great cycle experiences in Europe. Passing through picturesque Kent countryside, we cross the Channel and continue through the small villages and medieval market towns of Northern France, passing the famous battlefields of the Somme and Agincourt. With long days in the saddle and some strenuous hill-climbs, the sight of the Eiffel Tower, our finishing point, will evoke a real sense of achievement.

Day 1: London to Calais
Our challenge begins bright and early from Crystal Palace heading south on route to the coast. Our long journey today takes us through rural Kent - the garden of England. Our path winds though traditional British countryside, along the North Downs Way before we reach the white cliffs of Dover. The ferry takes us across to Calais and our first nights resting place. 95 miles (approx)

Day 2: Calais to Abbeville
La belle France! Stunning picturesque countryside awaits us in northern France as we travel south through some beautiful quaint villages - do not be surprised to be greeted with a Bonjour Monsieur/Madame as you cycle through! Cycle through Desvres, a market town known for its ceramics and continue with the windy roads along the valley of the Canche River. The Artois region is amazing with the Spanish influenced town of Hesdin and its tremendous architecture and close proximity to the battle of Agincourt. We spend the night in Abbeville - steeped in history from the war and despite being destroyed in just one night it has managed to retain its beautiful gothic church. 75 miles (approx)

Day 3: Abbeville to Beauvais
Our route this morning follows the river Somme out of Abbeville. The Somme is perhaps most famous for its battles and you cannot fail to be reminded of the thousands who lost their lives in the war. But the Somme is also a Celtic word meaning tranquillity… so summing up the feeling of the day as you cycle through this superb region. After lunch you can enjoy the countryside with a little less ‘undulations’ than previous days. We finish the day in Beauvais where the market square, Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, is a true highlight. Several of the houses close to the Cathedral date back from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. 70 miles (approx)

Day 4: Beauvais to Paris
Our final day of cycling and the big push to Paris, our final destination. We are still treated to some stunning countryside including a lovely lunchtime in wooded area next to the River Oise. After lunch we near the outskirts of Paris and you will start to spot the familiar sights of the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine. We rendezvous in a park just north of Paris before joining together to cycle the last miles along some of the famous boulevards. Our finish point can be seen for miles above the Paris skyline and on arrival the celebration can begin! 60 miles (approx)

After a struggle to get to the hotel tonight with very heavy luggage on my bike I have now been fed and watered at the local and now ready for rest before the big day tomorrow. Only 7 hours to go!

Cleats on the beach

Having been out of the country, with work, three times in the last three weeks and forcing my body into three different continents and time zones I was a mess at the start of last week on my return and my body did not know what it was doing. The only way to correct this imbalance was to throw myself straight back in to training and enjoy what I had been missing desperately and craving whilst away...Rex...

I have put in a lot of KMs since I have been back and today was no exception. A few months ago I was thinking about taking things a little easier towards the end of my training and in the run up to the big day but as usual it is go big or go home…

Today I completed Gran Fondo 4 (ride 130 KMs in one ride) on Strava. "MapMyRide" later, train in to London and then to Southend and back! The exploratory journey took me to places I hadn’t been before and guided me past Stratford and the Olympic Village, Stadium and the abstract art outside. Then on to deep Essex and Ilford, Romford and Chelmsford. On the journey in to Southend I was permanently harassed but scores of motorbikes making their way to what I am guessing was a big meet in Southend. I now have a new found opinion on “bikers” and it is not good. The vast amount of leathered up petrol heads that whizzed by me had a huge lack of respect for any other road users and were quite frankly DANGEROUS! And I wouldn’t mind so much if it was only their own lives they were putting at risk but it wasn't.

After navigating safely to the beach front I had a small lunch, watched the train take people to the end of pier and rested my legs for the journey back.

Cleats on the beach

I came back exactly the same way that I entered so not much to report. I did however achieve my fastest ever 40k by clocking 1:18:23 (which works out at 19mph over the 40K – VERY HAPPY!). Here are some other stats from today:

Moving Time: 5:25:50

Elapsed Time: 6:03:02

Avg Speed: 14.4 mph

Avg Moving Speed: 16.1 mph

Max Speed: 31.5 mph

Also, for completing my challenge today here is another digital badge from Strava:-

Lets see how the legs hold up tomorrow and I will then know whether today was great last minute training for the big ride on Wednesday or alternatively a very silly move that locked my legs up…

Croeso i Gymru and some sort of Dragon

The final part of my training for the impending London to Paris bike ride consisted of serious hill practise... After looking at a few options on where to undertake this test I decided to take Rex to another country and settled on Wales for some big peaks and beautiful Valley views.

There are actually a few very famous bike rides in Wales but what I particularly wanted to complete was the "Dragon ride" for no other reason than the whole ride mapped out a pretty picture of a Dragon from the route you would carve on two wheels. Let's see how that pans out later. However, here is what the ride should look like after completion...

This biking adventure started by taking my bike (Rex) to my daily place of work on a very lively and packed commuter train Friday morning and leaving him locked up in the work car park until the end of play. Once the school bell hit for home time it was a race against the clock to get to Paddington Station for the fast train to Wales. A slightly more frantic and time pressured journey than I would have liked to Paddington Station saw me load my bike in the lonely hollow bike carriage and jump in my seat with just minutes to go. Having had no time to buy anything at the station due to fear of missing the train I was very thankful to the "roadies" I had stashed in my rucksack. A few hours and few tins of cider later and I arrived in Bridgend, which is situated between Cardiff and Swansea. A short pedal in the dark to the B&B from the train station, quick bag dump and straight out to a locally recommended pub completely relaxed me from any earlier dramas. Well I was certainly relaxed after the local tipple of Ale in the area which was called The Rev. James, very highly recommended and brewed in Cardiff.

Having stocked up on the ribs and roast chicken combo at the boozer and getting home for an early night it seemed I was all set for tomorrow's big ride...

Now you can only plan for so much, as we all know. Having done all the right things so far I thought that everything would be straight forward in the morning. Not so. At 4.30am I was rudely awoken by one of my teeth angrily growling and throbbing in my mouth. The pain was incredible. I was later to find out this required a Root Canal. Tossing and turning for an hour not knowing what to do with the pain I firstly thought about going straight home to my dentist for an emergency appointment, secondly getting a bit of string and tying it to the door...and lastly trying to remember from last night's ride in pitch black to the B&B if there was anywhere obvious and close by that would sell painkillers, horse tranquillisers or maybe a gun! It got to 6.30am and I couldn't take it anymore so I went in search of the petrol station I vaguely remembered from the journey in. Not that I noticed or cared much at this point but it was incredibly foggy and there was an awful drizzly type of rain soaking me. This is not what I had pictured or expected for my first ride outside of England. Luckily I found the petrol station quickly and more importantly for me they had a pharmacy counter. Credit card swiped, pin entered and I was the new owner of some magic pills in the way of Aspirin and Ibuprofen. I ripped both packets open quicker than a kid on Christmas morning opening presents and mixed up a fair few of the pills and swirled down the pain killer cocktail.

It took about 45 mins to kick in but once it did it at least took me back to mild pain rather than unbearable pain i had suffered the last few hours so I was thankful for that. I managed to get a few more minutes rest in bed before fuelling up with a full Welsh breakfast, served by the token Lithuanian hotel worker, and I was out setting up the bike for the day. Once outside the good news was that the fog had completely cleared, the rain had stopped and the sun was out with blue skies behind him.

Preparation is a very important thing and something I usually pride myself on and is an essential ethic I almost follow religiously. Now in my old age I feel this may be slipping... In order to complete the Dragon ride on uncharted Welsh soil a good friend gave me a gpx file to upload to my Garmin Edge bike gps system. So in theory, everything taken care of right? No backup plan needed, surely? The good news for me was that at least the Garmin found the route that was loaded on to it - a start. This would be the first time I would use the Garmin as proper navigation system with a pre-loaded course. From my start point at the guest house it would take a couple of miles to actually get on to the course and route. Once I arrived on the course itself the GPS picked up my positioning and suggested my route to follow. Great, I was in business. After double and triple checking I was 100% on the course the computer started beeping and screaming at me a lot and I kept trying to stop this by listening and looking to routes or instructions it was telling me but I ended up almost turning around every time I did this. This is one of those times when you think to yourself...this is why you should always read the manual to these little electronic gizmos but where would be the fun in that and boys never do that, do they! Ok, so plan B. I can see on the GPS that I am on course and going around the Dragon route but the computer is still not happy... At least I am safe in knowing that even if I don’t get the course exactly right I can follow this big red line on the GPS system attached to my bike and it will get me around the ride I had intended to go on. So.............about 10 miles I had worked out that I was doing this Dragon ride the hard way. I was going in the opposite direction to the clockwise route that had been preloaded to the GPS. Again, being a man I saw this as a challenge and stubbornness would not allow me to turnaround now. Road signs with town names and a map would now be my guide. Lots and lots of lessons learned here.

Lots of beautiful scenery flashing past either side of me passing through the Valleys on nice country B and C roads and small quaint towns got me to the scene of another mentionable drama. The hills were starting to come thick and fast now at about 20 miles in. With one very large climb approaching in a small village there was a set of traffic lights half way up the climb, which was very frustrating and inconvenient for a cyclist and could be extra problematic for a cleat wearer. Inevitably I got caught at the lights and undoubtedly I had a problem trying to get in to my cleats whilst attempting to get started again when the lights hit Green. I did get going with one cleat fully clipped in and the other half in. I managed to get to the top of the hill somehow with some awful technique and lots of determination but just as I reached the flat at the top a screw exploded out of my cleats and off the bottom of my shoe disappearing completely out of sight. This was a huge huge problem, if I didn’t find that screw I would have to cycle 60 miles with one only one pedal locked in as I did not have any spares. I dismounted and frantically started looking around in the small road I was in. I looked under cars, on the kerb and in all other logical places but nothing. Then a confused looking man appeared and asked me my business, he seemed to be working on a local house as a builder. After explaining the dealio to this inquisitive chap he shouted up two of his mates who came and immediately without question helped with my treasure hunt. It took only a few minutes with all of us looking and one of the builder's army-crawled under a car and grabbed the excitable screw and handed it back to me. I was eternally grateful to all of them and couldn’t stop thanking them but they immediately left as soon as they had appeared and were back on with their job. I felt this was the perfect time for my first pit stop and just sat on the kerb got the spanners out, fixed my cleats and took on fuel

Once back in the saddle it was hard to get back in to the rhythm again and the slight incline for the next mile was fairly tough going. This was a bad sign as I knew there was a beast of a hill approaching in about 5 miles.

With the Garmin still throwing a paddy and making weird noises all the time until it gave one final cry and then finally gave up the ghost. On 27 miles I was fiddling with the screen, it froze completely and then passed out. I was gutted as this was tracking my entire ride and I thought I had just lost all of my ride. After a few anxious minutes, a bit of a whack, TLC and some baby style talking it woke up again. It asked me to save the ride but luckily I knew from previous experiences with this GPS if I hit the play button it should continue to record it. I was in luck, it did and more importantly I actually knew where I was again as the map popped up too. I am sure my GPS was telling me....if you do this to me again I will...I think I am going to name my GPS too but just need to find the right name. I don’t think KIT is right but maybe something along those lines.

33 miles and the biggest challenge of my biking career so far. A mountain! The village of Maerdy at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley was the setting. On leaving the village I actually started by going down in to the heart of the Valley. On the way down you could see in the distance the challenge ahead and huge climb ahead. It didn’t look pretty but this is exactly why I came all the way to Wales. The climb was tough, very tough but ultimately and perversely really enjoyable on reaching the summit. I used gears on my bike that I had never used before. It was very hard work but importantly I felt ok during and after reaching the top. I was very pleased with myself. At the top the views were stunning on a 360 panoramic. These pictures do not do it justice really.

At the top of the hill my GPS read 33.33 miles exactly. A call of nature and fuel break ensued before getting back to it. A few miles pedalling across the top of this peak and then I was in for some fun. The old saying goes...what goes up must come down. On the other side of this huge hill was a very steep, winding and tight road down in to the lovely little town of Aberdare. The best way I can describe the journey down was like a fast Black bendy ski run. It was so thrilling getting up to high speeds, breaking hard, dropping in to your next turn and repeating again and again.

A few more miles on and I think I got slightly lost. I sort of knew I was close to the course route but also knew that I wasn’t exactly on the right path. In my head I wondered how this was all looking on the map as I was tracking. I knew for a fact this was not going to look like a Dragon, more like a three legged or deformed dog!

Decision decision decision time. Daylight was running out and my first 40 miles had been very slow due to all the hills. A lot slower than I had planned. So I decided to take a more direct route home and burn through the miles quickly. I headed down a very long downhill stretch of the A465 to take me in to Port Talbot. This was a way off track but sometimes you need to compromise in certain situations. The miles kept rolling and it got to about 4pm with 65 miles on the clock and after seeing a ridiculous amount of golden arches during the ride I had been brainwashed and it was time to do the Mobot and go and grab some grease.

Back in the saddle and on past Port Talbot, which is a pretty grim place if I am honest and the cycle along the sea front near the steel works was actually quite depressing especially in comparison to the views I had been blessed with all day.

With a burger in the belly as energy and fuel I powered through the last 15 miles to home and blasted back in to Bridgend to beat the dark setting in by a good 30 minutes. After a nice long freshen up, a beautiful pasta dinner followed at an excellently found restaurant in town. Then it was goodbye to Wales until the next time.

Wales has given me some great personal achievements with lots of hill practise, my biggest ever single ascent and over 8 hours in the saddle in one single ride not to mention all the incredible views I had taken in throughout the journey. Wales is a beautiful country and I will definitely be back for more hill practise in the future and to enjoy and embrace everything I have commented on in this post.

I feel 100% ready for Paris now with all my preparations and training. I am so excited and it is now only 20 days away!

By the way...here is the final picture of the route I mapped out. Dragon...hmmmmmm.