Here are few more pictures: I did a 'Froome' and ran up: This is not quite as it appears. As Sue and Julie approached we were concerned they would stop by the vans and not continue for another 100m to the official finish line so I ran back down to yell at them to...
39 miles ridden - 6000 feet climbed - temperature 30C (but not all the time) We know from those who have done this trip before that the day starts with a sense of foreboding. Today is short because those of us who want to are climbing up and over Mont Ventoux, one of...
58 miles ridden - 4700 feet climbed - temperature 28C Today was about stunning views and beautiful towns but we had to earn the opportunity to see them by climbing out of the gorge where our hotel was located. After about 1/4 mile we started climbing - about 1000 feet...
75 miles ridden - 3900 feet climbed - temperature 25C It would be very easy to focus all of today's blog entry on the room we are staying in at the Hotel Belvedere starting with the jacuzzi in our private courtyard- but I won't. We had a messy exit from Mende itself...
52 miles ridden - 4600 feet climbed - temperature 22C The idea of a shorter day appealed to everyone but in the typical sense of balance the climbing made it feel long. We were either doing one of three long climbs or we were on rollers - a bit up and bit down and...
65 miles ridden - 6000 feet climbed - temperature 20C (not trusting Garmin on this!!) Today is supposedly one of the toughest days of the tour. We were warned about the first 5 miles and actuality matched our worst fears. The climb started approximately 2cm from the...
60 miles ridden - 5420 feet climbed - temperature 20C (occasionally) The weather today was spectacular - a few high clouds which made the sky interesting but absolutely not threatening. The road surface was generally great. Sometimes the wind was behind us. It was a...
56 miles ridden - 4450 feet climbed - temperature 18C (chilly) It took us a while to come together this morning as we were spread across 3 hotels. In fact we didn't really congregate until lunchtime except for one poor soul whose navigation device failed him miserably...
71 miles ridden - 3400 feet climbed - temperature 23C What a wonderful day. No rain. It almost didn't matter what the scenery was like or how pretty the villages and towns were we had sun cream on and were dry. Fields look different in sunshine. Corn looks better,...
79 Miles ridden - 2500 feet climbed - temperature 20C Wet! Wet! Wet! From the moment we walked out of our hotel to get our bikes until lunch in Langeais it rained. And in between the rain it seriously poured. No pictures today! Within our group we had a wide variety...
80 miles ridden - 4200 feet climbed - temperature 25C We were guaranteed rain today, the question was when. Forecasts ranged between 09:00 and 13:00 with between 30% and 55% certainty. The sun was up when we left and the town did look so much nicer than it had in the...
68 miles ridden - 3500 feet climbed - temperature 22C ** to be updated with pictures - stay tuned!! The weather for the whole of Friday including our ferry crossing and the twilight hours in Ouistreham was fabulous. What could go wrong? We all gathered for the first...
Subject to internet access and a functioning iPad - watch this space!
One week after the end of my ride from New Orleans to Minneapolis when hopefully my leg muscles are talking to me again, and Butt Balm, rehydration, and recovery supplies are replenished Sue and I depart for Caen in Normandy for our journey to Nice. Our tour summary...
0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed - emotions felt - many...... Yesterday evening we had a real treat as Lon and his wife Joanne invited myself, Ernie, Tim and Richard to their house for dinner. Lon even drove 45 minutes each way to collect us from, and return us to, our...
62 miles ridden - 2500 feet climbed - temperature 28C (at the end!) Today was a day of mixed emotions. Pretty much all of us were both elated and relieved it was our last day. Over the last 10 days we have covered 751 miles without a break and our legs were feeling it...
102 miles ridden - 2000 feet climbed - temperature 32C What a beautiful day. Although no rain was forecast, because of the rain yesterday afternoon and overnight there was a lot of mist around which didn't really burn off until lunchtime. It was around 20c/68F when we...
66 miles ridden - 950 feet climbed - temperature 21C Weather forecasts are not always right but today it was - it did rain. However it was pretty warm so aside from the spray coming from passing trucks it wasn't too bad. It didn't even matter that much that we spent...
72 miles ridden - 4300 feet climbed - temperature 30C Today was all about climbing and flies. It was a bit cooler today when we left but that was more than compensated for by constant small hills or rollers. We try and get enough speed going down to get us almost to...
93 miles ridden - 2800 feet climbed - temperature 33C With a long ride and temperatures expected to exceed 100F mid/late afternoon it was an early start - breakfast at 05:00 and load/leave at 06:00. I have to admit that facing food that early wasn't easy, especially...
57 miles ridden - 1000 feet climbed - temperature 30C (more on that later!) Although today was a short day there was significant negotiation last night for an early start time as we knew it was going to be a very hot day. We settled on breakfast at 06:00 and load...
94 miles ridden - 1650 feet climbed - temperature 29C Another fabulous day's cycling although at 5:30 this morning a thunderstorm came through town which woke us all up. While it caused some concern by the time we loaded at 07:00 we had a beautiful day ahead of us....
59 miles ridden - 1000 feet climbed - temperature 27C. Today was a glorious day's cycling. Lovely temperature, bit of a tailwind, great mix of urban and rural landscape, all in all it was spot on. We climbed out of Hannibal and crossed the Mississippi yet again and...
38 Miles ridden - 2000 feet climbed - temperature 30C The shorter day was very welcome as was a gourmet breakfast in an artisan bakery instead of stale raisin bran and bagels in the hotel lobby. We had a much later start at 9am which didn't really matter on such a...
108 miles ridden - 2000 feet climbed - temperature 29C The first 46 miles today was on either dedicated bike paths or well-marked bike lanes so we didn't have to concentrate so hard on traffic. We followed a bike path for 11 miles out of St Louis past industrial...
0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed - hot and sunny Today has been a fabulous rest day centred around three things - The old courthouse, the Gateway Arch, and a river cruise. The old courthouse is a magnificent building constructed in the 1820s to support the importance...
85 miles ridden - 4700 feet climbed - temperature 21C. Today was great cycling but not so good for sightseeing. It was much cooler and overcast until mid-afternoon - we got splattered a couple of times by raindrops and went through occasional puddles but missed the...
70 miles ridden - 3100 feet climbed - temperature 27C. Today we passed the halfway point - 882 miles. We would have celebrated but we were trying to out-run rain clouds which I am pleased to say we did. The first 40 miles was...
93 miles ridden - 1800 feet climbed - temperature 29C. Today was long, hot, brutal but interesting. It started with the Royal Wedding which started at 06:00 here and coincided with breakfast. I was first there, got the channel changed on the TV and most of the riders...
69 Miles ridden - 1950 feet climbed - temperature 22C Today was all about being chased. The first and more obvious issue was storms. It was quite cloudy when we got up and the weather forecast showed that there was a collection of storm systems all around us meaning...
80 miles ridden - 2400 feet climbed - temperature 25C. Today we were trying to get to Ripley before expected thunderstorms. Although it was much cooler, the humidity made things a bit uncomfortable as our absolutely sodden clothes did not dry the way they do in a hot...
0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed - temperature 31C We had a radical sort to the day with a lazy, late breakfast at 7am and didn't leave hotel until 09:00 - it felt very weird but pretty nice. First on the list was a walk downtown to the National Civil Rights Museum...
66 miles ridden - 2300 feet climbed - temperature 32C Today was a much more social ride, non just because Darin was riding but everyone seemed a little demob happy at the prospect of a short (relatively) ride and then a rest day. The extended Across America North 2016...
63 miles ridden - 800 feet climbed - temperature 33C. The moment we walked out of the hotel the heat hit us. At 07:30 it was already 28C so we were anxious to be on our way. After a pleasant ride through the quieter neighbourhoods of Clarksdale we headed out into open...
82 miles ridden - 220 feet climbed - temperature 30 Celsius. Apparently it is unseasonably hot here for May. Normally it's around the mid 20s which I must say would be pleasant compared to the current temperature especially with the high humidity which apparently...
100 miles ridden - 500 feet climbed - temperature 29C. God Bless America and the tailwind blowing this flag and us! What a fabulous days ride. Although very hot - the average temperature might have been 29C but the road temperature according to the gospel of my Garmin...
91 miles ridden - 3000 feet climbed - 27C It's official - Day 4 is the new Day 3 (only not so bad). It was a long hot day that split into 3 parts. The first section took us through the outskirts of Natchez into some beautiful quite country lanes. The only drawback was...
65 miles ridden - 2200 feet climbed - 29 Celsius. Today was a great day. In fact it was the best Day 3 of any trip I have done. Day 3 is when my legs start complaining, I haven't slept well, and generally I am wondering why I am doing the trip. Well not this day 3. It...
57 miles ridden - 500 feet climbed It was hot again and we had a headwind. There's a funny balance with headwinds when it's hot - it can be very cooling but if it gets a bit too strong or you hit an incline it becomes hard work. First half of today it was cooling -...
65 miles ridden - 220 feet climbed Finally it starts. After a couple of days nearly getting over jet lag and mooching around downtown New Orleans today we all got on our bikes and started riding. New Orleans is much more genuine than I imagined and really has a very...
I fly next Saturday 5th May, briefing and orientation is on Monday and the ride starts on Tuesday 8th with a 61 mile ride to Gonzales. Very exciting! Here's the summary map and plan: The first three days are a nice warm up for 91 miles with 4000 feet of climbing on...
After being able to practice in icey, wet and windy conditions, I was able to fill a serious gap in my preparations last weekend by cycling in warm, sunny conditions! Friends Terry and Julie who Sue and I cycled with in Italy last year, and with whom we will be...
Saturday - 48 miles ridden, 720m climbed. Sunday - 33 miles ridden, 480m climbed. At last! It's not raining, it's kind of warm and I've got a couple of pretty clear weekend days. Saturday's ride criss-crossed the Chiltern Hills with over 700m of climbing. As you can...
Training has commenced for my 2018 rides. Mississippi Ride: Between 8th May and 1st June I will be cycling from New Orleans to Minneapolis following the great Mississippi river. Covering just over 1726 miles with stops in Memphis and St. Louis this trip will give me...
62 miles cycled - 1350 feet climbed. What can I say? Another beautiful sunny, warm day. Our first 40 miles was as flat as a pancake as we crossed the River Po Plain with only the occasional rise as we went up on to a dyke or crossed a river or canal. Today we covered...
78 miles cycled - 3100 feet climbed. Today was fabulous. The sky was blue and the view from our hotel room was the perfect start to the day: Aside from the fact that there were a lot of lifts and very few signs we hadn't noticed much about our hotel until we went in...
58 miles ridden - 5400 feet climbed. I had forgotten how much noise frogs make when there are a lot of them in a calm, safe pond with lots of insects to eat. They started at dusk and finished at dawn - I just hope all the noise was worth it! Much of today was overcast...
63 miles ridden - 5900 feet climbed Boring isn't it? Another fabulous day cycling in the sunshine. Last night's hotel was very luxurious and we both slept very well indeed so it was a rude awakening to go in for breakfast and find ourselves squeezed into a table...
73 miles ridden - 4800 feet climbed. It's a clichè but another fabulous day's riding which followed breakfast in the garden of the hotel which was a lovely start to the day. The first 40 miles or so was rolling hills - nothing too extreme either up or down and...
0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed although walking around Siena it doen't feel like it. Woke up and lay there - no need to move - no early breakfast - no lycra - just lie and enjoy. It's the simple luxuries in life that make the difference. After a leisurely breakfast...