Hot on the heels of our triumphal climb up Mont Ventoux the article below appeared in this month's CTC magazine. Sue is a bit of a hero......

58 miles ridden - 2700 feet climbed - temperature 30C The last day of a tour is the best day and the worst day rolled into one. Bodies hurt, minds are numb but the joy of the great outdoors and a camaraderie set aside from normal life and based on a single common...

50 miles ridden - 4570 feet climbed - temperature 32C. Looking back on today it's difficult to decide what was the biggest challenge - 23 miles of climbing up, over, across and out of Gorges du Verdon or coping with Asterix Fawlty, our miserable host at La Bonnie...

71 miles ridden - 4600 feet climbed- temperature 32C We woke up to a beautiful day. The sky was clear, the air warm and sweet. At breakfast we were all moving slowly, getting in and out of chairs gingerly, and it was quieter than usual. Mont Ventoux had taken its...

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...

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...