Photo 5: Cyclists riding through the dark on day 1
Photo 6: Marc cycling through a French village as the sun rises
Photo 7: Cycling passed Champagne vineyards
I suspect everyone knows that sinking feeling when you spend 30 minutes writing an email and it then disappears. Well the first blog post of Day 1 has disappeared into the ether twice now so this is the third attempt and I can definitely say the sinking feeling when you do it writing on a Blackberry hurtling through the countryside is even greater!
Day 1 started at 02:00 when we were all woken up by one of the cycling teams just returning from town! Alarms then went off at 05:30 (04:30 UK time) and we headed down for breakfast. Knowing we'd been one of the slower teams the previous year we set off at 06:30 which was the earliest time the marshall's allowed people out.
I was out first and as I headed out of Laon it was pitch black and very cold. My bike had three lights on the front, two on the back plus I had a fluorescent vest on so I was quite easy to spot even though it was so dark. We'd decided to just do 30 minutes stints this year rather than an hour so when Dave took over from me it was still quite dark outside. Although the route was well marked again it was easy to miss things in the dark and Dave was lucky we were close behind him as he headed off right at a fork instead of left so we were able to catch him quickly and get him back on course.
Paul picked up the written directions in the van and was trying to work out where we were, I peered over his shoulder to check the end destination for the blog and realised he was looking at day 2 ...a little optimistic!
The road we were on was called "Chemin des Dames" or "Ladies Road" a name it acquired in the 18th century as it was the route taken by the two daughters of Louis XV, Adelaide and Victoire, who were known as Ladies of France. At the time it was scarcely a carriage road but it was the most direct route between Paris and the Chateau de la Bove which belonged to a former mistress of Louis XV whom the two ladies visited frequently. To make it easier the count had the road surfaced and it gained its new name.
As Dave finished and handed over to Marc the sun was coming up and the early morning mist was still hanging in the valleys. We were now entering the Champagne region and the little villages we passed through had lots of little champagne bars with private labels. There were vineyards on either side and the skies above were blue so it was looking like being a nice day.
Dave handed over to Paul to finish the first round of rides. This was Paul's 11th Challenge ride his first being back in 1995 so he was the most experienced of all of us. Paul's 30 minutes seemed to go quickly as we continued through small villages, fields and vineyards. The roads were a bit busier now with lots of other vans and cyclists around and shouting encouragement as you went by. One of the cyclists was over 80 years old and another was on a recumbent pedalling with his hands - the Challenge really does attract a broad range of people.
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