Friday 29th May – Day Six! FINAL DAY!! The finale!! I can’t believe we’re here!! We’ve had mega-sun, massive cheers and double champagne so far... As I lie exhausted (or “epuisee”) on my hotel bed, with a beautiful view of the sun reflecting off The Seine, our 0430 alarm this morning seems like a lifetime ago. Today has been the most beautiful of days, with those of us leaving at the suggested 0530 start time lucky enough to experience a stunning sunrise, haunting mist, and next to no traffic for the first couple of hours of our ride. Packing in 53 undulating, increasingly hot and sore miles before “lunch” at 11 could well have been the day’s main achievement – had this been any other day but our finale. We were the lucky ones however, and a few Heroes, namely Lizzie Wingfield and “Team Harry Long” decided to set off at 0400 to ensure they arrived on time. Serious dedication!! We still had a good 20 miles’ slog into the very centre of Paris, navigating the horrors of the 5 laned Peripherique (?!), accompanied with ever-impressive French drivers. As the temperature hotted up, the end of the ride was but a stone’s throw away (if you are particularly gifted at throwing stones). A mass of H4H cycle shirts signalled that we had at last reached the Trocadero where everyone had the chance to take photos, drink beer, or have a few hugs with family who had come to greet us. This also turned into some free-for-all opportunity where the older generation of male cyclist saw fit to congratulate the younger females within the group in a rather familiar manner... Our final ceremony was very impressive, stopping traffic to cycle down the Champs Elysees, where we parked our bikes and had a service on the Arc de Triomphe. We were accompanied by the British Ambassador, a French military band, British and French Standard Bearers and some amazing Veterans. After a rousing rendition of the British AND French National Anthems, we re-mounted for the last time and cycled to the Eiffel Tower. The Japanese Tourists had a field day immortalising us on celluloid and, by the time we stopped, the champagne was flowing to greet us courtesy of The Sun. The icing on the cake was dinner on a Bateau Mouche with some stunning views along the river. And what better accompaniment than our pipers and buglers serenading Paris at the end of the night? Tomorrow I am looking forward to waking up without an alarm and putting on ANYTHING but lycra!! Same time next year? Thursday 28th May – Day Five! Thursday; the penultimate day. Today was fairly easy going in terms of both mileage and activities. We had a luxurious lie-in until 0745, so the braver among us took this as good signal to experience the delights of Lisieux. Special mention has to go to the Welsh Ladies who turned up to breakfast in PJs… sterling effort! We stopped for lunch at Bernay Airfield where an incredible reunion took place. It was Resistance Day and as we congregated for lunch, a plane arrived. Out stepped Tania Szabo, the daughter of Violette Szabo, one of the first Special Operations Executives to parachute into France. Also, Bob Maloubier who jumped with Violette into France, two modern day officers of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and Anne Ponsonby who was an original FANY, or Granny-Annie-FANY as she shall now be known. We heard a little bit from each of them about what their job entailed, followed by a wreath laying ceremony. This afternoon was an incredible ride South through stunning countryside, with only the odd “Alp” to test even the fittest of hill climbers! Quote of the day overheard between two ladies went as follows: “My word, you’ve got extremely strong looking thighs, what do you do for a living?!” “I’m an accountant.” And the laughs continued throughout the afternoon. The Headley Court team put on a terrific display by turning up in fancy dress. How a Para in fishnet stockings and zebra print dress can cycle faster than me, I will never know! I had a decidedly Basil Fawlty style moment this afternoon where Desert Storm (my trusty steed) gave in to gear failure and two punctures within the space of 10 minutes. However, on entering Evreux I was faced with the scene of 100+ cyclists taking over a small bar at the side of the river and heckling anyone who failed to stop for the customary rehydration. Morale alert! Early nights all round this evening before the horrific 0430 alarm call for our final ride into Paris. All in all, another stonker of a day with beaucoup de laughs all round. Wednesday 27th May – Day Four! Today has been the hardest day yet but morale seems to be staying strong. I have spoken to so many different people (mainly as they overtook me) and it is staggering to hear the different reasons people have for taking part in the ride. There is a palpable sense of team spirit and the laughs are pretty continuous. We had our first water-stop at a Canadian cemetery, followed by lunch at Montormel where Uncle John and Andy Newell talked us through their separate experiences of being shot in action (Uncle John in Holland, Andy in Afghanistan) and evacuated back through the different aid posts, to the UK. Both incredible stories and on the whole I think I’ll probably try to avoid getting shot in future. We broke the back of the mileage before lunch but that definitely did not prepare us for the hills we had to face in the afternoon. Even the road markings were written in blood… I have found muscles I didn’t know I had, and have also learnt the difference between boys’ and girls’ cycling shorts… there has been definite “puckering”. I do however want to applaud the makers of the Rido saddle from the bottom of my heart and the heart of my bottom; a lifesaver!! The French meteorology is having a laugh at the expense of the Brits, and having heard rumours of blistering heat today, I braved the elements in shorts and a wife-beater. Foolish, foolish mistake as the head-wind and fitful rain tried their hardest to prolong our arrival in Lisieux. Nevertheless, “ici nous sommes” and if I ever make it up from this chair I’m going to make a serious dent in the hotel’s supply of Chablis! Tuesday 26th May – Day Three! We woke up after a somewhat disturbed night’s sleep, thanks to the ceremonial piper treating us to a little recital at 0130hrs – no more Calvados for yoo-hoo! We had howling gales and a lot of water on the roads so unfortunately had a few inevitable “men-down!” en route to Arromanches. No man-tears though and everyone was very brave… We had a fascinating couple of hours at Arromanches learning about how the floating mulberry harbours were built in the UK and towed across the channel to make a floating port. Only the British Army could come up with such an outrageous plan, without ever attempting such a thing before, and somehow manage to bluff their way through it to a rousing victory!! The achievement was incredible and we were lucky enough to have Uncle John Painter with us who is a Veteran of Arromanches (aged 19 at the time) and who was able to describe the unimaginable scenes of devastation that met him on his arrival to the war. After a somewhat windswept lunch in the most exposed area of the whole of Northern Europe we re-mounted and set off to Pegasus Bridge via Merville Battery. The sun once more pulled a blinder and by the time we had learnt of the stealth attack by the Ox and Bucks Regt on Pegasus Bridge, there was no finer moment than sitting back with a cold beer at Mme Gondree’s café and soaking in the amazing atmosphere surrounding us. Harry Long, who was wounded whilst serving with 1RGJ, was one of the wreath layers at Pegasus Bridge and has been cycling on a hand-bike… imagine the guns! We have finally reached our hotel in Caen and I have precisely 17 minutes before supper time in which to transform myself from “Wild Woman of Borneo” to Sports-Casual Style Beauty – aagh! Now… mini-bar anyone?? Monday 25th May – Day Two! Today was our first real day of cycling and we covered 75 miles. We had an early start (even earlier for some of us whose room-mate seems incapable of grasping the concept of Central European Time…) and all looked out the window to see an outrageous thunderstorm threatening to ruin today’s fun. Naturally we all layered up with a lot of warm kit and waterproofs, only to become hotter than the sun when the clouds finally broke revealing glorious weather. We stopped for lunch at Ste Mere Eglise where we spent a couple of hours. We had tour guides explaining the history of the town, followed by an amazing display by the Red Devils Parachute Display Team jumping above the town square in the same way the 82nd Airborne Forces did 65 years ago. We then had a very poignant ceremony and wreath laying before being escorted from the village by a gaggle (unsure of correct collective noun) of Harley Davidsons!! We then cycled past Omaha Beach and on to the American Cemetery which was mind-blowing to say the least. In true British style we boomed out the Star Spangled Banner to the best of our ability and even managed to finish a few bars ahead of the accompanying music! The final 15 miles saw a welcome arrival into Bayeux where all batteries will be re-charged with the winning combination of vin rouge and magret du canard before the next action-packed day starts tomorrow! Sunday 24th May – Day One! It has been a gorgeous day in Portsmouth - nice enough even to compensate for the filthy 0530 start to get down to Southwick Park in time for 8am registration. The cycling tan is well on its way, with the only downside being that one’s tanlines will suggest a unitard has been worn rather than a jersey and shorts. Maybe a mankini could be a possibility? The military band at Southwick Park entertained us with a superb Lion King medley of 'Circle of Life', 'Just Can’t Wait to be King', and 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'. Amongst the crowds I overheard the quote of the day from one of the Headley court team, who piped up with “I might be ginger, and it may well be pushing 30 degrees, but there’s no way I’m wearing an RAF hat .” Emotions were high with a send off speech from Mrs Gregory who was at Southwick Park on the 6th June 1944 when Eisenhower gave the Green Light for the D-Day landings to go ahead. Bringing back to us all how recent this war was and how similar to the conflicts of today. Ross Kemp gave a great and supportive speech, but looked a little sheepish explaining why he was sporting a shirt and tie rather than lycra and a bry-nylon H4H jersey. His vow to undertake the ride next year was met with a mixture of applause and bell ringing, which appears to be some cycling substitute for clapping one’s hands. I can’t help but think that this week is going to be an education in cycling form – so much to learn. Should have brought my Debrett’s! Friday 22nd May 1600hrs. Tuesday 19th May - 0900. Well, less than a week to go and the enormity of the ride seems to be settling in. The itinerary seems absolutely chocka-block and the small matter of covering 350 miles is fading into insignficance. I’m particularly excited about meeting the Red Devils and just hope I can beat all the Marines to the front of the queue for a peck on the cheek! The bag of stash from Help for Heroes was very well received, particularly the Camelbak which has been worn almost non-stop in an attempt to look hard-core. The contents can vary depending on time of day, although I definitely wouldn’t recommend Baileys again as there is still a little residue... should have thought that through better. For the remaining 5 days I’m going to go through and practice all my emergency scenarios. For example, “Puncture Drill” goes as follows: · Scan surrounding area and when no-one is looking, lie down at the side of the road with bike strategically tangled around legs. (Smudge a little mud on the knees and face for dramatic effect). · Make a distressed-damsel type lament, with varying pitch depending on how much attention is attracted. · When helpful Samaritan-type stops, pretend to be brave-but-helpless until inner tube has been replaced. Giggling at regular intervals is recommended. Taa-Dah! Friday 15th May - 1430. Wednesday 13th May - 1100. Sunday 10th May - 0930. |
