London to Paris Day 1

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So the first 77 miles is complete and now back in the room after a nice curry and a few beers. We set off the morning from Greenwich Park and quickly picked up national cycle route 21. This would be fine if we were on mountain bikes but on road bikes this is not the route to take: deep mud that drags you to a stop, steep gravel tracks that you can’t ride down or up. This all added up to only averaging 7 mph for the first 40 miles to the first stop. So out came the maps and a revised route was planned to the second stop down the main roads. This worked out a lot better and the average speed soon picked up to the point that the first group got to the next stop before the first support vehicle arrived. Today has been very, very hot, so for me between the first and second stop I was suffering badly with dehydration with high heart rate. So at the second stop pints of water and pints of orange juice sorted me out for the next leg down to Brighton which was a lot more pleasant. Another stop in a pub there and then the final leg on to Newhaven which is not flat and had some very punishing hills.

So the stats

· 17 falls (one person four times)

· 77 Miles completed

· 7.5 hours in the saddle

· 6000 calories burned

Injuries

· Elbow aches

· Arse aches

· Dehydrated

· Feet hurt

· But strangely the legs don’t (It won’t last)

Onto the ferry tomorrow morning to cross the Channel for a short leg in France.

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