Day 2

Sunday, April 30
Calais to Abbeville
134km

First real day of cycling today.  It was WONDERFUL!  Exactly the experience that I was hoping for....well...almost.

I had a decent sleep last night.  My roommate's occasional snoring woke me up a few times but I was pretty tired so I slept well anyways.  They rotate roommates each night, so tonight I'll have someone new.

Breakfast was plentifull. Corn flakes, baquette, crossant, fruit, yohgurt, and cheese.  I hope that continues.  They didn't have peanut butter for my toasted baguette though.  (The Brits think that peanut butter is disgusting.). I had to use Nuttella instead.  Yum.

The forecast called for heavy rain, and there were dark clouds in the sky and puddles on the roads as we left the motel.  I packed my full rain gear iin my truck bag, so as to be ready for any bad weather.  It was about 10 degrees, so I also needed my arm and leg warmers and vest.  Luckily, the weather stayed dry all day and even got quite sunny at points...even though the wind was still chilly.

Right off the bat, we started cycling along the English channel and up some of the large cliffs.  These are the "sister" cliffs to the white cliffs of Dover...only on the French side.

There was a long, steady uphill and a few of us separated from the pack.  Then the road really became steep.  After a week without cycling, my legs felt very fresh and I maintained a very aggressive pace.  All of the other riders quickly fell well behind.  About halfway up the hill Iit leveled slightly, and I stopped to take a photo of the riders behind me.  It was tough to build momentum again, and I really had to push myself to get to the top of the hill.  When I got to the top, I slumped panting on my handlebars.  I felt a little dizzy and the next thing I knew I had fainted.  Not exactly behaviour befitting the new "King of the Mountains" I realise.  Luckly, everyone who saw me fall from a distance assumed that I had gotten stuck in my clipless pedal.  Not exactly a cool thing to do either...but perhaps not so bad a losing consciousness.

I sat by the road for a few minutes and caught my breath.  Soon my group had caught up with me and we were off again.  No more trouble for the rest of the ride and only a bit of a bruised knee to show for my fall.

The other side of the climb was a glorious descent into a little village in the hilly fields.  It was lovely...and very steep.  Its a good job I remained conscious for those hairpin turns!

From that point on, the ride was just fantastic.  The roads were so quite that we only saw a few cars all day.  And its a good thing too, because the entire road was only one lane wide.  There were no sholders or gravel at the sides either.  Just fields, road, fields.  It really felt like someone had laid a lovely bicycle path meandering through the fields and forrests and over the hills and streams.  The roads were never straight.  The constantly snaked left and right and rose and fell.  With mostly smooth pavement - except for some cobble stones in one little town - it was the perfect cycling route.

I road with many different groups throughout the day.  For a while, I sprinted ahead with Chris but he broke a gear-cable and stopped half way for repairs.  I joined up with several other groups after that.

We stopped for lunch at a little pub.  I had a big baguette with hame and cheese, while most of the Brits had a beer and some Mars bars.  I found most of the coffee shops too smokey today, and since I don't even drink coffee I was happy to contiune cycling or wait outside when other people stopped.

I think that today was the longest ride of the trip...but it certainly won't be the hilliest.  I am very much looking forward to tomorrows ride...and hoping that the weather continues to hold.

Day 1

Sat, April 29
Dover (UK) to Calais (France)
10 km

Yesterday, I managed to stay awake until about 2:30 by walking around the small village of Horely.  I had a nap until 6pm and then steak and ale casserole at the Gatwick pub in town.  (This time I knew to order at the bar.). After dinner, I read and watched TV until about 10pm.  I hope this means that I am now on local time.

This morning I got a taxi back to Gatwick, leaving my large bike box at the B&B for me to pick up on the way home.  From Gatwick, it took three trains to get to Dover.  After all of the trouble I had booking the train tickets from Canada, it was amusing to find the trains empty.  No one even looked at my ticket on the last two!

I met one of the other riders on the train.  He was wearing ful cycling gear and had a small, half-full carry on bag around his neck...vs my large treking backpack.  (Luckily, he proved to be the exception rather than the rule.  Although I had begun to question whether I really needed that 4th pair of socks.  He had done three previous trips with Bike Adventures, and had very nice things to say about them.  (Note: I'd give you his name but I'm forgotten it, so I'll have to ask tomorow.)

We met the rest of the group in Dover: 11 men, 3 women, 1 driver (who owns the tour company) and two tour guides who ride at the back of the group each day.  Sounds like a potential post-MBA career path to me.  (I can see my father growing concerned at the very suggestion.)

I am the youngest of the group by several years, but there are a few others in their low-30's.  A lot of the riders have been on several long tours before.  One has been across America 3 times!!!

It was a short ride onto the ferry at Dover, a 1 hour crossing (with lots of time for "white cliffs" photos), and another short ride to the B&B in Calais.

Th toughest part was cycling on the left hand side in Dover.  I can barely even cross the street in England without getting hit...despite the "Look Right Dummy" signs that are painted on thr road for people like me.  I also find myself playing "chicken" a lot with people on the sidewalk, as I try to pass them on the right.  The cross-UK trip in June will definitely require some adjustment.

After checking into the motel, I went for a walk around town with two of the other guys, and then had dinner with the whole group.

Its one of the longer rides tomorow, and they're calling for rain.  Better get some sleep now. 

The real cycling starts tomorrow.

Arrived Safely in London

The "Airport Express" shuttle from the Royal York to the Toronto airport works great...even for someone with a boxed bike and large trek-around-europe style backpack.  I definitely stood out amongst all of the business people with their little carry-on bags.

Check-in with Air Transat was a breeze.  The Chicken Pizza in Terminal 3 was mediocre at best, and my "travellers history of france" book was a bit dry at first, but it managed to keep me entertained throughout my flight.

All of my luggage arrived intact, and the B&B I'd booked was only 5 mins from the airport...as advertised.

I managed to reassemble my bike without incident.  Even though I only had to add the pedals, seatpost, wheels and rack, the process made me feel very "handy".  (Longos, at least in my immediate family, rarely I'd ever consider themselves "handy".  My father's toolbox, which origionally served as my "Apple Day" basket from the cub scouts, only has a hammer, some tape, and a couple of screwdrivers he got free 10 years ago as part of a Petro-Canada promotion.). And yet, here I am "building" a bicycle in the parking lot of a B&B.  Two other local guys watched me for a bit...as if to lend their moral support.  The B&B owner was inspired to do something handy himself, and brought out an old table to stain.  (Coincidence?)

With bike assembled, I've crossed the street to "Ye Olde Six Bells" pub.  Its a 500 year old building that used to be associated with the church next door.  I've got a pint of local beer and decided to fire off this e-mail while I wait for my fish and chips to arrive.  (Actually, I sat here typing for about 15 minutes before I figured out that I was supposed to order my food at the bar.)

So...the plan is to get some sleep today before catching an early train to Dover (UK) tomorrow morning.  There, I will meet up with the rest of the tour group, and together we will take a ferry to Calais (France).

Foods here...

Big Picture Stuff

In case I haven't spoken with you in a while, here are the big items on my calendar for the next few months:

I've been accepted into an MBA program at Harvard, which I will start in September.  Before I leave for Boston, I have three, 2-week cycling trips planned.  All of them are with UK touring company "Bike Adventures".  (See link to their webpage in this blog's link section.)  I'll return to work in Toronto between the trips.

First is France.  From April 29th to May 14th I will cycle from Calais (on the English channel at the "top" of France) to Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer (on the Mediterranean at the "bottom).  Total distance is about 1,350km.  (vs. 7,800km for the trip across Canada).

Next is England and Scotland.  Roe, my girlfriend that I met on the trip across Canada, and I will ride from Lands End (southwest England) to John O'Groats (northeast Scotland) from June 10th to June 25th.

Last day of work at CIBC (at least pre-MBA work) is July 28th.

Finally, my friends Ryan and Jenn will join me on a tour around Ireland from about August 4th to August 21st. 

Then, is off to Boston on August 29th for "Orientation".

Should be a pretty great summer, eh?

...and the adventures continue

If my Blackberry works in France, then this will be the place to hear about how my trip is going. Otherwise, this will be a very boring webpage.

Cross your fingers.

Now...back to work. 11 hours, 15 minutes until my flight leaves.