The Centurions

Day 3 on paper, a simple 88 mile cycle through France´s Champagne region. The only problem was that the route was planned by the toxicologists (Ollie)! We set off at 9 AM back into that cursed headwind and slogged our way out of La Somme. A SAT NAV problem or two (our bikes are not designed for cycle cross and we covered the ground pretty well. Then we ran into our first problem: after cycling down a 2-mile hill we realised we missed our turn. Following French directions we find ourselves on a motorway sliproad. Undeterred, Ollie fires onwards, cycling straight onto the motorway despite the trucks travelling at 110 kph. Clearly, he is no risk assessor! After a 10 mile detour we finally meet Jürg who negotiated the most fantastic pasta lunch.
Re-invigorated we set off again, and we had a puncture (Alan). Peter helped change it, and off we go again into the Champagne hills. It is harvest time, and we cycle past camps of farm labourers. One group of women called us over to sit with them – modern day Sirens on Homer´s Odyssey!
By now the hills were starting to tell, and a few struggled on. Another puncture for Alan, and then on to meet Jürg – who had parked in a village at the top of another big hill! It was worth though as he served us ham baguette. On the way to Epernay (and in the now pitch black) Alan had his 3rd puncture (he now clearly leads the puncture league) causing an outburst; his new nickname is Alan “Tourette´s” Raybould. We pulled into the hotel at 8:30 PM, 12 hours in the saddle, and 100 miles covered – a distinct honour in the cycling world. Time for re-hydration.