Day 3

Yet again another 07:00 wake up. However, it was a more leisurely morning whilst we waited for people to meet at our hotel, how fortunate. We didn't get underway until 09:40 and caused loads of traffic problems as a large, slow moving pack. However, we were soon off the main road and following the Somme. There was a nasty climb out of the valley followed by some headwinds across the plateau. At least the large six foot crops provided an occasional wind break.

The route provided a long downhill into a village, but that just meant another climb out the other side. All the photo taking this morning saw me towards the very back of the group. I decided to break away from my fellow cyclist in search of more riders up the field. I wasn't very comfortable at the current pace and felt I wasn't getting into the flow I had experienced the other days. An extra mile an hour on the clock was the speed I should be doing, but unfortunately I didn't see anyone else for a long time. It would have been quite nice to be going down the lanes on my own if it wasn't for that damn wind!

This definitely was the hardest day so far. I didn't know if it was lack of sleep, cumulative effects of all the miles covered in previous days or too much beer. Whatever the reason, it was taking its toll. It was probably just the fact I was cycling on my own down open roads in terrible sapping winds. The scenery was all very similar today too, nothing new to see. Field, fields and more fields, they all looked alike. More importantly there were no cafes for motivation. I finally came across other people at the bottom of a hill, just before the morning water stop.

Precarious loose chippings on the road caused several riders to gingerly traverse down the hill and walk up the other side. It wasn't too much of a problem for my mountain bike though, even on full slicks. I was determined to feel better than the first half of the morning so I kept myself motivated by trying to catch people in the distance. This technique of sitting behind them for a couple of minutes rest and then chasing the next one saw me creep my way to the front of the middle runners. Making a game/competition out of the cycling was the best way I found to keep myself going. Fortunately, by the time I had run out of people within sight, two brothers came up behind me. I tagged along with them for the late morning run and we all took one minute turns at the front. The miles ticked by much easier, at a fair pace too. Unfortunately I was hit and stung right under the helmet by a kamikaze bee. Damn those big holes in the S1 helmet, they are great for ventilation but also for insects to buzz around in. The throbbing was really annoying but we pushed on to lunch:

The drizzle which started whilst eating developed into driving rain. It got quite heavy at points but we just kept going. At least the wind was now helping by pushing the clouds over quite quickly. Unfortunately I was wearing my cycling top and tee-shirt from work today, so it was all getting very sweaty under my waterproof! I was glad for a large feed at lunch time, it certainly made the afternoon feel a lot easier than the morning. By the time we got to the afternoon stop I just needed a quick refuel and five minutes shelter in the bus stop.

The final road into town was a long exposed one with a rough surface. It made for very heavy going with the built up area remaining on the horizon :( Across town things didn't really improve as we had to travel on a large dual carriageway. We were aiming for an early finish so we could make more of the evening. It didn't make sense to stop when wet, might as well push on to the showers. This was beneficial decision as I wouldn't have liked to travel those final few miles in rush hour! We ended the day at 16:50.

I reiterate what I said earlier, this definitely was the hardest day! I wasn't fed up with it or anything like that, it just felt more like a chore than the fun last two days did. The weather didn't help, nor my legs in the morning. I swear it took a while to work all the beer and toxins out of my muscles and get the energy levels back up.

The early arrival had the benefit of being able to frequent the local supermarket for a load of beer and Suchards. It turned out to be quite a long and messy night! Maybe it was the anticipation of the final day, but it was probably just a warm up for tomorrow night! The early night never happened, there was too much going on. I finally turned in at midnight.

Day 4