Day 3 - Rieux to La Roche sur Yon

Day broke and the team rose enthusiastically to tackle our second day on French soil together. Jane's first camping experience only resulted in ear to ear smiles and praise for the new way of life, the huge king size bed and home comforts were suddenly pushed to the back of the mind - a result! We had another long day planned and some meticulous planning last night made sure we were to get off to a good start in an attempt to learn from our navigation lessons from yesterday - of course the first 100m went perfectly...the rest is history but we set out in search of Roche Sur Yon, a further 160km south closer to our final destination!



Long straight, flat roads which joined the dots between the ever sleepy French towns was on the cards. We were keen to exploit the impressive road surfaces we have experienced so far and an efficient peloton was soon formed, those pesky kilometres didn't know what was coming for them. We stumbled across a stunning classic French chateau on the shores of a lake, on closer inspection this spa/hotel created a stir amongst the boys...could we collectively afford a week in there instead...We decided probably not so munched on our crumbling flapjacks and got on our way.



At about 45km in the impressive Pont San Nazaire rose in to view with the HGV's that send shivers through all cyclists bones looking like tiny specs rising on the arched structure in the distance, now all we had to do was find our way to join them. The area can probably be best described as an over sized Port Talbot. It was however the home of Airbus which posed some impressive views of planes being loaded onto planes particularly impressed us!


Another perfect lunch served by the Battle Bus meant that we were fuelled up to take on the afternoon, which provided more of the same in terms of cycling. It is always nice to have support on tour, we got our first taste of what is must be like to have a persistent Tour de France fan running alongside you on the road...for us it came in the form of a grasshopper! The desperate critter clung on to Laurie's jersey for the best part of 25 km before finding his way on the Robs wheel. He was soon flung over in to the Brittany countryside miles from home to fend for himself with the support of the A2A team...an emotional moment for us all but nonetheless he provided a bit of entertainment for our mature sense of humour.



A quick pit stop with the support team ensured we had enough energy to see us through to our final port of call - La Roche Sur Yon. It is a busy town with lots of industrial units on the approach, the next challenge was a rendezvous at the campsite. Keeping our wits about us we navigated the rush hour traffic and were escorted to our spot for the night. Another successful, long day!



Today's distance: 162 km
Total Distance: 468 km
Average speed: 24 kph
Top speed: 54 kph

Max heart rate: 82% (163 bpm)
Average heart rate: 59% (118 bpm)
Calories burnt: 3100

- @Access2a
- www.access2africa.co.uk

Location:La Roche sur Yon

Day 2 - St Malo to Rieux

Our first day on foreign soil lay ahead of us, as we enjoyed the Butlins style evenings entertainment in the ships bar. We slept through a rocky night on what seemed like the bottom deck of the boat in our sardine style cabin feeling every wave as it struck the boats hull.



After a serious breakfast refuel on the ferry, we departed our floating hotel, rebuilt the bikes and headed full steam ahead towards our days destination. 45 minutes later... we were still meandering the beautiful, if repetitive, streets of St Malo. Our dear friend Mr Garmin, seems to be a country boy and is not at home in the urban environment. But never the less, we made it out alive, and headed for our first checkpoint of the day through the beautiful Brittany countryside.

We arrived in Dinan in great spirits, boosted by questioning from a lovely English lady who took great interest in our trip, and later followed our conversation with a motivational tweet! Again, Garmin had a bit of a hissy fit leaving the town, resulting in the recreation of the Paris-Roubaix, as we rode through the towns cobbled streets for the 4th time.



Eventually we made it to our lunch stop with the fantastic mobile catering and support van team (The Battle Bus) of Rob and Jane. Filling our stomachs lifted our spirits and changed the course of the day for the far positive. The thunder train rocketed up to full speed, aided by the tail wind, faultless road surface and red arrows style formations. We glided through stunning scenery, and beautiful small towns, keeping Garmin happy with the open country air.



Before we knew it, we where at our final stop for the day with only 25km to go and the same distance to our first and (hopefully) only 100 mile day! Apart from Fred's tyre puncturing on the driveway up to the campsite, it all ran smoothly and we stabled our horses after an emotional and geographical roller coaster! Another carb, cheese and french bread filled meal was the order of the day, followed by Janes award winning ginger cake, to round of what has been a hectic baptism of fire for the first couple of days. Our first day on French soil had shown us how amazing the next week will be in this cycling mad country pushed along by a brisk tailwind and brilliant sunshine! Now to enjoy our first night under canvas and look forward to our first 'normal' day, away from ferries and slipping into our already developing routine.

Today's distance: 160 km
Total Distance: 304 km
Average speed: 23km
Top speed: 60.5

Max heart rate: 87% (173bpm)
Average heart rate: 65% (130 bpm)
Calories burnt: 3765

- @Access2a
- www.access2africa.co.uk

Location:Rieux

Day 1 - Oxford to Portsmouth

It started as a dream. Today it became reality. After months of planning and training the 1,500 mile journey has begun!








We had a great send off from the famous 140 Divinity Road from Laurie's family, Viv and Charles G and our support team for the first week Rob and Jane John. Guest rider for the day was James Macmillan (Macca). After last minute checks, several photos for the worldwide press and hugs and kisses we were off! A very easy start rolling down the hill until we had to stop 30 seconds into the journey as Rob decided he was cold and needed a top! We had a couple of nasty A roads leaving Oxford but finally got onto some lovely surfaced quiet roads, thanks to route planner FJ. We were just getting into the rhythm until we all discovered we had weak bladders and had to stop regularly to relieve ourselves. At least we were well hydrated! After some lovely riding through the mansions of Berkshire we had a little hiccup trying to direct ourselves through Basingstoke. We then arrived at our lunch spot for the day in Hatch Warren with the back of the ride broken. Rob and Jane were waiting with lunch as we climbed the hill finishing for the morning- now that's what I call service!



Lunch was exactly what the doctor ordered! We were refuelled and ready to go. The afternoon ride was lovely, we even passed a pair on a tandem bike also riding from Oxford to Portsmouth! We were climbing the last hill into Portsmouth when we got our first puncture of the trip- inevitable, it was only a matter of time. We arrived at the top of the hill and there was a sense of achievement- we could finally see the harbour, day 1 was coming to a close. Just the 1,400 miles to go! So as we begun our final decent of the day we were half way down the hill when we realised we had taken a wrong turn off- story of the day! Back up then against the head wind, oh well. As if one wrong turn off wasn't enough we were half way down another hill before déjà vu struck! Another wrong turn off! We can see the harbour, however we are struggling to get there! Finally we arrived down at the port to be greeted by the masses! We got showed and fed at the Moffit's and then loaded the van in preparation for the boat. Off to St Malo we go! Roll on day 2!



Today's distance: 89 miles
Average speed: 15 mph
Top speed: 48 mph

Max heart rate: 93% (185 bpm)
Average heart rate: 68%
Calories burnt: 4,000

- @Access2a
- www.access2africa.co.uk

Location:Portsmouth

Packing light!

With only a day before we leave, the packing is in full swing. Due to the geographical spread of the team, this is not the most coordinated of efforts, and only once we come together on Friday night will we know who packs light and who has brought the kitchen sink (Laurie). 

It is only as we approach this stage that the details of the expedition have been brought into focus. Packing efficiently and ensuring nothing is left behind could be the difference between and difficult first few days and a difficult, stressful and expensive few days! Just to give an indication of what we are bringing below I have attached an approximate kit list of everything that individuals need to be bringing;

Cycling Items	Quantity	Tick   ✓✓✓
Bib Shorts	2/3
Cycling Jersey	3
Cycling Jacket	1
Waterproof	1
Under shirt	Optional-2
Socks	4
Helmet/Gloves/Sunglasses/ Cycling shoes	1 of each
Chamois Cream	1
Bottles	2
Cap	Optional-1
Casual Items
Smart Short	1
Casual Short- E.G. Ox MCCU	1
Swimming Trunk	1
Long Trouser	1
Trackie	1
Jumper/Hoodie	2
Shoes	3
Boxers	4
Socks	2
T-shirts/ shirt	5
Other
Sleeping Bag	1
Pillows	1/2
Sleeping Mat	1
Wash Bag- 1. Toothbrush 2. 2 people to bring paste 3. Deodorant 4. Hair product 5. Shower gel 6. Moisturiser 7. Floss- Marky	1 of each
Pack of Cards	1 pack
Football	1
Rugby Ball	1
Electronics 1. Garmin 2. Ipads 3. 1x laptop 4. cameras 5. go pros 6. all chargers	Where applicable
Suncream	Lots
After Sun	Lots
Need to Discuss Food etc
1 Bag to fit clothes	1 Bag for other

 

A2A goes national!

The prestigous local paper, the Beds on Sunday have decided to post an article about the expedition on their website. A huge step for the publicity of the trip and we are expecting the paps at our door any day now!

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/News/Rob-gets-ready-to-roll-for-bike-ride-to-Africa-20130704103828.htm

Alps training

Just a couple of pictures from our trip to the Alps. A huge thankyou to Uncle Paul for his generosity and help in facilitating the trip. A great experience and a fantastic way to bond on the bikes as a team!

BMS Website

A huge thanks to Robs old school for posting a fantastic story about our expedition, hopefully a great way to allow others to enjoy our journey! http://www.bedmod.co.uk/1500-Mile-Cycle-Challenge