Joyriders.sg

Day 5 Bourges to Troyes

 

 

213 km today, 948km so far.

Today was Singapore-hot, 32 deg all day. Unfortunately it was rolling Mt Fabers all day too!

We were nearly 9hrs in the saddle today, plus some mechanical problems, 11.30hrs door to door. A puncture after 1hr for me, a bent front deraillieur for UK Dave, a puncture for UK Ironman Dave and another strange one for me. The tarmac was actually melting and I rolled through a bad patch that stuck to my rear tyre preventing it turning. Picking it off took 20mins - that stuff is so sticky. For 10k I was then picking up loads of small stones.

The hills took up a lot of energy and with the heat (no wind) it was a tough day.

However, once we were in sight of Troyes, our destination for the night, a 20k time trial commenced. I did more than my fair share at the front - it reminded me of the Rocky Train down Bukit Timah on the Sat 5.30 runs.

Thankfully the hotel bar was open on arrival, the ice cold beer was like nectar.

We have a great masseur with us Fred, a 10min session works wonders.

We are all working hard but we know its making a great difference for the charity so its worth every minute.

Tmrw is another tough 200k day.

Chris and Murli

Day 4: Poitiers > Chauvigny > Tournon saint-Pierre > Buzancaius > Levroux > Bourges

 

Day 4 Poitiers to Bourges completed.

178km avg speed 27kmh.

Total so far 735km (4 days).

Stretches in the car park before the 'grand depart' and off we went - 7.30am, on the dot.

 

A nip in the air so long sleeves were required. after a slow start, to warm up, we upped the pace and pretty quickly got into a 2x2 peleton and the km's disappeared into the distance - the terrain along the Loire valley was mostly flat and what hills there were, were steady rollers so no real worries.

Again, some great villages - some photos are now on the TTC blog.

The temperature soon rocketed up and liberal amounts of sunscreen were required.

Murli and I are both feeling good, well nothing that antiseptic cream won't sort out anyway!

 

 

Best Regards

Chris and Murli

Day 3: Laval > Bierne > Saumur > Loudun > Chouppes > Poitiers

The team stretches at 7.45 were a giggle and we were on the road by 8am. Shirt sleeves were the order of the day but it was chilly and Murli has yet to ride without extra layers! Three layers at one stage today!

The first couple of hours whizzed by and a 2x2 peloton worked well for the first 2 hrs - that helped the average speed. As a stark contrast the terrain as we zipped through the Loire Valley was relatively flat.

Loire is my fav place in France its so pretty and so peaceful. The huge sunflower fields really add character.

2 hrs in and literally 200m after we were back in the saddle, the heavens opened and we were forced to call the support car, who were still cleaning the carnage from our previous pit stop just 5 mins before, for our wet weather gear. Murli was the slowest to change, so slow in fact that the support van pulled away with Murli still perched on the back changing into leggings! Then a panicky TT back to the group!

It rained for a good 2hrs and with the temp at only 15 deg, it wasn't much fun, but we persevered and our 2x2 peloton continued and the miles sped by.

Lunch was taken by the roadside in a beautiful vineyard and luckily the weather was starting to clear. The temp started to rise, todays max was 25

deg, not hot but 10 deg more than the morning temperature.

After lunch we crossed the Loire river and through some tiny, tiny villages and more and more sunflower fields.

We finally arrived in Poitiers at 5pm and after a quick photo in front of the Town Hall it was into our normal routine of cleaning bikes, bodies and cycling gear and then onto the bars and eventually a restaurant. Fellow rider Jon, the President of the Autistic charity gave a live UK radio interview whilst we were in the bar!

Tmrw is another 180k as we head towards Bourges (still in France).

Best Regards

Chris and Murli

Day 2: Ouistreham-Caen France > Saint-Pierre-sur-dives > Falaise > La ferte-mace > Lassay-les Chateaux > Laval

Day 2 completed. 

On paper, this was supposed to be an easier day. However, the paper didn't show the gradient! It was a day of rolling hills - 170k of them!

We got to our tiny 4 man cabins on the ferry last night at 11pm. We all had the same idea - get to sleep asap. Objective achieved (Rocky beating Murli to the bottom bunk!), we were all so tired, getting to sleep wasn't a problem. 

We were woken at 6am and we had to up, breakfasted and off the boat by 6.30am. We were reunited with our bikes and rolling (remembering to bike on the 'wrong' side of the road ie. the right) by 7.30am.  Pegasus Bridge was our first ref point. This is a site famous for its fierce battle during WW2. However, getting there wasn't easy as we went wrong three times in the first km and ended up having to carry our bikes across the dual carriageway and lift our bikes over the central reservation. 

The French villages were stunning, we will post the pictures on our return. The temp was decidedly cool (jackets required) until around 9am but from then on the sun did its best to wear us down. 

Close to 'home' we lost the support van - no phone signal and everyone of us had run out of water. We decided to sit it out in the shade of a village green and let the van find us. 

The last stretch was particularly hilly but your Joyrider contingent did you proud as we were both strong today. 

After 7.5hrs and 170k. We rolled into our hotel in Le Mans, home of the famous 24hr motor race. Rego, followed by ice cold beer and a massage were the order of the day. 

373km after 2 days, approx 1200 to go. 

Happy biking

Chris and Murli