An Oggie abroad

[Andy H]

Off to check out a couple of stages of
'Le Tour' , sitting on the ferry in Dover in bright
sunshine, hope the weather holds up as we cycle
around Northern France.
Updates to follow!

[RichardB]

Bon voyage ...... and enjoy the racing.

[Andy H]

25 mile 'shakedown' ride from Calais to Dunkerque.
Both Jen and I are new to this touring lark, so an easy
pancake flat ride to check out bikes and gear. Great to ride
on good roads, not a pothole in sight.
Aiming catch stage 4 at the intermediate sprint near Cassels.
Look out for an Oggie waving a welsh flag like some sort of loon!
Off for moule frites and a cold biere. 🍺😊

[Steven]

...and you told me you could not speak French!

[Andy H]

Short hop on back roads to catch le Tour at the
intermediate sprint in Cassel. Interesting last couple of kilometre
climb up to town, on pave! Arrived several hours before Tour
due through and sat in cafe watching the crowds build.
Found a good spot on the barriers about 5 metres
from the sprint line. Looked like Voeckler 1st in a two man
break, Geraint Thomas and Sky near front of peleton.
Pothole update: thought we saw one on the D37 near Cassel
bug turned out to be just uneven Tarmac. 

[traine]

This is the first time I have seen a sensible use for a smart-arse phone. Well done Andy, keep the reports coming.

I did not see you cross the finish line today but was that Jen in 6th place !

Tim

[Andy H]

Jen still saddle-sore from the cobbled climb up to Cassel

[Andy H]

Headed to Ypres for start of stage 5. 40 km away. Day started with fine weather,
tail wind, flat, tree-lined roads, wild flowers on the verge and cattle
happily grazing, well maintained war cemeteries then...
 Got to Ypres (beautiful old town)and it pi££ed down! Spent a couple of
hours, dodging the showers and the massive crowds at the sign on and
caught a few glimpses of the riders, the ceremonial depart before
heading off on our way back to St Omer. 60km of head wind, rain and slow progress.
Stopped for coffee at the 'cafe de border belgie' just in time to see Froome
crash out of the tour. Looked like carnage today.
I'm sure some are only reading this for an update on potholes, sorry to
disappoint but despite some cracks and uneven surface on the way to Bailleil
still yet to see a proper pothole!  😊
Last night in France, hopefully home in time for club 10 tomorrow. Will help out
if I make it in time.

[Andy H]

Final day in France and a wet and windy (obviously headwind) 50kms from St Omer to Calais. Just as well it was very flat terrain again today.
The riding in Northern France is generally easy going with regard to terrain but the difficulty comes from the wind, wide open, flat countryside with little in the way of hedges can make it tough going.
Had a good couples of days watching the tour, although probably wouldn't bother trying to get to a stage start again as the crowds were crazy!

Trip statistics:-

Potholes    0
Punctures  1
Tour stages 2
'Tidy' french B&Bs 3
Bottles vin rouge 4
Kilometers cycled 230km

And the wife still talking to me, not sure if that's a good thing or not!   

[Shawn]

Maybe the number of potholes on our roads is what made GT so good going over the cobbles yesterday

[Andy H]

He certainly looked at home.