Tuesday 9th July 2024.
We really wanted to make the most of each day and get up, have breakfast and leave the hotels as early as possible. So a 06:00 alarm and breakfast at 07:00 would give us enough time to get some food inside of us, get dressed and prep the bikes ready to be on the road by 09:00 at the latest. Most of us were well rested after the long previous day, although Alex did complain that the combined 'sn-orchestra' of mine and Andrew's heavy night time breathing had left him feeling rather un-rested. I did remind Alex that I had put ear plugs on the kit list as an optional extra!
Breakfast itself was basic, croissants, pain au chocolate, baguette, cereal, yoghurt, coffee and fruit juice. It was at this point that we saw a weather report on the news channel in the breakfast area, it didn't make for pleasant reading, it was going to be a wet day. Our first rest/food stop was planned for just 25 miles from the start and we left the hotel in good time to start our journey south through France. At this point the weather was cloudy, but not cold and we soon dispensed with the need for arm warmers and gilets. We quickly made our way out of Calais, which being a typical port town, is not an especially salubrious area. We picked up a cycling path along the canal, which led us out of town. We continued criss-crossing the canal on our way to Ardres, 10 miles away, where we managed to find a bike shop open for Stephen to replace the two inner tubes he had used the previous day. It was then onto our first climb of the day from Tournham-sur-la-Hem up into the forest and the Audomarois Nature Reserve. We had seen YouTube videos of previous London to Paris rides and we knew this was a long climb which came in two parts, of just over 5 miles with gradients up to 7%. Not too much, but just enough of a distance with a heavy laden bike to make your legs burn first thing in the morning. At the top of the hill we came across Chapelle forêt de Tournehem sur la hem, a small chapel built in the middle of the forest.
After 25 miles, we reached the town of Lumbres and passing a Leclerc supermarket and a McDonalds, we headed downhill into the town, to find most of the shops closed and our route partially blocked by roadworks. Finding nothing suitable in the centre of Lumbres, we pressed on around the roadworks and towards the outskirts of town we found a bakery, where we could at least get a cold drink and a croissant or a cake. We knew this would not sustain us for the full day and there were comments that we had passed the golden arches, but we felt comfortable that we would be ok until our next stop in Pernes, another 25 miles away. Lumbres had been a very quiet town and as we climbed again out of the village it started to rain, it rained hard and although we stopped to put on jackets, we vainly hoped this would be a passing shower, but deep down we knew this would not be the case. We cycled onwards and through some very beautiful villages, one thing that struck us all, was the lack of people. Yes, it was raining, but we saw no-one, not even many cars being driven over the next few miles. The weather quickly deteriorated as we climbed to the top of another plateau of farmland we could see rain falling everywhere around us, we felt enshrouded by a grey, wet cloud. This was going to be a hard days ride. At this point the miles ticked by slowly, we were wet, very wet and pretty miserable, but we had to keep going. Then just as the first rumbles of thunder could be heard above us, unbelievably, the rain got heavier.
We reached Pernes and 50 miles completed. As we cycled into the main square we found a bakery and with a covered alleyway next to it, we took shelter. We must have looked very strange, six soaking wet cyclists, sheltering from the rain, stuffing our faces with foot-long baguettes filled with ham and cheese, and drinking cokes and coffees. As we stood there the rain slowly eased and stopped, we whispered silent prayers that the worst was over. With full stomachs and high hopes we got back underway to continue our journey. As we rode, the breeze quickly dried our cycling gear, although it would take longer to dry our shoes. We were all just starting to feel happy when we started another climb. Yet again as we crested the hill, looming black clouds appeared to be moving our way. The accompanying thunder, was once again followed by torrential rain. In the distance we could see the forked lightening and the thunder grew louder. We came to another small village, La Comté, and the rain was just horrific, we found a bus shelter and six of us cowered under the roof, out of the rain. We must have been there 15-20 minutes before the storm passed and the rain eased, but not stopping completely. We once again set off as we still had 20 miles remaining to Arras.
Just as we were approaching Mingoval at 63 miles..... 'mechanical' came the cry! Our first puncture of the day and our third overall, this time it was Tim who suffered the cruel fate. As he and Stephen turned his bike over to get the wheel off, the sight of yet another bolt of lightening and the now familiar clap of thunder greeted us, as once again a heavy downpour ensued. Cold and wet fingers meant that this puncture stop took a bit longer than the two we had the previous day, but eventually we were moving again and at 70 miles we cycled into the village of d'Écoivres. As we took a right hand turn just at the end of the village we came across one of the many military graveyards that are dotted around this part of France, this was the biggest cemetary we had seen so far. We paused, and stood for a moment in the rain, to pay our respects to those that lost their lives between 1916-1918. The final seven miles to our hotel in Arras was uneventful and the rain had even stopped by the time we arrived at 16:45. We checked in, found our rooms and headed for a shower to wash our kit and ourselves, hoping that the kit would be dry by the morning. We stuffed freshly bought kitchen roll into our shoes and headed to the nearest restaurant for a meal and a few drinks. Despite the atrocious conditions that day, our spirits were still high, we were still bouyant and happy to have gotten through the day. We knew nothing could be worse than what we had just ridden through and the sun even came out, seemingly in agreement with us.
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