We woke on the second morning to the sound of rain pelting the windows and wind lashing the trees and generally as bad a weather situation to cycle 80 miles in as could possibly be imagined was waiting for us outside our hotel’s front door. As we set off it very quickly became apparent just how hard the day was going to be as the wind (25km/hr headwinds we would later learn) made it impossible to go any faster than about 10 miles an hour and once we’d cycled away from the shelter of the buildings of Coquelles the exposed landscape meant we were taking a battering from the elements.
SAM ENOUGH
This was how it was to be all day and there was little we could do but keep chipping away at the route we had set towards Abbeville. Crawling along the D127 stooping for a breather at Desvres where upon leaving, an error of judgment caused us to stop and turn back on ourselves and as we did so gravity claimed it’s second victim of the trip and Dan toppled down a bank leaving his legs up in the air at the bottom of a grassy verge.
Progress was slow but steady to our lunch stop at Montreuil and there waiting for us at the top of the hill the town is sat on was ‘The Frog’ and as Pete bundled us into the back of the van out of the rain Chef Sneydy rustled up baguette after baguette crammed full of cheese and ham until we were suitably refuelled and ready to attack the afternoon miles.
Alas there was still no let up in the weather and after lunch this was psychologically a bit soul destroying but we stuck with it and ploughed on in the rain and the hail cycling through Crecy and on to our next water stop at Domvast where Peter and Brian were waiting for us with just the encouragement we needed to keep our spirits up. As we pulled up they appeared from ‘The Frog’ brandishing their A-Z pointing out just how far we had travelled that day, there was a stunned expression on everyones face as it looked even further than we had realised, this was a boost (not the chocolate bar although there were countless of these on hand at all times) we needed badly and it really felt like quite an achievement especially as we were starting to forget what it felt like to not be battered constantly by wind and rain.
Revitalised upon hearing this news and giddy on Powerade we nailed the final 5 or 6 miles to Abbeville. I think everyone would agree that this was a day we were glad to see the back of. We hurriedly checked into our F1 lodgings for the night showered and changed and headed for the adjacent Buffallo Grill to bask in the luxury of Steak Hache and une grande 1664.
