Étape 5: Saint-Dizier to Chaumont (82km)

Bonsoir! Today was a fairly straightforward and flat ride following the route of the Marne river out of Saint-Dizier and up toward our stopover for tonight in Chaumont.

It remained fairly cool and fresh, with pretty perfect conditions for long distance cycling, however when we stopped for lunch in Froncles there was a slight rain shower for 5 minutes! That is probably the worst we have had on route (except the thunderstorm and torrential downpour in Reims at dinner).

Whilst in Froncles we met a Yorkshire couple who were cycling/camping along the same route – their accents not to mention the bike with a union jack front pannier immeditaley gave it away. They advised us that the drivers get crazier the further south you go, and apparently had someone tailgating them “who couldn’t speak English but certainly knew what (they) were saying”, so we’ve got that to look forward to!

Tomorrow we reach the psychologically significant halfway marker just before Dijon, and then are looking forward to staying with Mark’s brother Graham just south of Dijon.
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Étape 4: Reims to Saint-Dizier (120km)

A very different feel to the weather this morning with the temperature down to just 10C, with overcast skies shrouding Reims in a cool grey gloom. We decided to make tracks while it still remained dry and soon found our way out of the city centre, heading southeast onto a canal path that took us out towards Sept-Saulx.

We then climbed up into the hills that lie to the south of Reims, and to the north of Épernay; hills that are covered in vineyards for as far as the eye can see! 

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It was at this point that Mark began to slow down from even just the mere thought of so much Champagne. We pushed on however and made excellent time after stopping briefly in Châlons-en-Champagne. We covered the final 60km in little more than 2 and a half hours, rocketing through one sleepy French village after another on quiet roads. Perfect touring and perfect weather too with a much fresher feel, still with dry conditions! Looking at the French radar today we have been really, really lucky.

Tonight we are on the outskirts of Saint-Dizier, in a small hotel & restaurant where loads of Gendarmerie have turned up, perhaps they’ve been tipped off!

Étape 3: Arrivé Champagne- Ardenne (110km)

Today was the first day of the tour with some serious climbs south of Laon on and over the hills that overlook tonight’s destination of Reims. The climbs were over 100m a time with steep chicanes of up to 8%.

Despite the initial drizzle and ‘hangover’ stratus, the rain and low cloud soon cleared as we left Saint-Quentin with the sun making its appearance felt on the approach to Laon. There was a fortuitous moment when we passed through Couvron-et-Aumencourt and spotted a local boulangerie, where were able to order some massive baguettes avec jambon and emmental! This kept us fuelled for the long climbs ahead.
It was then a trip around Laon with its magnificent cathedral centred upon the hill-top, before enduring some punishing climbs to the south, the payoff being some spectacular views and some very fast descents of up to 50kph. This evening we ate outside the cathedral in Reims, just finishing our meal before a violent thunderstorm hit the city requring us to dash for cover!

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Baker’s alchol selection – there’s just no stopping him!​

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3 days in and over 300km down with the legs still feeling good, hopefully things continue as we head towards central France! 

Tonight’s tune is The Manics classic rail against capitalism from 1992 which was a No17 hit that year, “Motorcycle Emptiness” – I used to think was about when Nicky Wire had his bike stolen!

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Étape 2: Arras to Saint Quentin (80km)

The heat continued into our second day of the tour with temperatures just about nudging 30C, however the short route meant that with frequent breaks this was just about manageable. 

After a fantastic breakfast of fresh coffee, croissants and a selection of fresh breads and cheese we quickly navigated around the busy roads that surrounded Arras. Within minutes however we were soon out into the rolling hills that formed the battlegrounds that defined World War 1 exactly 100 years ago. It is a sobering thought to imagine the trenches and awful conditions that those in the frontline faced across this region at that time, with many reminders and memorials dotted across the landscape.

In spite of the heat we both felt pretty good on this mostly flat route to Saint-Quentin, saving our legs for the many, many serious climbs to come! 

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The heat and humidity is really building this evening, with the towering CBs and ever darkening sky (distracting me and Mark at dinner) hinting at the possibility of some fantastic storms to come? It’s also expected to be around 12 degrees cooler tomorrow. ​

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Threatening skies over the centre of Saint-Quentin this evening.

Étape 1: Calais to Arras (124km)

Bon soir! We have made it safe to the wonderful city of Arras in the former county of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (since 2016 Hauts-de-France, which basically translates as ‘Upper France’). The city lay less than 10 miles from the frontline during WW1 and as such sustained heavy damage from German artillery, with the city’s 16th Century Town Hall sadly destroyed at the time. However, brighter days were to come and in 1993 the city became twinned with Ipswich in Suffolk. One city that looks like it was bombed to within an inch of the ground and Arras in France, perfect partners I’m sure you’ll agree! The majority of the original architecture has been lovingly and accurately restored (see below, taken this evening).

Anyway after a very good breakfast (minus 1 point for no porridge) we quickly made our way out of Calais along winding and typically French roads. Some busier times were incurred beyond Saint-Omer accompanied by a tempting smell of hops in the town itself, with daunting roundabouts a-plenty. However all French drivers were very curteous and gave plenty of space for us to junction left or right.

The weather was very hot (il fait chaud!) approaching 29 degrees C by afternoon, and so unsurprisingly this became a very tiring and difficult day – however a stop in Lillers for lunch kept us ticking over however we were very pleased to arrive at our overnight stay, where we had an ice cold beer in the gardens behind the property. Thoughts at dinner – a lovely restaurant outside in the bustling city square – turned to Day 2! Don’t go there.. well its 124km down, just 1076km to go!

Arras Town Hall

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Today we had a few ‘geographically challenged’ moments trying to navigate so tonight I have chosen The Bravery and their 2005 smash “An Honest Mistake”.

Grand Départ

Bonjour mes amis! Well the journey over to Calais with our bikes was fairly smooth, and we have escaped the cool rain that greeted us in London arriving to fine and warm conditions. There was one slightly surreal moment this afternoon when we queued up for the ferry next to the lanes of cars – but we were allowed to embark first so they’ve got their priorities right.

Just now getting rested and ready to start the tour tomorrow morning, however first we are going out in Calais to sample some local cuisine and of course some fine wine (when in France).

Today’s photo is a Banksy spotted in Dover just as we departed for France!​

Encore Une Fois!

Here we go again..

On 16th May 2017 Mark and I will embark on an 11-day adventure, taking in 1200 gruelling kilometres of cycling from the north (Calais) to the south (Marseille) of France. The route is shown below. As last time I am raising money for charity for which you are most welcome to support me at the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/BakerandJameson

Updates as last time will appear here as and when possible. Thanks for reading!

Thank you!

It seems like a long time ago now, but to thank everyone who supported me this summer on my cycling challenge I have organised a cake to be made by the fine bakery at Incredible Cakes of Cambridge. It will be heading around soon for you to enjoy, as my way of saying thanks.

In total I raised £1127.07 which far exceeded my expectations. Thank you so much!

DJ

UK ‘JOGLE’ celebration cake

Blogs End

Here is my final post then. Goodbye and thanks for reading.

So because I like numbers, and slightly copying the Guardian article on the Tour de France, here are the vital statistics from my JOGLE tour.

1: Number of punctures, and tyre changes. All on Day 4.

2: Rest days on the tour. Both still had rides of 50 and 62 km respectively.

3: Number of Sustrans National Route I used for part of the route on the final day.

4: Thunderstorms experienced on the tour, the majority on soaking Day 14.

5: Cooked breakfasts I had (when no porridge was available). Having a big bowl of porridge this morning though!

8.6: Km of continuous climbing at Cragg Vale (Day 11).

13: Completely dry days on the tour.

15.4: Average speed in km/h through whole tour.

20: Stages in my Tour with an average distance of approximately 96 km.

22: Counties travelled through. Starting with Caithness and ending with Cornwall.

27: Highest temperature on the tour in degrees Celsius, recorded near Loch Tay in Perthshire on June 18 (Day 5)

54.2: Maximum speed in km/h on tour, riding down to Manchester from Blackstone Edge (Day 11).

1,946: Total distance of the tour in km.

An Ending

Well I’ve done it – the last 25 km were really tough going, I was definitely running on empty near the end, but now I’m sitting in the Last Pub in England (or first if you’re setting off from Land’s End) and in a state of shock, exhaustion, and elation. As I look up to the ceiling there are mementos from other groups of cyclists who have completed LEJOG or JOGLE. Arriving to a fresh cup of tea and a warm welcome was far more satisfying a finish than ending at John O’Groats, which was just empty and desolate. And foggy.

So the ride then. Well it started with one of the most stunning sections of the tour, with must stop scenery at every corner. Mevagissey becoming my first stop on the Cornish coast trail.

The roads were very up and down (emphasis on up!), and despite almost unbroken sunshine, a beast of a SW’ly breeze developed which on the one hand sapped my energy, but on the other, cooled me down. It was a beautiful ride though which sort of took away the pain.

Heading inland it was then across on the King Harry Ferry in amongst the sheltered banks of the River Fal. A stunning location, with a quick hop over the river to save a 30 km round trip – with the added bonus that bikes travel for free! It’s not cheating, technically the B3289 runs across the river.

After a steep incline, it was then round to Redruth and Camborne (a Met Office 24/7 manned station – even at Christmas!) Followed by a brief stop in Hayle, and then a mostly flat ride into Marazion, and then along the coast buffeted by strong winds into Penzance.
The final push was then over the hilly and busy A30 into Sennen and finally Land’s End (I was seriously tired at this point, every pedal hurting more than the last). At this point the forecasted cold front arrived heralding curtains of drizzle, reminiscent of my arrival in Wick on 14 June.

As the weather was miserable I haven’t taken any pictures yet, am planning on doing that first thing tomorrow before I catch the train at Penzance. In the meantime here is my sticky toffee pudding from now (1,000 calories at least!)

Thanks for ALL your support, you have no idea how inspiring it was and how much it helped. For now, this is Dave signing off for the penultimate time (final pics and facts tomorrow). Here are The Strokes: