Day 2. Breakfast at 6.45am was just what was needed. Clear skies, and a fresh wind in our faces, and off we set. The first few miles were along the beach, lovely and flat. The lull before the storm!

Next came Col de Blanc – three miles of uphill riding. Nothing prepared us for this one, but the views at the top were brilliant. The ride down was fast, but then came another three mile hill climb. We were cussing and knackered at the top. It is fair to say that Mark was definitely king of the hills today (as he was yesterday as well).

By the time we got round to Boulogne (25 miles), we were ready for a proper break. James kept us fed and watered. We found a great spot just outside Etaples, and enjoyed a freshly prepared baguette, cheese, salad, bananas and some long cold drinks.

Boulogne saw us slowed by some French demonstrators, burning tyres, marching unions etc. Once out from there, it did get a bit flatter, and once we had mended another puncture for Mark, we enjoyed the French countryside and villages as we passed through all the way to Abbeville. Hotel here is great, and we are looking forward to our nosh this evening.

Day 2 evening

Had a walk around Abbeville. Lovely town, huge cathedral/church. Had a welcome drink down by the river Somme. Decided to eat in the hotel restaurant, as the menu was just what we wanted – three courses including steak and chips for under 20 euros. We are all pretty whacked out, so will get an early night tonight, but we are aiming to start at 7am tomorrow.

Forgot some vital information in earlier blogs. We did 83.5 miles on day 1, at an average of 13.1 miles an hour. On day two we averaged 13.8 miles an hour over 81.1 miles.

So that is going some, especially given the hills we went up. Hopefully tomorrow will have fewer hills to climb.

Day 3

Friday June 25, 2010 – 11am and all is going well. Clocked almost 30 miles already this morning but the rolling hills are a pain and taking their
toll.
Next stop Beauvais. Then day four the final ride to Paris . . .