Day Five
Toul 2 Luxeuil-les-Bains

"Whoa, we're half way there!" 485 miles to be precise but who is counting (other than Harry!)

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Last night was an interesting evening. 11 tired cyclist and crew were rudely awakened from a sticky slumber when a storm broke around 2.30am.  There was a great noise from above which was either claps of thunder or Cuttsy removing his washing from the veranda! I also had some cramp issues in the hamstring that kept my room mate Owen on even more edge as I was  howling in pain at regular intervals too - note to self must drink more water.

 

Fortunately the clouds broke before we left Toul and soon we were riding in sunshine on what was arguably the best day's cycling so far on the trip (sorry Tim and Mario!). We started the day on a cycle path in the middle of the river that soon became rolling hills with some descents through wooded valleys thrown in. France at it's finest.

 

Once again the temperatures hit 35 degress but then we were well on our way to a 5.30pm finish, the earliest so far. As I keep reminding the team every morning "today is an easy day". I think that the team might be seeing through my optimism by now.

 

Dinner tonight was excellent (despite another Pizza but this place is like a ghost town on a Monday night) thanks to Emma Sainsbury who has been booking suitable venues as we go along. Keep up the good work and if you could find a Chinese or Curry House we would be eternally grateful.....

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Chapeau Award:  Man"Go" was on fire today as he has discovered how to power up hills like a bullock and descend like a snake. We are now questioning what he has been putting in his mango iced tea that he has been drinking but we  all have started drinking it now.

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​DOTD: A clear winner today - "Champagne Charlie" has excelled himself today. His ageing bike needs constant repairs, he disappeared up the road to lunch with no regard to the rest of the peleton. He also failed miserably when trying to secure a bottle of Pinor Noir for lunch (thank god!) and then left for the 40k after lunch without refilling his water bottles - the list goes on......

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​​Beer of the Day:  Leffe after the ride today which again is too strong to be a thirst quencher but for the good of the blog I struggled through and had another for good measure.

 

​​​​Cheese and Wine Update: At lunch I had a really stinky Camembert and a fabulous local cheese that Tony didnt know the name for other than "a smokey one with bits in it". This was  washed down by Pate and Cornichons that have now been sourced . Lunch was the best yet - keep the good work up.

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​Arse Report (sponsored by Natural Little Bee Chamois Balm):

Things are starting to sort themselves out for the group as we get used to 8 hours a day in the saddle. We have all been using so much bee chamois I'm sure that we were being chased by Winnie the Pooh through the woods today!​

 

​Weather Watch:

Today was perfect and we are expecting similar wind and heat  tomorrow as we begin to tackle more serious climbs. We do seem to be missing some big thunderstorms in the area so lets hope our luck holds out.

 

Dog of the day:

No dogs today, I think the word has got out to all the owners but I share below a nice bullock standing by a Tour de France sign for what it's worth.

 

Keep the donations coming - this is going to be a big one!

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Until tomorrow......