Sunday 7th July 2024

 The three riders that signalled their intention to join my ride were indeed the only riders that joined me today on this beautiful Summer's day.

Except it wasn't.....I don't normally wear merino wool in July.

Picking up Diane at Banstead, we arrived at 10.15 to be shortly joined by Brian who was pleased to find the A25 closed to vehicular traffic due emergency works between Buckland & Reigate.....bliss.

Dave made the quartet & we sat by the window in Morrisons enjoying our free doughnut/free drink refills but it really wasn't a day to sit by the window.

All we wished for was the rain to stop.

Just after 11, the rain stopped....but for how long?

Erm, not long at all & for the next 45 minutes it was either raining or raining heavily & I thought at some point somebody would holla out " I'm done...see ya later".

But no, this quartet was made of made of strong stuff & onwards we rode through the river that was our road.

At Parkgate, hurtling towards us was the annual Addiscombe Cycle Club Race.

Starting from Newdigate, these hardy souls with no mudguards or rain gear seemed to lap it up (no pun intended).

By a strange coincidence, whilst researching refreshment places, I found myself on their website which gave me the idea for today's lunch spot.....true story I kid you not.

https://addiscombe.org/cafes/cafes-in-west-sussex/

It was drying up a little when we passed the Frog and Nightgown pub (mains only on Sundays but tea/cakes pretty much anytime during opening hours).

Quieter than a normal Sunday I suspect, the drying up continued at the Strawberry Fields café.

As I tap the keyboard, the email alert goes off.

Diane reminds me of the danger that bungee cords can cause if left unattended.

The busy & frankly dangerous crossing of the A264 again but further east to a bridleway crossing the railway where an unclosed gate could cost you £1000, to emerge at Sunnybrook Farm.

We just about got to Denbies when the heavens opened again.

But we cared little.

We were inside, it was warm & looking up at the vast glass roof witnessing a torrent of water with thunder & lightning thrown in for good measure.

Thankfully, the ride home was in warm sunshine.

Thanks to Dave, Diane & Brian for your company.

Avenue Verte Day 3 Beauville to Chantilly

 Wednesday dawned bright and sunny but unfortunately it was to be the worst day for many.  Over half the party rose itching terribly with raised spots and had had an extremely uncomfortable night.  Bedbugs were the cause though the reception staff looked blank and in denial.  The bedbugs became a secondary issue when it was discovered Helen's bag had been stolen with her passport, money, phone and other stuff.  She was distraught and plans were made to backtrack to the police station in Beauvais to begin the slow process of getting a temporary passport to enable her to travel home.   WE REALISED THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING YOUR PASSPORT NUMBER WRITTEN DOWN SOMEWHERE OR A PHOTO OF IT ON YOUR PHONE .

This was the day with two ride options, a long and a short.  The majority had opted for a shorter day and this enabled them to support Helen in Beauvais but still ride in the afternoon to reach Chantilly.

Lillian, Christina and I set off in very hot weather but did have a great day on the Avenue Verte route, visiting  Bresles, Clermont, Sacy le Grand (where we lunched at a traditional restaurant) , Senlis and finally climbing up to an area of national forest with many footpaths running through it.  We descended to the magnificence of Chantilly with its extensive parkland, stabling and chateau.  A memorable day for many reasons.  We were pleased to learn that Helen now had an online form to complete however it was difficult for her to access her mail accounts on someone else's phone so she would not easily be able to receive the document they wanted to send her.  (In the end a visit to the Embassy in Paris on Friday secured the temporary passport at the very last minute and she caught the train with us to Dieppe.)

Accommodation at Le Avenue in the centre of Chantilly provided us with comfortable rooms, a garage for the bikes and good dinner. 

Day 4 - Chantilly to Pontoise

The group set off together to view Chantilly chateau before joining the route to Pontoise.

A lovely day on small roads that followed the River Oise and the small villages along it.  A lovely lunch was had at Beaumont-sur-Oise with supplies from an award winning boulangerie and drinks at a bar opposite.  More gentle meanderings, at one point on a narrow track by the edge of a field of sweetcorn until we climbed to the significant village of Auverrs sur Oise where Vincent van Gogh and his brother are buried and where he painted some of his most famous paintings.   It was a very relaxing afternoon in glorious sunshine.  At Pontoise Lillian, Paul and Maggie stayed at L'Hermitage, Tim and Pat said their goodbyes and headed off for further adventures, and the remainder lodged in Le Petite Reine, apartments a little too close to Pontoise Station, but very bike friendly with bike parking on the ground floor below the apartments. The 3 storey town house was tradionally shuttered and charmingly decorated with a bike mounted on one wall and 3 wheels on another.  We felt at home until the hourly express trains made themselves felt in the rooms at the front !

Day 5 -Pontoise to Paris

Helen got an early train to get to Paris first and obtain the vital temporary passport.  Pinky's cousin who lives in Paris was a huge help at this point.  The remainder of the party were ably led by Paul and Maggie in an impressive debut partnership to get us directly to Gare Lazare for the 3.45 train to Dieppe.  There was no time for anything but the briefest of photos and we were so glad we'd left time to negotiate the lifts, the platforms, the carriages (we were looking at the wrong numbers ...1 and 2 being first and second class).  Eventually on carriage 3  - some had there allotted bike spaces others just had to stack them and help bemused Parisians lift their suitcases over us to find their seats.   Helen arrived in the nick of time.  Madelaine was staying on in Paris.  With a combined sigh of relief we departed to raid Dieppe.

Avenue Verte - Day 2 Forges les Eaux to Beauville

Fortified by a better than expected breakfast we wheeled forth into brilliant sunshine, crossed the purpose-built cycle path over the railway and entered the green rolling hills of the open country towards Gournay en Bray. 

Having pushed the pedals over flat terrain the previous day the pleasures of rolling downhill were enjoyed and the party was in good form knowing we had a full day to do our mileage rather than the mid afternoon start from Dieppe the previous day.  Gourney en Bray has a market on Tuesdays so the town was pleasantly busy and we lingered in the sunshine over various provisions from the local bakeries.

We were then on another long straight stretch of off road cycle path beautifully surfaced and through attractive woodland towards Beauvais.  The highlight of this town is the magnificent towering cathedral with its astronomical clock.  More time for refreshments and chat.  We sorted out the glaces from the glasses and the iced coffee from the coffee ice cream at a cafe opposite the cathedral.  

Onwards, led valiantly by Tim through the rush hour traffic into the out of town supermarket zone where our beds for the night awaited.   KFC sufficed for some , others went on a tour of the huge supermarket opposite finding enough to picnic on on the outdoor tables.  Forty miles in fantastic weather.