Tour de France
Trip Start
May 24, 2008
1
2
63
Trip End
Dec 21, 2008
Épernay,
Champagne-Ardenne,
France
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Day 1 - Epernay: Our 4 bikes were dropped off by Bob from Belle France and he ran through some of the places he thought we might like to stop at on the way, like the motor museum in Reims and the miniature model village near Cuisles.... he was old and we should probably have realised from then that we didn't really need to listen to everything he said. Anyway, Day 1 was practice day in that we didn't have to ride to our next destination. We were all feeling a little apprehensive about getting out on the road so we thought the best thing to do would be just to get it over with, so we took the bikes out on the recommended circular route highlighted in our maps. This route through us straight into the deep end taking us out of Epernay on a lot of very busy roads. But once we got through this we hit some smaller villages that were much more relaxing to ride through. We then made our way back to Epernay and spent the afternoon doing a tour of the Mercier champagne house where the tour of the cellars is by laser guided train.
Day 2 - Epernay to Ambonnay, 26km: So Day 2 was the first day where we had to ride to the next destination (our luggage is taken separately by pre-arranged cab). Of course this meant it was raining and it didn't look like it was going to stop in a hurry. We kitted up in all the wet weather gear that we had and set off out of Epernay to make our way to Ambonnay mostly along the canal.
Cycling team
The rain did not let up for most of the way so by the time we arrived in Ambonnay we were absolutely saturated. In terms of scenery it was a nice ride but hard at times due to the rain. We arrived in Ambonnay (a 1 Tabac Village) at about 1.30pm (lunch time) so unfortunately our hotel owners were not home and we had to wait on the doorstep in our soaking clothes for about 40 minutes until they arrived. Luckily we had pre-purchased some baguettes in Epernay so we didn't go hungry, and I think the record was set for the fastest time in which a block of Milka was eaten. Dinner at the hotel was included and it was unbelievable - very very French, 4 courses that were all as big as each other. The entree could have been a main and the whole French thing of having cheese before dessert is delicious but hard work. We got through it with out offending too many waiters (hopefully... they had to send the only English speaking staff member out at one point to ask why some of us had not eaten our asparagus...) and did manage to fit in breakfast the next day.Day 3 - Ambonnay to Reims, 32km: Thankfully the rain stayed away on Day 3 so we had a dry run to Reims. Not sure if it was the 4 courses for dinner the night before of the fact that we haven't done much exercise in a while but the hills on Day 3 were killers. Even the small climb getting out of Ambonnay seemed hard work. The green jersey for King of the Mountain certainly went to Ken (Peter's Dad) who rode non stop up every hill we came across during the 6 days.
View out across the vineyards
He was a hill riding machine! It was a very pretty ride through a lot of the vineyards around the area. Just before our stop for lunch near Taissy we had the first stack of the trip - no prizes for guessing who, some would say that I am my father's daughter (ie. clumbsy). I was getting a bit freaked out by some of the traffic through Taissy that were riding our tails because they couldn't get past, I thought I would help them out and go up on the side walk and I didn't quite make it all the way up the curb and fell very nicely on my shoulder outside the local boulangerie. No major injuries other than being quite embarrassed. After a lunch stop on the canal we made it into Reims by mid afternoon. Had the best pepper steak for dinner. Yum.Day 4 - Rest day in Reims, NO CYCLING: I think we were thankful for the rest day, we were feeling a bit sore. Checked out the Notre Dame and the Mumm champagne house and generally rested a bit. Another pepper steak for dinner, seriously, it was that good.
Day 5 - Reims to Cuisles, 38km: The longest day of cycling and certainly the best. We had really good weather and the ride started out being quite flat. At about the third last town we went through, our cycling notes described a 2km 'gentle' climb out of the town - it was anything from gentle and appeared to go on forever. The King of the Mountain was the only one to make it out alive, the rest of us had to walk it, which made it seem three times as long. The cycling notes were certainly interesting, they were supposed to guide us along our route between each destination but we did find that they seemed to get very obvious left turns and right turns mixed up sometimes.
Team leader
Luckily they gave us maps as well so we always found our way. Our reward for the longest day of cycling was staying at a place called Chateau de Cuisles. A chateau guesthouse set in the grounds of a champagne house. Practically in the middle of nowhere it was absolute bliss to enjoy the surrounding gardens (including a nap on the lawn) while we waited for the owner to return to let us in. We enjoyed some pre-dinner champagne in the courtyard overlooking the hills before our set dinner menu that was delicious (but again the 4 courses, cheese AND THEN dessert...we could have done with one or the other).Day 6 - Cuisles to Epernay, 26km: Last day of cycling and unfortunately our luck had run out with the weather. It seemed to be normal procedure for all cycling in and out of Epernay to be in the rain (see Day 1). We made it pretty quickly through most of the route and then took our own detour off the main road to finish the ride into town along the canal. We saw two lots of swans with their babies... very cute. After checking in and showers we went for lunch where the La Burger was consumed for the second time (La Burger: a hamburger in a crepe, a popular choice amongst the cyclists) and then off to the Moet champagne house for the vintage tasting and tour. Probably the best of the lot.
Day 7 - Epernay to Paris to London: no more cycling which seemed a bit strange. Was quite a smooth journey back to Paris to get the Eurostar back to London.
Next stop: Packing up the flat and then to Dublin for the Radiohead concert.
