And We’re Off…
So it’s finally here. Today we load up the car and head to France for our first family bike tour.
Hopefully all the training will pay off and we’ll enjoy, not just endure, the ride.
Most of our training has been done on roads because although 85% of our route will be on cycle paths, having confidence on the road sections will be really important. We’ve worked our verbal and non verbal communication, checked that our bikes are all tuned up and ready for the ride ahead, loaded up all the panniers and packed enough bike tools and spares to last us a year (it seems) So let’s go…
Having successfully made our way to the ferry at Dover early this morning (including a detour to replace 2 completely bald tyres on the car) we’re now on our way to La arochelle. Our plan is to stay in Tours (ironically) this evening and complete the final 2 hours of the journey tomorrow, enjoying a relaxing day near the coast before starting out ride on Friday.
It seems that, even before the tour starts, is affecting our family relationships. Never before have Lara and I spent a large proportion of a long distance drive taking about the benefits of a steel Vs alloy bike frame. Is this the start of things to come? Who knows.
Either way, it’s fair to say that we’re all excited to get on with the ride, having no real idea how hard/fun/challenging the process will be. My hope is that whatever the outcome, we’ll be telling stories about this adventure for years to come.
Look out for another update tomorrow.