Kevin started the ride with his heart rate monitor already
on. But he did start 5 minutes after everyone else was already ready. Unintentionally,
the group left the main D road and took to the winding back roads south toward
Le Mans. Freewheels chirped joyously as the group enjoyed the quiet small
French towns, and the lack of pedalling allowed the Garmin devices to point in the right direction (generally).
3 punctures later and we arrived at our first water stop. It
was nowhere near the planned stop and so Steve had to navigate his way off of
the main road and through the lanes to find a quaint little town that nobody can remember the name of.
Multiple coffees later and with a new front tyre the group
were on the road again and chewing through the miles on their way to Le Mans.
Then disaster struck. The temperatures
soared into the high 30’s and the group missed a turn off from the main road
where the van was waiting. This meant that each rider had roughly 1 litre of
water in 37 degree-ish heat for over 30 miles of rolling hills. Add to the
equation the main road turning into something that resembled the M25 on
steroids and a happy bunch they were not. A fourth puncture just pissed
everyone off even more.
Eventually the gang rolled into Le Mans, which is pretty big
place, and the SatNav died. David ventured into unknown and stopped roughly
150m away from the hotel before a very helpful group of students claimed that
there wasn’t a hotel in the area.
The group cycled back up the hill and set up camp in a
MacDonalds that offered ice cold drinks before Steve saved the day again. This
time he opted to journey on foot and leave the van behind, walking the whole
350m to the lost little guys with their iced beverages.
The day was rounded off well though with kebab pizza for
nutrition, super league on big screen for soul restoration and lager for
rehydration in a local sports bar. Then everyone slept uncomfortably close in a
triple room that must have been designed for Hobbits.
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