Day 1 Le Havre

Covered 80 miles to Verneuil sur Avre. James P was incapacitated for the day. Excellent ride out thru industrial region to Pont Tancarville and great countryside of the Marais Vernier, home of endless villages fleurie. Lunch at Pont Audemer and more beauty all along the Risle vallley. Finised off with a 20mph burn up all the way to Verneuil. Great hotel. Bon soir.

Day 2 Landfall France

Le Havre. An early morning ride past the Nuclear Power station in the Deserted Zone Industrial. Derelict warehouses broken railway tracks dark foreboding sky's. I knew Europe was in trouble but not this! Where has Neil taken us to?

Then a punishing hill before the Pont de Tanquerville and fast descent off the bridge and relief, the Normandy countryside is just as I expected, thatched cottages with irises growing from the ridge, medieval towns and chateaux. As picturesque as a picture that has just graduated from the university of pretty pictures.

Lis's Prologue Diary

Day 1 - Epsom to Portsmouth

Massive breakfast at Neil's house. Natalie from the hospice said a heartfelt thank you. Everyone comments that jane would have loved this. There is so much food on offer, bacon... Delicious! Excellent to catch up with old friends.

And then the big packing up. Will it all fit in??? Neil, Pat and Semih have supreme confidence that we can, and amazingly they are right.

We are all ready for the sending off. Before we start we have a minutes silence for contemplation.

Disasters on day 1
Punctures - James and a couple of others, all fixed in no time!

Derallieur on one of the bikes collapse from a stone jamming in it

Matt G knocked over before even arriving at Neil's

And then James P epically crashing after skidding on gravel and hitting a pothole... Big bruising on shoulder, hip, knee and elbow... Saved by his helmet he has an uncomfortable night and decides to spend day 2 in the car! Not a good start...

Prologue news - read all about it

65m to Pompey successfully cycled. One faller just outside the finish - James hit a pot hole under a railway bridge and cut himeself up - nasty but the show goes on.
Really enjoyed Eng v Algeria in the pub, great performance Fabio, we all think you're great but glad you're in football and not cycling. Finally boarded the ferry in steady rain and we all went to bed . Much snoring and not much else followed.

Business continuity in action

I can't forget that we,ve been drilled into sound business continuity, the hallmark of a first class, results driven organisation. Well imagine my surprise this morning when I got into my car, our essential support vehicle to find the windscreen shattered! After considering my BCP I did what I always do and panic like fXXX. Needless to say, after making around 20 phone calls I found a windscreen company with the right part in deepest Croydon.
4hrs later and with the job done I am sitting here with a beer in hand just thanking God that I didn't miss that busines continuity course after all. Don't worry I'll shut up about work by tomorrow.

Setting priorities

I've set myself a 'to do' list of more than twenty tasks today - ranging from cutting the lawn to shampooing the dog. All vital at this stage. It's hard to know where to start, so I've invited James(my son) to a prioritisation and risk management seminar in the dining room at 9am. He's tentative at the moment but I just know that if we get this straight we'll be absolutely clear on our priorities with a proper action plan fully established as early as 5pm. You see, the skills we acquire at work really can be useful at home as well! Right, time for a cup of tea before anything else.

The day before

One day to go and you'll be relieved to know that chaos prevails.
I had a tough decision to make yesterday evening - should I go to Olly's last french lesson or should I go to the Cafe Montparnasse with Mattew and Mathieu for a specific french lesson in bicyle components. The latter won, sorry Olly!
I now know that 'J'ai creve' means 'I've punctured', a 'cadre' is a 'frame' and a 'pneu' is a 'tyre'. That's fine, Mathieu but I still need to know how to ask for my bottom bracket to be greased without causing offence. Any ideas, anyone?

Prologue

Neil Herbert is fundraising for Princess Alice Hospice - JustGiving

Neil Herbert is fundraising for Princess Alice Hospice - JustGiving