Here's an email I have just recieved from Chris who is riding to Paris with me! Made me LOL...
Bonjour Monsieur Jackson I am riding London - Paris with the Wave 105 team next month and have written a couple of training blogs - here's the latest - thought you may be interested. Hope the training is going well.
Comment ca va? A seulement 2 semaines de formation et 20 jours jusqu'a ce que le petit tour arrive....(I hope that translates into 'just 2 weeks of training and 20 days until the little tour arrives...') It has been a month since the last update, a month of blood, sweat and tears, a month of hard training in all elements...wind, driving rain, freezing conditions and even a heatwave last weekend!!
The French has improved slightly. I have decided to concentrate on 3 key phrases ou est la boulangerie (for the morning) ou est la patisserie (for the afternoon) un autre verre de vin rouge seriat belle, merci (for the evening) I'm sure that will see me through the 4 days.
The training has gone better than the French. The road bike has made a huge difference. I've covered 360 miles in the past month but not without mishap. I've fallen off 3 times (foot stuck in the pedals) and rode into a hedge twice (wasn't looking where I was going). I have tried 4 saddles and finally found one that doesn't hurt too much - I'm trying to work out what to do with the first 3....
We finally have the itinerary for the trip. We leave Blackheath at 7am on Wednesday 20th and cover 85 miles across the North Downs towards Dover. The 2nd day starts in France and is a ride of 95 miles, the 3rd day means a ride of 80 miles, followed by a mere 60 miles into Paris on the 4th day. We are expecting to be in the saddle for 8 -10 hours a day.
You can see why I will be heading off to the bakery and cake shop - need to keep my energy up. The sponsorship has gone wonderfully well. I have been overwhelmed by the level of support received from everyone. At the time of writing, over £3,000 has been raised and I am extremely grateful to all. So onto the final 2 weeks of training...fingers crossed for slightly cooler weather (and an abundance of patisseries when we finally get to France!). C'est tout pour I'instant Au revoir Chris (for further information on the ride and the charity I'm riding for, please visit my web page at www.justgiving.com/Chris-Griffiths2 )
