Arrival Day
Arrived local time 6.30 a.m. at Ouistreham.
Poor night’s sleep on ferry to Brittany which seemed to have more military vehicles than the actual landings. Trial cycle ride to Pegasus Bridge from Sword Beach.
Too hot for cycling, so had a few beers!!!
After a few more beers – early night in preparation for start at 7.25 a.m. on 6 June.
Day 1 - Sword beach to Neufchâtel-en-Bray – 112 miles
After short ceremony left Sword beach at 7.25 a.m. No other major events at Sword Beach. Cycle to Pegasus Bridge then on to Neufchâtel-en-Bray. By the end of the day, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being good and 10 being bad, the state of my backside assessed as a 3, with enough heat being given off to melt an Eskimo’s igloo.
Not looking forward to day 2 which starts with a 2.5 miles steep climb. Only 1 accident, the boys from the Welsh and Royal Scot Dragoon Guards crashed into each other, they had to complete the last 50 miles with wobbly wheels.
Day 2 - Neufchâtel-en-Bray to - Boiry Notre Dame 94 miles
Left camp site late. Cycled across Somme Battlefields, very poignant to see so many Commonwealth war graves. Almost every village has one and it is remarkable how well kept they are. Route took us to Amiens and close to Arras before cycling a further 20 miles to the campsite. The backside indicator was now at 4 by virtue of the extra hour on the saddle with enough heat being generated to heat a small town in Cumbria.M
Day 3 - Boiry Notre Dame to Lille and into Belgium - 143 miles
The worst day so far!!! Late start even though we knew it was going to be a long day, lack of maps, couple of accidents and a carefully concealed campsite resulted in 14.5 hours cycling across France into Belgium.
Mainly noticeable by deterioration on road surface, no land marks of any significance. Only saving grace of the whole day was sleeping in chalets rather than tents (British translation is a B & Q shed!!!)
Arrived at 10.15 p.m. in total darkness, vehicles not allowed in after 10 p.m., had to pay for showers, the BBQ was cold – things could not get much worse. Even though it was dark, didn’t need lights as I was told there was a dull red glow from the back of my bike!
Day 4 - Lille to Arnhem 125 miles
Will take us to Arnhem a distance of 120 miles and will take us past mid-point of the journey. Running out of cycling gear but as an Ex-Submariner – who cares!!!
Late start due to later than normal finish previous day and into Holland during the morning. One of the army guys went into the lead on his own and got lost – big style!! Ended up going to Germany and had to come back after a lengthy detour, reunited more by luck than judgement. Caught in a downpour early afternoon, thunder and lightning, had to take cover for 20 minutes. Cycle paths much better than in Belgium and also better signposted but still ended up with later finish than previous day. Total of 13.5 hours cycling. Final section to Nijmegen Bridge and crossed Rhine over Arnhem Bridge. Surprisingly saddle soreness easing off – feels like someone else’s backside in my shorts.
Day 5 – Arnhem to Sassenberg 110 miles
Got off to a good start and improving as morning went on. Instead of road side breaks for bananas and energy drinks we stumbled across a McDonalds and enjoyed chicken and milk shakes. Past from Holland to Germany, during the morning – things then went wrong!!
Fatigue/dehydration or combination of both into early afternoon and I had to stop for day at 50 miles point, very disappointing when my intention was to complete whole distance. Early return to campsite, good recovery time and reasonable night’s sleep in preparation for Day 6. Must be getting used to saddle soreness now – well behind me!!
Day 6 – Sassenberg to Celle 125 miles
Early start with extremely long day in saddle, addressed by splitting this leg into 3 with staggered start times, logistics meant not allowed to complete more than 1 leg. I completed first leg which was a most challenging 40 miles including a number of stiff climbs. The intention had been to visit the nearby Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp but the utilisation of support vehicles meant this was not possible.
Just received bad news for tomorrow, stage 7 from Celle to Brieselang is 160 miles, it is likely that staggered start times will be agreed with further reduction in distance cycled.
Days 7 and 8
The assault on Berlin on Saturday will be reported upon my return.
