After 80 miles and nearly 12 hrs on the road (9.5 hrs moving time) we made it to the Palais de Versaille just before the gates shut ! .... And i finally managed to use the big cog at the front to race the last mile to get there in time. We've done 300km and not had any punctures, Stu fell off once and the only time the first aid kit was opened was to bandage someone elses knee .... Quite impressive compared to our usual track record.
We were up bright and early this morning to get the bags on the bus .... So early that even the bakery was closed, however the baker took pity on us all and opened early so we started the day on pain au chocolate and croissants.
It was a varied day, lots of off road, some bike track and some road riding, lots of muddy puddles
and lots of sunshine. We did chicken out and not do the offroad downhill section overlooking the Seine , probably a good move as we found out later that one of the others broke his finger when he came off on that bit so i wouldnt have stood a chance 😀
We got to the last check point 10km from the end and still had an hour before the Palace gates closed .... So we downed a couple of handfuls of nuts and raisins, ate a pepperami and an energy bar and refilled our bottles with energy drink .... Then we were off through the forest with some of the fastest off road riding i have ever done to get to the gates before 7pm, quite how we did it after nearly 11hrs on the road i have no idea ..... But we made it :-)
After a quick shower we headed back to the bar for a celebration meal and even won second prize in the raffle before heading bedwards for a well deserved rest ..... And do you know what hurts most after 300km and 3 days on a bike ?
........Wrong ..... My thumbs from changing gear !!
Quote of the day - why do i have 3 cogs at the front on my bike ? Oh yes ... To race to the palace gates .... Haven't used it for anything else !
Here is the link to some more photos: https://goo.gl/photos/HuE8FsTQCDWSk1NbA
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