Day 1 - 3rd September

74 miles, 5hours 20 mins cycling time, 8000+ ft of hill climbs



An early start at 6:30 saw 62 eager cyclists lining up to register. Not that they looked particularly eager at that time in the morning. But the Classic Tours staff were awake and that helped. Then the briefing from Gideon about the first stage. A word of warning for anyone who has the urge to sign up – never believe Gideon when he tells you about the hills. The first stage was gentle, but by the end, it was clear that there was a good range of abilities. The next stage was slightly less gentle and this was the pattern throughout the day. On the third stage I was stunned to find that Alex and I arrived at the break first. Lunch was next in an idyllic setting in a village by a river. Soup and baguette was exactly what was needed.

Then it was the afternoon push on towards Dover. We had already started to mistrust what Gideon told us about hills – having promised a hill before lunch, he omitted to tell us it was a downhill. He also omitted to tell us that the worst hill in Kent was coming up just short of Folkestone. Just after the village of Etchinghill (the name should have been a clue), there was the worst hill I’ve ever done – by far. It was steep and kept going. Every time we reached what we thought was the top, it went on. I can report that I got up it before Alex did, without having walk. The break stop at the top was not only very welcome, but it also gave amazing views over the Euro Tunnel depot at Folkestone. There were only about 4 or 5 there already when we arrived. And not more than 5/10 minutes later, the first lady up was Clare. Then came the cruellest of Gideon’s omissions. “It’s all downhill to Dover” meant “Look out for the last half mile climb, just about as steep as the previous climb”. Then it was all down hill to Dover, onto the ferry and across to Calais. I rode this stage with Pam who was doing very well despite having had little time for road training.

Because of the enforced route change, there was then a coach ride down to Dieppe. It made a very long day, but there was already a real sense of achievement. The distance doesn’t include about 4 miles of fiddling around Dover and Calais at very slow speeds.