Published by Lyn on 7 March 2011
Richard Trillo blogs from the 1500km Aedas London to Cannes charity ride, which left Chanas in the Rhône-Alpes this morning after passing the halfway mark
Day 3: Reims to Dijon
It’s another pre-dawn start for bodies barely awake after less than six hours' sleep. This time, Team Delancey are heading out into the cold, dark Champagne country on stage 1, accompanied by hardier members of the other two teams, including a core of determined riders who are aiming to do every one of the ride’s 28 stages.
At Pocancy, after the end of the first stage, the resting riders from the Barclays team are limbering up for their first outing. Our French fixer, Alain, drives in with the news that the peloton is running 20 minutes late: unannounced roadworks have diverted the ride by 7km making the first stage nearly 60km.
Barking dogs and waving locals shouting “Allez!” accompany the peloton’s progress into the hills of eastern France. Our afternoon stage at Moloy – a pretty village in the Côte d’Or hills north of Dijon – is a delightful stop before the 14th stage, the last one of the day into the dark to Dijon. A brook ripples under the bridge and a fine old church is being restored. Sadly the café we’d been looking forward to is unaccountably closed. Not that they would have had the mugs of tea that everyone is really craving for.
It’s been another big day – 316km – but we’re half-way to Cannes. We can do this
Day 4: Dijon to Chanas
Joy unbounded – the wake-up calls today are for 5.30am rather than the usual 4.30am, since Barclays aren’t setting off on stage 1 until 7 o’clock. It’s a five-stage day – a mere 270km – that will see us crossing the Rhône on its way down from the Alps and officially reaching the south of France.
Streaming sunshine illuminates a bucolic landscape. The first, mostly downhill stage, with a light breeze on their backs, is sheer fun for the riders – at least for all those who aren’t suffering the results of yesterday’s hill stages, or the odd bit of tummy trouble. They’re beaming when they arrive 20 minutes early into St Bonnet en Bresse, our first stop, where our mobile office has been camped out in the café-tabac for half an hour, with our laptops, cameras and chargers.
Monsieur and Madame are charming, and have possibly been looking forward for some weeks to our visit and our orders for multiple large café crèmes. Unfortunately this is still the land of the squat toilet, and the café-tabac’s facilities are not a pretty sight by the end of our 100-strong visit.
We reach the village of Cormoz for an early lunch at the end of stage 2, with 105km on the trip computers. And then we’re skirting the city of Lyon and toying with the Rhône valley for an afternoon that finishes early with 25km of downhill speed-riding to the river town of Chanas. It’s a still evening, the temperature has noticeably risen and there’s a herby scent in the air. This is indubitably the South of France.
The surfaces have been mostly good too, which is always less tiring, and the shorter day has put everyone in a good mood. It’s wonderful to arrive before nightfall, and have time for a shower and a catch-up with family back home before dinner, suitably accompanied by a few glasses of nice Côte du Rhône.
Read about the ride's history in Richard's first blog.
Richard will be blogging for Freewheeling France throughout the Cycle 2 Cannes ride, which ends in Cannes on Tuesday, March 8. If you're in France, keep an eye out for them en route. You can also follow the ride via Twitter or Facebook. You can also donate online.