Sam was surprisingly clear headed this morning given his birthday celebrations, so no chance of getting near to him on the bike,today then ! Still he was a little lacking in appetite for breakfast at 7 am, a legacy of the night before. We grouped at 8am again outside the Ibis ready for another 70 plus miles to Compiegne. The weather was calm again with the potential of more sun later. Sun cream at the ready to top up those Belgian tan lines !
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| Outside the Ibis Arras |
The ride out of Arras was another beautiful one and took us through the area of the Somme. Glorious watery light veiled the fields either side as the roads became more exposed to the wind. There's no shelter here other than that provided by your fellow riders. Sion and Sam were up at the front again with our "Rocket Ron" and I was conserving my energy and enjoying the countryside again.
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| Check of the Garmin's |
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| These wind farms are a big clue to the prevailing weather here. |
We stopped near to a Commonwealth war cemetery which had a very sobering effect on all the riders, what pain we were feeling on the ride was nothing compared to what we could see here.
These were long stretches of exposed road now and you're at the mercy of mother nature. Thankfully she was having a good day and winds, although testing could have been much worse.A brief coffee stop to recharge the batteries and we were off again.
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| Coffee stop |
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| Commonwealth Cemetery in the Somme area |
Chaingangs formed and speeds zipped along as we eventually rode into Compiegne. Another Ibis to tick off here, Showered and changed we made our way to an all you can eat Asian buffet, ( little did they know we'd cycled over 70 miles and were just a tad hungry ) A few refreshing recovery beers in the light rain outside before retiring to bed. Another fifty plus miles to Paris in the morning, Praying this weather will hold !
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