Story
All done, thanks for your support, please kep those donations coming. Many thanks to all who have already contributed.....please see below the updates from me along the route! Lawrence and the team ride on, I'm rejoining on Sunday for ride to Reading and also final day from Lanark to Edinburgh on May 12th, my bike is being serviced and then off we go.
http://www.justgiving.com/Terry-Burwell-DallaglioCycleSlam
1
Arrived the cote d’azur and il pleut, the lycra fetishist are subdued but at least we have the pre ride party to look forward to tonight. We’re all decked in matching red rain jackets which when combined with lycra tights bear more than a passing resemblance to Gareth Thomas, c’est la vie.
2
Great party last night at the villa that cheryl cole did her nominations for x the factor, no sign of Ashley but les Ferdinand kept us amused with stories about his cousins franz> Back at hotel for one o’clock, short night as up at 6 for preparation, the good news is that my roomie, dr kemp not to be confused with dr congo confirms that I don’t snore.
2
What a day! The good news is that the weather was dry, but apart from that I experience a series of early misfortunes, setting off with Lawrence group at 0810, after a mile my pedals parted company with my bike so I returned to the hotel for early repairs. Unfortunately no go so we had to set up a spare bike for me and I eventually left 50 mins later and 15 miles behind and on my own. The route along the coast to san Raphael is spectacular b4 heading north west to the provence hills, one puncture and a bike with only top gears, I caught up with my group at the 92km mark, with another 83km to do. Lawrence said well done, get some ravioli, we leave in 5 mins. Looking forward to cycling in the peleton, I ended up with a super guy who looked like catweasal, we eventually complete the 110 miles only to endure an ice bath followed by 20 mins on my back with my legs up the wall to get the acid build up out, not a pretty sight! No snow which is just as well, slide and ride has no place on a cycle tour.
4
If day 1 was tough, today was horrendous, the first 70km was cycled in torrential cold rain as we past mount Ventoux, the next 62 km was into 40km/hr mistral headwind. Some of the team were blown off the road, I was in a 3 bike pile up but no one was hurt, 8 hours on the road but we live to ride on. Our route took us through the vineyards of vaceryas and gigondas and one town, aubignan which is twinned with barrow, very appropriate as the weather was like being in the lake district. I’m in Lawrence’s group and so we all get behind him in the peleton, we call him Lord of the Rings, not sure if its reference his Olympian Prowess or our nether regions. Now on the bus taking us through the snow to St Etienne then 3 easy days to Paris.
5
As the song says what a difference a day makes, last night we stayed in the hotel terminus, St Etienne, which given the state of us should have been more aptly terminal. For the third night on tour, the group wanted to ride hard then party hard with large amounts of isotonic vin rouge, it’s the bright coloured anti oxidants you need, but whether taking them a carafe at a time is good for you is questionable. Today was a mere 80 miles to nevers n the loire, yet another wine region, and the weather no wind just sleet and snow but the lol dallaglio peleton is now a well oiled machine and we averaged 24 mph for the first 2 hours up to lunch, after refuel I’m now set on the back wheel of our leader as the sun finally shows up. Cycling is one long ritual of looking after your gear and your rear, so far so good on both counts.
6
It just got better and better, a great day on the road, 150km in fine weather through rolling French countryside to Chablis. It was fancy dress day, so dressed in frilly blue thongs over the lycra, fortunately I had my own so I had the right size, we all looked even more odd to Le Paysanne. Last night the girls on the trip were overheard discussing lwl, which is the lycra willy league, I’ve asked jon dance at the rfu to draft the regulations. And so to Chablis, grand cru wine tasting, Lawrence gets freedom of the town and we can drink the town dry, bought 2 cases of the best and a couple of magnums so need a panier and saddle bags 4 the bike, Paris tomorrow the sun page 3 girls will be meeting us, joie de vie.
7
Arrived Eiffel Tower for 2nd time in seven months, great ride in of approx 100km, through fontainebleau, but no sign of marie antoinette, guess she'll be at the party later. The sun girls await us, it's a bit cold for their photo shootbut it does give us somewhere to hang your helmet!! A great experince for a great cause with a wonderful group of people. Party night is subdued, canapes are not ideal refuel but hey we survived and the Stade de France is final destination for us but the starting point for the next stage. Next up, get some sleep...........35 hours on the bike and 27 hours in bed is possibly not the ideal, but my roomie Dr Kemp, Head of Sports Medicine, RFU, seemed unfazed so it's OK with me.
The Reason WHY!!!
Here's the story so far.........12 months ago inspired by my wife Carole completing the moonwalk with her sister Debbie, I thought what coud I do that could match their inspiration, so I signed up for the London to Paris Bike Ride, which was due to finish on the Champs Elysses the day before my 58th birthday and the final stage of the Tour de France. First buy a bike, learn to ride, regularly visit Banjos, the bike porn shop, as Carole calls it, buy a designer collection of lycra and spend hours on the open road. And then...........I'm in Denver for the Churchill Cup and altitude training (!!) and signed up for the Blue Mountain Metric Century at 9500feet plus when my brother, Ian, rings to tell me he's been diagnosed with kidney and liver cancer. The ride is in aid of Livestrong, the cancer charity, and I needed no greater motivation. Sadly, 4 days before I set off for Paris, Ian passed away, and a day later my Uncle passed away a long battle with lung cancer. I completed the ride in their honour and now I'm hoping to raise more funds for Cancer Research through the Dallaglio Foundation and this opportunity.
OK, so there are easier ways to take in the 6 Nations Championship but Lawrence Dallaglio has never been one to shirk a challenge. And with your help, neither am I................following your fantastic support to my London to Paris effort last July, we raised over £5000...................I've signed up for the 2nd leg from Nice to Paris...................700km in 5 days.
In February Lawrence, alongside a bunch of celebrity mates and about 200 brave and foolhardy cyclists, will be cycling to all of the 6 Nations stadia starting in Rome then onto Paris, Twickenham, Cardiff, Dublin and finishing in Edinburgh on 13th March... the target, to raise £1 million for charity. That’s 24 days in the saddle and over 2,800 kilometres and more importantly... in the middle of winter - otherwise known as utter madness.
Now, we're not doing this for the fun of it................have you been out on a bike at this time of year!! This immense challenge is all about raising money for Sport Relief and the newly formed Dallaglio Foundation. Every mile cycled is more cash in the charity pot. The net proceeds from the challenge will be split equally between Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation.
If you would like to find out even more about the CYCLESLAM go to www.Dallagliocycleslam.com
So please support me by making a donation and I promise to stay out of the bike porn shop, wear less lycra to work, and honour those who are cancer survivors and the families and friends of those we have lost to this dreadful disease.
There are 7 of the group doing the full ride, with the following number of riders joining them across the various stages: Stage 1: 50 Stage 2: 35 Stage 3: 62 Stage 4: 41Stage 5: 59
Clearly Stage 2 is not the one to be on.
Please give generously again
Thank you
Terry