Day I

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We have all made it to Dieppe, with the exception of Jeremy Cross, who after three punctures and a broken chain in Croydon felt that the fates were not in favour of his going on the ride, and returned to London by train. The backup van crew have been kept extremely busy, with multiple punctures, and finding (for one individual) a replacement pair of brake pads (previous ones destroyed after 100m by his new and extremely swanky ceramic wheel rims). The van crew's presence has been more than appreciated.

The weather has not been kind; everybody has been thoroughly soaked at least twice, and the wind was full in our faces from Bletchingley, strengthening as we neared Newhaven. Fortunately it was dry from Haywards Heath onwards, and so everyone was dry thereafter.

Everybody (bar Jeremy) made it to the Abergavenny Arms in Rodmell in time for a pint, some as early as 16.30 (several pints), and from there the peloton left for the ferry. The ferry crossing was uneventful (although, weirdly, they had a booking for everyone except the Captain), with riders deciding whom to share a (three bed) room with in the Hotel de l'Europe in Dieppe.

By contrast with yesterday, tomorrow is not being run with military precision (the Captain can cease being a martinet!), since there are no deadlines. We intend to leave at about 09.00, to take advantage of the morning's good weather, and to allow time for a serious Normandy lunch in our separate groups.

Day II

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Today began badly with Brian Gordon's bicycle proving irreparable from a broken derailleur and buckled rear wheel. No accident involved, but he has now joined the van crew.

They have been less busy than yesterday. We have had only a couple of punctures, and no mechanical problems. The peloton set off from Dieppe at 09.30, and after a tangle with Dieppe's one-way system rapidly found the Avenue Verte (a disused railway line paved over for cyclists). This took the team down to Forges-les-Eaux very quickly in bright sunshine for a leisurely lunch.

Thereafter, groups went their own way, some going direct to Gisors under increasingly leaden skies, others taking the more roundabout routes. The first of those who went direct reached Gisors just before 16.15 (just before it began to hurl it down), those on other routes enjoying their tour despite the rain and a complete pig of a hill at Lalande - but what goes up must come down, and the run from Lalande was one long downhill. The Ride Mascot (Jd Ghosh - when he arrives, one knows that the last rider is in) reached Gisors in appalling rain at 19.15, just in time for dinner.

Overall, the team has now covered 128 miles, and has 50(ish) to go, with a few hills in the way. We look forward to reaching SJ Berwin's Paris office in the Avenue Kleber at some time after 15.30, sains et saufs, and hopefully secs, weather permitting.

Day III

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The day began with good news. The van crew took Brian Gordon and his damaged bicycle to a shop in Gisors for repair. They attempted to machine parts for his derailleur gear, but could not do so (French materials not generally matching the British ones) but eventually gave up, and replaced the whole mechanism.

The rest of us arose in a leisurely manner (the night before having produced a degree of chemical disability) to dire warnings from Agnes and Thomas about not stopping Under Any Circumstances between Pontoise and the bridge at Bezons - the region is apparently like one of the more risky areas of Peckham, and although the chances of coming out alive are fine, the chances of coming out without a bicycle are equally high.

So, the first group (we rode on the third day in tight teams) left at 09.45, in changeable but dry skies over the beautiful high plains lying between Normandy and France. By this stage even the less fit had begun to find some real power in their legs - especially when the saddle was raised to the height calculated to produce the most power in one case) and the groups were able to begin to crank it along up the increasingly major roads.

At this point your author can no longer give the Olympian overview, but must describe the life of his own small group. The remainder is vignettes.

The front team (the "A Gang") stopped for coffee at 11.15ish having had sight of the Tour Eiffel in the distance (OK, it was beer), as they began the long run downhill to the Oise. Lynelle was encouraged (not) at this point by renditions of an extremely body-ist song (c) by the late great Freddie Mercury, alternating with chunks of poetry from a member of her team.. And so down to Pontoise.

Where Agnes had her fifth puncture. This was tiresome, and so we descended on a hypermarche to buy both an inner tube and tyre, replacing it at Formula 1 pace outside (John Ashford has a notable skill at this). We then descended to the Oise, and rode over the Pont. Because of the delay, we pushed on through the urban jungle of Argenteuil, skipping lunch, but stopping in the area for water. So to La Defense.

La Defense is a labyrinth, with all signs leading in but none pointing out to anything remotely useful - "Centre Paris", or "L'Etoile", for example. We went round France's answer to Canary Wharf twice before we found the escape route, up a ramp forbidden to cyclists, and then down the esplanade, ending up on the multi-lane highway up to L'Etoile itself.

And so down to SJ Berwin (Hurrah!); being waved in by French and British flags brought for the occasion by Scott and Patrice from the van crew, and by Ralph, Dawn, Niamh, Helen T, and Marcella from the London office, as well as a Parisian office welcoming committee! Champagne popped freely, and the team slapped itself on the back (after the photos) for being the first in.

Forty minutes later Simon R-S's team arrived, including the Peloton Mascot (Jd Ghosh), whom no-one had expected for many hours. Two more arrived shortly thereafter. The remainder arrived at (better believe it!) 19.15, having suffered major mechanical breakdown and getting lost in Pontoise - easy to do. However, the true position is that of the 44 who signed up to do the ride, 43 completed it, covering 170.06 miles over about twelve hours in the saddle (the Ride Captain's, and therefore the official time - others went by more scenic routes or (Jd!) took longer).

This has been a labour of love, but I hope that all who have participated or assisted have gained from it, and in particular have made new friends. At the least we shall have raised approximately £50,000 for Cf, which was the point. The completion is something for everyone to be congratulated about, but especially those who have not done anything like this before, and who may not have believed, until they saw the iron girders of the Tour Eiffel before them, that they were capable of doing such a long ride. They especially deserve Cf's and SJ Berwin's congratulations.

Meantime, we continue to be grateful for all donations!

Till next year, then.

James McLeod, Ride Captain

SJ Berwin Charity of the year for 2006/2007: the Cystic Fibrosis Trust