2010-11-05 - London to Paris

great ride, thanks all.

minor mishaps included a puncture in brixton (thanks BC for the use of the pump outside the store) and ta2 and Pifco not being allowd on their train out of town until 7pm and having to train it all the way to Lewes as a result. other than that all went very smoothly.
cycling past Lewes was surreal, cops had the roads in and out locked down with roadblocks. once we were through it was a weird ride down roads with no cars but drunk peds appearing out of the darkness and all being occasionaly lit by fireworks from above like the bridge scene in apocalypse now.
sleeping on the ferry sucked. cabin next time for sure but at least it was fairly quiet.
on the french side all was great except for the continual rain which eventually soaked us all, regardless of our kit and chilled some of us pretty badly. beautiful riding though and made all the more dramatic, and melancholy in parts, by the rain.
for me anyway the ride was defined by the cold. keeping an eye on cadence knowing that staying warm required a steady 100rpms. my own fault for getting soaked first and putting on a stowaway after.
couple of factors caused us to decide to bail about 40km outside Paris. we really werent confident that riding in through the city would get us to gare de nord in time to check in bikes the required hour before the 5:15 train.
still, my odometer showed 170 miles of riding. not bad for an overnighter with 2 hours of sleep.

great bunch of riders, all running roadworthy and suitable equipment, all dressed to handle cold and miles, all carrying sufficient spares for minor mechanicals and all fit enough to do the ride without flagging.
beautiful french riding and the fairly familiar english roads down to the coast made even more enjoyable by the dark and anticipation.

many thanks all, lets do it again soon.