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@cliveo
**BLOG: The Tour de Monaco, day 3 **
06 September 2011
**Clive O'Connell, of the law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, is cycling to the Monte Carlo Rendez-vous with Lloyd’s Cycling Club. He’s writing a blog so you can share his pain. **
Do not be fooled into thinking that this is a jolly jaunt down to the coast – 140 miles into a raging and unrelenting headwind is a firm test of any rider. Most people would have been impressed with a ride that just took the simple and scenic route to Monte Carlo. Impressing most people was far from Peter Harris' mind when he set the route and this third day could well be the hardest test of them all.
Two days of riding already felt on legs and minds and so the ride headed off into more unnecessarily undulating hills. The problem now was that with a frenzied headwind, descents were no longer freewheeling respites from the climbs but had to be fought for all the way down as the cover of the hill left the rider exposed to their force.
Whoever planned the route might have noticed that it appeared to take in every windfarm in north eastern France and that might have been a clue to the likely conditions. The wind blew hope from the soul and hurt heads as well as muscles. The psychological battle within raged. Setting off at 7:30am, we knew that we had to complete the 140 miles by sunset at 8:30pm, a simple enough task in normal conditions but not into that headwind.
After 80 miles the manicured vineyards of Champagne gave way to endless and hedge-less fields. The wind attacked with venom.
But we all made it. Only one rider, Peter Harris, came off his bike after a lengthy café break. He bounced back up only to fall over his prone bike. Luckily he was wearing a helmet but sadly not on his elbow or thigh.
Some riders took the day's course at a gentle pace but others, such as Michele Guinn of Willis and Neo Combarro of Lockton only know one pace and that is fast. I fell into the energy preserving camp.
Tomorrow should be a gentler ride and hopefully with more shelter. A mere 100 miles – but 100 miles closer to the Alps.