Cycle Slam Stage 5 - Day 2

A change in route for day 2 with a chance to return to the Bollinger House in Ay. So after the early start & a bus ride back to the town square we set off in better weather than Tuesday, but still a hint of rain. Throughout this day & Tuesday we were all surprised how quite France is - not much activity in the towns & villages and the roads were kindly quite too. The trip to Ay was flat-ish & reasonably quick, although I's left my tracker in my saddle bag overnight, so the battery was flat & it was useless for day 2!



No champagne this time, so after some pictures & a snack we headed off from Ay. A little unexpectedly we soon found ourselves climbing quite a hill out of the town, which flattened out for a while & then shot up again - my Endomondo counts it as 600+ feet in elevation. Unfortunately Freddie had issues with a spoke & his back wheel which the Halfords boys fixed & in the meantime another group had become somewhat splintered, so Freddie & Rachael & Terry supported them as the rest off us continued onwards to lunch stop.

I was still struggling abit with my knees & consequently my pace but after a chat with David, he convinced me to push on. I came to the conclusion that at least 50% of this challenge is mental & although I had my moments of self-doubt, I was pleased that I did push myself on & with the brilliant group around me all supported each other - when we reached St Quentin, to make it 200 miles in 2 days, I felt both elated & a little bit emotional!

It was The Grand Hotel in St Quentin, so the only cold bath of the trip was here & of course it was a delight!!

The meal out in the evening was in a local restaurant where the Lasagne caused abit of a stir as it appeared to be covered in strawberry sauce and the salad was interesting too!!

So 2 days done, over half distance & the pleasure of some fantastic slammers to ride with!!