The End

What a tremendous week. Cycled 320 miles in 5 days - averaging 64 miles per day, and for those who thought Northern France was flat - it isn't! Body is a bit stiff and cream still needs to be applied, other than that no problems.

Best bits:
1. Most emotional. Ceremony at Theiphal memorial to those thousands who were killed on the Somme whose bodies were never found - not a dry eye in the house.
2. Worst ceremony. Dunkirk - organised by the French whose sense of ceremony is not to the British taste. Not assisted by one of the French veterans dropping dead at Bryn Parry's side cuasing the event to be delayed.
3. Hardest day. Day 3 - 81 miles in the rain between Dieppe and Amiens. over 100 punctures dueing the day - I got one, which was kindly mended by two ex officers - I was praised for my supervision skills.
4. Best experience. Being "evacuated" from Dunkirk on landing craft which then went to the Mother Ship - HMS Largs Bay, and in the dark we drove inside the ship, lined by Royal Marines - rather resembling a scene from a James Bond film. After an overnight stay on board in 24 man bunks (interesting) - we were landed again in the landing craft on Dover Beach to a great welcome.
5. Most difficult decision. Having chosen a middle bunk on Largs Bay and having discarded cycling shorts prior to going to bed, getting up in the morning, not having room to put shorts back on and having to decide whether to get out of bed on my front or back. Luckily, the guy on the bunk below had his curtain drawn!
6. Best meal. Steak frites in a restaurant not far from Menin Gate in Ypres.
7. Best drink. The first beer of every evening.
8. Fastest day. Day 4. Average 13.8 mph between Arras and Ypres - after a few hills in the morning, flat ride through the French mining district.
9. Worst roads. In Belgium - which interestingly was not signed on the way in.
10. Most interesting view. Looking at the field where on Christmas Day 1915 the British and German troops had a game of football. Sadly, the Germans won 3-2. Within 500 yards each side of the field was based a certain Liutenant Colonel Winston Churchill (after the Dardenells disaster) and 500 yards the other way a Corporal Adolf Hitler. Sadly not at the same time - but only a few months apart.
11. Best hotel. Did rather well in that the room mate I had been allocated failed to turn up for the ride, so most nights had a room to myself. Sheer luxury. Hotels all clean and serviceable - one star.
12. Most amusing crash. Right at the very end, a brother officer, Andrew Stuart Mills crashing after the final parade at Dunkirk and being assisted to his feet by a veteran.
13. Best fly-by. A Spitfire over Dover harbour on the last morning. Absolutely magnificent and on a number of occasions he was below the level of the ship and those on shore thought he had crashed into us.
14. Best parachute display. The Red Devils (Parachute Regiment display team)doing a spectacular display into Dover harbour.
15. Best fund raising effort. The father of a soldier killed a year ago in Afghanistan who raised 93,000 pounds for the ride and although I did not meet him he was a great person, and still heavily grieving for his son.
16. Best example. While awaiting our landing craft in Dunkirk - a mere 5 hours all told - remembering that 70 years ago 320,000 British troops were doing the same - but for days while being bombed and strafed.
17. Best Hill. The feature of Cassel, about 25 miles outside of Dunkirk, which was when the last time that a unit of the British Army were ordered to defend it to the last man. An interesting ascent - steep uphill on cobble stones! Great for thin tyres.
18. Best Padre. We had the Peddling Padre with us who cycled the full distance and then donned his robes over his lycra daily for a memorial service at the various stops.
19. Best example of the impact of poor communications and sheer courage. The Canadian positions at Beaumont Hamel where the first battalion attack went over and were all mown down by 2 machine guns within 50 yards. The second battalion were then ordered to do the same - with the same result. The third attack was again ordered, and they had to climb over the bodies of their comrades to meet the same fate. Meanwhile the Brigade commander had no idea about what was happening because the runners sent back to report were all killed - and the carrier pigeons had met a similar fate.

All in all, a truly emotional, fun, amusing, sad, entertaining, inspirational, reflective, and tiring experience. And we raised over one million pounds! Thank you all who supported me.

Do look at the Help for Heroes web site for the videos of each day and photos. http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr_2010.html

Home!

Now home after a brilliant but tiring week. A full description will follow. See attached news item - and have a look at the video. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10196718.stm

There are daily videos of the ride at http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr_2010.html

Day 4 - Amiens to Arras

Day 4 – Amiens to Arras
70 miles, average speed 12.9 and fastest speed 35.5.
We awake to a dry morning. The team who organise the whole event are from a company called Discovery Adventure – a great crew however their basic appreciation of time and distance can take some getting used to. At the morning briefing we were told that the first stop was 4 miles – well 11.9 miles later we arrived at the Australian monument! We now ask whether the mileage being quoted is a DA estimate or real! I could give you all a history tour of the first world war, however there are very good and voluminous books you can read if you are interested. We were well supported by our Commonwealth troops, and Australia was the most supportive. Out of a small population (in 1914 the whole country numbered 3 million people) – 10% (all men) volunteered to fight of whom 50% were killed. What an impact on a nation! Accordingly there are some splendid monuments which we visited commemorating their sacrifices. Continuing with Australia, a mass grave of Australians was found last year and a new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery built (the first for 40 years). The last of the bodies is due to be buried in July – attended by the Australian and British Prime Ministers and other dignitaries.
Throughout the route we passed cemetery after cemetery – often within a 100 yards of the last. Phenomenal the number of dead. Each country has however a memorial to those soldiers who died but whose bodies were never recovered. The British one is at Thiepval (pictured – apologies for the quality, camera battery has died). The white limestone columns contain a proportion of the British names (the plan was to build 3 such monuments but then, as now, the government was broke and the other 2 were not built). Of great personal interest was finding the name of Amanda’s great, great uncle – Captain George Fussell of the Warwickshire Regiment. Now the Warwicks take up a whole face of one of those columns – hundreds of names. We had a most emotional ceremony and at the end there was not a dry eye amongst us and some were openly sobbing.
The Canadians not only have memorials but some are national monuments – and as such are manned by Canadians sent out from Canada on 4 month postings. A visit to one such memorial was at Beaumont-Hamel. What was fascinating is that the trench system has been preserved – and one can see how close the 2 sides were – and really imagine the wholesale slaughter that took place.
On route to Arras, passing more ceremonies I was passing someone who had stopped at one of the smaller cemeteries who said – “I prefer the smaller ones because I can then blub without anyone else seeing”.
Finally we visited the caves of Arras – where not only 24,000 soldiers sheltered from the artillery fire prior to the Battle of Arras in 1917, but where the New Zealand tunnel engineers built 27 miles of tunnel, in the rock only using picks and shovels out from the British lines so that the troops emerged just in front of the enemy lines. Fascinating.
Room a luxury – by myself! Investment in the cream was a good move and as each day progresses I am fitter than before!

Day 3 - Dunkirk to Amiens

Day 3- Dunkirk to Amiens
81 miles (most ever in a single day), average speed 12.2 mph and maximum 32.3 mph

We left a damp and grey Dunkirk for a long day through the damp and grey French countryside. One quickly learns that when in the morning briefing you are promised some spectacular views these are not generally from the valley bottoms! At the top of all the big hills though our accompanying piper was playing us up – something rather surreal about cycling through the French countryside to the far distant sounds of Scotland the Brave. Today was a slog, and very few made it to the one memorial service as we so spread out – several hours between the first and last. Lunch was spectacular – there is something great on a wet and cold day being greeted by mountains of hot pasta bake and steaming urns of tea! Having given myself plenty of time to pack I did forget one vital item – the Udderley cream, so I stopped at a French pharmacie for a substitute. I thought Sudocreme was a fairly international brand, however the two rather pretty yound serving girls played ignorant as I then had to explain what I wanted – or more to the point (my schoolboy French being somewhat limited) – demonstrate why I needed it! After much hilarity and bemusement I came away with some cream which I was told was excellent. I am now looking for a French speaker to have a look at the packaging before I try it – the last thing I need is some form of deep heat! Good hotel, red wine plentiful and sleep deep….

Days 1 and 2 - Monday/Tuesday

Now that I have internet access:

Day 1 and 2 – Departure and the road to Dieppe
48 miles, average speed 11.2, maximum speed 35 mph.

Assembly on Monday was at HMS Victory dockyard – 299 keen, lean cyclists – and me! In fact what was noticeable is that a large proportion of riders were there to “do their bit” and there were mothers whose sons were serving in the forces, a good number with missing limbs – 2 on sit down bikes, one with peddles and one hand powered and about half a dozen single amputees, a fair few ex military and some who had no connection at all with the military.

HMS Victory was looking spectacular in the summer sun, and the guides did an excellent job showing us around. At full compliment the ships company had 850 men and 5 women. When showing around a group of nuns last week, one of the guides was asked by the Mother Superior what the task of the women was, he had to think quickly, and replied – they were the cooks. The Mother Superior replied – ah, the oldest profession.

The band of he Royal Marines gave a spectacular beating the retreat in front of HMS Victory and the past post was played for the first time. A fine and stirring speech from the Second Sea Lord, and we were off – 2 miles to the ferry port.

As you can imagine, the ferry bar was pretty busy but they did managed to keep us supplied with an ample supply of sleeping juice – before adjourning to our 4 man berths. Too few hours later it was up and about and onto buses at Caen for a 2 hour journey to the start – a small village outside Le Havre.

At the start, we were welcomed by the mayor in his finery and around the graveyard containing 5 commonwealth graves we were given a fine rendition of “God save ze grazious Queen” by the local children. After a bacon sandwich prepared by the amazing “Extreme Catering” in the village car park, and a fine glass of cider royale (like Kir Royals but with cider) it was off.

Who said Northern France was flat! They do have white cliffs, and pretty sea side towns and villages and plenty of “S” bend roads. Lunch stop was to remember the soldiers of the 51st Highland division who fought gallantly against Rommel's 7th Panzer division in 1940 (post Dunkirk) at their cliff top memorial. Our accompanying bandsmen are excellent – a young piper from the Scots Guards, a bugler from the Rifles and a trumpeter from the Gunners. A fine bunch. Also escorting us are two young Household Cavalry NCO’s – to keep us in order. Both fresh back from Afghanistan – interesting to chat to.

The final stop was Dieppe where we commemorated the landings by the Canadians in 1942. Not the finest hour for Allied Operations – but incredible courage – 2 VC’s were won.

As I write this (on Wednesday morning) we are just post an amazing thunderstorm and it is difficult to tell the sea and sky apart. More to follow….

The Off

Well, today is the off on another epic adventure! The body isn’t ready, but I am sure it will cope – as my physio said to me, plenty of Ibuprofen and Red Wine will be the answer!

Thought I would give you a quick overview of the timetable for the next week. Full details are on an earlier posting.

Monday. Assemble at Portsmouth Historic dockyard for briefings and a tour around HMS Victory. A “spectacular” send-off from Victory and a short ride to the ferry port for an overnight ferry to Caen – 4 to a berth (the joys!). Distance – 2 miles.

Tuesday. Le Have to Dieppe. 50 miles. “Rolling coastline”. Battlefields/Cemeteries: St Valery-en-Caux and Dieppe and various memorials on route. Overnight in Dieppe.

Wednesday. Dieppe to Amiens. 75 miles. “Testing terrain”. Battlefields/Cemeteries: Grandcourt, Cauillon, Crouy. Overnight in Amiens.

Thursday. Amiens to Arras. 70 miles. “Thought provoking day”. Battlefields/Cemeteries. River Somme, Albert, Beaumont Hamel, Arras tunnels. Overnight Arras.

Friday. Arras to Ypres. 70 miles. “Tough cycle”. Ba­­ttlefields/Cemeteries. Vimy Ridge, Vermelles, Festubert, Armentieres, Ploegsteert, Ypres and the Menin Gate. Overnight Ypres.

Saturday. Ypres to Dunkirk. 50 miles. “Flatter lands!”. Taking part in 70th Anniversary of the evacuation. Overnight HMS Largs Bay off Dunkirk.

Sunday. Dunkirk to Dover. Cycling a tad challenging. Wreath laying at sea. “Assault landing” on Dover beaches. Final celebration dinner in Dover Castle.

Monday – return home.

I will attempt to update this blog on route – but please bear with me if these are infrequent as some of these cheaper end French hotels aren’t renowned for their wireless connectivity!

If you want to see why I am doing this – then have a look at the profiles of some of the people on the ride with me: http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr_featured_2010.html

Final Training in Dubai

A picture from earlier this year, but please be assured I did cycle past the Burj Al Arab hotel this week - just that at the time of the morning I was doing it there were precious few tourists around to take a happy snappy - and I was pretty keen on just getting on. Managed to ride every morning (bar one) on a pretty useful bike hired from Wolfi's bike shop in Dubai. So quite a few miles done - and cycling here is quite exciting. The main roads I tried to avoid - too exciting - therefore the side roads were the option, and every day I ended up on a road which either went off in the wrong direction - or just stopped. On one occasion, I was on a bridge which was only half built! Consequence was to pick up bike and trek across the desert to the next road (never too far away) - lift bike over barriers and off we would go again (we being me and the bike!). There are worse places to be training - and plenty of miles cycled - though it doesn't really count as Dubai is as flat as a pancake and the only undulations were either overpasses or underpasses! London tomorrow - then final training in Wiltshire planned for the weekend before the off (24th).

The Final Weeks

Last Sunday I took part in an organised ride - The Jurassic Beast - 65 miles around the coastal hills of Dorset. Those of you who were here to experience our fine bank holiday weather will recall that it was cold, wet and very windy. The delights! Added to which the route was a tad bumpy - with over 4,500 feet ascended over the day. A good test of fitness - and lo and behold, I came to the conclusion that I have a way to go yet! A couple of firsts during the day - trying to mend a puncture - and went through 2 inner tubes in 45 minutes before some kind gentleman took pity and fixed the problem in 2 minutes - must be practice! The second is what is called in the trade the "horizontal stop". On the bottom of my shoes I have cleats which clip into the medals - ensuring the feet are fixed in - I am told it gives one more power! Anyway, the knack is to un-clip before coming to a halt, otherwise you stop, feet still firmly anchored to the pedals and you topple over. So I managed it - at the 40 miles water stop just to give quite a decent sized group something to keep them amused. Hopefully I will not repeat it again.

Only 2 weeks to go now - and I am going to have to hire a bike in Dubai this next week to keep the training going - and the following week is going to be busy with 3 nights in London. Lots of eating and drinking - which will be good training for the evening activities, but I suspect will not assist during the day! I am therefore anticipating that a bit of grit and determination will be needed this year! Anyway, what's 350 miles between friends! At least I will have all my limbs, which will be more than some of the other riders.

Departure date is 24th May - far too close for comfort!

If any of the readers of this have not donated, and wish to - there is a link to a very simple on-line donation site on this page. Please do so for a very worthy cause.

6 weeks to go!

Only 6 weeks to go now - eeks! Time is getting pretty short. I did manage to buy a go-faster bike though over the Easter weekend (an adequate second hand Specialized for those who care) and been on a couple of rides since - nothing great - total of 52 miles. Now having a few days off resting a few aches and pains - a sign of old age! - however I keep reminding myself that I must not complain as there will be others on the ride who will have lost limbs.

Planning to start riding to the station this week. 13 miles each way, with about half over the tracks of Salisbury Plain. It should be a lovely way to start the day, however having been out this morning at the appointed start time (5.30)it was still on the dark side of twilight. The charts tell me that towards the end of the week this will be better - I do hope so as I don't fancy having to negotiate the potholes of the tank tracks in the dark!

The 2010 Route

The updated 2010 Help for Heroes route has just been published - 315 miles over 5 days from Le Havre to the famous Second World War port of Dieppe then inland through the historic First World War battlefield regions of Amiens, Arras and Ypres before finishing at Dunkirk to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the evacuation of our troops in 1940. A spectacular route - and from the itinerary quite a few more undulations than last year! To quote the organisers: "This will be a great physical challenge and also an amazing emotional journey".

The full route is:

Day 1: Portsmouth - Caen
We will have a great send-off from HMS Victory in Portsmouth’s Naval Dockyard. After a spectacular parade we will cycle to the ferry terminal and catch the evening overnight ferry to Caen. We are allocated our cabins and have a good night’s sleep – ready for an early start and a challenging day tomorrow!
Cycle 2 miles

Day 2: Le Havre - Dieppe
We arrive in France at around 7am local time. We shall transfer directly onto buses and make the short journey by coach to our starting point in Fecamp, a coastal fishing town outside of Le Havre. Here we will mount our bikes and begin cycling eastwards to Dieppe. We make our way to St Valery-en-Caux where the 51st Highland Division, part of the British Expeditionary Force, attempted to evacuate Northern France in June 1940. The attempt failed due to fog. We will walk to the cliff-top memorial to the soldiers that died, which overlooks the small coastal town and beach. Our cycle continues along the beautiful, but hilly coastal road to Dieppe with stops at several other points along the route where there are memorials to the events of both the D-Day landings and the earlier BEF evacuations. Cycle approx 50 miles

Day 3: Dieppe – Amiens
From Dieppe we cycle inland, gradually climbing away from the coast along country roads, passing through hamlets and small towns, stopping maybe for a cool drink in a typical village café. The terrain becomes testing and undulating as we head into the French countryside where the aftermath of the First World War remains apparent by the small military cemeteries dotted around the landscape. We will stop at two of these en route, the first at Grandcourt, where 29 British and Commonwealth soldiers are buried. In addition we visit the Cauillon and Crouy British Cemetery. The route we take is beautiful; through rolling farmland and woodland. We spend the night in Amiens, relaxing after a long day in the saddle. Cycle approx 75 miles

Day 4: Amiens – Arras
Today is our most thought provoking ride as we explore the tragic battle sites of the First World War. We leave Amiens following the River Somme heading north east through small villages towards Albert. As we progress, the cemeteries and memorials become ever more frequent as we ride on into the heart of the Somme. We cycle on to Thiepval, which is the main memorial to the lost French and British soldiers who gave their lives during that terrible time. After exploring the area, including the Beaumont Hamel trenches, we carry on cycling north-east, finally finishing in the town of Arras with a visit to the underground tunnels that housed the Allied Troops.
Cycle approx 70 miles

Day 5:. Arras – Ypres
Leaving Arras behind us we head directly North on a tough cycle via the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and on to the smaller cemeteries such as those at Vermelles and Festubert. Fromelles is where the most recent WW1 burial ground was found, so we shall remember those who fell here at the brand new memorial built in 2009. Heading north of Armentieres there is the opportunity to hear our Battlefield Guides talk at Ploegsteert and to visit the memorial which commemorates nearly 11,000 servicemen who died in WWI mostly during day-to-day trench warfare. From here we complete the final stretch into Ypres, an immensely historic town where we shall join the evening ceremony held daily at the Menin gate. Cycle approx 70 miles

Day 6: Ypres – Dunkirk
Our penultimate day will see us traverse the flatter lands of the Belgian/French border to join in a spectacular celebration with the townspeople of Dunkirk to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the evacuation of both French and British troops. We will start early and head up towards the port town on this special day, following the route taken by many soldiers who were on foot. Cycling along the coast towards Dunkirk we will arrive at the beach memorial to those soldiers who lost their lives so close to being free, and witness a special ceremony to remember those who fought here. The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships will welcome us with 50 small ships which were active in the evacuation taking our men to safety 70 years ago. After the ceremony we will take time for lunch away from the bustle and hear the story of Dunkirk from our Battlefield Historian guides before returning to the centre of Dunkirk to watch the parade of veterans march past the Town Hall; a moving spectacle. From here we shall take our bikes for a final pedal, from the town to the port area were we will end our cycle in style. The bikes will be packed away and we shall enjoy an early supper before we head out to HMS Largs Bay, where the Royal Navy is hosting us on board off shore from Dunkirk for the night. Cycle approx: 50 miles

Day 7: Dunkirk - Dover
We will have the chance to reflect on the Dunkirk evacuation from the deck of HMS Largs Bay as we hold our final wreath laying ceremony out at sea looking back on the historic town. We will then be transported over the Channel by the Royal Navy, subject to operational permissions, to land at Dover on the beaches mid afternoon. (Please note: this is subject to change and may be replaced by a Calais – Dover passenger ferry crossing). We will be taken to our hotels in Dover to freshen up before boarding a coach and driving to a well earned celebration at the Duke of York Royal Military School in Dover. We will be welcomed by a Military Band before being well fed and watered. This will be a chance to reflect and congratulate ourselves on our huge achievement, before enjoying a good night’s sleep.

Another year, another wonderful site to view from a bike. This time the Dubai Burj Al Arab Hotel a couple of weeks ago. What a great way to start the training this year!