Wednesday 28th May – Polish and Canadian Day – 76 miles

Hills climbed – 4,000 feet. Maximum speed – 38 mph. Last posts played – 1. Hotel – cosy with 3 in the room, wine – good.

H4H website has a daily video diary of the trip uploaded .Visit www.helpforheroes.org. Not managed to see it myself – internet challenges.

A day not blessed with good weather. First leg was to a Candian Military cemetary where we learned about the role the Candians made to the Normandy breakout. It might have been a good idea to have read into this campaign in more detail prior to coming – but certainly making up for lost time, with the accompanying military historians giving us both the larger picture and the down to individual tank skirmishes. The area we were in was where the Canadians and Poles in the North and the Americans in the South encircled a large body of German troops – SS Panzer divisions and other experienced hardened soldiers included. Preventing them from escaping was key to the success of the furthe advance into France – and at one stage, the Polish Division held a key area – known as the Falais Gap against Germans trying to break out with further divisions trying to break in to rescue the surrounded troops. Against huge odds, the Poles (all volunteers from around the world) held on and the area was described as being one where you could not walk or drive without stepping on dead bodies. At dinner last night I was told by one of the Brits who came along shortly after that he had to take his vehicle down a lane and the only way throgh was to drive over the bodies of horses (transport) – some of which were not dead – he had to shoot 3 on the way. The horrors of war.

At the memorial service we were given an account by 2 soldiers of how they were shot and what happened to them after. One, in the Rifles was shot in Holland in 1944, the second in Helmand province shortly after the start of Afghanistan. Dave was a Warrant Officer with the Pathfinders of the Parachute Regiment who were sent on a 3 day mission to identify and mark Taliban positions. They went for 3 days but could not get back for 8 weeks as they were completely surrounded and no one could relieve them. They ran out of food on 3 occasions and ammunition once – such was their firefight. All sounds amazing. Dave was shot by an Afghan Policeman from the back, and it was his appalling treatment on arrival back in the UK at Selly Oaks hospital that was the catalyst for the foundation for Help for Heroes. Both very moving stories – and fascinating.

One of the delights of this ride is the testing of one’s humour. On arrival in a town where one is expecting a hotel, to then find that the hotel is a further 5 miles away – and up one of the longest hills of the day makes the body challenged and mind! On the way up my main thought was the beer at the end to find that the hotel had no bar, the hotel next door’s does not open until 7pm and other than MacDonalds there is nothing else. Sheer luxury!

Mind you, after we had eaten dinner, we heard that 2 of the last cyclists were just coming in – so at after 9pm, Mark, who has a broken back and is in a sit-down cycle powered by his hands arrived in the pooring rain – to cheers from all in the hotel. He did get a beer on arrival – and so well deserved!