Early Training.

We have been doing some last minute training.  David has been eating extra Brie and I have been eating creamy Lancashire.  Peter is a bit shocked because he doesn't think that Lancashire cheese counts for a French cycling tour!

Our starting point.

Peter and I travelled down to Portsmouth today and arrived mid afternoon.  Big thanks to Janice for dropping us off.  

David has travelled up from the Vendee and is staying overnight at Caen.  We will meet up in the morning.

Peter and I cycled to the ferry after testing some local hop flavoured energy drinks.  Despite the weather forecast it was quite sunny at Portsmouth.  We found (by chance) a small museum in the house where Charles Dickens was born.  We couldn't resist going in.

I can't say it was the best museum I have ever been in.  I think he only spent the first couple of years here.  There was nothing original in the house from when he was born but it gave us a moment of English Lit history before we embark on the ferry.  Peter found out that Dickens' Tale of Two Cities is the best selling English Language novel of all time, with 200 million copies sold....wow!

We are thoroughly looking forward to starting the cycling tomorrow morning but it may be a little earlier than we would have liked.  The clock goes forward and hour and we arrive in France at 06.45 hrs.  It will be a short night.

The cheesy joke of the day.

What did Shakespeare ask his Cheesemonger?  To Brie or not to Brie!

First Wotsit Competition.

Wot is it.......or Wotsit?

Off again.....and I don't mean the cheese is past its sell by date!

On Sunday morning the Vernon boys are off again on a French cycling adventure.  To be accurate, Richard and Peter are starting on Saturday to travel down to Portsmouth.  We are doing the Channel crossing to Caen and cycling on arrival on the Sunday morning.

David has organised the route as follows:-

Day 1 - Ouistreham to Falaise (about 75 kms)

More kms by riding around Caen, more, if required, by extending south toward Clecy before breaking off towards Falaise.

Day 2 – Falaise to Lisieux (approx. 72 kms)

Includes Camembert, before Vimoutiers, Livrot, then out east to pick up on a valley.

Day 3 – Lisieux to Beaumont le Roger (51 kms)

Limited kms but could do a few more by extending north at Serquignyand back down otherside of river.  There may be a chateau south of Beamont to cycle to and back.

Day 4 – Beaumont le roger to Pont Audemer (72 kms)

Includes Bernay then Marolles on the Lisieux road.

Day 5 – Pont Audemer to Pont L’Eveque (55 kms)

Could have a cycle south of Pont L’Eveque and back to extend.

Day 6 – Pont L’Eveque to Ouistreham (52 kms)

Could deviate from coast for a village of our choice plus a slight detour to a museum before Caen.

You may have noticed that the tour has a cheese theme as we are passing through some famous regions for cheese, notably, Camembert, Brie, Pont L'Eveque and Livrot.  We will do our very best to consume cheese every day and make sure that our calorie intake exceeds the calories we burn off by cycling. We may even supplement our diet with other local specialities like Calvados and Cidre.

I'm sure the trip will be a 'cracker'!  

I really hope that no-one at Walkers Crisps reads the blog, we could be in trouble for Cheesy Wotsit Trademark theft!  I suspect that we will struggle to get any Cheesy Wotsits in France but you never know, they might have Fromage Puffs?  

I also think we should play a daily 'Wotsit' game where we take a photo of something and you have to guess what it is, in other words, Wotsit.

Don't miss the Cheesy Joke of the Day at the very bottom of the blog.

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