Planning and more planning

Without wanting to give too much away, I have spent a good deal of time with my head in road maps and google earth during the last week.

There is a great deal to think about before the event even begins and deciding how much to pre-plan I guess will be determined by your budget and how much time you have to complete the challenge.

So this week I have booked hotels in London for the pre-race briefing. programmed for the evening of the 7th August in 'Look Mum No Hands' http://www.lookmumnohands.com/

I've booked ferry tickets to Dieppe, (pronounced sort of deep apparently,) paid for extreme sport insurance, purchased train tickets to London and even acquired some Euros and other far flung currencies......So Dieppe huh. Why that way and not Calais?

There will be riders with years on me who will speed like the hare to Dover and squeeze in an hour or two of sleep before zipping off toward Paris. That's approximately 80 miles followed by a brief rest, followed by 170 odd miles to get to Paris and the first check point, the Auberge Reveil Matin in Montgeron.

The location chosen because of its historical significance, being the starting point of the first Tour de France, it is now a cabaret bar by all accounts. There is at least some reference to its past outside on the roundabout.

So, that's 250 miles with a tea break....or I can take a leisurely amble to Newhaven covering 70 miles in 15 hours before the ferry leaves, have a good sleep and refuel in the 5 hour crossing and then cycle 135 miles to Montgeron. The Calais crowd will have to rest up at some point, so I figure that the tortoise can just do some catching up later in the day.