Photos

Thanks to everyone for the support - We are all over the moon that we managed to complete the ride, but more importantly that we have been able to give somthing back to MacMillan!

Photos of our Trip to Paris can now be found using the below link:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/57753421

The Final Push - Day 4

376km down, only 100 to go until central Paris beckoned... Easier said than done.

Promised a fast first 30 but with the standard Westerly head-wind and, of course, the minor undulations, it was less than speedy and included the longest hill of the trip. As usual the speedsters made a dash for all the decent energy bars on offer at the first stop, us mere mortals surviving on scraps of peanut shell and the like.

This stage had once again seen SP head off early. Having already practised the section late the previous evening there were concerns that he might try to re-employ the tactics that had brought about his Stage 1 victory. Dirty tactics were also brought to the attention of the support team when Ed reported that his brakes may have been tampered with - this proved merely an excuse for him being off the early pace.
The final few miles through Paris proved to be a surreal experience. We brought the traffic round the Arc de Triomphe to a halt and were greeted by cheers, whoops and hooting all down the Champs Elysee - not to mention hordes of our Japanese friends thinking the Tour de France had already arrived in Paris and snapping away merrily. Britton.T was later seen trying to flog a signed sweat-soaked T-Shirt.

Arrival at the Tour Eiffel was emotional for all involved! After 476K we had all finally arrived at our destination and without a puncture between the three of us. Some modest partying followed and once again Ed showed us all how to do it with arrival back at the hotel in time for breakfast.

Here's a picture to prove we really did get to the tower and the banner reminds us, amongst the events and laughs of the day and the previous three, why we were doing this in the first place and the reason for our supporters having contributed so generously to Macmillan.

Thank you all!!!

Paris enfin!

5pm heure locale - arrivée a la Tour Eiffel.

Trials and tribulations - Day 3

Apologies to avid readers for the delayed posting, after 3 days on a bike the prospect of a cold beer was more appealing than sending a progress update.Whilst flying through the small country lanes south of Abbeville, SP was heard declaring that he felt light as a feather and in fine form. Fellow riders put this down to the multiple pressure breaks prior to the 4 mile marker. As it turns out the old'un had a senior moment whilst 'on a break' and in a frantic effort to shed layers had cast aside his bum bag. It transpires that not only did this contain bike tools but also his passport! Finding these just after the departure point resulted in a loss of 12 miles. However, he later made this up on a solo run with a senior member of staff. He was later heard asking said staff member if he had 'managed to exhaust her...'Once again, Ed teamed up with his 3 new pals in a reincarnation of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse chasing down wayward backmarkers, your scribe included...Once again, Britton.T was fairly nondescript although a serious sense of humour failure whilst mid way through the second stage of the day resulted in mush fist waving and loud cursing towards the clouds!A relaxed evening ensued, Ed spending a little more time in the bar than other members of Team Britton. He was obviously suffering and off the pace early doors on the final day...P.S. Very windy from all directions!!!--------------------------

Tales from the Ride - Day 2

"23 miles to the first water stop across undulating terrain..." They said! On arrival at said Water stop a rather flustered SP had started putting together his breach of trust case that would see our genteel tour leader banged up for years.It must be said that the riding improved from that point on, Ed showed how it should be done and wizzed off into the distance at any opportunity. The name dropping of who he had been fraternizing with at the front of the Peleton at lunch however was seen as very poor form by SP and your scribe.Team Britton then spent some "quality" time together on a detour to a pleasant watermill and more importantly the local Creperie (Ed seen exiting with a skip in his tail).The final 30 saw Britton.T attempting to ingratiate himself with aforementioned tour leader and was also allegedly overheard offering to assist in defence of father’s proposed class action citing insider knowledge.All 3 riders have now arrived safe and sound in Abbeville.From our travels in France so far we have discovered...1) French roads are superior in every way to those found on our island.2) French drivers appear to have a positive attitude to cyclists.3) It appears to be perfectly normal to greet fellow cyclists (Male or Female) with "how's your bum?" or variation there of.Until tomorrow - Aurevoir!--------------------------Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Device

The Ride - Day 1

Ed sets early tone for Team Britton with a, some might say, valiant effort to crack onto one of the event staff. Seen by Senior Pro and outrider removing shirt to display well worked pecs...This has even outdone Tom’s public display of lubing on Blackheath common, much to the dismay of team coach fellow riders. The yellow jersey was clearly weighing heavy on the mind of senior pro who in the true spirit of underhand tour tactics stole a significant lead following early departure from lunch before changing the direction of route markers. The resultant 5 mile diversion caused disarray in the Peleton, most of whom were now under the impression that SP must now by trekking incommunicado through deepest darkest Kent. Little did they know that the crafty old'un had actually decided to employ stealth tactics and keep his mobile switched off...Ferry ride across passed with no major incidents although the Curry, Chips and Kronenbourg, which at the time seemed the right choice did come back to haunt when completing the final 7 miles to our Hotel just outside Calais. Thursday brings another 80 odd miles in the saddle, time for a snooze!

Disclaimer

Despite appearances to the contrary, Team Britton did not resort to 4-wheel transport after 5 minutes of cycling.
Inadequate training on the blog means that the coach/manager/photographer/trainer/driver/stylist is still trying to work out how to get the photos in the ritght order.

En route....aurevoir Londres

A high pressure question answered

How do riders on the Tour de F go to the loo? This has been interesting the senior pro on this venture for some while. Tom having found the answer below Ed suggested that our readers might be interested in it. The senior pro's interest remains entirely academic.

Generally, the riders pull over to the side of the road, stop, and shed liquid ballast in the usual way. Some time in the first couple of hours of the race, a senior rider (a team leader or team captain) will organise a comfort break and the whole peloton will slow down enough that riders can stop for a break and easily catch up afterwards.

The etiquette is that you don't attack while a large-scale comfort break is in progress, and you certainly don't attack the yellow jersey when he's taking a leak.

On some days there will be no organised break. If the stage is short, fast or very hot it may simply not be necessary, but on a cold morning at the beginning of a long day's trek across Northern France a mass disposal of that last cup of coffee will almost certainly happen.

If a rider needs to go outside of an organised stop, that's another situation where team-work comes into play. Along with a couple of team-mates, the rider will drop back in the peloton, and move to the side of the road. While his team-mates push him along at the back of the bunch, he'll take a mobile comfort break. It's a skilled operation, and some riders just can't relax enough to, er, let it all hang out this way…

It's considered extremely bad form for photographers and TV to shoot this whole process which is why, as some readers have observed, you never see it on TV or in pictures.

So, now you know. What a relief!

Tom's new velo

Ed will need to keep a watch out now as Tom threatens his dominance in the family's speed stakes following heavy investment in cutting edge cycle design - no seriously, he's spurned his trike and bought a snazzy new pair of wheels. Not content with that, he's kitted out with the sharpest pair of cycling shoes you ever saw: go faster stripes, hi-vis, odour-eating. Only problem is that, as he set out yesterday morning competing for the coolest Sunday cyclist award, he forgot to pack a spare tube, repair kit and pump. Bananas, yes; health and energy bars, yes; drink, yes, of course - but nothing to keep air in his front tyre after he cycled over a cast-aside Saturday night bottle (not his own) -and all this after only 15 miles on his new wheels. Fortunately, he was meeting a wise virgin for a training ride who had the necessary !

Ton up at Car Boot Sale

Despite lowering skies we raised just over £100 from the pockets of the good burghers of Potters Bar on Saturday (21st June) and a few bob more in the collection tin. Many thanks to:

1. the Long family who had donated some very high quality goods for us to sell: Sue for a dragon with mystical qualities; Nick for a one-wheeled bike (a unicycle to the uninitiated); and Pete, in particular, who provided invaluable assistance in satisfying ladies of mature years.

2. Matt and Katie for equally high quality goods, so good that I had to email them to check I was not selling their dinner-party cutlery

3 the Elm Court staff for their help and generosity

Senior Pro Exposed (not again...)

Whilst trading with tiffin-wallahs in the teeming bazaars of the subcontinent, our Mumbai correspondent was surreptitiously passed this remarkable snap of the old ‘un in full training attire. Every effort is being made to trace the source of this leak, as it represents a severe breach of the “ring of steel” security which has been employed to safeguard the pioneering training methods used by Team Britton. It is feared that Indian bookmakers, formally the scourge of cricket, may have now infiltrated the genteel world of road cycling. This picture does however provide remarkable insight into the extreme, some may say reckless, practices currently adopted by the team. Please note that the authenticity of this photo is yet to be verified.

Tom trains for French roads

On a specially designed assault course in deepest Herts Tom has been at practice in secret for the unique challenges posed by French roadmakers. His wish to remain anonymous during these exercises has extended to heavy investment in a fine example of the wigmaker's crafts and the latest in ATB design. Despite one or two spills, as our snapper's clandestine shot here anticipates, Tom remains phlegmatic, no doubt heartened by Nathalie's recent acceptance of a proposal she found she could not resist (Congratulations all round and apologies for failing to report this sooner). No reports yet, though, on what this particular prospective tumble may have done for him but what seems to be about to happen brings tears to the eyes.

Carol appointed as Coach to Team Britton

News that Team Britton has appointed the wife and mother of team members as Team Coach has taken the world of Cycling by storm with mixed reaction from top sporting personalities. Sources close to Sven report that he had hoped to be approached for this high-profile job and is gutted at being pipped to the post with accusations of nepotism flying around. Multi-talented Clive Woodward is also disappointed that his transferrable skills have not been sought.
However, it is understood that despite the likely six-figure weekly pay cheque Carol is likely to receive this is an appointment that is no pushover with a highly temperamental squad whose dissolute lifestyles need to be brought under control. Expect several pub closures in the North London and South Herts area as curfews are imposed on the squad. On a more positive note seven times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong commented that he expects Carol to be an outstanding addition to the team "a unique knowledge of this talented team is likely to ensure they are at the start in great shape and on time". A surprised representative of the British Olympic Committee cast doubt on the truth of reports of the appointment "This is the first I have heard of it: Team Britain has a host of coaches already".

STOP PRESS: it emerges that Carol is merely going to bus the team to the start.

Ed invests in new machine

Impoverished student though he is, Ed has spared no expense to be the coolest dude on the Ride by investing in a state of the art bike: here he is taking his new racer through its paces.
Note the trendy headgear and it seems that he may have shaved specially for this photo-shoot.

Circus school pays off

After working hard over the past few weeks on the finishing pyramid, we've managed to get the symmetry to extend to the 'rent a crowd'. Unfortunately they won't be making it over to the Champs Elysee, but we're hoping resident Parisians will forget our historical national differences and turn out in droves on the big day.

Courtesy of Macmillan Nurses (we might need them for mainstream medical duties) here is a view of the world-famous Kent Himalayas and the route we take on Day 1

Dreaming of a White Easter

Ed and the old 'un set off in blizzard conditions on Easter Monday to put in a bit of training. Not quite the conditions expected in northern France in July but no doubt good for the soul. Having just seen the Himalayan nature (hence, perhaps, the afore-mentioned weather) of the journey through Kent on the Day 1 of the Ride we went for hill-climbing rather than distance and did survive doing nearly half the anticipated ascent due for Day 1. Correction, the old 'un survived: borrowing Ed's speedster gave him a considerable advantage as Ed was pedalling round on the old 'un's steed which, though not heavy by 19th century standards, is still less than anorexic. He suffered on the sprint finish through the P Bar suburbs, trailing in a distant second.

Team Britton went out training last week, but Ed dropped out after the first mile. Far from being too unfit, his failure to continue was due to the indescribable wind he faced from cycling directly behind his father. Ed has since invested in cutting edge cycling 'apparatus' that will enable him to train with the rest of the team.