WW2 Normandy visit courtesy of Brian – Thu 8th May 2014

Day 1:  Thursday started as expected with a bit of light drizzle as myself and Mark set off at 0630hrs to meet Steve at the Ferry Port in Portsmouth.

As we approached the Terminal we saw a strange bloke with a dragon attachment on his handlebars, it was Steve who had already arrived.  The three of us then booked in and pushed our way to the front of the line, luckily the rain held off whilst we waited to board the Mont St Michelle for our trip to Ouistreham (Sword Beach) in Normandy.

We were the only three idiots who were taking cycles on board, so we had a nice big compartment for the bikes all to ourselves.  We decided to leave all the panniers and kit attached to the bikes, having been reassured by the staff that they would be safe.

We set off to get some breakfast and then a comfy seat near the bar and toilets for the journey.  Steve & Mark waited at least 30 mins before hitting the bar and we decided to enter the on board quiz.  With some skill, and Marks skilful use of his phone, we managed a respectable second place, losing out by one point.  We did lodge an appeal as we disagreed with one of the answers.  “How many stomachs does a cow have?”  The wining answer was four, but Steve who now claimed to be a qualified vet said it was only one, but with four compartments.  Steve skilfully maintained this ruse explaining how he has dissected many cows until the quiz master (near to suicide at this point) awarded us a joint first.

The prize for this long drawn out battle was a packet of M&M’s each, which went down very well.  Flushed by this victory we entered the second quiz, only this time we cheated much more effectively to give us a clear first place.  Two packets of M&M’s each was our limit, although we did have our photo taken holding a very small trophy that was awarded to us.

Mark             Steve  (The Vet)        Brian

Docking in Ouistreham, we set off along the canal to Pegasus Bridge.  This was only a two mile ride, but the wind was blowing down the canal with drizzle making things difficult for us.  Little did we know that this was a sign of things to come.

No sooner were we at the museum and the rain came down in a vengeance, and showed no sign of relenting.  We decided to crack on to our hotel in Tracy sur Mer, the La Rosiere, about 4km south of Arromanches at Gold Beach.  It did not start well as we accidentally blundered onto the motorway by accident.  As cars zoomed by in the wind and the rain blowing the occasional horn, Mark decided that we ought to get off at the next junction.  Kill joy.

The next 28 miles can only be described as bloody horrible, with driving rain and wind in our faces and some cheeky hills.  This three hour fun run saw us stop to try to get some food, but being a Bank Holiday in France there was not a lot open.  We did eventually manage to get some Kit Kats from a bookshop.

Eventually and thoroughly soaked, we came upon the hill that takes us into Arromanches.  This is a long drawn out climb that signalled we only had about four miles to go.  Mark switched on his turbo and got up it ok; despite the fact for the entire ride he was carrying a bloody great rucksack on his back.

Steve also got up it without trouble, despite his dragon and heavy panniers.  I was going ok, and could have got up it, but mindful of my knee and that this was day one, wimped out with about 100 yards to go and walked the last bit.  Although strangely I found this harder than riding up.

We finally reached our hotel at 1940 hrs to be welcomed by the owners Erik and Carol and three large beers.  Erik told us that nothing was open due to the Bank Holiday but he could try a local restaurant that he likes for us, but he had to book prompt before they closed.  We all agreed, and he booked us in for 2015 hrs, leaving us about 30 mins to get showered, changed and sorted.

Our room was baking hot, which was very welcoming, and we cracked on getting ready leaving kit all over the place to sort out when we got back.  Mark hogged the shower; washing some parts a bit longer than he should have we suspected, but we all managed to be ready for 2015 hrs as arranged.  Erik our host insisted on driving us to the restaurant and picking us up again when we had finished all free of charge, this was most generous of him and we told him we would thank him properly when we booked out on the Saturday.

The restaurant was excellent, offering typical French cuisine.  We all had a marvellous meal washed down with beer and red wine, although I must say that Mark’s fish soup starter was somewhat potent.  Returning to the hotel we grabbed another pint each and returned to our room where Mark demonstrated how it was possible to suck your own p***s, (it’s called stretching Brian. Mark) Steve thought he demonstrated it bit too long.  It must be a Royal Marine thing.

We all got our head down for the night but we were awoken by Steve bashing his way to the toilet and muttering, although he kindly did not flush the toilet so as not to disturb us.  This bashing into furniture continued throughout the night every time Steve turned over in bed, until Mark pointed out to Steve in the morning that it was possible to move the offending articles out of his way.  Steve looked on in amazement as Mark moved a table about a foot to the right.  Steve said “I thought it was fixed to the wall.”  Cock.

Summary:  Riding time: 2:48:37

Distance:  27.84 Miles

Av Speed:  10.7 mph

Max Speed:  22.1 mph

Calories: 1928

Elevation Gain:  206m

Av Temp:  15.1 c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark             Steve  (The Vet)        Brian

 

 

Docking in Ouistreham, we set off along the canal to Pegasus Bridge.  This was only a two mile ride, but the wind was blowing down the canal with drizzle making things difficult for us.  Little did we know that this was a sign of things to come.

 

No sooner were we at the museum and the rain came down in a vengeance, and showed no sign of relenting.  We decided to crack on to our hotel in Tracy sur Mer, the La Rosiere, about 4km south of Arromanches at Gold Beach.  It did not start well as we accidently blundered onto the motorway by accident.  As cars zoomed by in the wind and the rain blowing the occasional horn, Mark decided that we ought to get off at the next junction.  Kill joy.

 

The next 28 miles can only be described as bloody horrible, with driving rain and wind in our faces and some cheeky hills.  This three hour fun run saw us stop to try to get some food, but being a Bank Holiday in France there was not a lot open.  We did eventually manage to get some Kit Kats from a bookshop.