Transfer time

It's only when you start to travel somewhere that the reality of the adventure you are undertaking starts to sink in. All the fundraising, training & preparation soon fall to the back of the mind, or at least they did for me as I travelled down to Heathrow with Steve on the Sunday afternoon (13th May). The thought of City gifting the Premiership title back to United also provided distraction for about 35 mins, only for that hope to disappear as quickly as it took Utd to dash Bayern Munich's hopes back in 1999 Champions League Final. So a couple of cheeky beers were had whilst overlooking T5 with the sun setting ever lower. I know it's not the most glamourous of scenes but was enjoyable nonetheless. Checked in at 6.45am and have to say that my only experience of T5 was far better than had been described in the press over previous days. It wasn't that quiet either. The flight to Luxembourg was quick and was spent talking to Andy Neill (fellow Stage 5 rider & Tweeter). Always good to put a face to a name! The sight of the team bus upon arrival put a great smile on everyone's face....as if the blue sky & proposition of meeting Messers Dallaglio & Flintoff et al wasn't enough! The sight of the roadshow that is the Cycle Slam at the hotel in Nancy started to put the logistics of managing such an event into perspective. Bid Vest lorries x 2, Skoda support cars (a few), an ambulance, Halfords mechanics big van & Catermasters' food wagon...all in the car park and that was before all the bikes were made available to check over. A meet & greet session plus the first meeting to go through the next day's route, weather & what to expect preceeded an evening meal & drinks. Never had a 3 course meal before starting with spaghetti bolognese! At the end of dinner, we were told our groups for the week; how exciting.....a group lead by Lee Dixon & Graeme Le Saux, which also included fellow Evesham Wheeler (and Halfords colleague) Steve Tarling. The fast boys...and me! Time for an early night then ready for the first 100 miles...perhaps not as early as it should have been and not helped by someone's dulcet tones giving a rendition of Cockles & Mussels at 1am out by the pool!! The only relief being that would be one more person suffering more than myself as the alarm clock was set for 5.15am! Zzzzzzzzzz