They think its all over

Its no good; after 11 really positive and exciting days of adventure, extreme physical challenge, companionship and team endeavour I'm feeling slightly disoriented and have to vent some reflections about the trip so I can come back to down to earth move on.

Looking back over the last 11 days I am struck by a number of things; the enormous physical effort of cycling almost 1,000 miles and everyone's steely will and determination to succeed (even when the extremely bad weather conditions almost reduced grown men to tears and abandonment); the beautiful French countryside, villages and towns; the warmth, friendliness and generosity of the people we encountered; and last but by no means least the interesting and varied group of people that shared this journey and that I have come to know and like a great deal. These are, in no particular order, as follows:

Andy Dalton - meticulously planned the route and lead from the front; an inspiration to other 50 year old cyclists like me
Eric Oliphant - a generous man of many parts and a strong, methodical cyclist (one of the 50 Yr old plus brigade)
Mike Stueart - another generous, warm-hearted soul who dragged me up the Pyrennees for which I am eternally grateful
Pual Walsingham - respect; for a man that battled through a throat infection and a high temperature when it would have been easier to have given up and completed the journey in the support vehicle. Probably the most stylish cyclist of the group and fabulous in lycra. Hilarious and word perfect renditions of Clousseau sketches.
Shaun Neish - ox-like strength on a bike and a charming man off it. Technical wizard and the group IT man (the blog is all down to Shaun)
Mark Beardshaw - a great athlete and economic with his vocabulary. When he did speak his dry, laconic, dead-pan and understated delivery usually put me on the floor.
Will (power) Jones - awesome cyclist and the funniest man on two wheels. Will catch-phrased his way through the trip, none of which can be repeated here
Neil Bruce - An unorthodox but mightily effective cyclist with a wicked (and very funny) sense of humour and ravenous appetite. He even eats when he cycles - I remember struggling to keep up with him at one particular point and as I breathed hard and deep and pumped my legs I looked up and saw Neil reach into his pocket and pull out a handful of mixed nut and dried fruit and down it as nonchalantly as you like and without breaking his rhythm.
Miska (to my shame I don't know his surname) - By rights Miska shouldn't be able to cycle 1,000 miles beset as he is with serious joint problems. The fact that he did and usually from the front is a tribute to his guts and determination. Respect.

Karen, Isabelle and Anna - the support team. What can I say? Their selfless, kind and seemingly effortless practical support made the difference so many times on the trip its not patronising to say that we could not have done it without them. No question.

Thats your lot except to say that I really, really want to do this again and as soon as possible.

Who is up for a trip to Brighton on 28th June? Let me know.

Nigel