Midsummer Madness 2 or Midnight Madness
At 5 am, 30 people on 27 bikes met in the subdued darkness in lane 192 of Dover docks. By the sounds of it quite a few members had to get up in the incredibly early hours to meet up in time for the ferry. The usual issue of not enough serviceable straps to hand was sorted and we all met aboard one of the new P and O ferries. It was a very smart ship and a very smooth journey, the only difference was the food available was in the form of hot rolls, cakes, and sandwiches instead of a hot plate and good old fry-up. Probably a good thing – health wise.
We all gathered for a brief from Sarah Farbrace and from Stuart Faulkner and Mark Mascall who had done the organising and recce trips to make sure all would go well.
The day was going to be split into 4 legs and would total about 190 miles. We left the ferry and rallied at the police station. I guess that if anyone were going to get done for anything untoward on their bike this would have been the perfect point to get nabbed. There was some drizzle and grey skies, but the weather was forecast to be good so fingers crossed it would brighten up. All good, we left the docks and followed Stuart on the most magical tour of Calais before heading out into the country. Anyone who has done a French trip before will remember the D940. The first taste of de-restricted A road flows amazingly as it follows the coast from Sangatte to Wissant. Every time it blows the cobwebs away and makes up for any of the hassle of getting to France in the first place. We turned inland and headed to Montreuil for refreshments. This walled town sits on top of a hill accessed by a cobbled road. It used to be a seaport back in the 9th century. Luckily, the sea receded and left some great roads! A popular market town, there always seems to be something happening in the square, today was no exception, with the square cordoned off we ended up parking bikes wherever we could find space.
Leg 2 saw the sunshine come out, the roads all dry and Mark lead the way via Hesdin to St Valery sur Somme. Situated on the side of the Somme estuary, this is a little seaside town teeming with restaurants. Reconnaissance paid off as we seemed to ride right into the heart of the town straight into a car park that had bollards preventing cars but perfect for a group of bikes – waiting for us. Briefed earlier that we should find a restaurant, place an order, and then catch up and chat - worked well. Everyone including the waiters were on slow time Saturday, not realising we had only an hour and a half for a meal. Our group certainly ran out of time and had to forgo a nice ice cream for dessert rather than incur the wrath of Sarah by being late back at the car park.
Everyone assembled, we then followed the Somme canal to Abbeville and then many more fast sweeping A roads via Auxi – Le Chateau, Gennes-Ivergny and Hesdin, then on to Hucqueliers and then stopping at Desvres for a well-deserved break, that last leg being nearly 68 Miles, more than a lot of riders usually do in a day. Thats why it's called midsummer madness!
The final leg took us back towards the port, it’s always tempting to jump on the bigger trunk roads nearer to Calais but the cross-country route through the villages is more fun and much prettier. The journey through the docks seemed painless and we were ushered straight onto the waiting ferry. Perfect timing. We all met up in the lounge and spent the return journey reviewing the day. No dramas or mishaps. Everyone agreed that a great time was had by all. Once again thanks to Stuart Faulkner and Mark Mascall for planning the routes, and leading with Peter Rider, and to Sarah Farbrace for organising the ferry crossing and doing the organising.
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