The Final Push

Waking amongst the sheer luxury of the Egyptian Cotton sheets and Russian Goose-down Pillows of Chateau de Courcelles, with a gentle rain falling on the window panes and only 50k before us and our final destination I would say Morale was high. Even the Muscular niggles seemed irrelevant. And so it was having doused myself in the generous quantities of Hermés “Eau D’Orange Vert”, I headed in the direction of breakfast with the chin up and head in the air. There was a great sense of confidence amongst the team that Alan Montague-Dennis, having discussed in great detail the production of the porridge (Porridge oats and boiling water with a little gentle stirring) with the Kitchen team the night before would finally have our Oats. Sadly even at the dizzy heights of gourmet excellence porridge seems to be very difficult and 45 minutes later Alan eventually received his porridge. Without prior consultation I was delighted to note that there was a respectful absence of Lycra at the breakfast table.

Lined up alongside the plethora of GTC Mulliner Bentleys in the car park we set out on our Steeds on the final leg of our trip in the rain. After a short Shimmy on a duel carriage way where Mr Reed diced with death and a 40 tonne lorry we were into open country and under way. When the wind picked up Mr Bruce gallantly took to the front, sheltering us from the elements. Determination was high as when arriving at yet another “Deviation” we ignored any advice and in true British spirit.....”Carried On”. Unfortunately Mr M-D’s extra stream lined slicks (matching the head to toe Rapha) did not enjoy all that terrible Mud and Oomschka and we had our first puncture. Fortunately captain Hawes was at hand, who deftly changed the tyre as though we were in the pits at Monte Carlo. Montague-Dennis once again showed his true grit and determination when it came to the final ascent, “Col de Merd 2” by muttering various expletives before haring up the cliff at a rate of Knotts..........what a man! The group had been looking forward to the final descent from the Montagne de Reims but sadly due to the rain we knew this was not going to be the death-defying, hurtling descent we had hoped for. Wild-Boy Reed was off to flying start (I didn’t know the Military took such Lunatics) followed by Hawes, Bruce and M-D, timidly followed by myself and Bomber (who know doubt was cunningly planning some devilish Coup de Gras). With eyes closed and hands firmly on the brakes i rounded a viscious corner to find a man down. Bruce had hit the deck in a spectacular pearler. Incredibly bravely Bruce carried on determined to make lunch and a glass of Special Cuveé. Our hosts on arrival at Bollinger looked at us as only the French could, at a team of bedraggled cyclists covered in mud, Reed with a recent puncture and looking some way off charming lunch guests but after a quick turn around (M-D in a cascade of tangerine and sky Blue) we raced through a little Special Cuveé, Grand Anneé 2002 and a splash of Rosé for good measure and bid our farewells. It was an emotional ride back to Calais with the indubitable Bill at the wheel and Rebecca crooning (rather beautifully) in the front. And so it was that the Mentzendorf cycle team 2010 came to an end and I must say........... I miss you all!

Love

Eddie xx

As we have a short break in the company sales conference I look out of the window on rain and have mixed emotion about not being on my bike. I have shared a bedroom with her, we've been in the back of a minibus together and we have been literally up hill and down dale together. Now she is in the shed with a puncture. This week we have covered 357 km and burnt through some 12000 calories. We've taken energy gels, fruit bars and in some cases had chips for pudding just to keep the engine stoked. Why did we do it? I think two reasons, firstly the Benevolent is an outstanding cause, it is still not too late to sponsor; www.justgiving etc etc. Secondly because it was a personal challenge. What did we get out of it? Some money for the Benevolent yes, but also it was a great experience. Seeing Bomber's legs grinding out the hills; Neal, the man who put the term Mountain into bike pick himself up and go on, Alan burn up the final hill, Eddie smoking a Marlborough Red while cycling and Andrew in his tights are all great and treasured memories. Would I do it again? Yes definitely as Bollinger were such excellent hosts and the team at Mentzendorff made it all go like clockwork - well almost.

Thank you

Andrew R

Day 3 began as it went on, across open ground and into that annoying headwind, with only occasional respite when it turned into across wind! The wind turbines were spinning happily today - not good for us though...
High point was a tractor-trailer that pulled out in front of us just as we started up (yet another) hill. It was loaded down with produce bins and 'flat out' proved just right for our peleton to tuck in behind it to slip-stream up behind it. The faster guys tucked in behind as it trundled along a short flat into the town of Ham.
Bone shaker valley was next. The normally smooth roads turned ugly. Wind (again) but I enjoyed switching the front suspension back on on my mountain bike and took the lead as the titanium/carbon fibre and alloy boys nearly shook themselves to bits.
A quick email catch up at lunch break showed I had received a couple of donations that day. This really helped morale as Andrew H filled us with dread about the hilly sections ahead of us. We decided to name the next 5kms stretch as 'S**t Hill'. It lived up to it's billing with that flipping head wind adding that extra bit of spice.
Up hill and down dale followed for the rest of the day with some beautiful scenery and some hair-raising decents (plus some gravelly bends to keep us on our toes) followed inexorably by the steep climb you just knew would follow.
After our modest accomodation to date, heaven was our overnight at Chateau Courcelle. Those lovely people from Bollinger came to join us for dinner and brought some very yummy wine with them. High point was the '97 RD.
Last day, it's raining and there's still to make a donation!

Day 2

Having been the wearer of the ‘Maillot Jaune’ (yellow jersey) for the first day, it was down to me - Ian “Bomber” Harris - to submit a report for the second day of the tour.

The previous evening’s started badly when Andrew Reed wandered down for dinner minus his trousers – clearly some perverse ploy to impress Lucy and Rebecca, our brilliant ‘roadies’ – however he redeemed himself by offering me a squirt of his chamois cream the following morning, and that helped to dull the pain, not only of the chafing, but also of being summarily put in my place by Gruppenführer Hawes, who, taking a dim view of my exploits the previous day, insisted that I adopt the role of ‘tail-end Charlie’ thus blunting my normal instincts to lead from the front.

Neil had discovered that it is much easier to go uphill when you have pumped up your tyres to within an inch of their lives, and the rest of the ‘peleton’ (Alan, Eddie and Reedy) obediently fell in line behind the Gruppenführer for the 130km ride from St Omer to Peronne. We had a brief panic when we thought Eddie had dropped his fags, and another when Lucy got her car stuck in the mud at the lunch-break, but we arrived in Peronne in one piece, although Reedy and Eddie were playing the ‘I think I have hurt my knee’ card at dinner. Several neurofen (washed down with Armagnac) later, we retired to prepare for the ‘big push’ to Fismes.

Big thanks to Bill for not getting lost - stay tuned for a report on Day 3……….

Dear All
All were on time at the Ashford rendezvous and the clouds cleared as the "le peloton" for the 6th Annual Benevolent Cycle Ride to Champagne, organised by Mentzendorff, rolled out of Calais for the initial "gentle" leg of 40km down to St Omer on Sunday afternoon. It all seemed to be going too well............. and it was, as only 5km further on the steady pace initially set by Andrew Hawes was suddenly broken by a suprise attack from Ian "Bomber" Harris, who having donned the Yellow Jersey in the van, disappeared over the horizon, being chased in vain by Eddie Hart. All attempts to re-organise the peloton were in vain, we scattered across the French countryside with Andrew Reed, Neil Bruce and Alan Montague-Dennis all left trailing in the wake of Harris who quickly built up a commanding lead and ignored all requests from Bill Page - Directeur Sportive, in the van to slow down. Having finally recaptured the "Bomber", we then found that we were lost, Hawes searched in vain for familar landmarks as we threaded our way through Farmyards, over hills and down valleys - before arrving on what appeared to be the Autoroute. Riding on a dual-carriageway was a first for this the 6th Mentzendorff ride, but all survived and eventually we arrived at our hotel for the first night... finding it, strangely, to be 60km from Calais rather than 40km! Today is the long run down to Peronne........ stay tuned.