For some reason the London to Dover leg of the 4th edition of the ‘300 in 3 days’was a challenge. The Peleton was strung out along the road, some that hadn’t trained were already in the support vehicle. Others that hadn’t serviced their bikes were in the van. So only 3 people missing the ferry to Dunkirk was a good result. Their punishment? An extra 20 miles on top of the prescribed 30 miles to the hotel!
Their were other incidents…the wrong (and heavy) bag being thrown from a departing ferry at Dover for example (the same heavy bag with tools rather than energy bars also had to travel the extra 20 miles to the hotel with the 3 laggards). It wasn’t even the 2nd day!
The 2nd day didn’t disappoint in it’s notoriety. There were plenty of wrong turns, mechanicals, missing-in-actions, train rides, ferry rides, North Sea weather and fence climbing. Nevertheless by the end of the day all were accounted for and many ‘schoolboy-esque misadventures’ recounted over dinner.
Day 3 by contrast was a ride in the park, a Dutch themed park, very flat park featuring all that you would expect in Holland canals, windmills and bike paths. One such bike path took us across the end of the Schiphol Airport runway, our timing was perfect as a 747 thundered overhead on take off. On arriving in Amsterdam, the City of Cycling – we stood out on our racing bikes and Lycra against the masses of casual cyclists winding their way along the streets adjacent to the canals. The hustle and bustle outside Amsterdam’s Central Station seemed an appropriate place to pull up and reflect on the latest 300 in 3 days adventure.
