The first stage is done. 6 hours on the saddle reminded me that this is no relaxing vacation. It is going to be tough. However, if I stand a chance of making it through, it is with Destination Cycling.

This tour company is unique. I do not know of anyone else that does this to the point where they make you feel like a pro rider the whole time. And it makes a difference, because this is not going to be easy.

The day began with breakfast at 7AM. The hotel had a decent breakfast with cereals, hard boiled eggs, plenty of breads and juices and the wonderful French coffee.

Then we get organized to go ride. There are two vans, one if front and one in the back. The one in front has a GPS setup hooked up to the computer. They have mapped the whole route and they are following those directions. They have a few variations with some streets as when the tour rolls, some of the streets are in the wrong way of traffic. So we need to take parallel streets, etc. But Destination Cycling has all that figured out.




The van in the back is the support van, with wheels, meals, drinks and energy drinks. And for 9 riders they bring 140 bottles! Some with water, some with energy drink and a few with recovery drinks. I thought it was overkill, but I found out we drank 130 today! The 3 riding staff is constantly monitoring the 5 riders doing this event. They check on you if you are drinking enough, etc. Then, get this, if you need water or energy drink, they take your empty bottles and bring you new ones from the van.




The three riding staff, Josh, Patrick and Jimmy are super strong. So from that regard, the 6 hours were very doable. They spent a good part at the front or helping riders bridge or getting bottles.



The ride was a slower pace than I would have probably done it, but I am leaving it to them to take us through this. They have done this last year and learned a lot.

The riders that signed up for this all have come prepared. I was glad to see that we all have spent the better part of the year preparing for this. The group easily stayed as a pack the whole way.





The stops were minimal. About 15 minutes for lunch and a couple of nature breaks but that was about it. And Joe Tonon, the President of Destination Cycling, says that the rest stops will always be minimal.



Once back, the schedule was in place for massages. Just got back from massage which was awesome. Again, it is these arrangements the ones that will make a huge difference as we get further into this tour.

Anyway, almost time for dinner.