Stage 15: Paris to Rouen

The big one. We had until midday tomorrow to get to the coast, leaving us 170 miles to cover in a day and a half of cycling. We woke up at 6.30, and slipped Fireman Sam - style into our carefully arranged kit. With lights blinking in the early morning darkness, we slipped out into the deserted Parisian street. The GPS had finally given up showing our pre-planned route, so our only alternative was to punch in Rouen and leave the machine to calculate the best route for us: for the tricky and dangerous exit from Paris we were completely in its hands. An hour of brisk lane-hopping and traffic light stops later (passing the Moulin Rouge on the way) and we were free of the city and cruising along next to the Seine once again.

Some un forecast light showers threatened to dampen the mood, but as we ploughed past vast undulating fields of wheat, the sun started breaking through, and by lunchtime it was blazing above us. As we swept down country lanes, and past grand chateaux, Dad was caught between relief that the GPS was managing to find us a perfect route, and concern that as team navigator he might now be out of a job. As lunch time approached we had 55 miles in the bag, and had the village of Giverny well in our sights, home of famous French artist, Claude Monet. The GPS had painted a promising picture of our progress so far,  and gave us the impression that it was time for a lunch stop in the picturesque village.  We tucked into sandwiches and apples with lashings of Orangina.

With arm warmers, fleeces and jackets now banished to our panniers, we struck out again into the baking afternoon. We still had 45 miles to get to Rouen, and really wanted to go through to the west side, to give us a shorter distance the next day. Focused on the task in hand, we formed into a tight peloton and ate up the remaining miles, climbing over 3000ft on winding hillsides as we went. An old Tour de France climb, signaled by photographs of famous riders at every switchback, was the final big challenge before a long and exhilarating descent into Rouen. As we entered the town, we confidently ignored a campsite sign, reasoning there would be plenty once we'd left the west side of the city.

It was a decision that we would live to regret, as we spent the next 2 hours searching for an elusive, and as it turned out, no longer operational campsite, before returning with our tails between our legs to a chain hotel on the outskirts of the city. We toasted a mammoth 114 mile day at the bar, then settled into our luxury suite, ready for another tough day to come.