Day 4 Soissons to Troyes 100.5miles (4157ft)

Not sure if anyone spotted the deliberate mistake yesterday with the ride distance saying more than 100 miles. Yesterday was actually >95miles but today was our first century ride of the trip. 100.5miles.

After forecasts of rain we awoke to clear blue skies but a VERY strong South westerly wind. At one point I saw 4 wheelie bins scattered across someone's driveway. It was a good demonstration of the power of the wind today. Most of the day it was a cross wind, often a partial headwind so it really sapped the energy from the legs. I had a hard time staying upright on my bike almost being blown off on several occasions.

There were no particular places of interest today so it was simply a case of riding through the beautiful countryside of Champagne. 

We occasionally passed through forests which gave some respite. The roads were wide and pretty straight adding to the relentlessness of the 100 mile target. 

The 4th day and it's starting to take its toll on those unused to long days in the saddle day after day. 

John has a sore back, Idris has a shoe sole rubbing (requiring a trainer on one foot most of the day and a quick trip to decathlon to buy new shoes). Steve and Jamie have sore parts best not mentioned but for me today it was about the effort and determination shown by Elliott. He is riding with two sore and painful knees but carried on hill after hill without complaint. Chapeau!

The myriad of aches and pains and the proximity of support cars to the peloton often make progress slow as there are frequent stops to patch people up. It's hard to establish a rhythm and today the hours ticked by more quickly than the miles. 3 hours for 20 miles this morning made the prospect of finishing in daylight in doubt. Once we established 2 pace groups and more comfortable paces were set the miles to go total started to drop. 

We passed some beautiful chateaus and tempting signs for champagne tasting but all stuck to the route.

The steepest hill of the day came just before lunch with a climb up to a viewing point. I had to laugh when I saw a defibrillator stuck to the wall of a building near the top. 

The rest of the afternoon I rode wth Idris, Simon and Elliott and we finally crested the last hill of the day before turning to find the winds at our backs and some fine flat Tarmac along the canal de Haute Seine.

A handy route sign showing us that we could ride within 5km of Troyes our destination for today. It made for very easy riding for the last 15 or so miles after what had been for many a very tough day in the saddle. Apart from one small road closure and a short diversion we reached the hotel at about 7 o'clock just time to have dinner and a large pudding.... Tho joys of cycling all day mean guilt free eating. 

It's always good to get to the end of the day and check the fund raising total. It's a real boost to team morale which has taken a couple of knocks of late. So if you are thinking of donating and haven't yet. It would be great to see the total rise and your messages of support. 

Here is the link https://www.goldengiving.com/fundraising/london2cannes

Thank you