Day 7: Reims – Torcy
It’s almost done. And the time has flown by. Torcy is a town close to Paris or belongs to the suburbs of Paris. I can’t believe this, but we are so close to Paris! Today we managed the last big stage. Actually, this is the “secret queen stage”. Because it was so incredibly beautiful. We were already spoiled with beautiful landscapes yesterday. Unfortunately, we were grilled by the sun yesterday and today, at least uphill and/or when being out of shadow for a longer time. But all the beautiful landscapes were an incredible compensation. However, today we had the same situation as yesterday, but way shorter. After such a long day yesterday it was good to ride today 60 km less than the day before. Aside from that, some preparations for the final day needed to be finished. For the arrival in Paris.
A kind of routine that emerged on the first day was the obligatory espresso with Stefan very shortly before the briefing. If we didn’t see each other during or after breakfast, I could be sure that Stefan would be near an espresso machine shortly before the briefing, looking for me. Every morning we had an espresso before briefing and starting the bicycle ride. That’s just to enjoy a moment of rest. And to radiate a certain sense of calm.
Soon that we have started our bicycle ride today, we passed what we thought might be a movie set. Or a grandstand from an old, disused race track. Thanks to Tobi it indeed turned out to be the Reims-Gueux motor racing circuit. According to Wikipedia:
The circuit Reims-Gueux was a motor racing circuit made up of rural public roads, located in Gueux, 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Reims in the Champagne region of north-eastern France, established in 1926 as the second venue of the Grand Prix de la Marne. However, the circuit became known to be among the fastest of the era for its two long straights (approximately 2.2 km; 1¼ miles in length each) allowing maximum straight-line speed, resulting in many famous slipstream battles.
Later we just kept cycling through the countryside in France, or rather, riding from village to village. An absolute highlight given all the views. And doing this with such a great team, whose collaboration is getting better and better. That is something great where I am running out of words to describe my thoughts and emotions. I will miss it a lot. That’s for sure.
Occasionally we could save energy when getting down the hill pretty fast and quickly uphill again. For some of us it was new but it worked pretty well. However, while riding continuously towards the endless horizon, any sight change quickly again and again and it was just nice to watch it, the different landscapes. It was so beautiful and inviting. For a long time the horizon seemed to be far away. Especially on the countryside, it is simply a pure joy. I love this at home since years. It is equally fun in France too obviously.
It’s also worth mentioning that I led “my” group every day with different riders to pull the train. That’s how we call it when the first six riders (in 3 rows) rotate regularly, providing slipstream to the others following us. In addition to that, the first riders have to give (warning) signals about anything ahead of us from changing directions, to slow down to to potholes. And it went pretty well every day, each of the leading riders did a great job. It has been a special honour for me (so far) to have been given this responsibility, and it has been a pleasure to live up to it. And to be able to fulfil the expectations placed on me.
At this point, special thanks to you: Matthieu, David, Axel, Philipp, Stefan, Daniel, Ronny, Anita, and Michael. You, among others, were always a great support either by leading the group or riding as the “taillight”. With you we always had a safe tour on each day. No one remained far behind the group unintentionally, most of the time we have found the right balance in order to stick together as a group and there was no accident. Fantastic! Thank you!
When possible, we also visit historical sites. Today it was a military cemetery. More precisely the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery.
According to Wikipedia:
The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial is an American military cemetery in northern France. Plots A through D contain the graves of 6,013 American soldiers who died while fighting in this vicinity during World War I, 597 of which were not identified, as well as a monument for 241 Americans who were missing in action during battles in the same area and whose remains were never recovered. Included among the soldiers here who lost their lives is Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918).
A graveyard for former soldiers that were dishonorably discharged and executed for crimes committed during World War II, referred to as Plot E, is nearby. Private Eddie Slovik (1920–1945), the only American soldier executed for desertion during World War II, was buried there until 1987.
Engraved lettering at the memorial:
“These endured all and gave all that honour and justice might prevail and that the world might enjoy freedom and inherit peace.”
There is not much to say about it, these wars were absolutely unnecessary. As always when visiting such places, it takes some time to get over it. And it helps, to just continue the bicycle ride.
Shortly after visiting the cemetery our captain Anke did have the idea to take a picture within a sunflower field as these would perfectly match with our jerseys.
Again and again I was flashed by the landscapes, the wide horizon, the blue sky and the fact that our journey went so well until now. I don’t want to think about it that it is almost over. Such a fun, it should last longer!
Later there was the idea to take some special photos of the entire group, using a drone. One of the pictures was a special greeting to one of our sponsors who made it possible to carry all the stuff needed apart of our bicycles. All we needed was a big field of grass with an open sight to the sky.
Unfortunately, just a few miles ahead of our hotel I got my first and only flat tire during this journey, just 20 km ahead of our final destination for the day. That’s mean. Well it always is. By this I have joined the group of those with a defect on their bicycle. Thanks a lot to Remo, Daniel and Axel for their support. Remo showed up at the right time to provide a more stable floor pump (the small mobile pumps do work good anyway). One more time a quick tube replacement. The group has continued the ride and because we lost radio contact it was up to us to catch up quickly. And indeed, a few miles later, we were riding very fast, we met the group again. It was a nice sprint of 12 – 15 km. The three of us enjoyed that a lot. And it was nice to arrive at the hotel together as a group. We always want to arrive together, if possible.
In case of any issue with any of the bikes, the group usually continues the ride. Those two guys being the group’s “taillight” help to fix the problem and then they ride back to the group together. Despite of the luxury having cozy places for a couple of breaks during every stage and despite of a bicycle mechanic following us in a car, we cannot simply replace a wheel or an entire bike life the professionals.
In the evening at the hotel, the “Secret Santa” campaign was revealed. This is a nice gimmick lasting for the entire tour. Everyone would give a small gift to one randomly selected person during the tour. That can be anything. Nothing big. A gesture, a snack, a paid drink, a compliment. Or something creative. Maybe daily, but not necessarily daily. The trick is to not get caught and to let the other one think about it, who could it be, making this gift. Since this will “match” exist for seven days that can be done strategically by giving hints.
I can run this gag not more than two times, now I make it public. This is one of my presents, that I have done twice. It worked well and was fun both times.
Each arrival is celebrated with a ride through the archway. The first group welcomes the second group.
After dinner we had to prepare ourselves for the arrival in Paris the next day. First of all, the “Berlin Bear” got fixed on every helmet. That identifies us as the Berlin Team. In addition we got a plate to be mounted on the handlebar. The plate was kindly provided by a donors, Ampelmann Berlin.
Next day, next and final stage: Torcy to Paris on day 8
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