Author: Dennis Dawson

The stress of living in Paris is starting to take its toll on our elite team members.

Four of us travel to the real “dead centre” of Paris to meet some famous ex citizens. In the process we get our pockets lightened by an eager cemetery guide (but it was worth it).

On our first full day in Paris I decide to punish myself by conducting the world’s slowest walking tour of this famous city.

Our time in Italy has now finished and so we move to the second (and main) part of our 2015 ride in France. Fourteen riders arrived today and the remainder will be arriving over the next few days.

Although some might think that Segways are only for nerds, we learn that they are actually highly dangerous vehicles that require a huge amount of skill. They are definitely not recommended for Americans.

Today I witnessed an amazing battle take place. I could not help but see the parallels with the conquests of the ancient Romans,

After a final brutal climb and an exhilarating descent we have all safely made it to Florence.

Our peloton is restored to full size after a minor modification to one of the bikes with a hack saw.

This was the longest day of our ride so far and we found ourselves losing a rider and suffering our first puncture. Apart from that it was a fantastic day’s ride.