So we headed out to the centre of Vannes on the bus early this morning for a proposed start of 8am.  The night in the hotel wasn’t great as I got to bed late having attempted to download some videos or films on the hotel wifi to watch on the bus south to the Pyrenees. The WiFi was more aptly NoFi possibly because everyone was trying to download. With the hotel window open and the lovely sound of small boats and their sail cords flapping in the wind I thought I’d be in for a nice drift into slumberland but boy was I so wrong. It seems that not only in England do people of all ages get drunk and rowdy on a Friday night. After several hours of shouting and fighting outside which I thought would stop each time it died down I finally shut the window and turned the aircon on to cool the room, but by this time it was already late in the night. So a poor night’s sleep in Vannes and the only consolation was that stage 9 was only 28km along the route of the Team Time Trial.

Starting in the middle of Vannes, a beautiful medieval city in western Brittany as the sun began to rise it looked like it was going to be another beautiful cloudless day, something quite unusual for Brittany. The countryside around this area is absolutely beautiful and it was great to know we didn’t have too far to cycle today. As we progressed we passed, and were passed by, other cyclists, individuals and groups. Maybe because it was a short stage many chose to ride this particular stage but there were also some groups we had met in previous days.

I remember before leaving home many people asked whether there would be others doing what we’re doing. I felt, without knowing, that surely others would take advantage of the chance to cycle a stage or two and then sit in their hotels or camper vans at the side of the road and watch the real tour go by and that more and more would do so as we progressed into the tour. Well this seems to be happening. We seem to be encountering more and more groups of cyclists, especially from Netherlands and Belgium, some of whom are doing a few stages and several doing the complete tour, yes, one day ahead. Nobody, however, seems to be as well organised, as well publicised or raising money for a great cause. All the groups we have seen are from cycling clubs who have organised a ‘holiday’.

The stage was short, a good spin of the legs and the plan was to get it done early and back onto the coach for the long journey south to the mountains.

I don’t know about the people reading this but for me, if I’m going to do something as challenging as this then I want to be able to make a real difference to the lives of others as much as possible. In fact, you will probably have gathered from the various blog posts I’ve written that, although this is a childhood dream come true for me, especially because this is my 50th year, it’s also something I truly love doing, fundraising for a worthwhile cause that changes the lives of others.

Having met the patients in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and listened to Professor Charlie Craddock’s inspirational vision I can honestly say that I will probably be looking to raise funds for this charity for many years to come. Charlie Craddock and his team are simply doing work that has never been done before and is breaking really new ground – and saving lives, as simple as that, saving lives.
So please give as generously as you can because this is making a real difference in the world of cancer care.