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Dieppe

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot

Dieppe is an excellent arrival point for a cyclist because you roll off the ferry and you are immediately in a beautiful port town. Docking at 14:45 means you miss lunch though that just forces a ride around town in search of pain. Saint Malo in Brittany is another example of a great arrival whereas the Dunkirk ferry terminal is somewhat remote and the feeling can be more of landing on a hostile shore; a feeling probably fuelled by the rich diet of WW2 films we get in the UK.

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I say in search of pain and hopefully the italics has alerted you to the fact that I am referring to French bread. The un-italised version I don't need to go in search of because last Sunday I ran my first marathon and spent the days after wondering if I'd ever be able to walk without pain let alone ride a bicycle. I don't suffer from muscle soreness after exercise and it came as a total shock when I woke on the Monday morning and found my legs were sore to the extent that getting up out of a chair was a challenge. It had just never occurred to me that the move from a 20-mile training pace run to a 26-mile race pace run might induce the dreaded DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Tuesday morning the DOMS had 'filled-out' and occupied every muscle fibre in my quads, those muscles on the top and front of the legs that you use to push the bike pedals when going uphill. The whole bike tour felt at risk. How could I have been so naive? I needed to wait for the soreness to subside and for the damage to my legs to be repaired so I would have some strength to cycle. Luckily today is only 20 minutes though being a Sunday my hotel check-in is limited to 5pm to 7pm local time so I have plenty of time to cycle randomly around Dieppe, along the marina and the promenade. 

My legs have recovered, though I didn't have the most auspicious of starts. Travelling down to Newhaven yesterday I cut my finger before the start while inflating bike tyres, my left shoulder complained on the 1km ride to the underground station, and my bike's front brake felt awful. For once a 'sticking plaster' solution at home was the best for the finger, a 3mm hex key adjustment to the front brake at London Bridge station fixed that, and the shoulder will just require 3 weeks of care and good management I feel.

Despite these hiccups the planned short ride from Lewes to Newhaven was an unexpected delight with most of it on the excellent Egrets Way along the river Ouse.




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