Rest Day - Woo Hoo!!!

The pro's get a rest day, so why shouldn't I get one!

I'll keep it quite brief, but the first 9 days have been a blur really. With over 1,650km in the legs and I believe 16,000m of climbing it is not surprising the body is tired.

However, what I hugely underestimated was the admin and logistics involved - the following stage does not, ever, start from where the previous one finished!!

Every morning there is a 05:00 alarm, breakfast and then sometimes a 2 hour coach transfer to the next start location.

Some evenings there is a coach transfer as soon as you finish the cycling - it is not difficult and the organisers make it as simple as possible, but it means low levels of sleep which all contribute to fatigue.

My summary so far is:

• Spain and the Basque region was stunning and having the family there made it special, although stage 1 and stage 2 were probably the toughest for me

• Crossing the border into France was exciting and the roads, villages and landscape have not disappointed at all

• Mountains are better designed for skiing down, than cycling up

• My nerves around my capability have been eased - I've done the training

I rode yesterday for about 50k with a lad who was struggling towards the back and had no one to ride with;

I didn't do much other than encourage him to believe in himself and take it pedal by pedal, but he came up and thanked me in the evening to say how much having some company and someone to chat to kept him going - one of the best moments of the first 9 days.