Update day 2:

The ride started yesterday - from Calais to Bethune. What seemed an easy route proved to hold a lot of climbing - over 3300 feet in 60 miles. Early event bravado falterd at one junction as Cocksedge fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding a passing van in the process (whose driver found this most amusing!). Much was made of this over the Campanile dinner that evening.
Day dawned on the team for the second day - sun beaming down for a 107 mile Bethune to Soissons leg.
Eales soon proved problematic - overtaken first by a motorisd scooter piled high with a large French family - secondly Alan Bretherton - walking back to his car - and then by a gastropod farmer herding his escargot along a steepish hill. Trying vainly to recover the situation, the Eales claimed lack of blood sugar occasioning a 'fainting' moment. This was nothing other than a ruse to claim a few extra snickers bar to maintain his svelte reverse ogee profile.
Oakley claimed the day too short - even after adding a 10 mile overrun to the day to shorten day 3.
Heading back to Soissons in the cars, he failed to advise Driver Brookes of the correct roundabout exit - leading to a 22 mile deviation past several route barree -and affording views of the Cathedral from all points of the compass!
Brown admitted to at least one navigational error, McNulty failed at any time to stop talking and telling terrible jokes -other than an uschdeduled bathroom stop causing the restaurant to close.
Saenger exhibits a new found grasp of Anglo- Saxon, prefacing each comment with any one of several genitalia and mating related observations - Irene will not recognise this cussing, spitting, ball scratching metamorph!
Pagliaro remains strong - his distant leadership testament to the parts per million dilution needed to follow his 'dirty air'.
Margaret and Alan look on in disbelief - Brookes' driving emulating the worst and most wayward Naples taxi driver - blaming the driving lessons from his sons.
More to follow!