Heh. I did it. Think it was in '08. Started at the ski hill in Tingwick. It was the year of the rain. It rained every day. And much of the time it was a hard rain. The only day it did not rain when people were on the road was the first day. People who got to the start late and had to park in the farm field had to have their cars towed out by tractors because they had sunk into the mud. Since I went up the day before and camped before the start, I got there earlier to enough to find a spot on the gravel lot.

That aside, it was a nice event. Well organized. The food was terrific. Fresh fruit and other goodies for breakfast. The boxed lunches were filling and tasty. Real iced tea, not that stuff made from a mix. Real juice. Dinner was equally good. We even had duck one night. Wine bar where you could choose from a pretty wide selection by the bottle or glass. There was also entertainment, like disco night.

The riding was, for the most part, very pretty, although some of the roads we used were banged up in places. One thing that struck me was how well the farms were maintained. You didn't see things like junked cars littering the landscape. Probably the oddest cultural difference riding-wise that I noticed was that guys didn't bother to go off into the woods for nature break. They would simply go on the grassy berm without bothering to go into the trees. Women would ride by and either not bat an eyelash or would say things to the guys with smiles. I didn't spaek French, but I could tell they were not offended.