day 2, leg 1: reigate to newhaven

3.10am: alarm
3.11am: alarm snooze
3.20am: alarm. shit. I'm cycling to Paris today.
3.21am: shower
3.30am: porridge. can't eat it. too full from BBQ last night.
3.35am: give porridge to one to the boys to finish.
4.00am: the time we are due to set off from Reigate.
4.35am: the actual time we set off from Reigate. Call Dan, let him know to meet us somewhere else than where we agreed.
4.45am: waiting for Dan.
4.55am: still waiting. Have a panic about making it in time for the Ferry.
4.56am: See Dan in the distance, start peddling. hard.

The ride from Reigate to Newhaven was a hilly one, but I'm so pleased we did it as day broke - we missed the mental traffic and avoided the beating sun. Looking back on the ride I can't really remember the details, it was just smooth and early. And I was mainly just having a panic about missing the ferry.

The first puncture was mine, just outside of Lewes the town with it's own currency. Punctures were to be something I'd get very used to fixing (watching other people fix) in the next few days.

Puncture fixed we ate a fig roll, and rolled on down the hill to Newhaven arriving at 8.30. No need to have a panic about making the ferry: we had hours to kill.  So we had a fry-up, and went to Somerfield. Which, of course, meant we were late for the ferry. So I had another panic about missing our boat.

Getting on the ferry we were all in good shape, apart from Dan. Naturally he'd gone missing after Glastonbury and had a insect bite that seemed to have blown up the whole of his right forearm.