Day 5

21st June 2023

Auxerre to

Semur-en-Auxois

Distance: 55 miles / 88km

Climb: 3,299ft / 1,006m

Total Distance Cycled: 481 miles / 774km

There is so much I want to write about this challenge but I’m too exhausted to do justice to the wonderful people who are sharing this adventure with me, to the fantastic cycling experience (OK, so it’s more cycling than I might choose to do but it is supposed to be a challenge, not a pootle), to the wonderful and uplifting messages of support from family, friends and people from around the world.

So, a brief summary of the day is as follows. Eat, cycle, eat, drink, cycle, drink, cycle, eat, cycle, rest, cycle, repeat. We did more cycling than was comfortable and more hills than I thought possible but we each did it all. We have consumed our weight in jelly babies, homemade flapjacks, shortbread and chocolate brownies, amongst many other things during the rides and we continue to crave food long after the day’s cycle has ended. We’re in a lovely town centre hotel in a cobbled picturesque street in Semur-en-Auxoir and our beds beckon. We’ll be back in the saddle in less than seven hours for another long day tomorrow.