The photo above was taken by my daughter www.jacquelinerackhamphotography on the occassion of my 80th birthday two weeks befor my big race putting me into a new age group 80-84 years.
In stead of taking the completed year diary to my office and standing in the row of old diaries, I usually keep just last years, close at hand and every now and then I glance through to see what I was doing at the same time last year.
At the head of the page for 27th which was a Tuesday, in bold green letters I had printed ‘LEAVE FOR LAUSANNE’. My husband Stephen, is a master planner of journeys, having been in the antiques transport business since he was a teenager, so since the trip was for me to compete in the ITU World Triathlon Championships he had set out a less rushed driving time so that I would not be tired before I even got to the start line.
We nearly always drive to European sports destination and so we drove as far as Beaune in Burgundy, where we spend two nights that would allow both a break between travel days and give us time for a last easy bike ride on nice quiet roads, a day to move my body but stay in a relaxed frame of mind.
That was how come we did my favourite ride in that area on Wednesday 27th. It is not an exaggeration to say that over our 44 years together we have stayed in Beaune hundreds of times and well know every bike or run route, as well as restaurants and shops and tourist attraction there abouts. The ride we did that day involved a thirteen-mile ride through several pretty wine villages before turning on to a canal side path that is eleven miles to the turn point where there is a little café for a short break before the return ride making a very nice useful 48-mile easy ride.
We ate early and had a relaxed evening. We would not need to start off too early for the last three hours of our journey to Lausanne in Switzerland.
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