Stage 1 - A first day through beautiful landscapes

Hard data of the day
 

Day: Saturday 4 May 2024
From: Avignon
To: Nîmes

# kilometers: 62km
# altimeters: 514m
# flat tyres: 0
# bananas consumed: a few
# hours on the bike (shortest): 2:35:01
# hours on the bike (longest): 2:35:01

Hero of the day

Els Van Poucke

Trivia of the day

No ‘attacks’ on the hills, very disciplined team (calm before the storm?) 

Story of the day

Some of us needed to get up at 4 am to catch the 6:27 train in Brussels Midi.In cycling we distinguish various types of riders, e.g. climbers, all-rounders and helpers. Agne V. is obviously a sprinter. She overslept and woke up at 5:55 am but nevertheless she arrived at 6:25 am on the platform in Brussels Midi. Her husband can be described as a dedicated helper. Agne’s first question when she entered the train was …. “where can I grab a coffee”?

By the way, gender diversity is a very good evolution in this cycling event. Who of the men would notice that our fellow cycling partner Philippe DS arrived in Brussels with the same trendy pink tote bag as he had two years ago, containing probably the same sneaky attributes. Thanks Sofie VB for that useful attentiveness.

During our train ride a lot of old stories of previous editions were told. These stories are a bit like the salaries of employees, they are indexed annually. The adventure of the partner charity ride started in 2006. Unfortunately none of the founding partners are still in this cycling business. But a few amongst us already participated in the second edition in 2008. One can easily recognize them by the look in their eyes, weathered from perseverance.

Our experienced blogger Koen B. unfortunately kissed soil and needed to cancel his participation. A volunteer interim blogger was found in the person of the undersigned. Rolf D. and Christian C. tried to convince me to use AI assistance (chatGPT) for the content of the blog. Those two partners, formerly known as consulting partners, should know better … everything a certified accountant writes must be authentic, reliable, neutral, realistic and objective. Despite the usage of AI Christian C. did really struggle to arrive in time for our first group picture in Avignon.

We started off with a bucket full of courage for our first modest challenge, a 62,37 km ride between Avignon and Nimes. Nice, dry and sunny weather, 22 degrees Celsius, with some westerly head wind, which was not a problem, except for the two protagonists who rode at the front. Total elevation gain 514. Average speed of 24 km/h.

For the record, no flats today. Probably a compensation for the four flats Vincent F. was confronted with before take-off. 

It was a really beautiful ride today, outstanding atmosphere amongst the fellow partners and a perfect guidance from our Kortweg friends.

We safely arrived in the city of Nimes where a friendly policewoman allowed us to cycle with a bunch of Deloitte partners to the ancient roman Arena. Honestly speaking it was an impressive Deloitte team arriving at the Nimes Arena. But one can always improve the ‘attention-grabbing’. It was a great idea to bring with us a bugler (hornblower). Thank you Els VP for making an impact that matters.

Arriving at the Nimes hotel we noticed Kortweg is a very innovative company. A real food truck with spaghetti welcomed us to satisfy our hunger. Thanks guys, really appreciated!!!!

A big kudos also to Wes and Sofie for all the preparation together with Kortweg. 

Looking forward to the ride of tomorrow!