Our alarms went off this morning at the ridiculously early time of 5.05am. The sixth bed in our dorm had been occupied last night after we had all gone to sleep, so we all got up quietly and efficiently, packed our things and loaded the bikes. It was raining heavily outside, but thankfully we only had a short ride this morning.

We went in for breakfast at around 5.50: nobody was serving, but all the breakfast things were out so we could help ourselves. We had a good final breakfast with some video shots showing that everyone was half asleep, then set off at around 6.10 for the 2.5 mile, wet ride to Zurich rail station. The SatNav guided us there faultlessly, so we spent no longer in the rain than was absolutely necessary, but we were still totally soaked by the time we arrived at around 6.30.

After picking a platform we dismantled our bikes more efficiently this time. We even had trolleys ready for the bagged bikes when they were done - well, Lawrence didn’t get a trolley, as he didn’t have 2 Francs! We were finished by 7.10 and found we had somehow picked the right platform for our train. As we had twenty minutes before our train would be leaving, we actually had time for some video shots, where Ash showed the camera his bandaged finger.

We needed to load the bike bags into the front two carriages, which was a fair way up the platform. Lawrence added his bike to someone else’s trolley to make the task easier, but his bag, which was perhaps not the finest available, fell apart on the way. When pulling things back together again he managed to lose the quick-release nut for his back wheel, although he didn’t discover that until we got to Paris. Our train left on time at 7.34.

The journey to Paris via Basel was pleasant and enjoyable: we passed the time very nicely with lots of card games – Whist and Knockout Whist mainly - with everyone taking part. Michael’s SatNav clocked our speed at about 183mph, but then, TGV trains are known for their high speeds. The rain stopped shortly after leaving Switzerland, and we got to Paris Gare de Lyon on time at 11.37.

Our first task in Paris was to reassemble our bikes, as carrying them across Paris in bags would be almost impossible. We completed the task easily on the platform where we arrived, and when Lawrence discovered he was missing a wheel bolt we assembled it in such a way that he could ride it carefully. Someone at the station kindly entered the location of a good bike shop into Michael’s SatNav, so we rode there directly and bought a replacement bolt and spring for 1 Euro!

For some reason Michael thought we only had 45 minutes to spare before we had to check our bikes in at Gare du Nord for the Eurostar, so he used that time to ride towards the River Seine in beautiful sunny weather, although he lost the group at one point by turning right without checking everyone was there. We got to see Notre Dame Cathedral, the River Seine, and by moving on a little to Pont au Change we also saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance, so everyone was happy.

We hurried back to Gare du Nord for 1.43 to check in the bikes, pushed them all the way to the back of the station and unloaded the panniers. Only then did we discover that we were two hours too early! Michael checked his tour leader notes and realised he had inadvertently written the wrong time there. He suggested we should change our plans and keep the bikes for the next two hours, but John felt that as we were here and had already taken off the panniers it would be easier to leave them now. Sadly, that turned out to be the wrong decision.

Having checked in the bikes to the Eurostar office we had to carry all our panniers and our bike bags back to the station. Michael spent some time looking for a trolley but couldn’t find one anywhere, so we just had to carry them. We dumped all our things near a little kiosk on the main concourse, then John looked after it while the rest of us went to the Crepe café opposite the station that we have visited on previous tours, although only Lawrence bought a crepe – Nutella and Banana, which is definitely the best. Michael got pizza and Ash bought a steak and cheeseburger, all of which was very tasty. We returned to the kiosk to relieve John, then Ash and Michael stayed with the things while the rest went off to wander. Ash and Michael chatted and ate what food they had left, which included a dessert thing from Migros and some chocolate.

Next, we carried all our bags up the escalator to the Eurostar check-in. When we had got through security we had a short wait in the departure lounge before boarding, then our train left on time at 5.13. Our second big train journey of the day was also very enjoyable, with more card games that kept everyone happy. We were beginning to feel really tired though after such a long day.

We got to London St Pancras at 6.39 local time, went to the bike carriage to collect our bikes and discovered to our dismay that they were not on the train! We made urgent enquiries and found that the officials at Paris had sent them on an earlier train by mistake, and they were waiting for us at the Euro Despatch office, which was a fair distance away. So we had to carry our luggage yet again, all the way to Euro Despatch – the bikes were indeed waiting for us there, but we were now running a bit late. Michael noticed the reflector on his rear mudguard was loose, but he didn’t have time to tighten it, and thought it would be OK for three miles.

The SatNav had been programmed with the quietest possible cycle route to Paddington, but that still involved a few busy main roads. It was on one of these busy roads that Michael’s mudguard reflector fell off the bike and got run over by a bus! Typical. There was then another complication, in that Michael had neglected to program the final stop into the SatNav, so it dropped us near Paddington station but not actually AT Paddington station. He asked someone passing and they kindly put the postcode into the SatNav, so we finally arrived at 7.30 with our train due to leave at 7.45!

Michael and Ash rushed to Millies and Sainsburys to get a few things to eat on the train, then returned to the group on the concourse only to find John looking concerned because Will had gone off somewhere to get food. John didn’t have confidence that Will knew the tight time constraints. They had announced that our train would be leaving from Platform 10, and Ash had already gone there with Lawrence to get their bikes loaded. Michael joined them and hoped that Will would find John in time, but it looked very much like they might both miss the train. Two other cyclists had turned up without bike space bookings hoping to load their bikes onto the train, but we had all the spaces reserved so they just watched hoping that John and Will wouldn’t turn up. But they did arrive at the last minute, 7.41, so we all left together as planned in the end, although I think John needed a sit-down for a while to recover from the stress!

Now, finally, we were back in the UK with a little time to relax, so Michael was able to top-up Ash’s phone so that he was able to catch up with all his messages on the journey home. The train was delayed, but we ate our food, played a few card games and got a little sleep.

The train got to Newton Abbot at 11.18 instead of the scheduled 10.38. Everyone was waiting for us on the platform. Neil, who lives in Newton Abbot, had found Michael’s V70 battery totally flat when he came to start it, so had to bump-start it, and then the battery was so low that the lights didn’t work for ten minutes. But he had sorted it and was waiting at the station with the others. Ash decided to cycle to Neil’s house so he didn’t have to cram himself into the boot of the car.

So, we all got home late, but we had experienced a truly magnificent adventure to one of the finest cycling countries in the world. The weather had been superb for most of the tour, only letting us down for the last two days, and we would take away happy memories of that wonderful country that would stay with us for a very long time.