Middlesbrough To Bourg D’Oisans

I don’t normally write about me an Ade’s trip down in the van but this time it was quite eventful…

Up at the crack of dawn we set off from the Boro at 6.00am, our aim is to get on the Shuttle and be through the Eurotunnel and into France by 2.00pm. That way should reach past Dijon and be in striking distance to meet the lads at Lyon airport the next day.

About half an hour out we hear on the radio that there is a problem in the Tunnel with half hour delays. The further South we get the bigger the delay and by the time we get there it’s four hours. Ouch!

As we are driving through ticket control a huge group of The Outlaws, Hells Angels gang arrive. There must be at least 200 and they have to go through one at a time.

We don’t think much of it and we drive to the terminal parking area armed with our boarding number A. We soon realise they are loading letter L and we are going to have a long wait as they work their way through the alaphabet.

Then another Hells Angels gang turn up, the Black Pistons. There’s only about 20 of them but this could get interesting when The Outlaws arrive in the parking area. Except they don’t!..

They have been given priority and put straight on the first train! And they say crime don’t pay…

Oh, well. By now a traveling brass band have whipped out their instruments and are strumming away (no laughing at the back).

We finally board the train and arrive in France at 5.30pm way behind schedule and there’s an England game to watch so we crack on through France hoping to make Reims at least. We beat that and pull in to Chalons-en-Champagne ten minutes before kick-off. Then we get lucky… there’s a beautiful square with a parking space and hotel with a bar with the footie on. Result!

Tortuous match to watch but the right result. A glass of champagne? You bet…

An early start the next day sees us arrive at Lyon Airport at exactly the same time as the lads come out of the terminal! They pick up their hire cars and then follow us to Bourg D’Oisans.

What a place this is. The village is completely surrounded on all sides by a circle of massive awesome mountains. Incredible! And tomorrow we start to tackle them…