And finally, we’re off…day two of Cycle to MIPIM kicked off this morning following yesterday’s weather-related disruptions.

Tackling the epic 1500km cycle from London to Cannes this year is Simon Keating, a Senior Transport Engineer from our London studio. Simon has been keeping us up to date on the team’s progress, with a full download on yesterday’s announcement to abandon the cycle to today’s soggy starts in Calais.

“Day one was a 5am wake-up for some last minute packing. Looked out the window and East London was strangely covered in a thin layer of snow with more falling. Gareth was sending live snow report updates from a snowier Kent and knew from his multi-media updates that the ride would probably be called off.

“Headed off to get to the iconic Herne Hill velodrome from Poplar but had to abandon the cycle. It was way too sketchy. Hopped on a train and got to Herne Hill for the official announcement that the day one 118km ride to Folkestone was being called off for safety reasons, followed by a mixture of disappointment and a certain relief. Everyone was initially full of nervous excitement but the inevitable news did not dampen our spirits. It was a great opportunity to meet others and also enjoy a ride in the Knight Frank taxi, with heated seats cosily taking us in luxury to a pub near Folkestone where ‘isotonic’ drinks were had before making our way to Calais for day two.

“Calais is cold and grey this morning with a mixed bag of weather also expected for the rest of the day. Showers, challenging winds all en-route but we’re grateful to be making a start on this exciting challenge.Today looks set to be tough with five stages totaling 260km!

My team, Team Locton, will be riding stage one and stage four totalling 94km. I’m hoping to tackle extra stages but it’ll be a case of listening to my body and making a decision as the day goes on. Signing off now to hit the road and get cracking. Allez!”

 To support and donate to Simon’s Just Giving page, please see link below… 

Simon Keating is fundraising for Club Peloton (justgiving.com)