Before the dawn; before the last of the clubbers had staggered home and before the grease had congealed on the kebab shop counter, the Raiders were on the road to Dover...

There was no sun to brighten the dawn as we barrelled down the M11 and a strong Westerly wind dragged grey clouds across the Kent sky as we crossed the North Downs.

One by one the cars arrived at the docks, bikes were unloaded and slowly the group came to life. Before long,  and With the team car following, Paul Callow led the Raiders up the ramp into the bowels of the ferry. Breakfast at last! No croissants here. With the white cliffs receding, a full English was in order to fortify the legs and make ready for the invasion of France.

After disembarking, the Raiders regrouped at the gates of the port to ditch bags in the team car and meet up with the advanced party, Mark Dykes, who had successfully tunnelled into France under cover of darkness and had been waiting for us since 4:30am.

At 10:00 am local time, just as the Sunday Club Runs would be leaving Shakers Lane, eighteen West Suffolk Wheelers rolled out of Calais for Dawn Raid 2013. We were met by the same brisk westerly wind we had hoped to leave behind in Blighty, but at least La Belle France had brought out the sunshine to greet us as we skirted the coastline on our way to the first col of the day. The climb of Cap Blanc Nez is a long open drag, but the smooth roads of the Route Nationale made it deceptively easy with Jonathan Sjolin and Sam Asker leading the way. The summit brought a surprise, not least the sudden gust of wind funnelling through the cutting at the hill crest which caught out a few, but then was quickly forgotten in the delight of a swooping switchback descent into the village of Escalles. From here the route took us inland and into surprisingly hilly terrain, but on quiet roads though sleepy hamlets.

The day continued to warm up, though the wind never relented, and as we rejoined the coastal road, we dropped down into the small town of Audresselles for lunch. In the spirit of the relaxed French way of life, we hadn't booked a lunch venue and instead relied on the fact that for such a small seaside town, Audresselles boasted at least eight restaurants, plus cafe's and a delicious Friterie right in the main square. Fortunately for us, being on the west facing part of the coast means that the restaraunts of Audresselles are well prepared for windy days, so we could sit outside, comfortably shielded by glass screens. It was also fortunate that we were prepared for the leisurely service. The pace was decidely Gallic, though there were few complaints as we enjoyed our beers in the sunshine and tucked into steaming crocks of moules et frites.

The run back to Calais seemed to be over far too quickly. The wind made for easy riding, with just the odd sharp climb cutting conversations short. Some of the descents tempted a few to stretch their legs, not used to the long downhill runs on offer and perhaps taking advantage of the smooth roads and tolerant drivers that made riding here so rewarding. We regrouped for the last run back along the coast road from Sangatte to Calais and with the wind at our backs any fatigue was forgotten as the pace lifted. There were smiles all round as we swooped round the roundabouts; groups broke away off the front before Richard Seggar stormed past the bunch to bring it back together. You could hear shouts of "Allez Allez" from the roadside and heads turned all along the route as our bright red West Suffolk peloton swept along.

There were windswept faces and sleepy heads on the return crossing, but plenty of smiles at the end of a memorable, magical day.

Michael Lawson

More photos from the day available here

Enormous thanks must go to my wife, Dee O'Brien, for driving the team car. Being prepared to get up at 3am on a Sunday morning with little but the promise of lunch goes above and beyond.