"There were four days of cycling in total. We started from the Cardiff City Stadium early Tuesday morning and the first stop was at the old Severn Bridge, before we cycled on to Saltford, just outside Bath."

"There we had a carvery which was a huge mistake, as we had to cycle the final 20 miles to Warminster on a full stomach and it was all uphill, so that was hard."

"The second day we got to Portsmouth and went to local leisure centre to recover with a jacuzzi and swim."

"We then caught the overnight ferry to Le Havre which took eight hours and a chance for us to sleep although the cabins were a bit cramped. "

"From Le Havre we cycled another 70 miles to a village just outside Vernon which was lovely. It may sound strange but we hated cycling downhill as we knew we'd have to cycle uphill soon after."

"The boys all dug in but Robin couldn't get used to the fixed grips on the pedals and fell off five times and there were also a few punctures along the way."

"To be fair to all the supporters we had a brilliant reception when we arrived in Paris and they were all cheering us when we cycled under the Eiffel Tower."

"It was great to see so many people and it gave us a real lift after such a long bike ride."

"I know the cycling team really appreciated it and I'd like to thank all the supporters for coming out in the cold to welcome us."
The bike ride was to raise money for Tom's two nominated charities, the Wooden Spoon Society and Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust, and having cycled for 300 miles the team ended the ride on another high watching Cardiff Blues beat Racing metro.
"I thought the match in the evening was brilliant," added Shanks.

"It's a fantastic result for the Blues. To win in France is really hard, so we start the Heineken Cup on a high and will have some momentum for the London Irish match."

"The only downside was the injury to James Down. He's a great guy and I'm sure everyone wishes him well with his recovery."