The better half recently suggested that I update this blog because, well, I hadn’t for a while…
If you followed my story 2 years ago (was it really that long ago?!?), you may remember that I was training for a London to Paris charity bike ride.
Given that I haven’t updated this site since then, you may have thought that I gave up along the way, and threw the bike into the English Channel.
The truth is that I did complete the ride, thoroughly enjoyed it and raised some money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance along the way.
Here is my belated story….
Day 1 – London to Calais – 90ish miles
Day 1 was an early start to make my way from Catford, where I spent the night before, to the meeting point at Blackheath Common. A short ride, but laden with a large rucksack strapped to the front and a rucksack strapped to the back, progress was a little slow.
I arrived at Blackheath in good time and was very happy to be relieved of my large rucksack, which was travelling in the back of a support van.
At this point I was feeling full of nerves and trepidation, not sure whether I would be able to make it all the way to Paris by pedal power alone, but I soon forgot about that when we set off and I had to concentrate on weaving my way through the London traffic.
Everyday was roughly split the same: 20 miles cycling, water stop, 20 miles cycling, lunch, 20 miles cycling, water stop, 20 miles cycling, collapse in the hotel bar…
At the water stops there was an ample supply of water, flapjacks and sweets to boost our energy level to the next stop. I really didn’t need to bring all those Gels with me.
Everyday lunch was amazing. The mobile caterers did a really good job of setting up a varied buffet lunch for us to enjoy. Well done and thank you.
The first day was tough crossing the Downs, especially for someone who is used to cycling in Norfolk. There really wasn’t much of a rush however and we had plenty of time to go at our own pace and we had a generous couple of hours for the lunch stop.
I did feel relieved when I saw the sign welcoming me to Dover knowing that the first days cycling was nearly completed. For those of you wondering how we got across the Channel, we did not swim, we took the ferry.
Day 2 – Calais to Arras – 80ish miles
Day 2 started with a flat ride for the first 10 miles out of Calais, before we hit the slightly more hilly stuff. Nothing as high as the 1st day, but a bit of fatigue was setting in.
Now, at this point I need to correct a misconception I read several times before the trip, namely that French roads are super smooth and much better than English roads. Total rubbish, French roads were just as bumpy and potholed as the English ones.
Maybe we were unlucky, maybe, we were just a little bit too far off the beaten track and on the quieter country roads.
After a long day in the saddle, I relaxed with a nice beer in the hotel.
Day 3 – Arras to Compiegne – 80ish miles
Day 3 what a drag…
We set off from Arras passing more stark reminders of World War 1 on our way to the water stop at the Thiepval war memorial.
Disaster struck a couple of miles short of Thiepval with my first (and only) puncture of the trip.
My attempts to fix the puncture at the side of the road proved futile, so in the back of the van the bike and I went for a bit of a breather.
At Thiepval the support crew from Discover Adventure helped with the repair. There was a snag though. after taken the tyre off it was obvious that the old one had a cut in it. Not a problem, plenty off spares. We managed to break a spoke getting the tyre off, not normally a problem, plenty off spares, just none the right size…
To patch things up, my bike was fitted with the rear wheel from the spare bike which involved a lot of swearing and changing of parts, but got me on the road again.
After a quick look around the museum, it was off crossing the Somme valley, which was very scenic but was soon followed by the dullest, flattest 30 mile stretch across Picardie countryside. If I could have given up, it would have been now. After 2 and a half days in the saddle it was all just too tedious.
Day 4 – Compiegne to Paris – 60ish miles
Day 4 another drag and then a delight
My legs were by now like jelly and I was feeling sore in other places too. Today was a relatively short day but the first half really dragged, however I knew that with every pedal I was getting closer to the end. Just keep peddling, just keep peddling…
It was around 20 miles from the end that I first spotted the Eiffel Tower in the distance and I realised that I was getting close to the end.
Our meeting point was Parc Monceau, from where we would ride together to the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysees to finish at the Eiffel Tower.
From here we made our way to our hotel for a celebration dinner.
Day 5
Before our afternoon Eurostar train back to London we had the morning at leisure to explore Paris. Being a glutton for punishment I booked myself a sightseeing tour by bike…
Having been to Paris a couple of times before, I decided to go off the beaten track a little bit and so booked the “Latin Quarter + Le Marais Bike Tour” with Blue Bike Sightseeing. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour around some of the less explored parts of Paris and can recommend the tour.
And finally…
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who sponsored me and thus motivated me to complete the challenge.
The challenge itself is easy enough, if a little tedious, if you put enough training in before hand. On my trip, everyone completed the trip except for one casualty along the way.
In terms of the training, there are many training plans available online, but as a rule of thumb if you work towards cycling 60 to 70 miles a day on 3 consecutive days you should be fine.
Finally, I would like to thank the guys at Discover Adventure who ran this trip. They were well organised and managed to get my bike going again when it had had enough. I can recommend them.
And what next. I would like to do another cycle challenge, but before then, I have something different already booked, but more about that another day!
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