6/25/2012 11:05:12 AM
London to Paris bike ride
Friends, Family & Colleagues,
You may recall me sending you an email telling
you about the London to Paris bike ride I was planning to take part
in, well I am pleased to say I have now successfully finished the
ride and thoroughly enjoyed it, although the weather didn’t make it
easy at all.
I would like to say a massive thank you to those of you that have
already sponsored me, which has meant that between Paul Martin and
I, we have raised over
£6,800 (including giftaid) which is just fantastic and I can’t
thank you enough. The money is going to an excellent charity
‘Make a Wish’, that really will make a
difference to lives of terminally ill children.
Whilst on the ride, Paul and I met lots of people from all walks of
life, some of them with very touching and moving stories of why
they were looking to complete the challenge. I have to say that a
young lady by the name of Kelly was an inspirational
character, having lost one of her legs to bone cancer she took on
the challenge and had raised over £15,000 for her Cancer charity,
to see her shear grit and determination to complete the ride was
unbelievable and very humbling.
I thought I would give you a brief insight into the challenge by
giving you an account of the ride itself.... I have to say after a
few days back at work sitting in a comfy seat and plenty of Assos
Chamois cream things are getting back to normal and a lot less
sore....
Day One
Awoken, rudely, by the alarm at 0515 (perhaps we shouldn't have
celebrated Paul Martins birthday the night before and should have
just had the one bottle of wine!), we make our way to Crystal
Palace for the briefing and start of the event. We set off after
dropping our luggage to the Skyline bus, and make our way through
rural Kent. Our path winds though traditional British countryside,
along the North Downs Way before we reach the white cliffs of
Dover. Kent is not a flat county! Due to a wrong turn the first
day's mileage was 103miles instead of the planned 95miles. We
reached our hotel in Calais at 2315, it was a long day!
Day Two
Early rise, large breakfast consumed, we set off from Calais
towards Abbeville. Stunning picturesque countryside awaits us in
northern France as we travel south through some beautiful quaint
villages. Cycle through Desvres, a market town known for its
ceramics and continue with the windy roads along the valley of the
Canche River. Mileage Day Two, 74. Surprisingly, Day Two was billed
by most people as the hardest day of the four, however we didn't
find it that way - the hardest was yet to come.
Day Three
Early rise, lots of pastries for breakfast and we set off in
fairly grim weather conditions. The morning starts with a very long
downhill section, however what goes down has to go up! We completed
a particularly steep climb to the first water stop of the day but
the worst was yet to come, the next 17 miles to lunch were the
hardest 17 miles I have ever done, into severe headwind, meaning
that at no point could we free-wheel, instead spinning our legs for
a very long 2 hours. Lunch was excellent, and we were soon on our
way through a thunderstorm to the hotel in Beauvais, very wet and
tired.
Day Four
Our final day of cycling and the big push to Paris, our final
destination. Stunning scenery, the best weather and the shortest
distance of the week made this an amazing climax to an incredible
life experience. Final mileage for the 4 days was 293. Our
celebration meal at the lovely Hotel Concorde Montparnasse and the
drinks at the local bars afterwards were excellent, and a necessary
unwind from the emotion and adrenaline of the event.
All in all this was an excellent experience and I am already
planning what trip I am going to do next year.
Thank you for all your kind sponsorship and support, it is truly
appreciated.
Mike & Paul