Story
We made it!! A huge thank you for your support and donations for Beating Bowel Cancer. Colin and I arrived home safely after 21 of us successfully completed our challenge to cycle from London to Paris raising in excess of £60,000 for the charity to date. To those of you who cycled with us, Emma from Beating Bowel Cancer and Geoff, Matt, Helen & Becky from Discover Adventure - you are amazing - thank you!Day 1 was a shock to me as I thought that the Lincolnshire Wolds were hilly – believe me, they are nothing to what we faced from London to Dover! Just after our lunch stop, I managed to ride into the back of Colin and bring us both down; that was the first of our ‘Tourettes’ moments’! We still managed to make it to the docks with enough time to ‘carb up’ before boarding the ferry for the crossing. On docking in Calais, we then had another 7 miles to go to the hotel so it was on to the bikes again - ouch!We saddled up at 7.30 am on day 2 and I succumbed to a cold which had been threatening for a few days. Added to that, the woods were not what I would call first class facilities so decided that a rural chocolate factory would be a better option! Handmade chocolates don’t come cheap and it was the most expensive ‘pit’ stop of the whole journey! We saw some really beautiful countryside and rural villages with the sun finally making a welcome appearance at the end of the day as we cycled in to Abberville.I was feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself on day 3 and was really pleased when Colin agreed to take on the ‘Carbon Tarts’ up front! I’m not really sure if he met his match or not but I can tell you that there were some serious cyclists with us and he certainly kept them on their toes. I don’t know what we were given at the lunch stop but I found a burst of energy and caught up with the Iron Lady of our group who was really surprised to see me – in celebration and as we had time, the pub seemed a good place to head for. Colin had already made it to the hotel with the first group so I left a message on his mobile to come and join us. I suspect that he was so knackered that he fell asleep. His story disputes this; he maintains that he didn’t get my message until after the search party had been sent out only to find 4 of us ‘wobbling’ back on our bikes to the hotel inBeauvais!Day 4 and we were all looking forward to Paris. Early on we faced a hill a mile and a half long; the Tourettes kicked in again and, whilst it is not a medically known fact, the disease is definitely contagious! We then had a long straight ride on a busy road with a head wind and yet more hills. The front runners found a cafe just before our lunch stop and several of us stopped off for a delicious hot chocolate. We knew that Sam (my husband) and Alison (Colin’s wife), following in the car, could not be too far off and called to let them know where we were. For a chartered surveyor and school teacher on a cultural trip, the response of ‘looking at the map, we think we are about 2 inches from you’ was not what we expected! A picnic by the river seemed such a good idea but without sunshine we struggled to keep warm so we were soon on our way again and into the Paris suburbs. The French came into their own cheering encouragement and creating an atmosphere almost on a par with the Tour de France. TheEiffelTowerloomed ahead and as a bride elegantly alighted from her stretch limo, 21 of us whooped, whistled and wobbled over the cobbles past her and on to the finish – I offer my profuse apologies to this lovely lady for stealing her thunder and appreciate her big-heartedness in sharing our excitement!The whole experience was absolutely fantastic, from the organisation of Beating Bowel Cancer and Discover Adventure to the other participants who ranged from 3 young people from Birmingham who lost their father to the cancer in February of this year to the professionals in the group who understood firsthand what can be achieved by supporting such a worthwhile cause. Special mention goes to Alison for ‘loaning’ me Colin to get me through this and Sam for keeping me going when the going got tough. I don’t have words enough to thank Colin, without him, I couldn’t possibly have endured the training and not once did he offer me less than 100% support and encouragement. If Colin and I have inspired you to take on a challenge - go for it and, remember, 'Pain is temporary; failure is permanent' and 'Pain is only weakness leaving the body' No wonder I made it with these words ringing in my ears! Colin's other quotes are far too rude to mention.......Cats; smoke and knitting needles - don't try it at home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Many thanks again and kindest regardsJill & Colin