London to Paris Bicycle Ride - 30th August - 2nd September 2006

We're sure anyone reading this who knows us would be sniggering at the thought of us cycling the 450 km between London and Paris in 4 months, let alone 4 days! The only thing that's going to get us through the next 6 months of hellish training is the thought of les pain au chocolats, brie and bottles of Beaujolais that will be waiting for us in Paris! The itinerary looks like this: Day 1 - London to Calais (125 km); Day 2 - Calais to Abbeville (120 km); Day 3 - Abbeville to Beauvais (110 km); Day 4 - Beauvais to Paris (95 km). Ouch!

MS is the most common disabling neurological disorder affecting young adults and currently there is no cure. Over 85,000 people are affected in the UK alone and the aim of the MS Society is simple: to provide help today and hope for the future.

We have always been interested in the MS Society and the work they do as our Dad, Philip Hand, was badly affected by MS. He died in 1988, age 33, after battling the disorder for 7 years and we thought it was about time we got off our backsides and helped to raise awareness and funds for MS!

Our joint fundraising target is £2200, and of course our aim is to smash that. In addition to this, we needed initial backing of £200 to secure our places on the cycle ride which has been generously donated by our Mum and Stepdad (Bev and Andy) - thankyou! Thanks also to our grandparents (Jeff and Joyce Hand) for their offers of assistance with additional costs!

Please sponsor us as generously as you can - we'll need something to cushion the blow of not being able to sit down for a week afterwards! Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Multiple Sclerosis Society will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor us now!

Many thanks for your support.

For more information:

www.mssociety.org.uk

nicoleandvicky@hotmail.co.uk

 UPDATE: 20/09/06

Bonjour!

As some of you already know, against all the odds, we did make it to Paris in one piece. We have identified no long-term effects, except that Vicky's 3rd and 4th fingers are still numb (only temporary nerve damage apparently)!

They didn't call it a challenge for nothing - and there were definitely some lows - especially after the 95 miles on day 1. We got to bed in Calais on the first day at 9:30pm, having cycled all day through London and Kent following a 5:30am wake-up call. The weather in the morning of day 2 was pretty dismal and we got thoroughly soaked! At the lunch stop We were lucky enough to meet a couple of great guys - Rich (aka 'Dick' from 'Dick and Dom') and his mate James, both cycling for Alzheimers (www.justgiving.com/richmcc).  Luckily for us, they had developed a frankly genius '5 mile stop' strategy, and were a highly amusing and entertaining pair! We would have struggled to get though the challenge without them, and once we had managed to mentally block out the chafing, we all started to see the funny side of it all. Day 2 was a bottom numbing 75 miles, and in true French style, our Gallic friends across the Channel had prepared a delicious evening meal for us of dry macaroni pasta.  With no sauce.  There were nearly tears over the dinner table that night!

By day 3 (70 miles), we had lost the will to even attempt the more horrific hills, with whoever was cycling at the front of the group shouting back to the rest of us 'It's a walker!'.  Day 4 (60 miles) was the easiest day, not least because the finishing line was in sight.  Despite nearly getting run over at the Arc De Triomphe, cycling down the Champs Elysees to the Eiffel Tower was an amazing experience.  The feeling of achievement was better than we had imagined, and we spent the evening drinking well deserved beers underneath the Eiffel Tower.

We can safely say that the cycle ride was by far one the most difficult things we have ever experienced, mentally as well as physically.  We definitely learnt a few things along the way: the true use of nappy cream; the emotional value that can be placed on a Tracker bar; and how many miles you will cycle just to get to a banana!

The only thing that kept us going was your generosity - So far we have managed to raise £3,181.95 for the MS Society, and our website is still open for donations for those of you still wishing to sponsor us - every penny counts!

www.justgiving.com/nicoleandvicky

Many thanks again,

Vicky & Nicole