Raised: 122%
Target: £7,500.00
Raised so far: £9,130.00
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My story

 

Thanks for visiting our fundraising page.

Andy and Russell have just had four hot but very enjoyable days riding from Blackheath, London to Paris.  We left at 07:00 on the Wednesday morning along with 128 other folk all aiming to raise funds for their chosen charities, more of which later.  After a slow crawl out of London through Bexley we went under the M25 and finally felt that we were in the countryside of Kent and for some reason, known only to our organisers we were to climb up and over the North Downs 3 times before we arrived at Dover.  Whilst they may look pretty in the car, they really are quite tough hills and a good test for the days to follow.  What we hadn't really anticipted was the extra 10 miles ride to our hotel once we got to Calais!  A celebratory beer was consumed.

 

Day 2 started under fog and cloud cover and we expected the worst.  This however changed to clear skies and shade temperatures reaching 38C as we rode south towards Abbeville.  En route we had a 'deja vu' moment as we arrived in Montreuil and realised that we had been through there on our training ride 5 weeks before.  More heat through the afternoon saw us arrive safely in Abbeville where we were greeted by incredible thunder and lightening as we sat down for dinner.

By the next morning we knew that we had been sitting on our saddles for a few hours and gingerly set off under cloudy skies expecting rain. This was the opportunity to wear our shoe covers so that we kept our feet dry only to be accused of looking like a pair of Smurfs!  This was compounded by more heat, no rain and high humidity - result wet feet from being too hot before we got the Smurf boots off.  We rode to Beauvais to find that our hotel had an outdoor swimming pool and so we were obliged to cool off for a couple of hours with a swim and beer. Paris was now almost too close.

Day 4 came and went almost too quickly. Lunch by the river in Auvers and a ride, for the first time, back into traffic, traffic lights and potholes.  The arrival in Paris was really a two stage affair, first a meeting point at Parc Monceau followed by a procession of all 130 of us round the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysees before crossing the Seine to pass in front of the Eifel Tower, arriving at the middle of the park behind.  The irony of meeting at Monceau was that this is only a few hundred yards from Andy's house and so we had the benefit of being met twice as we 'arrived' in Paris and then 'arrived' again.

The organisation behind this event was fantastic and made it a joy to be involved.  The 130 individuals raised over £180,000 for their chosen charities and we would like to thank you all again for supporting us and the Samson Centre.  We are proud to have been involved - see the attached photos to get a flavour of the trip.

Stats:- 290 miles; 22 hours riding; average speed 13 mph; top speed 42 mph.

Russell and Andy


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Well done. And to think I thought you struggled getting to Davy's before! Donation by victoria clarke 11/08/09  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

Rus, great legs! Well done mate. Donation by Stephen Jackson 27/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Andy and Russell , well done sounded like a gereat trip and a really good cause . Best wishes Donation by Will Staniland 17/07/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Russ a great effort for a worthy cause well done! Donation by Graeme Strommen 15/07/09  

£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid

Well done Russell and Andy. Regards Matt Wright Donation by Matthew Wright 15/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Great effort guys - congratulations Donation by Rich Wilson 15/07/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Well Done both of you! Donation by Keith and Gill Hindley 12/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Fantastic effort, and some revealing photos. Pity you had no french real ale to quench that big thirst. Donation by David Wood 10/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good work Russell - hope you've started to walk upright again! Donation by Darren Sheahan 10/07/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

this should make it the nice round figure you were hoping for! Donation by dave poole 09/07/09  

£265.00 + £74.74 Gift Aid

I am sure you now think the hard work was really worth it for a good cause. Donation by Anthony Morgan 09/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Remains of the beer fund from the 'Bar Wars' South Africa Donation by Jabba/Obi Wan/C3PO etc 09/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Well done Donation by Andy Armstrong 08/07/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

....there's got a be an easier way to get to Paris?? with the lads!!! Donation by Jimmy Bradley 07/07/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

well done Donation by caroline tose 07/07/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Donation by Anonymous 03/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Great effort! Well done both of you. Donation by John Potts 03/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

I nearly changed my mind when I saw the photo... xx Donation by juliet parker 01/07/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Good luck to you both! Donation by Claire Mitchell 01/07/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ah aha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Phew! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Donation by Paul Durrant 30/06/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

The last time I saw Russell it took him 4 hours to walk 2 miles! Donation by Gary 30/06/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Russ, I have read the comments on here. Some people have a bare faced cheek!! But then again this might be you too!!! Good luck. Donation by Neil Banks 30/06/09  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid

Russ - good luck to you and Andy and hope you get to Paris in one piece. Enjoy the R+R once arrived. Give my best wishes to Hambly when you see him. Donation by Rob Snook 30/06/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Donation by Anonymous 30/06/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Donation by Anonymous 30/06/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Best of luck Russell -a tough challenge, but it sounds like you're well on track for success. Donation by Laurence Watson 29/06/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Bon chance! Donation by Thomas Chaloner 26/06/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Good luck and enjoy it! Hope it all goes well. Donation by Rob Matthews 25/06/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Russ we are sure the French beer & wine will compensate for the undubted discomfort you are going to suffer for a good cause, well done Donation by Reg & Chrissie gilles 23/06/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Let's hope that all the sessions you had in the gym when I was doing all the work will pay off! Go for it Governor! Donation by Mike Swift 23/06/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
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* Total raised online: £7,090.00
  Offline donations: £2,040.00
  Gift Aid plus supplement: £1,534.36

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