London to Paris Done!

So my London to Paris ride is over, apologies I have not sent this out earlier but I was very busy and very sore after the ride, I have only just started recovering! It’s quite long – so maybe good to read before you go to bed – you’ll get a good night sleep J !!

Day 1 (101 Miles / 8.26 Hours Cycling)

Booked into Crystal Palace Lodge night before, best described as a very basic student accommodation! Due to the hammock style mattress a good night sleep was not on the cards, then up at 5:30 am for breakfast, ate everything except the eggs which were surprisingly raw! After a quick briefing, follow the ‘pink’ arrows, don’t get run over etc etc and several toilet stops (due to nerves) I was on my bike cycling through Beckenham and the county of Kent. Met a hill about 40 minutes into the ride which turned out to be more of a vertical challenge than anyone anticipated making 99% walk or topple over (the 1% were stupidly fit people!).  So 1^st hiccup of the ride, busy chatting to another person whilst keeping one eye on the cyclist in front, get to a T junction only to find that our ‘pink arrows’ where neither left or right?!? Logical thing to do – go the direction that goes downhill. A few miles later realised we were very lost – all I can say is thank goodness for google maps! The rest of the ride up to lunch was very much a blur, consisting of hilly terrain, episodes of breathing difficulty, cramps and removal of various insects from my shirt! Lunch consisted of every possible food group and large large quantities! Riding to the next water stop was relatively easy and only consisted of one near fatal mistake of cycling onto a main road with no warning to oncoming motorists! Oops! Last part of the day was very very hard, not only had I already reached my maximum mileage in training but there was also more hills (which the support crew – kindly misled us all on!) a couple of these turned out to be too much for me and many others and walking was the preferred choice.  Finally got to Dover and before the 4:30pm deadline (extremely chuffed and tired!). Dinner on the ferry was lasagne and chocolate (well I figured I deserved it!) Off the ferry and all I could think about cycling from Calais to the hotel was shower/bed, shower/bed, shower/bed!!

Day 2 (75 Miles  / 7 hours Cycling )

After a very good night sleep I was looking forward to getting back on my bike, surprisingly not sore or stiff (probably helped by the long stretching session I did before bed!). Support crew said that there were no hills before lunch, again we all quickly learned that they weren’t telling the whole truth. Up, down then village was repeated again and again along our route, a lot of cyclists suffered but I weirdly enjoyed the first part of the day. Lunch was by a picturesque lake and was a great setting for the large amount of food I consumed. After Lunch was very enjoyable, cycling through many beautiful villages made the ride very relaxed and fun. Apart from the scenery there was one incident which really summed up the afternoon. One particular cyclist I ended up with on the route had a very bad habit of cycling in the middle of the road. When a car approached us from behind I shouted to her to go right (meaning to pull over to the right! – looking back this is something I could have said differently and made clearer!) unfortunately at the same time a right hand turn was in front, so she did as I said and sharply turned right, cutting me up completely and causing me to smash into the side of a house which was on the corner. The driver of the car found the site of one cyclist a heap on the road (me!) and another crying so much with laughter, extremely funny that they shouted something in French as they drove past – I am sure that it wasn’t complimentary! Cycling on we decided to stop in a pub which was a mile from the hotel, a beer in the sun was absolute heaven! But cycling back to the hotel, I think the beer went straight to my head and my cycling was not very straight, prompting many car horns to be sounded at me! Once I reached the hotel, I so very tired and sunburnt (cycling in 30 degree heat is not fun!), that I showered, ate dinner and crashed in bed.

Day 3 (68 Miles / 6.30 Hours Cycling)

Waking up the next day I felt extremely stiff and sore from my sunburnt. Once we had a quick brief, we all set off for the next day. Luckily for us there weren’t that many hills, only one extremely long one (at least 2 miles long) which just seemed to go on forever. The second quarter before lunch was quite tough, due to very hot conditions and a relentless head wind. I was quite glad to know that lunch was less that 2 miles away, unknown to me at the time this nice bit of knowledge was the start of a bad day! Thinking about what food I was going to consume at lunch and not really paying attention to my surroundings, I came to a downhill stretch very fast, once at the bottom I noticed a huge Alsatian dog running towards me very fast from my left growling and barking. In a complete panic I started pedalling very fast, the dog then jumped up ( I screamed very loudly) and tried to snap at my leg, luckily I reacted quite quickly (which was a shock in itself!) and pulled my leg up. There was then a large uphill in front of me and I can honestly say I got up that hill faster than Bolt runs in the Olympics!! At lunch I found out that most of the cyclists had the seen the dog, but no one had got quite as close to it as me (typical!!).  The rest of the ride after lunch was pretty much the same as the morning, head wind and sun. Just before the water break I caught up with Brian a cyclist who was on our ride, he was disabled and only had one arm, he had a specialised bike which he cycled at a horizontal position rather than vertical. I could imagine it was quite tough on the ride for him as it wasn’t easy for him to get in and out of the bike and limited his options on steep hills. I was busy chatting to him, talking about his cause for doing the ride (his grandson has a rare eye cancer, effecting one in twenty thousand) and how he was finding it all. Ironically we got onto the topic of IQ and how having the blessing of sight doesn’t make you smarter, when (again not concentrating on cycling!) I swerved into his path, making him crash into the curb, causing his bike to stop suddenly and throwing him from his seat into the handlebars! After apologising profusely, he thankfully saw the funny side, it didn’t stop the ridicule from everyone else who also saw the incident! I did feel extremely guilty I mean I caused an accident with a disabled cyclist!! At the next water stop I was dying from thirst and when Brian pulled in the banter started all over again. Enjoying my drink, I felt an almightily pain run through my arm, I then looked down to find a wasp hanging out of my arm! I decided that was Karma for what I done to Brian.   The route to the hotel was through a town and very busy (not helped by my throbbing pain from my wasp sting!), when I got to the hotel I downed a least two pints of beer and just chilled on the grass. I waited until Brian made it to the hotel and bought him a drink (well I figured he deserved it!). Many cyclists stayed up to early hours of the morning drinking, but I was to knackered and was asleep in bed by 10pm!

Day 4 (60 Miles / 5.26 hours Cycling)

The final day! I was so excited to get the day done I set off about 8am, (there was alternative start times, 7:00 for slow riders and 9:00 for fast – I figured I was average!) I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, even with a few large hills and coming into the water stop the scenery was great, shaded areas with plenty of greenery! Everyone was in good spirits and the atmosphere was very fun. The ride into lunch was through a town on the outskirts of Paris and all of the building/houses where beautiful. Lunch was fantastic and by the river Zane, so very picturesque! We then all cycled another 10 miles to the final meet point where we all put on our ‘I cycled London to Paris’ T shirts, some took a swim in the (I thought was quite manky) lake, others took pictures and chilled on the grass.  We then made our final ride as a group (80 + cyclists following a car with very loud music) into Paris was one hell of a scene! I tried to take pictures whilst cycling, but after one near miss with another cyclist I didn’t think it was a bright idea. Seeing the Eiffel tower and riding towards it was exhilarating! When I pulled up I felt very proud of myself for what I accomplished and unfortunately emotions got the better of me and I had a bit of a cry! (A happy one!!) I cannot begin to describe the atmosphere, but there were many tears, cheers and songs! There were lots of hugs and pats on the back, accompanied with bottles of champagne and many beers. It was one of the best things I have ever experienced!

After a while we all headed back to our hotel (cycling again!)and got ready for the celebration meal. Two words can describe the meal very very, messy and fun!!!!

So that was my adventure cycling London to Paris in 4 days, covering 304 Miles and on my bike for a total of 27 Hours. I can honestly say I would do this again (but maybe with a bit more training!), I met so many amazing people who were extremely selfless. Meeting people riding for causes based on their own experiences and hearing their stories, really makes you thankful for everything you have.

At the times I was low and regretting this whole idea, I was motivated by everyone that sponsored me, believed in the charity I was riding for and supported me. So thank you very much for everyone that has sponsored me!! I have raised nearly £1600 but am still collecting so if you haven’t sponsored me please do so at: www.justgiving.com/Anne-Marie-Mira

 

Check out my pictures on http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=206980&id=570481815

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my page.

I am raising money on behalf of Jo's Trust, a charity dedicated to helping people and their families who have been affected by cervical cancer.

Every year in the UK over 2800 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer with over 1100 of these will die from the disease. After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged 35 and under.

In the UK, 20% of women do not attend their cervical smears, raising public awareness of cervical cancer prevention is more necessary than ever! Promoting the importance of regular smear testing and general understanding of the disease will help to save thousands of lives.  

So, having meet people diagnosed with cervical cancer and knowing families/friends who have been directly affected by the disease, I have seen firsthand the importance of this charity.

I decided a while ago that  I wanted to raise money and awareness for Jo's Trust....so being completely spontaneous I am joining an event which is cycling London to Paris! (skyline overseas events)

Initially I thought that my decision wasn't very good........I don't own a bike, I haven't ridden a bike since school and have less than four months to train!! But once the fear was gone, I have started to believe that this challenge will prove to be one of the best experiences in my life and it all goes towards a charity that I truly believe in.

Just in case you think this is easy, the cycle is 4 days long covering approximately 300 miles of various terrain!. The dates for the ride are 18th - 22nd August (so potentially - hot conditions!) 

All I ask is that you please support my chosen charity by sponsoring me on this London to Paris Cycle!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to use alternative methods to sponsor me! 

(ammira@hotmail.co.uk) 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.