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We aim to raise at least £20,000 for The Jessie May Trust by doing a sponsored bike ride from the Burges Salmon office in Bristol to Paris. 

That's 7 lawyers travelling 300 miles in 3.5 days: 

THE GLORIOUS ARRIVAL OF THE YELLOW JERSEY IN PARIS

At 3.30pm on Sunday 28 September, Chris Seaton rode in to Paris securing victory and the (now smelly) yellow jersey. Donning a beret in the shadow of the Arc de Tiomphe and clutching a glass of chilled champagne, he explained his extraordinary performance as a combination of freak physiology and red wine doping the night before each stage.

The rest of the peleton, used to the maillot jaune's miraculous moves from the back of the group to the front as the day's finishing line approached, rolled home behind Tailgunner full of riding and keen to head on south - whether to avoid returning to work or to raise more money for the Jessie May Trust isn't quite clear.

Blessed with sun, light winds and no rain, we have had a fantastic trip and, although we are tired, cut and bruised, it has been immensely satisfying and we would like to thank everyone who has sponsored us. We will be updating our blog with some photos, so please do have a look (the link is below).

Pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, chafe......

Keep up to date with our progress on the ride, through our blog  http://bristoltoparis08.blogspot.com.

Less than a week to go, last minute training finished - how are the riders looking?

The riders

Beth: The promised new bike has arrived, and what a bike!  Will more than compensate for the missed training due to illness earlier in the summer. Beth has also added her own brand of chocolate rice crispie cakes to her reportoire, so may be the most popular rider in the peleton.

Chris:  There have been a couple of unsubstantiated sightings of Chris out training  on his bike.  Has scared a couple of members of the team with the threat of compulsory post-ride sambuca sessions. Not a fan of Huw's suggested eat as you ride policy, and has spent the last week identifying suitable places en route for food and massages!

Huw:  The magnitude of the ride seems to have actually got to Huw over in his bolthole in Brittany.  Once feared amongst the team for his cycling prowess, recent events have lowered his status to just "one of the team", with revelations that he bottled out of a cycle half way round angelsey, and recent photos showing him sporting some interesting "facial growth"

Jamie:  As the only member of the team not on a racing bike, Jamie has recently devoured Lance Armstrong's "It's not about the bike".  Good news is that there is plenty of room on the bike for a bakset to carry the required french sticks and onions up the Champs Elysee.   Most likely to be caught in a pink wig and a beret by L'Arc de Triomphe.

Richard Spink:  A final bike inspection by an expert last week revealed that Richard has a top quality bike.  Unfortunately, one more suited to a child. Not ideal for a man of Richard's standing. 

Rich Stovell:  Recent fears that the end of the world may be nigh, has taken his carbo loading to new levels.  Also, now the team "master of the puncture"(getting towards double figures over the last 6 weeks) we are hoping he will not be kept to busy.  The new bike is strangely brown - what more can you say.....

Sally: The Queen of the Jelly Bean, and the most likely member of the team to try to out-sambuca Chris.  Don't mention clip-in pedals, or, in fact, ribs....A painful combination.

Training to date

Beth: No sign of the promised new bike, and obviously not worth training on the old one. But has mastered flapjack and brownies recipes which will fuel us on the way round.

Chris:  Has got a bike, which is a start!  Two months' sabbatical (one month on a yacht with cocktails) is taking tapering to the extreme, only his mental strength - and a bike with a motor can save him now.

Huw:  The one true cyclist among us.  Has suffered from coming with us on training rides and is rapidly falling back to our level.  Is now taking himself away to France for two weeks to prepare properly.

Jamie:  Has actually done some training.  Unfortunately, it always appears to be when he is under the influence.  Likely to come into his own on day 3 after a boozy lunch in France. 

Richard Spink:  Apparently "not worried about the fitness".  Having been beasted by Huw on a training ride has taken himself off for an unexpected 2 weeks' "R&R".

Rich Stovell:  Carbo loading like there is no tomorrow.  No worries about having enough fuel in his system.  Has just bought a shiny new racing bike, to make up for lack of training.

Sally: 3 hours a day on an Indian shopper bike, and negotiating traffic in India should be ideal preparation for  cycling in Paris.  Also, having spent 6 weeks leading groups of school children in India Sally will be responsible for managing Huw and Jamie's childishness. 

Route details

1.30 pm on Thursday 25 September

Leave Bristol after lunch - 50 mile ride to the Trowbridge area.

Friday 26 September

85 mile ride to Portsmouth, via the Isle of Wight.  Heading to Salisbury then down to Lymington to catch the ferry across to Yarmouth.  Cycle across the Ise of Wight to catch the ferry in to Portsmouth. 

Overnight ferry to Le Havre

Saturday 27 September

90 mile ride from Le Havre towards Paris. 

Sunday 28 September

75 mile ride to Paris finishing on the Champs-Elysees

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