London to Paris Cycle Ride
16th to 19th June 2010

Ride Update

The Tuesday before the ride saw Ed, Simon, Roger and I leaving Northamptonshire for London. The journey was great until our parking fell through, which was probably fortunate because it took valuable drinking time. We ended up in the pub by the hotel eating pub food (yummy), drinking real beer (yummy too) and doing a bar quiz (hmmmmm).

Anyway, Day 1, Wednesday 16th June, started with a 5:30am alarm call and a bleary eyed breakfast. It was unseasonably cold on Blackheath as we shivered at the briefing waiting for the off. There would be a drink stop about 22 miles away, followed by lunch around 48 miles in. Yikes. Anyway, the 70 odd riders were released in waves (the four of us near the back as we were waiting for Simon) .

The first leg stretcher of the day was Shooters Hill, but it was to be merely a prelude to the rest of the day. After lunch at Charing, Kent, (which was actually great) the North Downs threw there full strength at us (as was the strong wind in our faces). It had warmed up and the hills had warmed up too. The biggest gears were exercised, as was the heart rate - with the four of us passing a few 'walkers' on the way. A few more short sharp shocks (with scree all over the descents making them 'exciting') and we were in Dover. 80 miles done, climbing some 1,500 metres (I'd know exactly but my GPS gadget played up) with about 6 hours of riding time, and with some time to kill before the ferry so a last couple of English beers were necessary.

The ferry trip was uneventful save the choppy crossing because of that headwind but the 7 mile ride to the hotel near Calais was hard work. When I got to the hotel around 9pm UK time it was straight to bed for me.

Day 2 started with what was to become the customary 6:30am French time alarm call. Aching legs is not the word. The good news was the first 15 miles or so were due to be flat... but then the hills would come. Speed was good on the way out, but then catastrophe. Not five miles in, I managed to clip the rear wheel of the bike in front. For those of you who don't know, what happens then is your front wheel goes sideways and Isaac Newton's laws kick in. Anyway, the principle of conservation of momentum means you don't turn with the front wheel, and end up getting thrown off the bike. I picked myself up and luckily nothing was broken, just a bruised forearm. Luckily.

Fortunately the rest of the 15 flat miles gave me some time to recover before the hills started. Oh, and very different from day 1. Maybe not as steep but much longer. This seriously tested the legs. Lunch seemed a long way away so when Simon punctured right by a cafe we felt forced to stop. What a shame. When we finally made the lunch stop at 51 miles it felt good (I could still pedal) but also bad (can I really ride any more). A leisurely lunch and then the final 30 odd miles to complete nearly 81 miles on the day and climbing of 1,241 metres.

The hotel was fine and the we managed to get out for a quick beer (which was actually quite nice) in the town of Arras. A slightly later night but still in bed before 11 local time.

Breakfast on Day 3 and I didn't feel particularly hungry. Worrying because having enough carbohydrate is important as I had discovered on my longest training ride. Luckily the day was easier in terms of climbing if not distance. The day is a bit of a blur for me. The miles actually disappeared easily considering. It was a moving experience with Commonwealth War Graves every few miles. Seeing all those gravestones... An impressive view over the Somme greeted us before an early lunch. We arrived at lunch before it was ready, and everyone was really cold - we were all craving sunshine which we were only to see later in the afternoon.

Another 80 mile day (not 70 as I tweeted) and only 838 metres of climbing, but the last few miles through the town of Compiegne were a bit painful for Simon (and for the rest of us, with saddle sore kicking in seriously). Simon had strained his knee on the first day and it was agony now. Riding tomorrow didn't look good for him. We arrived finally at the hotel, which was the worst of the trip, and tried to get a beer. Apparently the license meant they couldn't serve us so we ended up in a posh restaurant in the town (fois gras followed by fillet steak for me) drinking good wine and watching the England game. At least the food was good quality.

Simon decided that he would ride to Paris on Day 4 - a short day of only 60 odd miles! Simon lasted seven of those miles until the knee was unbearable and fearing damage that would curtail his skiing season, Simon let us go and was swept up by the broom wagon. After a very early lunch it was the Paris suburbs, awful drivers and then the elation of recognising that we had reached our goal. A pause (with more beers and some frites) and it was riding en mass round L'Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Elysees and on to the Eiffel Tower. It was a great feeling after 310 miles and something over 100,000 revolutions of the pedals to make it to our destination (with Simon joining us for the last couple of miles).

What a fantastic and rewarding experience. Needless to say the celebrations lasted well into the early hours, with an absolutely cool band playing mostly Rolling Stones covers playing in the street by the bar next to the hotel. A great night and a nice day off riding Sunday before the Eurostar home.

So, it was back on the bike commuting Tuesday - and although the legs are still a bit tired, I'm not too sore.

What kept me going most was the support of all you guys. The total as I write this on http://www.justgiving.com/thefern stands at over £4,000 including gift aid for The Prostate Cancer Charity - every penny goes to the charity and none of the money funded the ride. As most of you know, this charity is so important to me as Prostate Cancer claimed my Father just over two years ago. One of my riding partners also has the disease so it was so very close to our hearts. I would like to thank you so much for your support.

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Anyway, here's some more background:

Hi all, thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In a moment of bravado I signed up to do the London to Paris cycle ride this June. Alex (my wife) had just completed the Great North Swim and said it was my turn. I'd done Movember, but for a real challenge chose cycling as I ride regularly as part of my commute and, after a few beers, figured that London to Paris over four days can't be that much harder than St Pancras to Canary Wharf and back each day - can it?

Anyway, it's definitely a bit more of a challenge that growing a moustache. I'm choosing the same charity though - the Prostate Cancer Charity. I do this in memory of my late father who succumbed to the disease over two years ago. It's a major killer. 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and one dies every hour!

Update 15th June - June pre-ride miles = 189m. My longest training ride of 69 miles a couple of weeks before the ride and I'm prepared as I'm ever going to be

Update 1st June - May miles = 440m. So, just over two weeks to go til the off. Training is going well. The month started with two days riding in Pembrokeshire over the bank holiday weekend. Now, that was hard work. Hilly is not the word, with some of the steepest hills I've ridden on. Since then, weekend rides have been getting longer around Northamptonshire and into the neighbouring counties. As well as upping the distance, riding longer on consecutive days is helping, though the saddle is a bit sore. The weather's been great too which really helps the miles disappear.

Update 1st May - April miles = 322m (including some 92m in the gym time when stuck in HK due to volcanic ash). It's six and a half weeks to go but starting to get some decent rides in (for regular updates follow me on twitter). Highlight of the month was a tiring 49m sportive in three hours with me making the schoolboy error of riding 7.5m to the start. I now need to up the mileage a bit more and try to do a few more multiple long days - it's not the first day of 87 miles that scares me now, but the second day of 80 miles (and the third and fourth).

Update 1st Apr - March miles = 235m. Good riding at the weekends this month including 40 miler last Saturday - slowly increasing the distance and it's nice now that it's a bit warmer. My mileage was hit by the skiing holiday and a trip to NY (and a HK trip will impact April miles too). Getting a bit scared as the ride is less than three months away. That first day of 87 miles over the downs is daunting. On the fund-raising front, the fantastic support continues, and due to work matching the first £500 I have upped the target again to £2,000. Oh, and please keep following me on twitter. Thanks all.

Update 1st Mar - February miles = 252m. Fantastic support from you guys - I made target of £1,000 so have raised it by £500! Three (would have been four but for snow) decent weekend rides this month around the Northamptonshire countryside and if anyone ever tells you Northamptonshire is flat, they are a liar. The new bike rides like a dream, but I could do with some new legs. Oh, so you can keep up to date, you can follow my twitter posts, some of which are to do with riding the bike, here.

Update 1st Feb - January miles = 136m

Update 1st Jan - December miles = 84m

Update 1st Dec - November miles = 168m

Now for the small print... Donating through JustGiving is easy and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by UK taxpayers. So please dig deep and donate now. Oh, and 100% of your cash goes to the charity - they do not fund the trip in any way!

Thanks very much

Joe