From Sep 11th-13th, I will be cycling from London to Paris on my Brompton folding bike - as it’s the only ‘road bike’ I actually own (none of those fancy racers or hybrids). I will be accompanied by around a dozen Salesforce colleagues and a similar amount of other people wanting to support their own charities.

This page will hopefully supplement my own donation and so any amount would be appreciated.

I wanted to not only help a charity here, but use it as an opportunity for showcasing these amazing bikes being used for situations where possible purchasers may have thought were impractical or impossible.. Unfortunately using my personally restored 1970s Raleigh Chopper just wouldn’t be up to the job, plus it’s not a novelty cycle race AFAIK(!).

16" wheels and essentially a 3 speed Sturmey Archer rear hub is what will separate myself from the rest of the pack, all of which have way more expensive, lighter and faster bikes. It now sports a 56 tooth chainring up front and 12 tooth rear sprocket at the rear - so hopefully it will be slightly more on the pace.

Let's see if:

a) I make it there

b) don't arrive last :)

c) I can sit comfortably on the way home

https://tfaevents.co.uk/london-to-paris-wmuk and it will be in aid of WMUK (the only charity in the UK focused solely on Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia (WM), a rare type of blood cancer).

Your support helps them to provide expert information, drive research and understanding in, and give personal support to empower patients and families to live well with WM.

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For more background on my Brompton history / usage:

The first bike became a bit of a ‘Trigger’s broom’ and had me replace many parts over the years (essentially anything that moved as well as personally welding the frame back together), but the second one has faired much better with only a few consumables required: a couple of tyres, some cables and the sprocket / chain set. I’ve had my current bike for over 10 years now and I estimate I’ve done around 8000 miles on it from hundreds of trips.

Whenever I commute from Tilehurst to London, I stitch the 50 mile end-to-end journey together with 2 bike rides each direction: the first to get to the local train station and then the second from Paddington to near Liverpool Street Station 5 miles through the scenic city (unless it’s really wet). This is where the bike excels as you can take it on any form of public transport.

The bike is often used as an ice-breaker since I go to customer meetings using the same method as getting into the office - hence people always ask me about the bike and whether I cycled all the way there on it. (I must have indirectly sold a dozen bikes from simply talking to such people who are on the fence as to whether it makes sense to purchase one - which it always does!)

In fact, in terms of its usability, I have even taken the bike as checked-in baggage to San Francisco where I rode it for a week, both commuting and sightseeing(!). I have pictures, of course :)

One advantage over all the other cyclists is that I can get my bike to / from the event on the train with my bike (greener credentials and simplified logistics)!