Ride recap

It's been a week since we got to the Eiffel Tower and I believe we can all sit down again.

Andrew and Chris are safely back in Oz, their bikes will be leaving Beckenham this week for their return journey. The UK crew are all back at work and have been congratulated endlessly.

But I've been thinking... in hindsight, how was it - really?

In a nutshell, we should have driven or caught the train to Newhaven. The weather made day 1 a stupid thing to do. Even with good weather, I'd strongly suggest that people who are thinking of doing London to Paris and who aren't strong, experiences cyclists on road bikes find some other way of getting there. That was really, really hard and you could easily pick up an injury that stops you from even getting to France.

Day 2 was sublime - later in the summer you won't have the time constraints of night fall and could really enjoy that ride. Don't stay at the Sofhotel in Forges-les-Eaux. Just don't. Seriously, sleeping on the street would be more comfortable and better smelling.

The most satisfying and yet most challenging day was the third one. The weather and the hills were appalling, but when it was good - man.... I've never had a better time on a bike than cycling down the D3 from Jouy-sous-Thelle to Fleury. The road was wide, winding and deserted. We were 3 across at over 40km/h and loving it!

Our final day would have been better with 2 things - staying the hell away from Cergy and having bike satnav. Cery was such a crap hole that I hope I never have to go there again. We started the day first lost, then with an endless hill and I had a serious sense of humour failure. Once we got to the top, though, it was down a brilliant steep hill to the Seine and we knew we were close. Having to stop for a map check every 10 or so minutes from there really wore us down, especially having seen the Eiffel Tower on the horizon.

Nothing will ever beat the feeling of stopping the bikes right under the tower - the ride from our hotels to Gare du Nord was quite an euphoric one.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. But I'd probably join a group that has a support vehicle and not have to lug my own kit around. That's what made this ride such a challenge - we were entirely self-sufficient on transport matters.

So now it's on to the next ride, but in the meantime - check out the video from this one.

Thanks for the support,

Pete

4 seasons in one day

Holy crap.... This isn't meant to be a technical ride. I was sure we were ready for this ride... We had the distances down pat. The hills and weather on the other hand.. Well, wow. As planned, we made it to Cergy, but the start was slow. The countryside was beautiful and we stopped in the market town of Gournay-en-Bray for a lovely lunch in the rain. As we set off down a main road, I led the pack and was almost annihilated by an out of control semi trailer. Off to the back roads we go. We saw some beautiful sights when it wasn't raining or hailing. France is such an amazing country and is steeped in so much history. I'll write about our favourite things in a post-ride update when I'm not so tired. There was a town starting with M about 10km north of Marines today that blew our minds with its beauty. In fact, the 30km leading to Marines were fast, smooth and possibly the best bit of the ride so far. Cergy is not the pretties or safest place in France, but it is on the outskirts of Paris and provides us a good start for tomorrow. We had Yakitori for dinner, following Chinese last night. Let's see of we can get French food tomorrow night. I may write again in the morning, otherwise you'll hear from me in Paris. Bon Soir....

So much rain

We're sore, we're grumpy and it's raining..... and not easing up.


The rest of this entry is from Andrew:


So today marks day 3. Unlike Paris, the people of Forges-les-Eaux seem to speak almost zero english. I just ran into the rest of the group on the way to breakfast, most of us look very tired. 
Today, we are trying a new tactic for some of the less experienced riders. We will ride for 2 hours, then break for an hour, then repeat. The hope is that these long hour breaks will give people time to recover and help they maintain the 15kph we are trying to achieve for the 80 odd kilometres we will ride today. 

Day 2 on the Big Brother Ride

Yesterday was downright stupid. We should have called the ride off at lunch time and got the train to Newhaven. We couldn't see, couldn't generate any speed and cars couldn't see us. And it took 9 hours to ride 55 miles. Utter stupidity. I'm amazed we're all still alive. The Premier Inn has won some new fans. The ber was cold, the food was good, the water hot and the bed comfortable. Can't ask for more than that in a budget hotel. The weather is looking better today. We're about to get a ferry to Dieppe - a little town in Normandy that was the basis for all of my high school French lessons. I can't quite believe I'm finally going there. We then join Avenue Verte, a disused train line that has been converted into a 35 mile cycle path to Forges-les-Eaux. If the weather holds, this should be our easiest day on the bikes. I might even get to take some photos. I'll write again from France.... Pier la cycliste

Hell is other people, or bad weather

We are cold, we are miserable, we are tired, we are here.

Time for a well earned pint.

The weather was the worst I have seen anywhere this year. At one stage I had to pedal just to get down a hill.

More to follow later.

Lunch time day 1

35 miles to go and we are sooooo wet! The wind is relentless.

Here's a pic of us at the start....

Time to go.

Wow, it's here.

I confess, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. 6 months ago, this was a bravado laden idea that sounded exciting but might not actually happen - something that would be a great story to tell. When I left work yesterday it all got very, very real.

Shit.

We have to do this.

I'm not worried about my physical ability to complete the ride, or any of the rest of the team for that matter, it's more the mental aspect of it. Day 1 is the hilliest terrain and was always going to take a toll, but now we have to add rain to the hills. Getting to Newhaven this afternoon will almost be as big of a victory as getting to Paris will be. It's already going to be 1km further than I'd planned so that we avoid what will now be a big pool of mud rather than 200m of dirt track.

Thank you all for your support so far and please keep it coming. Your tweets and comments will keep us motivated.

Stay tuned for frequent updates...

Pedro de la Peddla