We had given ourselves 6 months to prepare (including buying bikes!!) and to get some serious training under our belts, but the months passed quickly and it was clear that there were already some of us taking it more seriously than others!! For some of us finding the time to train was difficult but for the 2 older members of the team, personal trainer, Mike, had fine tuned Linda (aka Lance) and Louises uphill technique. As the bike ride was nearing the team manager (Dad) had checked out the training sessions taking place in London and Belfast and was certainly happy with the progress!! We were all geared to go (some with more flashy gear than others!!) and the training over the passed few months from the Surrey hills to the bogs of Offaly was sure to pay off!!

 

Arriving in Greenwich on Tuesday 12th June we were greeted with a daunting sight of a room full of bikes varying from old rickety mountain bikes to top of the range road bikes! Hopefully we would fit in somewhere in between!!

 

Day 1; Greenwich to Calais

After a hearty breakfast it was out onto Blackheath Common at 6:30 for registration to get an early start of 7:15. All we had to do now was cycle for four days making sure we followed the orange signs that were conveniently positioned at road turnings, all the way to Paris....easy!!

 

The first stage of the journey took us from the common, past Dartford and to our first water stop at Harvell (22 miles). Only one tough hill so far but it was starting to get hot.  Around the outskirts of Maidstone, some really picturesque Kent countryside and tackling a killer hill at 40 miles, we arrived at Doddington (47 miles) for lunch. First faller, Karen, arrived to lunch with an impressive new wrist!! And she couldn’t blame a dog this time!!! After a long lunch break and inflating our tyres to get maximum speed we set off against the clock to make the ferry departure from Dover! The rest of the journey was very hilly and tough going. On reaching 70 miles it was time to take a quick energy gel to keep us going for the remaining 21 miles. We eventually arrived at Dover (91 miles) after over 7 hours in the saddle!

 

The day did not end when we arrived in Calais, we still had a further four miles to cycle to the beautiful ‘Hotel de Golf’ with not a golf course in sight!!! Unfortunately our team was split up and Louise was booked into the Holiday Inn about 4 miles away. Thinking that she had got the short straw, we soon learnt that in fact it was the rest of us who were cheated out of a deluxe hotel with a pillow menu!!

 

Day 2: Calais to Abbeville

Luckily this was a later start than day 1, cycling by 8:15. Legs were aching and dead and only just managed the hilly and hard first 23 miles to the water stop at Desvres. Eventually arrived near Campagne for lunch (44 miles). After lunch things improved immensely, the legs were loosened up and the terrain not so hilly. Stopping for a few drinks along the way certainly helped!! Thankfully Karen didn't spot the chocolate factory that we passed or we may still be there today!!

The weather was too good to be true and the heavens opened and torrential rain made conditions particularly tough! This lasted all the way to the Ibis hotel at Abbeville....oh well good why it lasted! 72 miles and glad to get into the warm shower!! Some pasta for dinner and a quick trip to the local McDonalds for a Kit-Kat McFlurry set us up for the next day!!

Day 3: Abbeville to Beauvais (65 miles) 

 

Today, we were told was to be a leisurely day with some very picturesque and beautiful countryside! This was not to be! The head on wind prevailed and the terrain was more undulating than flat! Thankfully the water stop was at 20 miles which saw us through to the lunch point at Sarcus. The weather had everything, sun, cloud, rain and an extremely strong head wind (25mph +).  

And after battling against the elements for 43 miles, we finally reached lunch. After lunch we struggled with the wind and could only max about 12 mph down hill!!!! With Beuavais in our sights we knew we would make it and unlike the guys who stopped at the first pub, we stopped at the first boulangerie we had past on our trip for some well deserved pastries.

Having all met up to continue our cycle through some busy roads of Beauvais we put the foot down to get to our luxurious hotel with a swimming pool. However the Premierre Classe hotel did not live up to it’s name, and in fact resembled prisoner cell block H!!! Check out the photo below!!!

A change of hotels and a few drinks later certainly revived our spirits for the final days cycling.

 

 

Day 4: Beauvais to Paris 

Final day at last! This was the shortest day of the whole trip and since we were all to cycle together through Paris we were to set off with the slowest cyclists first! We certainly didn’t think we were the fastest cyclists on the trip but getting 5 girls packed and ready to go early just didn’t happen and we left Beauvais in the last pack of 10 cyclists!!! So it was a chase for the first 20 miles to catch the rest, but the extremely heavy rainfall and the first puncture from our team (Lance) further increased the gap!

 

However it wasn’t long before we caught up with the hoards of cyclists drinking outside the many bars we passed en route! Having caught up we decided we’d join them for a well earned drink!! At this stage we decided we couldn’t take another day of the same lunch so ate baguettes and chips in a smoky little French bar just outside (35 miles) Auvers. Just what we needed! Everyone congregated in Auvers next to the River Saine and put on their inconspicuous blue London2Paris T shirts ready to cycle together into Paris!!!

 

Things were getting exciting now, 120 riders all in the same colours, riding through the centre of Paris, bringing the traffic to a stand still.

Despite me falling on Place de la Concorde, our escort vehicle being pulled in by the police and Louises near miss with a tour bus………….after 300 miles....we made it to THE EIFFEL TOWER!

What can I say after all that! Despite the tough days and some pretty horrendous weather conditions, we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and met some really great people along the way. Thanks to so many people – especially to Dad, Brian, Karl, Sandra, Dermot, Deirdre, Claire, Lynda, Henry, Lydia, Fred, Cara and to all of Louise's family who all made it to the Eiffel Tower to greet us for the finish!