Now that I’ve completed the CMS London to Paris Cycle Challenge, I would like to thank you all for your support. It was so encouraging to know that around the world people were supporting us in many different ways – helping raise sponsorship, encouraging us and avoiding comments like "You’re doing what!!! You must be crazy!!!"
Those of you who know me well are aware that I‘m always looking for an excuse to go on another cycle trip. So I jumped at the chance to ride 300 miles to Paris to support the fantastic work of CMS: people like doctors Wim & Bertha Schoonbee in Rwanda (see http://mission.typepad.com/bike/why-are-we-doing-this.html )
Despite living in Oxford and cycling as much as possible, I wasn’t in good shape when I signed up for the ride. I found it difficult to find time to train as much as I would have liked. Most training rides were just one or two hours tackling as many hills as possible around south Oxford: Garsington, Wheatley, Horspath, Bledlow Ridge… My longest ride was only 50 miles – a quick sprint down to Henley-on-Thames and back.
The day before departure, I attended the launch of a Harvest Appeal in Canterbury. I spent the evening presenting the work of CMS and Youth Life: giving youth across Central Asia hope through breakdance clubs, youth camps and education. I left Canterbury at 9.30pm, drove to my parents’ in London, had a few hours sleep, and then left at 5am on Wednesday 10th September to cycle 15 miles to the starting line in Blackheath. Later that afternoon, on the way to Dover, I passed a sign saying ‘Canterbury 9 miles’ – I should’ve hidden in a hedge near Canterbury and joined the riders as they passed!
DAY 1: Blackheath, London to Calais: 95 miles
Paul, Peter, Angela, Simon, Nicole, Zoë ready for the off, Blackheath 6.30am
First day regrets:
Not enough sleep beforehand.
Struggling with my bike and luggage up and down the stairs of the Greenwich foot tunnel at 6am.
Eating too much at lunch then really suffering on those early afternoon climbs, just as Nicole and Zoë got their second wind and flew past me.
First day good stuff:
Staying on the bike and passing people pushing their bikes up a looooong 12.5% gradient.
Pleasantly surprised by the great route: quiet backroads avoiding traffic
Getting to Dover at the end of a 110 mile day
Getting to know TeamCMS
DAY 2: Calais to Abbeville: 75 miles
Beautiful day, hillier than I expected, and I really caught the sun – I guess my wife Iony was right about packing the sun cream…
Jonny aka the Edinburgh Express - TeamCMS yellow jersey all the way to the Eiffel Tower
DAY 3: Abbeville to Beauvais: 70 miles
Catching up after a late breakfast: where is everyone?
I caught them up quickly because it was Puncture Day – I didn’t get any, but poor Zoë had five before lunch…
DAY 4: Beauvais to Paris: 60 miles
Fun morning gently riding along together. Then someone shot past me on a serious racing bike, and I just HAD to catch him. I really struggled to keep up as we sprinted through the Parisian suburbs along the river – and then I out paced him easily as we hit the traffic near the centre of Paris. Fantastic sprint!
Final stop at Parc Monceau: TeamCMS (otherwise known as The Smurfs)
Me, Peter, Angela, Paul, Simon, Jonny, Zoë, Nicole as the peloton gathers for the final leg along Champs Elysees to the Eiffel Tower
Overall
- I loved it – Can’t wait till the next trip... how about Vietnam? Now that sounds like a real adventure!
- Great company – I really enjoyed getting to know everyone, particularly the CMS riders.
- I was surprised how quiet the route was, on backroads avoiding the traffic.
- It was a shame the hotels were on the edge of the towns so we didn’t get to experience local life in the evenings.
- We were trying to update the CMS bike blog as we rode (sending texts through Twitter and picture messages via Shozu) but had a few technical hitches. You can, however, see the results further down this blog.
The TeamCMS photos are at
http://www.flickr.com/groups/814901@N24/pool/
Your support has helped me raise over £1100 for Wim, Bertha and many other partners and support personnel who are transforming lives and communities around the world.
Thank you so much!
