London to Paris - Day One Reflections

Well I'm safely back home in York having survived the London to Paris ride. It really was a great event and between us the team will have raised over £100,000 for Christian Aid.

There were 73 of us in the team and we covered over 300 miles and climbed over 16,000 feet during four days of cycling. We all made it to Paris on Saturday and we had the great thrill of riding up the Champs Elysees just like our Tour de France heroes. Unlike the Tour de France there were no positive drugs tests although some of us could have used some EPO at times during the ride, particularly on Day Two!

I thought that over the next few days I would reflect back on each of the days of the ride and give a bit more detail , and some more photos, of what happened.

Day One - London to Calais

Day One started bright and early with a 5.30pm breakfast before a 7am start. The previous evening I had a good look around the assembled bikes and felt quite intimidated by the quality of them, Cannondales, Specialized, Bianchis, Trek and Scotts were there in abundance. If these guys legs were as good as their bikes I was going to be in trouble!

The route down to Dover was surprisingly hilly but I think we were all pumped up with adrenalin and we set a cracking pace. First water stop was at Rochester and it set the pattern for the coming days as we fuelled up on bananas and energy bars.

The route had been well signposted with yellow and black arrows by our support team and we set off along the Kent lanes to our lunch stop in a lovely village called Old Wives Leas. A great lunch was served up by the catering crew who were able to conjure up wonderful food out of the back of a refrigerated Transit van. One of the odd aspects of the ride is that a lot of the time you have no idea where you are, you simply follow the yellow and black signs. Apparently at one point this afternoon we were only two miles from Canterbury but I had no idea, I could have gone to the Lambeth Conference if I had known!

My fears about the high quality of the bikes were not borne out. There are some good riders here but fortunately not too many super fast riders. I have a theory that you get mid life crisis bikes in the same way that you get mid life crisis cars. Whereas some men hit their forties and go out and buy a sports car others hit their forties and go out and buy a flash road bike. I'm ashamed to admit that I have fallen into both of those categories over the last two years!

I cycled most of today with a lovely lady called An. She is a vicar's wife, originally from Belgium but now living in Harwich. She cycles like a true Belgian and sets a cracking pace up the hills!

The afternoon was really hot and the fast pace of the morning was maintained. Before we knew it we were in Dover at about 1.30pm. In fact we had ridden too fast and we had to wait three hours for a ferry. We had a good calm crossing which was followed by what should have been a short ride to the hotel in Calais. Unfortunately the group that I was in missed a sign and we ended up taking a 6 mile detour through the back streets of Calais. I saw parts of Calais that I have never seen before and I'm not sure that I want to see again.

After that it was a healthy supper of steak and chips washed down with a beer before settling down for a well deserved nights sleep before what would prove to be the hardest day of the ride. My room mate tonight was David, a really nice South African now living in Weymouth. He told me that his wife was expecting a baby in a few weeks time so he was hoping that it wouldn't arrive early while he was away on the ride.

Index to Photos - From top to bottom (click on the photos for bigger versions)

Me at the lunch halt

The lunch halt at Old Wives Leas

An - My cycling companion for today

Waiting for the ferry at Dover

Finished at Long Last!!!!!

I have now completed the ride, it's not been easy I'll tell you that. The last day was brilliant we rode up the Champs-Elysees and (scarily) round the Arc de Triomphe and finished with champagne at the Eiffel Tower. It's been a fun and tiring ride but we have raised a fantastic amount for a excellent cause.

3rd Day

Today was not as bad as yesterday. The morning session was rather pleasant as it was moderately flat roads and nice scenery. But this afternoon there was a nasty climb which was hard in the blistering heat. As we got into Compiegne there was a cobbled section and I was relieved that nothing fell of the bike. Unfortunately just near to the hotel I hit a big curb trying to get onto a cycle path and fell off. nothing was damaged apart from pride and a tube of suncream so it's o.k.
Last day tomorrow. It'll be a lot different tomorrow still a good 70 miles to ride but Champagne in Paris to finish with.

The hardest ride

Update from Mrs Claudius.........

Claudius phoned at 4.15pm our time to say he'd completed today's ride from Calais to Arras, 79 miles of the hilliest terrain he'd ever experienced. In his words "the hills go on forever, you can see them rolling on endlessly in front of you".

For much of the time Claudius was riding into a headwind which didn't help nor did the poor road surface on a number of the roads used today.

Claudius actually admitted to being totally wasted by lunch-time and didn't think he had anything left to give for the afternoon ride but just dug in and thankfully found enough reserve to make it to Arras unaided.

Another hot day in the saddle through idyllic scenery - fantastic countryside and pretty little villages. Claudius decided to ride for 5 miles and rest in the shade for 10mins - a good strategy given the heat and difficulty of the ride. He said the group were splattered across the hills, only about 20 of them are at Arras at the time of writing this, the remaining 50 odd will hopefully arrive later on. Clearly Claudius's training has paid off enabling him to complete his hardest day ever in the saddle.

Now he's off for a shower and to have some time for R&R before the evening meal.

Made it to Dover

Update from Mrs Claudius....

Phone call received 13.30 Wednesday 23rd July

Claudius phoned me from Dover at 1.30pm to say he'd made it to the ferry port. He was with about a dozen other riders waiting for their companions to join them before boarding the ferry to Calais. I could hear the seagulls cheering away in the background as another group of riders rolled in. They'd set off at 7am this morning and had had stops for refreshments along the way after riding approx 20 miles each time.

Claudius was amazed that he had made it up a number of particularly difficult hills this afternoon. His legs did what they had to do and he slogged his way to the top of all of them - none of them defeated him.

His average speed was 15mph this morning but due to the more difficult gradients faced this afternoon the average speed for the day was 14.5mph.

Once in Calais the riders have a short 10min ride to their hotel where they can freshen up, relax and if necessary do bike repairs. Hopefully they'll get in some sightseeing as well. Claudius is a bit disappointed that there isn't going to be a masseuse there to help ease away their aches and pains!

Le Grande Depart

The day has finally arrived. No time for any more training and if I haven't packed what I needed then tough - I'd have to do without. My wife came down with me yesterday to the Holiday Inn, Bexley. Thankfully we made it in time for the evening check in. There are some seriously nice bikes here - probably worth a bob or two!! About 75 riders in all, of all shapes and sizes, rolled up to the start line this morning. In the briefing we were informed that together we had raised £73k for Christian Aid - an excellent effort all round.
My wife has taken a few photos of the start. The first part of the ride was fairly hilly and there's more to come before we reach Dover. I'll keep you posted as to how the rest of the journey goes.

Cold, Wet and Miserable

I had my final training ride on Thursday and what a miserable affair it was! I set off in my summer waterproof and after a mile turned around and came home to get my winter training jacket because it was so cold. Then I got about 7 miles out and the heavens opened and I got absolutely soaked. The rain did stop after about ten minutes but by that time I was wet through so I had to do the rest of the ride in wet shorts and absolutely drenched socks, not the most comfortable experience I've ever had. Anyway I managed to get 44 miles in at an average speed of 15 mph.

I noticed in the local paper the other day that one of the houses that I pass on my training rides is up for sale. Its a lovely 14th century castle (see picture above) in a very pretty village called Crayke. The only problem is the price £3.5 million, a tiny bit out of my price range I think!

The Brits are continuing to have a good time in the Tour de France as Mark Cavendish has won the last two stages. This means that he has won four stages so far on this year's tour which is the most a British rider has ever won in a single Tour de France. Well done Mark.

Well I'm taking it easy this weekend in preparation for the big ride. I'll spend the weekend cleaning the bike and stocking up on energy bars. The Tour de France goes into the Alps this weekend so I will be watching the professionals suffer on the hills, I know how that feels!

One Week To Go

Just over a week to go now until we set off for Paris. I managed to get two decent training runs in over the weekend. On Friday I did a 33 mile ride and on Sunday I did 71 miles. The Sunday ride was over some quite hilly terrain and the legs felt quite good which I was pleased with. I averaged 15.3 mph for that ride which is OK for that distance. I will probably try and get one more long ride in this week before taking a breather ready for the big ride.

Spare a thought for my fellow London to Paris cyclist Pete who is nursing a sore head after trying to ride his bike through two trees instead of round them. Needless to say I won't be following Pete's wheel when we cycle to Paris. Get well soon mate.

I've been watching the Tour de France this week and we had another great stage win by the Brit Mark Cavendish on Saturday. Its a really good race this year and after over a week of racing there is still only one second separating the first two riders.

I've included a couple of photos of York at the top of this blog which I thought you might enjoy.

Sunshine and Rain

Well two weeks today we will be setting off for Paris. So am I ready? To be honest not as ready as I would have liked to have been. Training has been very frustrating the last few weeks owing to a combination of ill health and bad weather. I managed to get two decent runs in the last few days. On Sunday I had a 56 mile run across to Scarborough. It was quite a hilly route so I had a good workout. Yesterday I did a 39 mile ride out on my usual training route through Brandsby and Crayke. Other rides have been less successful. On Saturday I set off for a long ride but only got 10 miles before a really bad thunderstorm started. I managed to find a church porch to shelter in and Mrs Claudius came to rescue me in the car. Monday was even worse . I had only got 5 miles when a torrential shower of rain forced me to take cover in a bus shelter. I would have been able to continue if a big trailer had not passed by and absolutely soaked me through. So I had to head home looking like a drowned rat! The one thing that I have learnt from these experiences is that my waterproof cycling jacket isn't as waterproof as I thought it was.

Training for this ride has been quite an interesting experience. I'm finding that I'm riding in quite a different way now. I used to be quite a head down, flat out pushing a big gear rider. You can't do that for long distances though so now I'm riding lower gears and pedalling at a higher cadence. I feel that my hill climbing has improved quite a lot but I still hate hills! I've also had to take nutrition a lot more seriously. I've started using an isotonic energy drink which helps stamina. I've also become quite a convert to energy bars which really give you a boost when your energy is getting low. I'm still not sure about the energy jelly beans though!

My son and I had a good time in Berlin last week. It was really hot there, aroung 32 degrees, a bit too hot for my liking really. We did all the usual tourist sights, I particularly like the new dome on top of the Reichstag. It was my second visit to Berlin and once again I was struck by what a friendly city it is. When you visit you also become very aware of how much suffering the people of Berlin endured in the twentieth century. In World War Two 90% of the city was destroyed and the photos of the devestation in the city at the end of the war are really shocking. Then of course the city was torn in two by the Berlin Wall. The regime in the East really does sound horrific in the way that it treated people, you could be sent to prison for four years and have your children taken off you for just applying to leave the country. Having said all that there is a fantastic air of optimism in Berlin now and it really is an exciting city.

The Tour de France started last Saturday and I have been enjoying the racing so far. One of the Brits David Millar is just a few seconds off the yellow jersey so I'm hoping he may be able to get it in a few days. The other Brit Mark Cavendish will also hopefully pick up a stage win. I love watching the tour, its almost like a three week soap opera and you really get into the characters and the dramas that happen along the way. Having cycled a lot the last few months I realise more than ever what a hard existence it must be being a professional racing cyclist doing 100 miles plus every day for three weeks over some of the toughest terrain in Europe. It certainly must be one of the hardest ways to make a living. I'm looking forward to seeing all the riders in Paris for the finish of the tour on 27th July, the day after our London to Paris bike ride finishes. I think there will be a lot of aching legs in Paris that day.