London to Paris 24 unsupported

arnie1000

Hi,

A couple of friends and I like our cycling and toying with the idea of trying an unsupported ride from London to Paris in 24hrs.

The question is - has anyone else done this and can you offer any advice.

I am thinking London to Newhaven - ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe and then cycle Dieppe to Paris. It think it is aound the 200 mile marker.

Is there anyone out there done this and do you have any advice???

Cheers

vorsprung

I've not specifically done London to Paris but I've done plenty of 24 hour rides

Generally, you need to locate 24 hour facilities for the part of your ride that is in the wee small hours. In the UK this is stuff like motorway services and Texaco garages. However if you can time it right with the ferry you might fit in some kip for stupid o'clock in the morning

I am doing the Paris-Brest-Paris event in August and did look into getting the ferry to Dieppe and riding to Paris. Word is that getting on the right road out of Dieppe can be a bit tricky.

istr that the ferry goes late at night and docks in the morning, if this is correct then a plan would be to leave London in time to get to the ferry, across the channel when it is night and then do the 100 miles or so to Paris

ariba

i did this with a group of friends in July. Same route - Sarf London to Newhaven, then the ferry and onto Paris.

Leave some time to get something to eat in Newhaven. There's an Italian restaurant (Padella D'oro) just by the docks that does great pizzas and pasta. He was very accommodating for cyclists also, and got lots of food (& beer) to us quickly. Friendly place. (I don't work for them - I just ate a lot there)

The ferry trip is pretty short, so resign yourself to not getting too much sleep. Try to get on board early and bag a couple of seats each. We found that the cushions are detachable, so you can sleep on the floor. (go for the triple seat rows for maximum stretch-outness). The bar is okay also.

You'll get into Dieppe in the wee small hours, so make sure you have enough lights for a few hours cycling in the dark. We headed off down the D1 which is pretty direct to Paris, then shifted onto minor roads. Once it gets to around 7-8am you'll be able to stop & grab coffees, croissants, etc.

I found one of these good to for hydration. Used about 4-5 tabs over the ride. They are easy to carry also. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/isostar-powerta ... -12g-tabs/

Mule bars & Go bars were good too. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but keep eating and drinking for the ride, and it'll go smoothly. Between us,we had quite a few (carrying 4-5 each I think)

and speaking of smooth. My god - French roads - heaven! I was expecting to find my hands sore after a ride of this length - a few hours on Kent roads leaves them buzzing, but the French roads are wide and smooth (we were on the equivalent of "B" roads), so the riding is a joy. We were able to keep a good pace also because of this.

If you're all reasonably fit riders, then 24 hrs is do-able. The sense of achievement and buzz from cycling up to the Arc de Triumph was a great feeling.

Enjoy the ride!

other things.
if you're planning on coming back on the Eurostar, they have limited places for bikes, and you can't book bikes online. You have to phone logistics, see what trains there are places on, buy the ticket and phone logistics back with your tkt reference to book the bike in (& hope no one else took the last place).