London to Paris

barnyparker

I'm new to cycling, at the weekend finished my first 60 mile ride finishing in Whitstable, but now looking for bigger things and thinking about raising money for the Steps Charity by cycling to Paris.

I was wondering if anyone has recently completed the ride and what level of fitness would be required.


Thanks

Steve

ALaPlage

I did this last year with AMR. In terms of fitness I was riding around 80 to 100 miles at the weekend and two 30-40 mile rides in the week of an evening. Pretty much followed the AMR training programme but ended up doing more miles. The ride was in July and started training for it from March with initial rides at 12-15 miles and then built up weekly so by start of June was comfortable doing the 80-100 mile rides.

At the event I was suprised by the range of fitness and lack of training some of the entrants had done. One guy had done most of his training on a gym bike and some others I spoke too had never ridden more than 30 miles in one go although the daily routes on the ride I was on were around 85 miles with one day at 130 miles. That said there were a lot of serious cyclists and fit people too.

The rides would start around 8.30 am of a morning and including stops the front runners would reach destination of the day by around 4pm. The less fit were landing anywhere between 7 and 9pm with some collected in the "broom wagon".

I think if you build your training so you can happily ride for 6-7 hours (with breaks of around 15 mins + 45 mins for lunch) then you will romp it. Just build up weekly to the event and then the last week/10 days just pull the riding right back so you get some rest.

It is a great event and loads of fun. Met lots of great and different people from all walks of life and it was a great sense of achievement to complete it. Go for it.

lemon63

I was thinking of doing this with my son, but am put off by the cost of either £700 or guarentee to raise £1200 for your chosen charity, I just don't think I could manage to raise that amount of sponsorship.

barnyparker

Who did you do the ride with

ALaPlage

Action Medical Research. They offer 5 routes and for me as a follower and lover of cycle racing the ride ends on the Saturday before the TDF finish in Paris and you get the Sunday to spend in Paris which for me meant sitting on the corner of the Rue De Rivoli and Place de la Concorde and watching the TDF race past 8 times. Pure joy!

As to raising the charity money. It can be daunting but suprisingly I managed to raise £3k in 6 months through friends, family, work sponsors. That said there were a number of people I met who were doing the ride for the 5th and 6th time. They had done charity raising for the first year but enjoyed it so much they keep coming back and pay the minimum amount (£1200) themselves and treat it as a holiday week.

The min amount they ask for covers almost all the costs including ferries and food and hotel stays - just the Sunday in Paris you fund your food and drink yourself bar breakfast. Really well organised and worry free and they look after all the hotel transfers for your kit.

For the convenience of the event being organised I think it is well worth it as well as a good chunk of what you raise goes to the charity (I think about £600 goes to the Discovery Adventure company who run the event on behalf of AMR).

Just really good fun. A great experience. And a target to push your cycling along - I am a better and fitter cyclist and lost 3 stone in the 5 months of training and event.

barnyparker

I'm concerned about the amount that actually goes to the charity, I'm also thinking of maybe cycing to Penzance from where I live and organise myself with a bit of hosteling

But maybe if the event is organised I could put more effort into fund raising rather than route planning

Either way I too wuld like to loose 2 stone whilst putting in the additional training, however I say that as I tucking into a pack of custard creams whilst typing this reply

ALaPlage

Well it depends on your POV but I felt £600 that went to the travel company was a fair price. I went from Chessington in London to Portsmouth (85 mile). Overnight ferry with cabin to St Malo. St Malo to Mayenne (85 mile) with overnight stay including dinner and breakfast. Mayenne to Chartres (130 mile) with overnight stay and dinner and breakfast and then Chartres to Paris (65 mile) with overnight stay, celebration dinner (proper do with 3 course meal, wine, presentations and dancing) and breakfast. Then Eurostar back to St Pancras and transfer back to Chessington.

Daily there were two water stops with plenty of fresh fruit, energy and cereal bars, water, tea, coffee, sweets and a lunch stop which was really amazing with all of water stop bits available plus a full hot and cold buffet salad. The roads you ride are great, all signed and the people you meet makes it all worthwhile not to mention the lovely countryside and towns and villages you ride through.

There is a maintenance wagon following and tyres and spare inner tubes were available for a nominal contribution of 2 euros if needed but any work required on bikes was carried out at no additional cost.

We arrived at the Trocadero on the Saturday afternoon and were treated like we were part of the TDF with Tourists wanting their picture taken with us! Bizarre and funny! All 5 routes then congregate and at 3pm rode from the Trocadero down the Champs Elysee to the Eiffel Tower. An amazing experience as all the traffic stops for you and people are cheering and waving at you. Each route had around 130 riders so the group riding the Champs Elysee was around 650 strong.

Worth looking into at least and I say again for me it was well worth it. I would happily pay the £1200 and do it again although I want to do Lands End John O'Groats as my next challenge.

kayakerchris

I did this with a group of people off here in June 2010. We organised it all ourselves, got friends of one of the participants to drive a minibus and paid a total of about £350 each to include all ferries, minibus, hotels, breakfast and dinners.

It was a great time and I am looking at doing it again for next year with another group of friends.

Chris

Schobiedoo

I've just completed a London to Paris with the Royal British Legion. You've got a rolling road block the whole time in France and closed roads out of London to the M25 (Kent Police shut them down). They organise everything and you have more food/drink than you can want, mechanic vans at the back of each speed group (who provide their time for free), sports massages at each stop to sort out the aching limbs, the list goes on... It's the second time that I've ridden with them and I'm very impressed. Like most of them, the cost is just under £600 and you raise a minimum of £800. I think it's really good value for £600 considering how much you get, in fact if it weren't for some of the sponsors who provide services and logistics for them, it would probably cost more. The charity run it themselves and I'm sure they make no money from the entry fee, it just covers their costs.

In terms of fitness it really depends on how fast you want to ride it and how many days you do it over. If you want to average 10mph then it does not take much fitness, but you need to be prepared to spend 8 hours a day in the saddle, if you average 18mph then you'll need to be a good rider and understand how to ride in a group at speed.

I trained to peak at two 60 mile rides in a weekend and that was sufficient, but then it really depends on your overall fitness.

barnyparker

Thanks for everyone advice

Mark Bom

barnyparker wrote:

I'm concerned about the amount that actually goes to the charity, I'm also thinking of maybe cycing to Penzance from where I live and organise myself with a bit of hosteling

But maybe if the event is organised I could put more effort into fund raising rather than route planning

Either way I too wuld like to loose 2 stone whilst putting in the additional training, however I say that as I tucking into a pack of custard creams whilst typing this reply

I'd be interested to know what route you plan to take to Penzance Barny?

I've considered riding from Exeter to Penzance next year as a sort of pilgrimage with my brother and not sure what route I'd use, or do it in one day or two!

barnyparker

In all honesty I have no idea, I like the sound of it as maybe I could get my family to meet me there for a holiday afterwards

Squillinossett

I did this with a group formed on this very site.

We did it over 3 days and it is one of the best things I can honestly say I have done.

Fitrness wise depends on how you want to go at it. You can take it easy, in that case its just about havinga good base line fitness and been ok for 3 long days in the saddle.

its pretty flat all the way there, so it does help alot. It is something I plan on doing again over the next couple of years!

barnyparker

Hi Squllinosett, are you talking about a Paris or Penzance run

Thanks

Mark Bom

^ Paris I should think, Dartmoor and Cornwall are pretty lumpy!

I've got a few ideas on routes to Penzance, orginally from there so just need to fine tune it nearer the time.

mattgoodman

kayakerchris wrote:

I did this with a group of people off here in June 2010. We organised it all ourselves, got friends of one of the participants to drive a minibus and paid a total of about £350 each to include all ferries, minibus, hotels, breakfast and dinners.

It was a great time and I am looking at doing it again for next year with another group of friends.

Chris

Chris, I'm planning this ride for myself and a few friends next year... i have priced it up at around £350 as well. What is the route you took? I'm thinking London-Calais-Abbeville-Beauvais-Paris. I have managed to convince my Dad to drive the 'support car'! Any other tips? Thanks, Matt

themightyw

I did this ride with KayakerChris and Squill. As they said, it's fantastic and I'd heartily recommend doing it. We did it as a group of strangers and the only real problems we had were the logistics and practicalities of trying to arrange finances etc with people you've never met.

In terms of the level of fitness, you definitely need a good base line and some decent miles in your legs (most of us made sure that we'd at least done a 100 miler, and a couple of back to back 100kers).

Definitely go for it though - every single one of us finished the ride, irrespective of their level of training, and it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Just don't cycle next to Squill - his cranks squeak

rodgers73

I did this in July as a solo effort due to the fact that I thought the charity events were a bit of a rip off and I didnt fancy asking people to part pay for my trip by donating to the fundraising (not that I have anything against charities though!).

I'm from Doncaster and the costs were -

1. Train to London (one way, booked in adavance) - £12

2. Youth Hostel at Kings Cross - £20

3. Ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe - £30

4. Kyriad Hotel in Beauvais - £45

5. Food etc for the journey and meals etc on the way - £30 (approx)

My wife and brother in law met me in Paris on the Saturday and we stayed a few days, saw the end of the Tour and then drove home on the Monday. Their costs were petrol, ferry and hotel (about £4-500). I think I could have got a one way flight back to Manchester for about £100 and a train home from there for about £10 if I didnt have them to collect me, so all in its a cheap trip if you want to make it so.

It was a lot of fun doing it solo and it felt like a proper adventure setting off from Trafalgar Sq on my own, even though my total mileage was only about 180 in the end. I'd reccommend it!

kayakerchris

Chris, I'm planning this ride for myself and a few friends next year... i have priced it up at around £350 as well. What is the route you took? I'm thinking London-Calais-Abbeville-Beauvais-Paris. I have managed to convince my Dad to drive the 'support car'! Any other tips? Thanks, Matt

We did London - Calais - Amiens- Paris over 3 days. I dont think you need an extra day. We finished along a dual carriageway into Paris so I would tweak the route slightly.

I was planning to do it next year with a group of friends. We have about 10 of us but hadn't fully organised a driver for a minibus. If you were interested in joining forces then pm me off site.

Chris

rubberbullet

Has anyone done this in a weekend before? I.e. leave on Friday night/Saturday morning, return on Sunday night? Is it feasible?

Leesykoi

I too was in the 2010 private L2P with Squil, Kayerchris and the MightyW and can heartily recommend the experience, it spurred on my passion for cycling and to do more !!

Was a great experience and i still ride with some of the guys now (we were nearly all strangers when we all met in London).

Go for it you will not regret it !!!

fungus_the_muffin_man

themightyw wrote:

I did this ride with KayakerChris and Squill. As they said, it's fantastic and I'd heartily recommend doing it. We did it as a group of strangers and the only real problems we had were the logistics and practicalities of trying to arrange finances etc with people you've never met.

In terms of the level of fitness, you definitely need a good base line and some decent miles in your legs (most of us made sure that we'd at least done a 100 miler, and a couple of back to back 100kers).

Definitely go for it though - every single one of us finished the ride, irrespective of their level of training, and it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Just don't cycle next to Squill - his cranks squeak

And don't cycle next to themightyw as he's a car magnet

divingrob

I too did the ride and enjoyed every moment of the ride with this complete bunch of strange people, saying that if you get the chance try and do it.

To the rest of the guys I'm still around

barnyparker

rubberbullet wrote:

Has anyone done this in a weekend before? I.e. leave on Friday night/Saturday morning, return on Sunday night? Is it feasible?

You sound crazy, good luck with that one!

Squillinossett

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

themightyw wrote:

I did this ride with KayakerChris and Squill. As they said, it's fantastic and I'd heartily recommend doing it. We did it as a group of strangers and the only real problems we had were the logistics and practicalities of trying to arrange finances etc with people you've never met.

In terms of the level of fitness, you definitely need a good base line and some decent miles in your legs (most of us made sure that we'd at least done a 100 miler, and a couple of back to back 100kers).

Definitely go for it though - every single one of us finished the ride, irrespective of their level of training, and it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Just don't cycle next to Squill - his cranks squeak

And don't cycle next to themightyw as he's a car magnet

But a very good diplomat at the same time, unlike the young French chap who hit him!

And yes, those cranks meant I couldnt sneak up on people very well!

kayakerchris

SCOPE the charity do a 24 hour London to Paris with support. They provide food, broom wagon, etc.

izza

Discover Adventure do operate some of the charity L2P's.

You can go direct to them and they have separate non-charity prices.