London 2 Paris

dirtymonkey1985

I just signed up for the Action medical research London 2 Paris on the 18th of July, it's incredibley early in the day for this as it's not until mid July, but i just wanted to see if anyone has any good tips on training and how to take the ride when it does arrive.

Also be good to hear from anyone doing the same route as me.

mouth

They should send you some sort of training schedule my friend. As for my advice, my guess is start riding 500 miles in 5 days or so. Also, no matter what they tell you, it ain't flat in Northern France.

VerwoodAsh

Just signing up with a few mates to do the route '2'.

They are nervous about raising the money - but I think it should be okay.

Nice to earn money for other people and to have a good goal to get myself fit again and loose a lot of weight.

dirtymonkey1985

I'm on the route 3 group as i prefered the look of the elevation chart on their website (i think i like being punished)

I was beginning to worry about the money i need to raise but i'm sure it'll be ok as other people must of been able to do it on previous years.

Good luck and i expect i'll see you at the end on the champs elysee

dawh00

I did route 2 this year. As Mouth says, it is not flat in France.

I took about the same time as you to prepare, with a couple of breaks for flu etc.

My best advice is think about food. Eat everything you can once on the ride. Evening meals are not great and by the third day I was in quite a bit of calorie deficit which made for a painful morning. On reflection, I would have taken more gels and bars of my own.

It is an amazing adventure though, especially with your mates.

Krys

The AMR L2P website usually has a really good forum/message boards for meeting up with other riders doing the same route as you, which is very useful. I did route 4 in 2009 on my own, and it was good to feel I was at least vaguely acquainted with some of the other riders I was going to be with.

I took a lot of my own bars and drink sachets because I knew I got on with them and it's important to have what you're used to. Other than that, just take each day as it comes, do your own pace, and you'll have a great time. It's really well organised, the atmosphere is great, and I met some great people who I still cycle with today.

josame

I wouldn't usually pick up on this but Mouth that is one poorly considered signature for someone on a cycling forum : 'The only disability in life is a poor attitude'

Considering the fact that dignitas is not running out of customers any day soon I'd say you were much misinformed.

Don't matter how positive you are when your on yer back and blinking to communicate - yer on your back.

Cleat Eastwood

josame wrote:

I wouldn't usually pick up on this but Mouth that is one poorly considered signature for someone on a cycling forum : 'The only disability in life is a poor attitude'

Considering the fact that dignitas is not running out of customers any day soon I'd say you were much misinformed.

Don't matter how positive you are when your on yer back and blinking to communicate - yer on your back.

Seems perfectly sensible to me. What it's saying is that every life is as important as the next. You don't have to be a consumer to be valued, you don't have to have a skill to be valued, you don't need to have money to be valued....in and of itself your life is important. The classification 'disabled' comes from a certain sociological/political perspective. The classification 'disabled' is simply an attitude, and a poor one at that. It's interesting that you link dignitas with disability. All life is important. Learn this lesson.

josame

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

josame wrote:

I wouldn't usually pick up on this but Mouth that is one poorly considered signature for someone on a cycling forum : 'The only disability in life is a poor attitude'

Considering the fact that dignitas is not running out of customers any day soon I'd say you were much misinformed.

Don't matter how positive you are when your on yer back and blinking to communicate - yer on your back.

Seems perfectly sensible to me. What it's saying is that every life is as important as the next. You don't have to be a consumer to be valued, you don't have to have a skill to be valued, you don't need to have money to be valued....in and of itself your life is important. The classification 'disabled' comes from a certain sociological/political perspective. The classification 'disabled' is simply an attitude, and a poor one at that. It's interesting that you link dignitas with disability. All life is important. Learn this lesson.

Well that is one reading of the signature but to be honest I'm not buying it...

'The only disability in life is a poor attitude'

Of course one life is just as vaulable as another. But a poor attitude is not the only disability in life. I don't like the label disabled either but it is the one we have (and is used by people that have a disability or organisations that represent people with a disability). Is the signature denying disability as a figment of the disabled persons imagination. Is the plight of the bed bound person I gave restricted by others attitudes. And if we remove the attitudes is he therefore relieved of his predicament.

The link with dignitas doesn't require me to make it - the link is made by the disabled people that go there, and they are going there as a result of their disability.

VerwoodAsh

Looks like my mates aren't doing it - because it is too much money to raise. Oh well - plenty of new people to meet and ride with instead which adds to the event.

I looked at route 3 - but it is the ferry crossing that puts me off. Not a great one on boats - so that 2nd day would have me feeling ill before I turned the first pedal stroke.

See you in Paris then (I hope...)

dirtymonkey1985

Yeah I've been trying to persuade a few mates but they're all put off by the amount they need to raise so looks like I will definately be on my lonesome.

If you're doing any sportives or just decent rides before the l2p let me know cos it'd be good to meet some one else that's doing the ride. I'm only in Wiltshire and I'll actually be down this Sunday doing the gridiron around the new forest.

mouth

josame wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

josame wrote:

I wouldn't usually pick up on this but Mouth that is one poorly considered signature for someone on a cycling forum : 'The only disability in life is a poor attitude'

Considering the fact that dignitas is not running out of customers any day soon I'd say you were much misinformed.

Don't matter how positive you are when your on yer back and blinking to communicate - yer on your back.

Seems perfectly sensible to me. What it's saying is that every life is as important as the next. You don't have to be a consumer to be valued, you don't have to have a skill to be valued, you don't need to have money to be valued....in and of itself your life is important. The classification 'disabled' comes from a certain sociological/political perspective. The classification 'disabled' is simply an attitude, and a poor one at that. It's interesting that you link dignitas with disability. All life is important. Learn this lesson.

Well that is one reading of the signature but to be honest I'm not buying it...

'The only disability in life is a poor attitude'

Of course one life is just as vaulable as another. But a poor attitude is not the only disability in life. I don't like the label disabled either but it is the one we have (and is used by people that have a disability or organisations that represent people with a disability). Is the signature denying disability as a figment of the disabled persons imagination. Is the plight of the bed bound person I gave restricted by others attitudes. And if we remove the attitudes is he therefore relieved of his predicament.

The link with dignitas doesn't require me to make it - the link is made by the disabled people that go there, and they are going there as a result of their disability.

It's meant as a dig at dole blaggers and sick monkeys who just sponge off tax payers. Of course someone only being able to blink is considered (even by me) as a major disadvantage. What I want it to basically mean is "if you put your mind to it, it's probably possible".

An example of people it is aimed at is for instance someone who once trapped their finger in a door and can never ever work again whereas a colleague of mine who has only one leg manages to work as a bus driver. He has a 'can do' attitude. Fingerboy just needs a slap. OK fair enough maybe he will never be a heart surgeon or indeed a barber or (insert skilled hand-using profession here) but are you telling me that there is literally no job in the world he can physically manage?