(Greater) London to Paris in 24 hours
mtb-idle
Posts: 2,179
Me and two buddies did this last weekend. Just the 3 of us, unsupported. It's a great ride and I highly recommend it. The logistics are actually pretty straightforward for someone like me who lives on the edge of South West London (Ewell) and are as follows:
[*]Leave Ewell/Cheam 19-15 GMT Friday evening and ride 80km (50 miles) to Newhaven on the South coast
[*]Arrive 22-45 GMT Friday
[*]Catch the 00:30 GMT Saturday ferry from Newhaven
[*]Ferry docks in Dieppe, France at 05:30 CET Saturday morning (local time – four hour ferry crossing)
[*]Ride the 202 km (125 miles) to Paris following mainly L'Avenue Verte
[*]Arrive Paris circa 17:00 CET Saturday, get a beer
[*]Make way to Gare du Nord, Paris
[*]load bikes and catch the 20:10 CET Eurostar back to London
[*]Arrive St Pancras, London 22:00 GMT Saturday night
[*]Catch the 22:36 GMT Thameslink from St Pancras to Sutton
[*]rode home circa 5k from Sutton
[*]Arrived home shortly before midnight GMT
Here's a video that gives an idea of the riding
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/409868/
You don't need to push really hard. We maintained an average of 15mph over the circa 300 km. Why not give it a go yourself 8)
[*]Leave Ewell/Cheam 19-15 GMT Friday evening and ride 80km (50 miles) to Newhaven on the South coast
[*]Arrive 22-45 GMT Friday
[*]Catch the 00:30 GMT Saturday ferry from Newhaven
[*]Ferry docks in Dieppe, France at 05:30 CET Saturday morning (local time – four hour ferry crossing)
[*]Ride the 202 km (125 miles) to Paris following mainly L'Avenue Verte
[*]Arrive Paris circa 17:00 CET Saturday, get a beer
[*]Make way to Gare du Nord, Paris
[*]load bikes and catch the 20:10 CET Eurostar back to London
[*]Arrive St Pancras, London 22:00 GMT Saturday night
[*]Catch the 22:36 GMT Thameslink from St Pancras to Sutton
[*]rode home circa 5k from Sutton
[*]Arrived home shortly before midnight GMT
Here's a video that gives an idea of the riding
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/409868/
You don't need to push really hard. We maintained an average of 15mph over the circa 300 km. Why not give it a go yourself 8)
FCN = 4
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Comments
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What if you don't live in Sutton?
20 hours out of 24 at 15mph? Sounds like my definition of pushing really, really, really hard.0 -
Nice vid!
3 friends and I are doing this in 6 weeks time. We will stay the night in Paris though and get bladdered!
Did you regret using back packs? We are looking at saddle/seat post bags to avoid the weight and heat.0 -
Nice, I was supposed to be doing this in a fortnight with my flatmate to celebrate finishing uni but we're broke so it's being postponed- we left it too late and now can't afford the Eurostar back
We'll just go for a monster ride in Englandshire instead for now.
She's from Paris and has a history of ultramarathons, her longest being 100 miles so can cope with 24 hours+ of exercising etc. Our plan was London to Dover, then Calais to Paris, all in worked out about 500km pedaling with a rest on the ferry after the first 160km or so.0
