London to paris >24hrs

Me and a friend (not a forumer.. yet) are considering London to Paris in under 24hrs in the summer ( possibly fixed)
How feasible is it to do it in that time effectively with the two of us unsupported with basics in a bag ?

Reasonably easy with sufficient training.

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I've done this using the newhaven dieppe crossing...sleeping overnight on the ferry (get the cabin so you get a shower and proper sleep in). It's quite feasible, although I'd recommend proper lights for the French side. There's a London-Paris thread you might find useful.

hippy did 518 miles in 24 hours, but then he's the National Champion over 24 hours. London to Paris is around 213 miles as the crow flies, and about 240 miles not as the crow flies on this route:

London to Dover – *120 km / 75 miles
*Dover to Calais – Ferry
Calais to Amiens – 135 km / 85 miles
Amiens to Paris – 130 km / 80 miles

Total cycling distance = 385 km / 240 miles
http://london2paris.co.uk/routes/24-hour-cycle-routes/

There are other options, e.g. taking the ferry from Newhaven (to Dieppe), which some people have done. I think that means a shorter cycling distance but much longer time on the ferry.

It's approximately equivalent to an Audax 400, which is considered by some to be a tougher distance than a 600 as you have less time to sleep, but on this one you might have time to sleep on the ferry.

You could do a few Audaxes in preparation, start at 100s, go to 200s and 300s and 400s, which lots of people do every year.

Should be doable, but you need to get your logistics sorted well so that you get the ferry connection timed right.

(There are a lot of London-Paris and vice versa threads which could probably do with a mega merge sometime :), and you should probably read some of them if you haven't already done so.)

hippy did 518 miles in 24 hours, but then he's the National Champion over 24 hours. London to Paris is around 213 miles as the crow flies, and about 240 miles not as the crow flies on this route:

http://london2paris.co.uk/routes/24-hour-cycle-routes/

There are other options, e.g. taking the ferry from Newhaven (to Dieppe), which some people have done. I think that means a shorter cycling distance but much longer time on the ferry.

It's approximately equivalent to an Audax 400, which is considered by some to be a tougher distance than a 600 as you have less time to sleep, but on this one you might have time to sleep on the ferry.

You could do a few Audaxes in preparation, start at 100s, go to 200s and 300s and 400s, which lots of people do every year.

Should be doable, but you need to get your logistics sorted well so that you get the ferry connection timed right.

(There are a lot of London-Paris and vice versa threads which could probably do with a mega merge sometime :), and you should probably read some of them if you haven't already done so.)

Starting on the plans imminently , both of us need to do more than commuting milage rides sometime as well so hopefully this summer/next spring this'll happen
Sorry ed it won't be on a bullitt bike

I've been meaning to do this for a few years now. I've not managed to persuade my usual riding partner that its a good idea though, and he's easily my most mental friend.

Did it fixed in under 24hr with a mate last year - the terrain isn't that tough, so if I can do it I'm sure you can.

Rode to newhaven after work, grabbed a couple of hours kip on the ferry and rode on to Paris the next morning. Did it in the summer so we didn't need much kit - one carradice saddlebag did the job between us.

The terrain is basically like this all the way through France

http://www.strava.com/activities/70506345

Or like this if it's sunny...

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I'm thinking of meeting a friend in Paris one weekend in April.

How long is the ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, assuming it's still running?

Is the Newhaven - Dieppe route the fastest? How long is the ferry?
It's about 130k from my place to Newhaven then maybe 170-180k from Dieppe to Paris.

My place to Dover is more like 150-160k and I'd have to go across London which would slow me down but the ferry crossing is much shorter. Calais to Paris is more like 300k

What would Jeebus do?

Walk on water

http://www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.html ?

He'd get run down by the ferry, the twat.

from memory Newhaven - Dieppe is quicker .. I've done both as overnight ferries and it was at least light when I got off at Le Havre. In Dieppe I started riding at 4:30 am.

Do they only do overnight ferries? I'd like to get there asap so leave in the morning, ferry, arrive before dark. But if they only do overnight I'll have to leave after work, overnight ferry, then arrive Paris Sat morning.

There are daytime ones as well. I did overnight coz I was being cheap.

Ta. So overnight is cheaper? Much cheaper?
Do you remember roughly how long the ferry trip was?

I think was a bit cheaper but then I saved on accommodation (not an issue for you!). I think the trip is about 4-5 hours?

London to Newhaven – 90 km / 56 miles (more like 105-110k for me, 3-4hr)
Newhaven to Dieppe – Ferry (4-5hr)
Dieppe to Paris – 160 km / 100 miles (more like 170-180k, 5-6hr
Total cycling distance = 250 km / 156 miles

It depends on how much I optimise the route, when the ferrys are scheduled so when I go either night/day, any mishaps, how often I get lost, but under 24hr should be pretty easy, under 12 would be pushing it.

Ferry timetables:
http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/ferry-routes/travel-information/timetables/
It's a 4 hr crossing in theory, but including time for arriving before departure, and waiting to be let off the ferry the other end (depends which end of the ferry the bikes are stored as to whether you exit before or after the cars), I'd guess more like 5-6hrs total between arriving at Newhaven and actually pedaling out from Dieppe.
I didn't think there was a difference in price for day or night crossing, can't be sure though.

Still going to be dark for a the first couple of hours cycling from Dieppe if 4.30/5.00am arrival in April: http://dateandtime.info/citysunrisesunset.php?id=3021411&month=4&year=2015

I've only done Paris-Dieppe, but from what I've read the Paris-Calais route is apparently a little less 'picturesque'.

I took mostly the Donald Hirsch route, but caveatgez has probably still got his gpx files of the more direct route.

I've ridden from Calais - you're right, it's nothing special. Maybe I should do the Dieppe route simply because it's different. Cheers for the info!