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w00p! Rain, check. Waterproof socks, check. 1kg pasta, check. I think I'm set!
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Kristian, best of luck, have an epic time.
I look forward to hearing all about it next time I bump into you at the lights by Tufnell Park tube.
Cheers...!
*....PANIC....* Couldn't find passport... Luckily I've just found it on my desk at work... Phew.
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Have a great ride, guys!
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Found my passport.... I now hurt..... all over.....
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This is going to be a long post...
We left Trafalgar Square at 11pm (12am French time) with the aim of getting to the Arc de Triumph in 24 hours. We left London and followed the A20 most of the way to Folkestone. This leg of the ride was probably one of the best parts, navigation was easy, the road was rolling with no big hills so we made good time. The only huccup was trying to take a service road for the Euro tunnel terminal that would mean we bypassed Folkestone and headed straight to Dover. Unfortunately security wouldn't let us through so we had to head all the way down into Folkestone and take the B2011 across to Dover.
On the way down into Folkestone (a very long downhill) I looked to my left and saw quite a large hill. As we cycled through Folkestone I realised we'd be going over that hill and smiled at the prospect of a good climb. That was the only time I smiled at the thought of a hill.
The hill was a good 'un and once we were over the top it was downhill into Dover and onto the Ferry.
It was a good run to Dover, we'd taken a bit of a detour but still made good time. We had time at the ferry port to get a bite to eat and dry off a little (there were a few showers on the way down).
We got a little sleep on the ferry but there seemed to be a constant supply of noisy children so it was interrupted at best.
Getting out of Calais without ending up heading in the wrong direction was harder than imagined, and we were pretty slow for the first hour as we kept stopping to check directions but soon picked up the pace after that.
Not too far out of Calais and the hills start. And go on and on and on and on. They don't stop. That's not an exaggeration, the roads all went up one hill, down into the valley the other side, and up the next hill. Rinse and repeat.
We had quite a few heavy showers, but they were all very localised so didn't last too long. Still enough to give us a good soaking though.
It was during one of these showers that I came off. Coming down a fairly steep hill, going a bit too fast but the road was wide with sweeping corners so it was easy to bomb down. That is, until the bottom. Queue one sharp left hander. I saw it wih plenty of time to slow down, didn't brake too sharply, eased into the corner. It's wet, I've slowed down quite a lot, I'm not leaning too much and bang! I'm sliding across the asphalt.
It's very strange, this crashing lark. Strange how it's all over in an instant but you have time to remember you're not wearing a helmet so keep your head up, and perhaps your girlfriend was right when she said you should wear one. Strange how I was thinking about the injuries I'd have before I'd stopped moving. And even stranger how the worst injury I got was a bruise. My shorts weren't even torn. So after checking myself and the bike over we carried on.
To be honest there isn't lot to report, the hills kept coming and coming, and we kept climbing and descending. The miles passed and but the scenery didn't change much. Lots and lots of agricultural land, no forests.
One thing that stands out in my memory was a particularly long (and fairly steep) hill with an old tractor towing a trailer full of sand absolutely crawling up in front of us. Overtaking it was strangely satisfying, especially given the gradient we were climbing.
We stopped for a coffee during one of the more persistent downpours, and again for some pastries. Then cracked on towards Beauvais.
The road to Beauvais was the longest 60km of my life. We'd see a sign saying 60km to go, cycle for what seemed like an hour and then there was another sign saying 58km. It was pretty demoralising, but eventually (after hills and hills and more hills) we got to Beauvais, stopped for a bite to eat by the side of the road and got on our way. Bad luck struck in the form of a puncture, so I sawpped tubes, removed the glass from the tyre and we were on our way.
At this point we had 5 hours to do the final 60km. Easy. Or so we thought.
We continued on towards Paris, but with about 40km to go Mike started getting stomach cramps and feeling sick so was struggling. He told us to continue on without him but we decided to stick together and scrap the deadline. We'd arrive in Paris together, or not at all.
The last 20-30km into Paris weren't exactly nice. We were trying to stay off the main dual carraigeway but kept getting turned back onto it.
We came over a rise to see the lights of Paris at about 12:05am, and plodded on into the outskirts. Rolling down a quiet residential street I suddenly hear a clatter behind me. I turned around to see Kristian on the floor. He'd hit a fist sized stone and come a cropper.
Fatigue and lack of sleep was definately taking its toll.
Despite the slow speed he'd done more damage than I'd managed earlier. Holes in overshoes, road rash, and a very impressive bruise on his hand. Fortunately his (carbon) bike was fine apart from some scuffs on the shifters. We took a couple of minutes at the side of the road and then carried on.
The original plan was to get to the Arc de Triumph, given the circumstances we decided to head straight for the hotel.
Navigating around Paris was not easy. There were quite a lot of road works and diversions so we got turned off our route a few times, add on one way systems that aren't on the map and you've got a bit of a job to get anywhere! It took quite a long time to find the right area and then a little longer to get on the right track for the hotel.
We finally arrive at the hotel and the guy on the desk keeps trying to sell me a room at the hotel down the road (for twice the price). Obviously a common ploy with tourists, but we just needed somwhere to sleep so a small room with communal showers and toilets was fine by us. We were told the bikes weren't allowed in the room. Luckily they had a luggage room we could use (for an additional charge, obviously) so we locked them up and headed for bed. I think we got to bed at about half 2 French time.
So I think we took about 25 hours to get to the hotel, around 260 miles.Woke up this morning with a stiff left side (the side I'd landed on) but feeling suprisingly good. I've felt worse after the 60 miles to work and back so was expecting to feel properly exhausted. I was pretty suprised at my legs. Having never done anything anywhere near as hard as this I had expected it to be a trip deep into the pain cave. There were a couple of dips into the swimming pool of exhaustion, but thankfully they didn't last long. I think the key was not hammering up the hills and keeping the pace at a comfortable level, and just plugging away.
All in all a good ride, more highs than low points, but now I need some sleep!
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Cheers Hippy.
Oh I just remembered we passed through an area called the seven valleys. There was absolutely nothing to distinguish those seven valleys from the million other valleys we passed through, the hills might have been a little steeper, but it was hard to know when the first of the seven started so I'm not really sure.
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Great report, Andy, and well done!
What was your kilometrage/route? Did you go via Amiens?
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I'm not sure of the exact route we took out of London, but down to Dover looked something like this.
And here is the route to Paris, the final part is wrong as we didn't get to Arc de Triumph but down to the outskirts of Paris is correct:[ame]http://ridewithgps.com/routes/144376[/ame
[/ame]The total distance on the clock was about 260 miles, so just under 420km.
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Well done guys, great effort, sounds like one you will remember.
I love the buzz you get in the day or so after this sort of ride, I would imagine that during the last 20 miles you were thinking, yeah its been good, but perhaps never again, but by now you are no doubt planning the next one.
Chapeau.
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I'm not sure of the exact route we took out of London, but down to Dover looked something like this.
And here is the route to Paris, the final part is wrong as we didn't get to Arc de Triumph but down to the outskirts of Paris is correct:http://ridewithgps.com/routes/144376
The total distance on the clock was about 260 miles, so just under 420km.
Wow, that doesn't look half hilly! I don't think I could do that route without major problems.
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I did the A20 once from Ashford to Swanley, with about 50 kilos of luggage on the bike, when I got my bike to London from Germany in 1994. I couldn't carry on, though, and took the train for the last bit.
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Ah, yes we did seem to be going down more steep hills than we were climbing. I think It would be a bit harder heading towards London.
So on Sunday I felt pretty good, tired, but legs were ok. Yesterday I had the day booked off work so I could get a lie in and take it easy. Still felt alright but legs were noticeably tired - feeling heavy when going on a small walk along the river. Today I feel awful! I've had a headache all day, feel like I could just sleep anywhere, tired legs, and the bruise on my leg has started to tingle when I sit down.
I seem to be recovering in reverse! :( -
GPS of the Paris leg, before the battery ran out.
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Oliver Schick
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hippy
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2009-08-15 Sat 00:01am Start London to Paris night ride (Because Long Rides are Fun)
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T minus 10 minutes! Time for a final check I have everything then off to London, Dover, Calais, Paris!