London to Paris By Bike

[Flosshilde]

I've just gone London to Paris by bike in four days. 400kms in total.

And the toughest part of it ... the final two hours getting into Paris!

Well, I'm just saying!

& worth saying. Well done.

[gradus]

Crikey, I've rarely managed to cycle more than 5 miles without mechanical breakdown of the bike, usually puncture, broken chain, pedal unscrewing itself, saddle working loose etc etc...I estimate it would take me at least 6 months to get to Paris with the last 100 kms in the back of an ambulance.
My admiration for you is unalloyed.

[Richard Tarleton]

Very well done, shb. A great effort. errm..... Is there any truth in this?

The banana topic is covered in an essay on the Tour de France by Julian Barnes in this. Well done from me too!

[vinteuil]

The banana topic is covered in an essay on the Tour de France by Julian Barnes in this.!

... but the best thing in that book is his panegyric to Elizabeth David, and his glorious pedant-in-the-kitchen description of trying to follow a recipe for tomato soup ("The Land without Brussels Sprouts", page 50 onwards... )

[Mr Pee]

Crikey, I've rarely managed to cycle more than 5 miles without mechanical breakdown of the bike, usually puncture, broken chain, pedal unscrewing itself, saddle working loose etc etc...I estimate it would take me at least 6 months to get to Paris with the last 100 kms in the back of an ambulance.
My admiration for you is unalloyed.

I'm not sure why you should suffer from so many mechanical breakdowns, Gradus...regular maintenance and checking is probably the solution...but if yourself or any other cyclists wish to avoid punctures, stick a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on. They really are the dog's dangly bits when it comes to puncture resistance; a mite more expensive than your standard tyre, but well worth it:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schwalbe-Marathon-26X1-75-Smartguard-Reflective/dp/B000NNR6LK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369832999&sr=8-2&keywords=marathon+plus+tyres

[Sir Velo]

I'm not sure why you should suffer from so many mechanical breakdowns, Gradus...regular maintenance and checking is probably the solution...but if yourself or any other cyclists wish to avoid punctures, stick a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on. They really are the dog's dangly bits when it comes to puncture resistance; a mite more expensive than your standard tyre, but well worth it:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schwalbe-Marathon-26X1-75-Smartguard-Reflective/dp/B000NNR6LK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369832999&sr=8-2&keywords=marathon+plus+tyres

Agree with all of that and would recommend a good floor pump to get those tyres up to pressure without having your arm fall off.

Incidentally, we had a chap, a GP as it happens, come on a recent club ride, pick up two punctures in the first five miles. After the second puncture he was asked what psi he was running. "Oh, about 30" was the unabashed reply.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Thanks for all those cheers and smiles.

Alas, I cannot claim to have been doing it for charity, but rather as a personal challenge. Here's a brief summary of the key points:

Weather: First day through a hellishly rainy kent which saw us arrive at Dover like drowned rats. Remaining days were dry and clear with sufficient sun and, fortunately not so much wind as to be worried about.

Company: Fifteen chaps under the umbrella of 'Cycle Out'. All very non-aggressive homosexualists.

Accommodation: Budget hotels ie. Ibis/Campanille, which provided clean beds, towels, good showers etc.

Punctures & Safety: A lot of punctures it seemed, but I got through okay. Very well led group with strong cyclists and good sense of safety and esprit de corps.

My performance: A couple of key errors by myself. Why didn't I take them at their word when they said to 'pack lightly'! Also, inadequate training, but after the second day I was up to speed.

Chafing: Ooo ahh!! Yes. Wealds where one doesn't want to talk about.

Fuel: Others in the group were concerned at my food intake. You know how vigourous exercise can stem the appetite, well that's what it was like for me. However, I did have snacky bits with me and lots of water along the way. Sometimes mixed with Coco Cola for the sugar.

How did France look?: Ah, not sure I saw very much. I seemed to be head down most of the time concentrating on maintaining my speed and keeping up.

Route & Terrain: Edenbridge-Dover / Calais-Abbeville / Abbeville-Beauvais / Beauvais-Paris. Excellently maintained roads and with very little traffic on them, but despite not going very far above sea level the land was always rising and falling, so it was a good grind much of the way. Momemtum, momemtum, momemtum ... but all good stuff.

Lows: Kent in the pouring rain! Forgetting deoderant!! Not sleeping greatly despite all that exercise.

Highs: Having done it and having kept up with a fast group. Day three when a support van for a charity ride took our panniers on to our next hotel. We all bombed along on that day.

Moments to remember: Paris on a lovely, late May evening and thinking of my mother who had been a student at the Sorbonne in the 1950s. Young French men! And a 'I can laugh about it now' volcanic row with a Parisian taxi driver. Not helped by my limited French, though I made sure he fully got the gist of my strongest Anglo Saxon!

Would I do it again?: Had I known what was actually entailed beforehand, I doubt I'd even have booked myself up. But having put myself through the pain barrier I'm very pleased to have done it, and yes, I'd do it again, only next time I'm leaving the cocktail dress, the sling-backs and the make-up box behind for sure!

SHB

[Flosshilde]

next time I'm leaving the cocktail dress, the sling-backs and the make-up box behind for sure!

SHB

(so what was your cycling outfit like? I saw someone at the weekend wearing this - plus matching shorts - & thought that it would certainly get him noticed)

[mangerton]

Never tried bananas but Assos (sic) chammy cream does wonders, as do padded shorts.

Was ever a product better named?

[Serial_Apologist]

(so what was your cycling outfit like? I saw someone at the weekend wearing this - plus matching shorts - & thought that it would certainly get him noticed)

Known as coming out in spots, I'd guess!

Congrats, SHB - at 67 now, 35 miles in a day would be about my limit nowadays.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Well, I did shift few pounds but if I tried to get into that I would be looking very Mr.Blobby, still!

Actually for a group of 'non-aggressives' our attire was most neutral.

SA - I know what you mean!

[mercia]

a nephew of mine says he intends to do a London-Paris bike ride, but via Newhaven-Dieppe which I would think is a shorter route - cheating ?

[Stillhomewardbound]

Mercia, I mentioned that route amongst my group and there was a consensus that it was a bit of a wimpish way, but it is not for me to comment.

If he hasn't seen it already, your nephew might be interested in this recent Telegraph article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/9802414/Cycling-from-London-to-Paris.html

[Nick Armstrong]

Wealds where one doesn't want to talk about.

....

Kent

Hence the expression: the Weald of Kent? http://www.wkps.org.uk/

Great, great post SHB!

That Telegraph article is rather inspiring (he said, a few moments away from picking up his bike from the shop following a thorough service....)

Well done again

[Nick Armstrong]

a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres

Seconded. I believe I have enthused about them (and linked to that site) on the Stormy Weather thread before now (I remember saly commenting about it). My velocipede is never shod in anything else.

We should be on commission, Mr Pee