After

    I found myself on Saturday July 25th 2009 at 3pm cycling with 605 other charity cyclists into Paris, around the Arc de Triomphe, over the cobbles of the Champs-Elysees, towards the Eiffel Tower! The traffic stopped and tooted, tourists packed on open-topped buses took photos, and the shoppers thronging the streets turned to watch and cheer! What an emotional moment! My family met me under the Eiffel Tower with banners and champagne! We had finally made it to Paris, as much by luck as judgement!

      It was all so different to the first day! We stopped for group photos at Hampton Court Palace at 7.15am on the Wednesday, nervous but excited. Little did I know then that it would be 8.50pm that evening, as darkness closed in on Dover, that we would climb that last steep white cliff,  having pedalled for 126 miles. We had got lost, and that mistake cost us 35 painful miles. I had to dig deep, and it felt as if my fingers virtually had to be peeled off the handlebars when I got off my bike! It had all gone wrong for me at mile 50, when I got 'the hunger knock' and had to stop for lunch to rest and recover. We had set off too quickly for me, and in my eagerness to keep up with the group, I made an elementary mistake by not refuelling enough. When I got back onto the bike, I found my second breath, and even attacked some hills near Sissinghurst in the Kent Weald. However, I don't mind admitting, that by the time we reached Dover, I was so exhausted that I had lost the power of speech!

   We got up early on Day 2 to catch the ferry to Calais, and another hour passed by trying to find a route leaving the port by a road which avoided the motorway. That meant that we didn't start our journey to Arras until midday. I fell off my bike in Calais when the bike in front stopped suddenly. Luckily, there was no harm done, just a few grazes! We knew 78 miles of roman road lay before us to Arras. We could see mile after mile of cornfield surrounded by poppies, and a big blue sky. With a row of poplars on the horizon, the scenery looked straight from the set of the film 'Gladiator'! For much of the day, we battled against strong headwinds, and progress seemed slow. When the wind gusted, you could hear the ears of corn gently rattle! As we arrived at the historic city of Arras, we passed the beautiful ruin of Mont-St-Eloi. By then, our faces were black with dust and grime! 

Although we pedalled 85 miles through the same strong wind on Day 3, it felt a little easier. We were becoming conditioned to our journey. However, roads that seemed flat by car, were undulating or even hilly on two wheels. Every village that broke up the vastness of this prairie, was built on the side of an incline. We stopped for a pizza at a town called Ham, no less! There we were treated like royalty, and had our water bottles topped up with ice! We knew we were on our way home, when we reached the forest of Compiegne at Noyon. We rode for mile after mile through the woods in the gentle rain, following the signs for the Clariere de L'Armistice. In a railway carriage there, the treaty ending the First World War was signed. We had the good fortune in Compiegne to meet up with the organised charity bike ride. Their leaders seemed incredulous that we had come all this way on our own, following the photocopy of a road map. They urged us to join up with them the next day, for the ride into Paris. They had four separate, well-signposted routes from London to Paris, each with 150 riders. All four groups would converge at Parc Monceau the next day for their triumphant ride into Paris. I used to live in that area of Paris, and it seemed like only yesterday when I used to wheel my baby daughter's pram around that same park!

   Saturday was great fun, chatting to the other charity bike riders, enjoying the moment, and anticipating the meeting with our families. Since we cycled through St Denis and the 17th Arrondissement where I used to live, it was a 63 mile trip down memory lane for me. It was an experience I shall never forget!

   Sunday found me sitting with my family on a wall on the Rue Rivoli at the 1km mark, opposite Bob Stapleton of Team Columbia entertaining guests from the balcony of the Hotel Meurice. He returned my wave! We watched his British rider, Mark Cavendish, sprint away for his 6th Stage win of the Tour de France. What a wonderful way to end our journey, watching the very French celebration of cycling that is the Tour de France! Then I travelled with my husband and three children to Deauville in Normandy for a week in the sun, where we rode rusty old pushbikes to Honfleur!

   I can honestly say that it was the words of encouragement, and good wishes from family, friends and complete strangers, and all the kind and generous donations from so many people, including some on the road, that kept me going! You were all very much a part of my team, and played an important role in getting me to Paris! Thank you very much to all of you for your support! Thank you to Laura Williams who shared a room, and the road with me. You were good company on our adventure, and you are a very great friend. Thank you to Action Medical Research and Discover Adventure for leading us into Paris. I can wholeheartedly recommend their organised tour for 21-25 July 2010!    

For the record, we cycled 352 miles in 4 days or 27 3/4 hours. We therefore averaged 12.5 miles/hour, 88 miles, 7 hours in the saddle, per day. In answer to the most frequently asked question since I got back..... no, I didn't get a sore derriere!

Before

I am cycling the 300 miles from London to Paris with 5 other friends, from 22nd to 25th July 2009. We start at Kingston, pedalling the 91 miles to Dover via Hampton Court Palace and Dorking on Day 1.  On Day 2, we take the ferry to Calais, and aim for Arras, passing the World War graveyards and battlefields. Day 3 takes us through the woods of Compiegne, where we will prepare for our last day in the saddle. We arrive in Paris on the Saturday, the day before the Tour de France, and wobble up the Champs Elysees. I can already picture that glass of champagne waiting for me at the Arc de Triomphe!  

With your help,I would like to raise money for a charity close to my heart. I am lucky enough to be so physically active, in spite of a rare chronic blood disorder called thrombocythaemia. I would like to help the people I sometimes meet in hospital, who have life-threatening problems with their blood,and who could not go out and ride a bicycle for themselves.

I am not doing the bike ride as part of an organised charity event. We are just setting off with a passport, a map, and a puncture repair kit! We are all  paying for the cost of the trip ourselves, so you know that all the money you donate will go straight to the charity! Thanks for visiting my fundraising page!

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Leukaemia Research gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!