In 1865 the Olivier brothers, who were young engineers working with Pierre Michaux in Paris making the first Velocipedes, decided to show the world their wonderful machines by riding home from Paris to Avignon riding 500 miles (800 kms). This was the first ever long distance bike ride, and was very much the start of all cycling, so a group of enthusiasts are planning to ride the same route that the Olivier brothers rode in 1865, all riding original Velocipedes. While they were young and fit and achieved the trip in 10 days, we will need 14 days of hard riding on machines weighing more than 35kgs. Any climb will be a challenge but velocity will need controlling on the downhills!

There are 7 participants, 3 French, one American, one Canadian, one Japanese and myself representing England, all riding original Velocipedes. We start on 8th August from the site of the original Michaux factory in the Rue Jean Goujon, heading to Fontainebleau for our first etape of 65km. 14 days later we hope to arrive in Avignon. Full details are at:

http://velocipedistes.com/

Conscious of the physical challenge I am in full training to gain strength and toughen my posterior for many hours on the saddle!

Through Challenge Adventure Charities, I am raising sponsorship for Cancer Research UK to support their efforts to find a cure for this terrible disease. I would be delighted if you could support my efforts on my Velocipede with a donation which will be passed to Cancer Research UK in full as I am paying the costs of my adventure.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.