Marble Arch to Arc de Triomphe

Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe

Really? Are you serious? Are you crazy? Some of the comments we heard from friends and family when we filled them in on our latest challenge, a gentle weekend jaunt on our bicycles….the 3 musketeers if you like.  This was our challenge;

Cycle London to Paris – a trip many have attempted and succeeded in over a 3 to 4 days period; so we decided that we could do one better and cover the distance in just over a day; a prospect I relished although my bottom didn’t feel quite the same! No problem, surely my ample female posterior and the extra padded shorts should ease any discomfort?

Doing this challenge was the perfect opportunity for us to raise awareness and money for the clinics chosen charity of Tommys, even though we have already completed our challenge you can still donate through Justgiving,  presently we have raised over £600 not including any of the contributions put in our collection boxes in reception. I wish to give a warm thank you to everyone who sponsored us, we are extremely grateful.

We set off from Marble Arch at 1pm giving ourselves plenty of time to complete the 63 mile leg of the journey to Newhaven where we were to catch the ferry to Dieppe at 11pm.

After 40 miles we were all getting a little grumpy and hungry! Some refuelling was definitely in order! 

We left lunch to complete the last ‘leisurely’ 23 miles but the Sat Nav was seemingly from some sort of prank store and had other ideas.  By the time we realised we were enjoying the scenery in completely the wrong direction we were nearly in Brighton – this gave us the Devils Dyke  to contend with – not at all how we envisioned our gentle cycle - we did all made it to the top with no stops, just! 

We finally arrived in Newhaven, enjoyed a completely guilt free fish and chips, whilst chatting to the inebriated locals in the pub!   On the ferry we booked ourselves a cabin and had a well-deserved (and necessary) shower.  The crossing to Dieppe is 4 hours, so we tried to have a kip, however we were so adrenaline fuelled that we managed less than 2 hours before being rudely awoken by our lively French Porter! 

Day 2 was a 120 mile undulating course across Normandy and onward to Paris.  The first 40 miles along a flat, even surfaced, disused railway line so should have been a cinch, but sleep deprived felt as if we were dragging a herd of elephants! As always food was the answer, providing much needed energy and a sense of humour!

 

We eventually arrived in Paris at 7.30pm and headed straight to the nearest bar for a congratulatory pint, which went straight to our heads so made finding the hotel interesting. We were tucked up in bed by 9pm, tried to watch some of the Olympic Closing ceremony but passed out when George Michael starting singing! 

 

Members of the team: Rachel Hodson, Natalie Hodson, Kirsty Scott

Amount of extra miles of unintentional travel: 40 miles

Number of injuries acquired: 2 – Both the Hodson girls managed to graze their right knee after a pedal/cleat failure! The phrase ‘All the gear and no idea’ pops into mind!

Number of pints consumed before passing out: 1 each! 

Rachel is a chiropractor at the Octagon Chiropractic Clinic