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!

Very much looking forward to Octagon Clinic Open Day 'Back to Biking'on Saturday
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