We arrived in Dover just before the Olympic Torch was due to arrive and settled in the ferry terminal just before it started to rain. The channel was fairly choppy but it didn't matter as we spent the time in the restaurant eating, drinking and getting to know our fellow riders. We disembarked and rode into Calais in pouring rain.
Thursday 19th July: An early start and we get lost in Calais trying to find the team briefing, the weather had improved slightly and was overcast with occasional light showers. There were more hills but they were less steep and longer, we found this much easier and losing the backpack made a huge difference. The day went quickly and we were in Arras by 4:30.
Friday 20th July: The journey from Arras took us through the Somme with it's war cemeteries and memorials. My legs were beginning to hurt and I was beginning to doubt myself so I was glad when we reached the first rest stop which was in the grounds of the Memorial at Thiepval. After having something to eat and drink we spent some team reading about how the village of Thiepval was totally obliterated during the 1914-18 war and how the British suffered 58000 casualties with 19000 being killed on a single day. We spent more time visiting the memorial and were overwhelmed by the thousands of names of men listed on the walls, all missing and with no known graves. I set off from Thiepval with renewed purpose and a determination to complete what I had set out to do no matter how much it hurt. The rest of the ride that day was predominantly flat and we made good time arriving at Compiegne around 4pm.Saturday 21st July: We were up at 6:15 for a 6:45 start, then made our way across town for our final briefing. As we set off the aches and pains of the last 3 days were forgotten in anticipation of what lay ahead, we got to our lunch stop at 10:30 and had to wait for the caterers to complete their preparations. After lunch we set off on the final leg of our journey, our destination a Parisian park where we were due to meet with cyclists from other routes. We arrived on the outskirts of Paris around 1:30 and cycled along the Seine, as the Eiffel tower came into view the reality of what we had achieved began to sink in. Just before we got to the park we stopped at a Cafe and celebrated with a cold beer, cheering our fellow cyclists as they passed.
After 4 days and 320 miles we left the park and joined up with 2 other groups of cyclists to form a group of around 300 cyclists and were escorted through the streets of Paris by our support vehicles and the Gendarmerie. Our route took us around the Place de la Concorde before turning right onto the Champs Elysees and up to the Arc de Triomphe. All the pain of the last 4 days of cycling vanished as the crowds cheered and waved, then when we arrived at the Arc de Triomphe where the support vehicles blocked all 6 lanes of traffic as we continued on to the Eiffel Tower.A truly amazing experience and capped off the next day with the first ever Brit, Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour De France…and of course in years to come we’ll be telling everyone how we beat Wiggins into Paris.
This whole event has managed to raise approximately £500,000 for Action Medical Research, and we have been told this money will be used for valuable research into finding out how to prevent some of the 3500 still births that happen every year in the UK. We have been humbled by your generosity this far but it’s not too late to contribute if you have not already done so. You can go to our page on the Action Website at: http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/smart421.
