RIDE REPORT: LONDON TO PARIS; SEPTEMBER 9 - 12, 2009 by Doug Foster

Dec 7, 2009

RIDE REPORT: LONDON TO PARIS; SEPTEMBER 9 - 12, 2009



As you can see from the title, this is a ride report, not a race report. As a gift for one of those "significant number" birthdays, my daughter Jenn and her husband Dan, who live in London, England, signed me up for a 4 day ride starting in the south end of London, and finishing at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Since many of you knew I was going, I thought you might be interested in an after the fact description of the trip. This write up is a little long, but there is lots to comment on. There's also a link near the end to a web site with pictures, including shots of each day's route profile.



Preparation for the "event" actually began in late spring, as I started to put in longer distances and more time on the bike. Rob's winter spin classes and the 2 day Toronto to Niagara Falls Ride to Conquer Cancer in mid-June gave me a good base, but the thoughts of 4 days riding added extra incentive. Planning for a ride twice as long as anything I had done before, and that far from home also meant considering a lot of other factors. Over the summer, I had a proper bike fitting including a new seat; arranged to rent a hard shell case to ship the bike; discovered that Air Canada is happy to ship your bike for each way without guaranteeing it will actually arrive; got new tires and tubes, new brake pads and new chain (hopefully heading off any mechanical issues); and another pair of bike shorts and a "Canadian" shirt. As a condition of participating, all participants were required to select a charity and raise £1250. In memory of a close friend I selected prostate cancer research and Jenn contacted people to support that cause.



The trip began on the Friday of Labour day weekend, when I flew out to London. My first thought after we landed was what the ***** was I doing there, but that soon passed. I picked up my bag and breathed a sigh of relief when the bike box came out. Jenn and a roommate picked me up, and we were back at her place within a couple of hours of landing. Dan and I put the bike back together and I took it for a short spin around their neighbourhood. I didn't go very far in case (1) I got lost, and (2) I was killed forgetting what side of the road to ride on.



I spent the next 3 days visiting and touring London. What a great city, and what a great transit system!



General Ride Organization

The ride was organized by Skyline Events (http://www.skylineevents.co.uk/ ) and was fully supported with morning and afternoon water/snack stops, lunch along the way, and hotel accommodation including dinner and breakfast. Support staff were great - friendly, knowledgeable and constantly encouraging. The 2 support vehicles set up the water/snack breaks, and cruised the route to provide support and mechanical assistance. Lunch was provided by a caterer and included a number of salads, a hot dish (usually curry), "crisps", dessert, coffee and cold drinks. The route was marked with orange triangles on hydro poles, light standards and trees. On occasion these "disappeared", so it was sometimes a challenge to know if you had missed a turn or if the markers were just a long way apart.



There were 130 riders, and those that joined as a group or with one or two friends generally rode together but by the second day most of the rest of us sorted out into similar pace groups. I rode the first day largely by myself, but by noon of day 2 hooked up with a couple of groups riding the same pace and rode with them off and on for the rest of the trip.





Day 1 London/Croydon to Dover/Calais 155 km

Today I wore my "Canada" shirt so it would be obvious where I was from. Some people asked if I was working in England, and then were amazed to know I had gone over just for the ride. We left from the Aerodrome hotel in Croydon, south London. Most riders stayed at the hotel since departure was planned for 7:00 with breakfast at 5:30. The bikes were stored overnight in one of the hotel meeting rooms, so by 6:30 the lobby was filled with riders, bags and bikes. This was the only day with a time constraint as we had to be in Dover for the ferry by about 4:30.



At check in we each received an envelope with a map booklet (not much use when you need glasses to read small print, so I packed that away), tags for your luggage indicating which hotel you were in each night (a great idea since we were usually spread among 4 hotels), and a name tag for your bike with ride contact phone numbers.



The day was a bit overcast and cool, and we rode through the Kent countryside of farmland and smaller towns. Today's route included a couple of long fairly steep hills, referred to by the ride staff as "undulations". My biggest challenge was riding on the left side of the road. At one point I was cruising down a hill, in the middle of the right lane, getting ready to swing nicely into a right turn when I realized the cars coming uphill were heading right toward me. Light bulb moment - I was in their lane! A quick swing back to the left lane, and a few extra shoulder checks before the turn. Roundabouts were another challenge and I made sure to be with a group whenever we came to one as I wasn't sure on the circular protocol for those things.



Arrival into Dover was a bit scattered, as the route markers had seemed to disappear, and different groups ended up just following the road signs into Dover and then to the ferry. The group I was with rode about 45 minutes along a 2 lane highway, which created the odd thrill as the "lorries" late for their next delivery roared by. Eventually we arrived at the docks although it then was a case of hurry up and wait. Surprisingly, no one checked passports or ID of any sort, and eventually we just rode onto the ferry, leaned our bikes against the side of the hull near the front, and filed up above to grab something to eat. Nothing like climbing steep metal stairs in bike shoes. Having the bikes at the front meant we were first off, which was good, since the next km or so was in the dark through the maze of traffic lanes and truck traffic at the docks. Riding into Calais, back to the ‘right" side of the road, we headed off following arrows in various directions to whichever of the 5 hotels we were booked into. Then off upstairs to discover who my nighttime buddy would be. Turns out we had passed each other several times, and had talked a bit along the way. Accommodation here was the most basic of the 4 nights, and I pulled the 2 single beds apart a bit in case one of us flopped our arms about in the night.



Day 2 Calais to Arras 135 km

Up at 6:30, buffet breakfast in the hotel, and then back 1.5 km to one of the other hotel's where everyone was meeting up. Weather was windy, a bit cool and overcast to start. Today's route was more challenging, starting out flat but becoming more "undulating" as we headed south. I rode most of the day with Glynis and Holly, and with no deadline, a better feeling for how the ride was going, and people to chat with, it made for a more relaxing day. I'm not sure why, but somehow riding in France felt different!



The ride into Arras was a bit challenging, since the route markings were sparse, and we were on busy streets. That night the entire group stayed in one hotel. When I walked into my room, the guy lying on the bed - obviously a faster rider than me - was not my new friend from the night before, so we both did a double take, and confirmed that we were indeed in the right room. Another new buddy! After showers and sorting of gear, everyone congregated in the bar, and then we all ate together in the banquet room and exchanged lies and other stories.



Day 3 Arras to Compiegne 130 km

Up again at 6:30. Putting 130 people, plus the regular hotel guests through a buffet line took ages so the start was delayed until 8:45. We had a quick briefing from the staff, who noted that we would be riding through the fields where the battle of the Somme was fought in WWI, and past several cemeteries including one with a lot of Canadians. The route continued south through villages and along quiet roads to the more forested region around Compiegne. The route was still rolling but less strenuous, with some great runs down into villages built in river valleys. Cross winds of 25 - 30 mph added a little extra challenge in the open areas. Today, riding with Gerry and Jeremy, I managed to bump Gerry's back wheel and go over. It wouldn't be a long ride for me without chain teeth marks on my calf! I didn't see any gravel roads at all in France, and for much of the day it appeared as though we were literally riding through the middle of farm fields.



For someone with an uncle who fought in WWI, and more than a passing interest in that era, today was both very interesting and very sobering. We stopped at 4 immaculately maintained cemeteries, one of which has over 3000 gravesites, 1000 of them Canadian. The headstones for the Canadians have a maple leaf engraved at the top, with the soldiers name, serial number, regiment, rank, and age below; others simply say "A Soldier of the Great War Known Unto God". It's virtually impossible to imagine what it was like there 90 years ago.



Coming into Compiegne, we rode along some busy roads and dispersed to 4 hotels. That night was my lucky night - no not that, I had a room to myself and had the best sleep of the trip. Only about 12 of us stayed there, so it was very relaxed and a good chance to get to know others. Pro riders from the Italian and Spanish cycling teams on their way to Brussels were also staying there, but we didn't compare notes.



Day 4 Compiegne to Paris 120 km

Last day already - time flies when you are having fun!! A mostly sunny day with light winds - a perfect way to wrap up the ride. On the way out of Compiegne a route arrow had twisted and there was mass confusion as everyone headed the wrong way for a km or so. Once that got sorted out, we headed off on a flat stretch following the River Oise and on through some smaller villages and woodland. In one village, a support vehicle had stopped to remind everyone to obey the stop signs - one rider had ended up sliding across the hood of a car after riding through a stop, and another ran into a car bending the handlebars a bit. No injuries, and the scratches to the car weren't a big deal. Our first "snack stop" was just outside the walls of a very, very large chateau. Shortly after that, riding again with Glynis and Holly, we rode into a small village over about a half km of true cobblestone road - not recommended on a road bike, but another element of the French experience. Today also included the longest climb of the route - a winding switchback of at least 1.5 km, followed later by a few other good climbs just to test day 4 on the legs.



As we got closer to Paris traffic got progressively heavier, with some route confusion and several kilometres of construction. The group was to meet up at Parc Monceau so we could all ride together to the finish, but that meant about an hour of waiting as riders were spread out, and one of the support vehicles was tied up in traffic. Finally we all got our blue London to Paris t-shirts and at about 4:00 the blue pack headed out for the Champs d'Elysee. There was heavy Saturday afternoon traffic and lots of traffic lights that spread out the group, but we had a perception of safety from riding in bunches of at least 20 or more. Riding around the Arc de Triomphe was a bit of a challenge since I'm sure there were at least 2 more lanes than the road was intended to hold, but slower traffic and "blue shirt mob rule" allowed us to merge and wind our way around.



Across the Seine, and a right turn with the Eiffel tower visible in the distance. With about 3 km to go, my bike seat started to feel loose, so at the next traffic light I hopped off to check it out. Result - I'm holding the seat in one hand and looking at the seat rails still attached to the post. Quick solution - shove the seat down the side of my pants, much to the amusement of some of my new riding friends! After 4 days and about 530 km on the bike, sitting on the rails actually felt more comfortable than sitting on the seat.

On in front of the tower, around the block, and - finally - our big finish at a park overlooking the Eiffel tower. An awesome feeling. Lots of riders had friends and family there to meet them (myself included as Jenn and Dan were there furiously taking pictures) and we all shared a glass or two of champagne. A fitting celebration even if it was in a styrofoam cup! Lots of individual and group photos, and then another 5 km to the hotel. Here we parted company with our bikes -as they were packed into the back of a truck for their trip back to London. This hotel was the nicest accommodation of the trip and that night riders, family and friends met for drinks and a celebration dinner.



Ride plus 1 Beautiful weather - sunny and low 20's.

Today was a free day for sightseeing in Paris. After a quick stop at the buffet breakfast included with the trip (for some reason my appetite had increased exponentially; 2 months later I'm still waiting for it to decrease), I met Jenn and Dan and we headed off for brunch. We then wandered along the Seine, into Notre Dame cathedral, past the Louvre, and then to the Gare du Nord train station for a 5:15 Eurostar departure back to London. 4 days on the bike, 2 hours and 21 minutes return on the Eurostar. Once back in London we picked up our bikes from the truck and said our goodbyes. Then Jenn, Dan and I were off through the train station to the tube (it's actually all connected) - with bike of course, and then the final section of the trip "home" standing in the aisle of a double decker bus with my bike leaning against me.



In Retrospect

My first thoughts when Jenn asked about signing me up were "not likely" but I'm really glad I reconsidered. My London home base was with Jenn and Dan so we had a great visit, we split some of the trip costs (the significant birthday deal), I used air miles for most of my flight, I have new bike shorts and shirt and a few new bike parts, and best of all, great memories!



This was one of those absolutely incredible, once in a lifetime events. If an opportunity like this comes up for you, or if you have the chance to make it happen, go for it! You only go around once.



Here's a link to some photos from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/foster607/LondonToParis#