The Oar Raisers 300 mile Paris to Cambs cycle challenge took place at approximately 15:30 on the 26/05/2011.
The day before the Oar Raisers held two events in order to boost the funds raised and hopefully gain some encouragement from the attendants of a school in Bucks that had a visit from R1 and Papa Delta UK (our boat) and a school in Cambridge that sang at a concert named music on the mound at CCC where R2 works. The simultaneous events have yet to confirm the amounts raised but we are hopeful that it will be a surprising amount.
Leaving Gard du Nord Paris and heading down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe with some trepidation about cycling in the worlds most crazy driving city (description courtesy of many folk the world over) we set out and kept our wits about us only experiencing five or six near death moments. Having said that we Oar Raisers are a little insane at the best of times and we like a challenge, thankfully our three friends also participating found the whole thing utterly bonkers and therefore hilarious!.... good one guys, it was a pleasure haha
The road from Paris to Calais is undulating with some long drawn out hill rises that punish your legs and will power with every revolution. The only good thing about going up these hills is knowing eventually you will need to come down again and when you come down on a road bike as light as the ones we'd taken - well that's when you reap the rewards... clocking up speeds we couldn't believe (increasing risk of death). These speedy descents didn't just help physically but it actually provided a great moral boost.
Getting out of the built up areas and leaving behind the outskirts of Paris took longer than expected due to the amount traffic lights we had to stop at, I am reliably informed by our two support drivers (Clive & Berni - many heart felt thanks) that it took them even longer to get out than us and in fact we reached our first checkpoint before they did. Continuing on through the most picturesque countryside we gained some speed on the long straight road to the next check point some sixty miles in. We refuelled, filled our camelBak's and ate some chocolate, setting out with High Vis tops and reflective gear, lights and an extra layer. The dark set in quite quickly and the temperature dropped but to our surprise so did the wind. It was an utterly surreal experience cycling at 25mph through dark French ghost towns, deserted streets and blackened rural lanes with nothing but the collective lights of the bikes and the low whirring hum of our wheels, it was completely zonal and concentrated as if we had become one unit, a kafkaesque realisation in my mind, had I woken up from a day dream to realise I was a five man sized fire fly zipping through the French fields?!... I wasn't sure but I had begun to lose focus and drift off into a world of distraction, safety was becoming an issue.
At the next check point we had a bit of rest, my core temperature had dropped dramatically and I need hot food and energy, HeaterMeals on the go at a Macdonalds car park in the dark, coffee was brewed by the support guys in the van and we somewhere around the 100 mile in mark, one third of the way through and people were starting to feel low. However no one wanted to stop, everyone kept going and the van stopped somewhere just short of Amiens awaiting the next cyclist feed and watering. Going into morning one of our participants had the misfortune of pulling a hamstring, this left him unable to continue and emotionally let down by his own sense of failure - He failed nothing and achieved something most people could not, further more he impressed the Oar Raisers a great deal and they're very grateful to him for his efforts and his commitment to the cause, chin up old son there'll be plenty of other things we can do together in the future but for now just know that we will never forget doing this with you.
The morning stayed cold for some time, we had 82 miles to go in little under 12 hours, we were pushing it and running close to the mark, cracking on and steaming through to Doullen, then Lillers and Saint Omer everyone pushed out their best efforts and dug deep into their reserves. Monsoons like down pour lasting roughly one hour had not helped matters, fatigued, emotional and hungry we now had a serious deadline that started to look out of sight. Powering through the next 34 kilometers I came to a round about, anticipating the bus taking the roundabout first I held back slightly and then put the power down to fly straight over without losing speed and efficiency.... all had gone to plan until the bus ejected some fluids from it's rear (it could have been water, brake fluid, anything but my guess is it was piss...) whatever it was it turned the road into a sudden grease pan, I went down - sliding round the way on my left buttock and fore arm, a surprising distance actually. Knowing I was going dow my first thought was SHIT, I don't want to scuff my new bike up!... my second thought was I hope the car behind me has enough time to stop. Having studied the falling techniques of pro riders and watching you tube clips I managed to execute the perfect textbook fall and recovery, I stayed with the bike and held her up with my legs... to both mine and Tom' utter disbelief my stunning new Felt bike had not a mark on her!... but my arse and arm are still paying for it.
Unperturbed and not even phased just pleased by the lack of damage to my beast I carried on and got to the next check point. we ate and now I needed extra fuel in the form of SIS powder sachets mixed into my water, I swear by the electrolyte Lemon&Lime pack - it's brilliant.
Still racing to Calais we had little time and much ground to cover... in the last hour we pulled out some amazing cycling and got to with roughly kilometers from Calais, the Van picked us up here and drove us in as we couldn't cycle on the Motorway strip into port. Check in and passport control, everyone zombified and tired as you can get we waited in the holding area and answered questions from customs officials that were curious about our John Wayne style walks. We knew we were well on our way now and the UK leg would be a breeze in comparison. It was not. In fact From Dover to kent and then on to Cambridge was the worst part of the journey, the roads are poor and dangerous, the majority of drivers here have nothing but contempt for cyclists and often turns into violent abuse, that's if they even see you. Whereas the roads in France are smoother than marble, they have dedicated cycle lanes than don't go off at crossings where you have to dismount and walk half a mile and the drivers love all cyclists - often tooting and waving, asking questions etc even the Gendamerie were inquisitive and happy to talk to us about our trip...
So Dover to Kent by night a slightly disconcerting and mildly unamusing affair altogether. Stopping at the Frog and Toad Pub n Gillingham for a well earned rest and bowls full of Chilli, we bedded down for four hours to ensure people were rested enough to carry on to Cambridge. Early star then on to Gravesend where just like the walk event in February, we boarded the Tilbury ferry service and from there cycled straight through to Brentwood and making quite good time - I think we were all much happier about cycling the UK in the light, at night the risk was just too great. Taking roughly the same route as we had with the walk we headed to Bishops Stortford and Stanstead Mountfitchet way then the final leg was within our grasp and we stopped to refuel once more at Hatfield Heath, water and energy bars, snikers, and a banana... this was it the final push and all any of us could think about was that beautiful black pint of guinness waiting for us. (that is without doubt the only thing that kept me going at that point)
Shelford, Sawston, the back of Addenbrookes in the distance... a pleasant warm and sun glazed Cambridge sky welcomed us home, Perne Road roundabouts fell away like sweet nuggets of nothingness and suddenly turning onto Mill road the sun blinding us like the gates of heaven streaming light upon us, we rode that last two minutes sedately and calm, not through lack of energy and tiredness but because it was ending... we knew the=is was it and wanted to savour those last glorious moments as the Empress came up to us with cheers of celebration and congratulating claps...
We did it!... We'd cycled 300 miles and all for Parkinson's UK the total amount raised is to be confirmed but we had achieved something ridiculous, absurd and utterly inspiring. Well done to you all and thank you everyone who helped to raise money and support this event - thank you all.
Keep reading and come see us at Strawberry Fair on the 04/06/11 where we'll be exhibiting our boat.
Event success, special thanks to R1 for pulling off an amazing fete of organisation too, good work dude.
out, R2
