Encompass London to Paris Bike Ride

Day 1 – London to Calais

As dawn broke I cycled in the pale morning light to meet the group at Greenwich. Filled with excitement about the task ahead, I nonetheless felt a little worried that I was knackered after merely cycling to the meeting point. At 7am we were off – more than 100 lycra-clad heroes whizzing through the streets of London before the city awoke. Jeronimo (my long suffering boyfriend) and I realized at this point that perhaps more than one weekend training on the Isle of Wight would have been useful, as we struggled to keep up with the speed team ahead of us.

We headed through the patchwork fields and quaint villages of rural Kent, towards Canterbury where we caught a glimpse of the cathedral, and then across the North Downs. There were over 100 people cycling, raising money for over 20 different charities. I was proud to see that there were only two tandems, Encompass and the Christians against Poverty. Despite our slowish start, I was confident that soon enough, we would soon be leading the group for the rest of the day.

The last to arrive at Dover – almost missing the ferry, we collapsed on the boat for the crossing and spent the next hour tortured by the lounge musicians, too exhausted to move.
Arriving at Calais we were told the hotel was at the end of the road. We were not told this was up a mountain.
Half an hour later we forced out some stretches and indulged in deep heat cream. Day 1 was over, at over 100 miles, it wasn’t an easy start.

Day 2 – Calais to Le Treport

After a hearty breakfast we headed south from Calais, passing through beautiful rural landscape to the old market town of Guines. Following quiet windy roads we reached the valleys of the Cance River, enjoying the warm dappled sunlight and a refreshing breeze.

This breeze soon turned into mini-hurricane and we fought against the wind, uphill, for the rest of the day. At 9pm we reached our destination. Last again, where everyone had finished their dinner after arriving at 6! What where we doing wrong? But not everyone had made it – several participants had got in the bus, too exhausted to carry on. Proud that we had battled on, we ate and retired, looking forward to an easier day tomorrow. Day 2 – 95 miles.

Day 3 – Abbeville to Beavais

The tandem: a wonderful bike to enjoy cycling a few miles on, a hellish bike to cycle over 300 miles on. The cogs broke, the chain got stuck, the seat visited places it really shouldn’t go. Fortunately today’s cycling was mostly flat. We passed south through typically French shady tree lined avenues into meandering valleys and traditional farming hamlets. Stopping for a refreshment or two in a quaint café seemed like a good idea until several uncomfortable bumpy miles later. After 80 miles we arrived before it got dark at our hotel. Hurrah! We had entered into a world of pain.

Day 4 – Beavais to Paris

Our final day of cycling took us over the river Theram and south towards Paris. Following small country roads we headed towards the small town of Meru and continued through beautiful countryside. Cycling is the national sport of France and locals stopped to cheer us on as we passed through their towns and villages. Unfortunately sitting in the pub is the national sport of England and it was starting to show. As we reached the suburbs of Paris the Eiffel tower and the Sacre Coeur stood out on the skyline. Reaching the suburbs of St Denis we came to the river Seine and followed its northern esplanande in the shadow of the Bois de Boulogne. With glory in our sights we crossed over the sparkling Seine on the Pont D’lena and headed towards the glorious Eiffel Tower. Crowds of family and friends were gathered on the cordoned off road and finally we knew how Lance Armstrong must have felt winning the tour de France as they cheered and sprayed champagne as we crossed the finishing line. Despite the uphill struggle, the sore bottoms and frayed tempers what I’ll remember is the tranquility of the country roads, the feeling of laying down in a comfy bed after a long day, how I felt when I first saw the Eiffel tower – and the feeling that what I achieved will really make a difference to the lives of young people throughout the world.

If you would like to take part in a fundraising event for Encompass please contact Louise at the Encompass office.