We are pleased to be able to report that we have completed the challenge.
We commenced cycling from The Globe Theatre in London at 6am on Friday 3rd April and finished on the 7th April at The Moulin Rouge at 10am, French time. The first day proved to be the most challenging with a strong headwind, rain and a low temperature all conspiring to make our target of 70 miles that day even more of a challenge. We followed the Avenue-Verte for most of the journey, which provided us with not only a scenic route but one that was largely traffic free – the downsides being a longer distance than a direct road route and challenging surfaces to contend with through fields; woods and gravel surfaces as opposed to tarmac. The route took us from London to Crawley – East Grinstead – Polegate – Newhaven (Ferry to Dieppe) – onto Forge-les-Eaux – Pontoise – Paris.
All of this could not have occurred without help from Beverly Rodway-Smith who drove our back up vehicle providing essential support throughout the journey; Liz Rutherford who provided procurement support in the planning stages and Northgate Vehicle Hire and the NFU Mutual for providing our vehicle and insurances respectively – so a big thanks to them for all of their support and a big final thanks to our sponsors.
