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A French Odyssey by bicycle
Patrick Shacklady, Ed Longdon & Tom Griffiths
THE IDEA (l'idee)
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Whilst our friends were sunning themselves on sun-kissed foreign beaches, we three friends would cycle through France in order to raise money for the Ben Williams Trust. It wasn't that far, was it? Only about 25 to 30 centimetres on the map!
Our intrepid travelllers
PREPARATION
Intensive training commenced with a series of 10km rides, gradually working up to 20 or 25km. After a few weeks of this, we reckoned that we would be able to cope with the relatively gentle 100 to 120km per day that we required to reach the Channel at Ouistreham in our alloted time. We also brushed up on our GCSE French, memorising essential phrases, such as "Trois bieres, s'il vous plait" "Oui" and, of course, "Non"
THE ROUTE or Ou est Paris s'il vous plait?
We followed an (approximately) straight route, with variations to take in sights such as the magnificent Millau Viaduct (The Bridge in the Sky) and also managed to work in a couple of days in Paris. Unfortunately, having decided which towns we were going to stay in, we always found that our accommodation - which was booked on only a single feature, i.e. cheap - was usually miles away from the interesting town which we had just cycled through, and we were too tired to return!
THE LANGUAGE BARRIER (or parlez anglais ici?)
We were surprised to find that almost everyone in France spoke French! Nevertheless, using the tried and tested English communication method of pointing and gesticulating wildly, we managed to keep ourselves fed and watered throughout the trip.
THE OUTCOME (Mes jambes ont fatiguee)
We returned to the safety of Surrey on time, and were greeted by a magnificent turnout of friends and family. The trustees of the Ben Williams Trust were also there to greet us and present us with their t-shirts. Tired but triumphant, we had not only achieved the mileage on time, but had exceeded our intended fundraising total of £3000 by £2000.
If anyone suggests another cycling adventure.......
Many thanks to the RGSPA for sponsoring us on this worthwhile adventure
Does he qualify for that yellow jersey?
Sponsorship & Grants ›› France 2008