Myself and two of my arch to arc crew thought it would be a good idea to recce the cycle route from Calais to Paris, so easter weekend we caught the ferry over the channel.
In order to remember the route as clearly as possible we did it in 3 sections. Friday afternoon we set off from Calais and cycled the first 60 miles of it. I had Jason cycling with me for this section of it while Rosie drove and supported us. It was a little hiller than I had expected and was not enjoying it for the first 45 miles. The wind was against us for most of this section too. However, the scenery was prett stunning which made it all worth it. As the miles ticked off I started to enjoy it, it must say something about my mind that it has to go over a normal mileage before I start to enjoy it!
Saturday was the longest stage, 100 miles. The aim was to get to just outside Paris and stop for the night. Most of the route was fairly easy to follow and apart from one little hiccup in Beauvais we did not get lost. I was slightly amused at the 130(ish I think ) mile mark when we passed through a town called Achy - you're not bleeding kidding are you? I was also very impressed with the French drivers attitudes towards cyclists. They were cheering me on and waving rather than the typical reaction that occurs in the UK who are mainly just annoyed that there are cyclists on the roads at all. Rosie and Jason took it turns to cycle parts of this with me apart from any parts that had tricky navigation when they both were in the car. Both Rosie and Jason will be with me for a2a along with Eddie and 2 of my friends and I honestly don't think I could have got a better crew.
Sunday morning was an early start as we had hoped to miss all the crazy Parisian drivers. It was busy enough but the drivers didn't seem to be as crazy as I expected. Maybe they were chilled out as it was a sunday. Cycling through Paris was quite an experience, the outskirts are not that picture-esque but as soon as you get into the centre it is beautiful. The cobbles on a road bike after doing 180 miles are a little painful though but are worth it to get to cycle up to the Arc de Triomphe.
There was no hanging around sightseeing however as I had to get to Weymouth for a swim on the following morning. The swim went ok, my goggles started leaking the minute I got in and I had forgotten to take a spare pair stupidly. I did the 2 hrs I had intended though while Julian Crabtree did 3 hours as he is doing a channel swim race later this year, luckily it was a clear day so could make out where the boat was as a white blur through my watery goggles. I am planning another swim next weekend, Rosie and Jason will walk the shore while i do a couple of hours and the following week I will step the time up to 4 hours, weather permitting.
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