SIMON JESSON

 

Why I decided to take up the challenge

It all started when I was 29, and I suppose had a pre-mid life crisis, which prompted me to start doing things I had not done before. So during that year I went skiing for the first time, went rock climbing on an indoor wall, attended a chamber music concert (radical, huh!) – the year sort of culminated in June with a parachute jump in Nottingham from 14,000 feet (2 miles)… I then moved house and lost a bit of focus, but decided to try and do one thing each year, rather than one thing each month (a bit too hectic). I was starting the year with the goal of learning to play the guitar, but when the flyer for the London to Paris Cycle Ride from The Foundation for Conductive Education (FCE) came out, it seemed like a great opportunity to meet new people, and do something I had never even thought of before.

 

What training I did

I had started from a position where, since turning 30 I had been in a gym with a personal trainer for six months, which had got me to a good level of fitness, although having stopped going that was fading fast. I had not been cycling to the office as much as I had hoped, and since moving house, the 8.5 mile journey in the cold and dark autumn mornings was less than appealing. The incentive to make sure I did not keel over during the ride allowed me to force myself onto the road, to not only cycle to work – which I managed to do at least three times a week for a couple of months – and some weekend riding to build up the miles, meant that I covered a good 400 miles in the months preceding the ride. Combined with some training for the Great Midlands run in June 2007, I felt confident that I could last the distance. However, I had not achieved many long rides, and certainly no long rides back to back. Something I should have done, but training 4-5 hours two days in a row meant that I would not have seen my family, and on the road on your own is less of an incentive. At least with the ride there were 102 riders, which meant that you could ride, talk, stop and rest etc.

 

The challenge itself
The build-up to the ride was pretty good, time was racing past, and we were able to meet beforehand at a pre-event briefing in London, which allowed a few people to meet, so there would be some recognizable faces on the first morning. Skyline (who organized the trip for FCE) had also set up a forum on their website for people to log into and chat online, which helped people to find training partners, to chat and look forward to the event, compare mileage or illnesses and to generally keep people motivated. I arranged to meet a couple of the riders from the forum on the first morning, and we traveled across London together their local knowledge of the trains and routes was a good thing, especially at 5.00 am. My three alarm clocks had managed to make sure I didn’t miss the start, although it wake up a few people in the house I was staying in! The first morning, you could see there were a few nerves, and a lot of excitement, some bleary eyes and lycra-clad legs. We set off at first light, with 90 miles ahead of us, passing out of London through the North Downs and into Kent, via the longest and steepest hill on our journey (apparently) just before lunch. We had a deadline of 5.00 pm to arrive at the ferry in Dover, before we could relax for the crossing into France. Nearly all of us made it, but 12 riders had to catch the next ferry some 90 minutes later. We had a short night time trip to the hotel before falling fast asleep at 10.00 pm.

 

It seemed like only five minutes, but at 6.45 am the support team were knocking on our doors to get us up for breakfast and to make sure we could get our bikes prepped for the Day Two ride to Abbeville. Today’s target was only (and I can say that now!) 78 miles. The riding was much quieter today, there were no deadlines, no ferries, and only 50 miles to lunch. It was good to get riding, and the earlier you arrived at the water stop the more rest you could have, then of course there was lunch. A carbohydrate loaded plate of energy food, for which the queue was always long, and nothing went to waste.

 

Day three was next, a 68 mile journey to Beauvais, with, according to the profile of the ride announced at dinner the night before, the largest hill we would face on our trip. It became a bit of a running joke, that the profiles were just made up of green lines designed to give us hope, but this hill looked huge. It was just after breakfast, and people where talking about how bad the morning ride would be. In reality the hill was steep, but it was not as bad as Day One, and by the time we had climbed out of the misty valley, it was pretty flat for the rest of the day occasionally dipping into the valleys, where on one occasion we found lunch at a nice crêperie and water mill. After many stops and photographs we carried onto Beauvais.

 

After some slightly better sleep, a couple of us had breakfast, and were allowed to set off early – about 8.00 am, without the throng of the main pack of riders. It was cold, and slightly windy, but the sun was up and we were the way to Paris. About 10 miles in we found the last great hill in our way. A monster of a hill on a main road! Now was when the bike came into its own. I forgot to mention - the nice people at the Specialized Bike Shop at the New Fort Dunlop development in Birmingham had allowed me to borrow one of their test bikes, a brand new 2008 Roubaix bike, which had taken two days to break in, and get my body used to the riding position and hard saddle. I was able to leave my Hardrock Mountain bike behind, and look forward to drifting along on a bike so light my four year old daughter could lift up. Now was when this bike was coming into its own. I had been able to fly along the Kent roads, drift along the smoother French road network, climbing hills with relative ease and coast downhill to speeds my other bike would be jealous of. The French roads are much better than ours, and on that last morning I was determined to give this bike one last good run, so I left my colleagues behind in search of my first stage win. I know it wasn’t a race, but the bike wanted to be raced, who was I to stop it? There were 25 miles to the first water stop, and after the monster hill it was a flat piece of tarmac. My wheels hummed along, legs pumping I reached speeds of 23-25mph, and it felt good. I nearly stopped in a local town where the smell of freshly made bread. But I resisted, and carried on to the first water stop. I peaked going down one hill at about 44mph, I have never felt so unstable on such a light bike when French lorries pass by, hooting as they go.

 

We stopped for lunch and then made our way into the outskirts of Paris with some 20 miles to ride to the Eiffel Tower. The group was quite split up, and we were aiming for Clichy Park, where we could allow the group to form before the final two miles…and what a two mile stretch it was.

 

From the park we rode up a large avenue, with the Arc De Triumph looming on the horizon, dodging between traffic lights, other cyclists and cars, as well as the mopeds so common on Paris streets. It was a case of head down and ride around the Arc roundabout. A place, where apparently drivers are not insured, whatever policy you have. It was slightly disconcerting, with cars and bikes coming perilously close to each other, the whole group survived and blasted down the Champs Elysee, thinking back to July’s Tour De France. I’m not sure how those professionals ride on such bumpy cobbled streets, but one length was enough, especially on a bike with 120psi tires and no suspension. The mountain bikers on the trip were now the ones smiling. Turning right across the river we saw the Eiffel Tower standing proudly by the river, some of the riders families had made the trip to see them in at the finish. And for those that weren’t met, there was a cold glass of champagne, dozens of photograph opportunities and pats on the back.

 

A short ride later and we had to say goodbye to the bikes which were off back to England, and we were able to check into the luxury of the hotel, safe in the knowledge that we had made it.

How do I feel now I’ve done it?

Slightly disappointed that it wasn’t longer. At the start of the ride, with such an un-traveled distance before us it was hard to think we would finish at all, but the riders pulled each other along, the organizers made sure we have everything we needed and the lunch crew on the road provided the best cuisine imaginable from the back of their van. We all wished it could have lasted longer, as it was only by that time you realized you had spent some good time with complete strangers, and come out friends the other side. We are all looking for the next ride! There is an enormous sense of wellbeing also, being serious for a moment, that we were all riding for people less fortunate, kids that would never feel the wind rushing past at 40mph, to be able to see the morning mists of rural France at 8.00 in the morning, or have the opportunity to take part on such an amazing event with such an amazing group of people. There were 102 riders, and it was suggested that in total we raised over £130,000 for 46 different charities.

 

Would I recommend others to do it?

Absolutely, I was not the fittest person there, and there were people from all ages, cultures and abilities also riding for their charities, and for themselves. The trip being broken into smaller stages meant that it didn’t feel like a race, that the camaraderie between the riders was strong, and no one felt marginalized because they couldn’t ride as fast as some, or climb hills easily. Training is important, and it was good to put some miles in before going, but it’s not the be all and end all. All you need is just a good healthy outlook on life and the willingness to put yourself on the line for someone else. I am looking forward to the next trip, whatever that might be.