Final Day - Compiegne to Paris

Take action. Have real experiences. Make lasting difference to at least one person. Create change. Kill the dragon.

Mileage - 63 miles (cumulative 386. Current estimates for the 'detour' on Wednesday mean this may be as high as 395)

The final day dawned a bit cloudy but still fine (how lucky were we - no rain all week!). Having been given the option of a late start, Team Jelly Baby set off 40-45 minutes after many others and after pretending to take it easy for 3 miles, cranked it up and still got to the first water stop first. On the way we went up the final (and perhaps most enjoyable) hill. Switchbacks along the way and great views, followed by a great setting for the final water stop...

Big Dave, Doo, Allen, myself, Craig

Leaving the water stop we had another 15 miles or so until lunch. For only the second time of the challenge (the first being the previous day when I had knee pain for half an hour) I struggled. The last 8 miles or so before lunch being a real slog. And I finally felt that the crazy chase through France was catching up on me. Fortunately the great food on offer at the lunch stops weaved it's magic and I was good as new as we left the lunch stop for Paris.

Legendary food from the Extreme Catering guys. Also pictured Craig, Doo, Big Dave, Richard and Dennis

With just 30 to go we started on a ridge overlooking a smog of Paris with a hazy Eiffel Tower visible in the distance. What a sight! Countryside was gradually replaced by built up areas and we were finally in the madness of Parisien driving where frankly, anything goes. Hats off at this stage to the DA crew markers. How the hell did they manage to put orange markers up all the way through Paris?!
After spending a while clapping in other arriving riders from our bar-based vantage point we joined up with the whole group for the final 4 miles of joyous riding into the Eiffel Tower. Bells ringing, DA crew van blasting music (Amy hanging out the window) and enough critical mass to bring Paris roundabouts to standstill, we finally, after 9 months of training, over 3000 miles in the saddle, nearly 400 miles from Cambridge and 5 days after leaving Addenbrookes, reached our goal.

I wasn't expecting that after such a major event I would feel a bit of a downer, but as I write this, the fact that 9 months of training, 5 days riding and the huge goal has been satisified means I am indeed feeling a little at sea. Keeping positive though, what were the high points?

• The fantastic send offs and support I got at Addenbrookes, Harlow and Bliss HQ
• Arriving at Dover having been lost but knowing we were on the way to France
• Cruising along at 20-24mph in a group of 8 (two abreast) with such little effort
• The great friends I made who will be friends long after the soreness has disappeared (you know who you are!)
  
• Feeling stronger and stronger each day
• The support and camaraderie between riders
• The food that was put together in lay bys by a couple of blokes and a gas stove
• Riding in mad Paris
• Reaching the Eiffel Tower
• Seeing an orange arrow regularly
• The smooth French roads
• Keith's dancing on the pavement in Paris at some unearthly hour of the morning
• Meeting Rachael in Compiegne after she made the effort to come and meet us despite not being able to do the event herself
  

And the lows?

• The food at the hotels and the ferry
• 30 minutes of knee pain on day 4
• 30 minutes when the wheels fell off on Day 5
• The cold
• Now that the event is finished
• England v Algeria

And what have I learnt?

• It is possible to make a difference
• Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it
• "Let's go steady" is a lie
• I need new pedals, cycling shoes, a new chain and block, to remove my bike lock, get rid of my bell and to put my seat up 1 inch. Then I might be a decent cyclist
• Big Dave actually needs a bell
• Doo is nuts
• I want to do another one
• Jelly Babies, cups of tea and showers can cure pretty much any ill
• The meanings of the words 'lumpy' and 'undulating' are different to how 'normal people' would use them
• I have a great family who have supported me and allowed me to do this in the first place
  

So, now it's over,

Do I wish I was still on the road to Geneva? You bet!
Will I be embarking on a new challenge in the future? Absolutely
But am I glad to be home with Eleanor, Ciara, Connor and Eoin? 100% defininitely

Finally, it is poignant that I am writing this tonight. 3 years ago to the day, Eleanor had been in hospital for 10 days, I went in to visit her for what was fast becoming a routine evening visit, and a few hours later Eoin was born. As those of you who have read this blog from the start know, he nearly didn't make it and the turmoil of the next few months was to reshape our lives forever. If it wasn't for that experience, cycling from Cambridge to Paris would still be something other people do.

I'm off to find another dragon

(come back later this week for an announcement...)