Dan and Mikes Duchenne Dash – London to Paris in 24 Hours
After beginning our training on icey cyclepaths and slowly feeling the winds get milder then warmer, it was finally here – we were on our way to Paris! Mike stepped on the train in Edinburgh bound for London, carrying Sushi and 2 x footlong Subways – setting the theme for the next few days (and following on from the previous fortnight) of making sure the legs were loaded with energy for what lay ahead…
It was great seeing Mike, after he moved to Edinburgh early in 2017 but after that initial buzz we both admitted to some nerves – about how our training had been going, were our bikes tuned and running silent, how our niggles and old injuries might cope, whether we’d be able to sit in the group at 17mph, what would 2843m of climbing feel like – had we done enough training to cover 194miles between London and Paris in 24hrs?!!!
Arriving in London, we met Billy before crossing London for a catchup and more carb’s – a trip to Pizza Papagone for 3 courses of bread, meats, pizza, pasta, tiramisu and no shortage of wine.
On Friday morning we had to cross London to reach Twickenham Stoop, home of Harlequins F.C. carrying clothes, sleeping bags and food for the weekend. Every mile at this stage felt like double, that we’d pay for them later in the day!
Arriving at Twickenham Stoop the nerves began to settle as we completed registration, got our bikes checked by the technicians from Pearsons, ate some more more food and began putting faces to names. It was great to meet Emily Crossley and Emily Waring and to hear the pre-ride presentations – these were quite moving and it struck me immediately how much the charity means to everyone, but even more so the hope and belief that this is all going towards a positive outcome – to End Duchenne in Ten!
Riders were split into teams by target speed, of Blue (14mph), Yellow (15mph), Green (16mph) and Red (17mph); we joined the Red group so were last to leave at around 1430hrs. Leaving London was very stop-start with the groups being split by the traffic, but the Captains (4 in each team) did an excellent job of regrouping the bunches. Then once we crossed the M25 it was open green rolling hills, as far as our legs would take us!
The first real climbs demonstrated the camaraderie of the Dash – no-one was left behind so whether it required encouraging words or a helpful shove, we all made it up every hill, then regrouped on the downhill. We passed through some awesome countryside on the Northern Downs before our first stop at Chelwood Gate, which gave us a chance to refuel, catch-up with the other teams and enjoy the excellent organisation – sandwiches, energy bars, coffee and lots of rehydratory fluids all thrown over our necks in 15minutes, bidons topped-up before we got back on the bikes for the Southern Downs and on to Newhaven.
First stop in Newhaven was the Premier Inn, where we had a quick shower before giant plates of pasta, salad, quiche and chips and compared notes from the previous 67miles.
Around 9pm we headed down to the Newhaven ferry, although it took a bit of time to get us all onboard – it was after midnight before we were all bedded down. A big bonus was they let people sleep in the dark restaurant on upper deck, though Mike and I were even luckier to receive bunks in a cabin – so when my head landed on that pillow I didn’t hear a thing until the ships alarm clock (a clarinet solo) went off, 4hours later.
Nowhere near long enough…
Cycling on French roads was on a different level – while we had motorcycle support from London to Newhaven, here they were closing roads and roundabouts to cars meaning we were alone on the roads. And we received solid support from locals, the cars we were delaying, even a herd of cows ran the length of their field with us – nothing like grumpy England! Temperatures were warm, not too hot, the breaks were excellent and stunning scenery meant the morning literally flew by – we worked as a pack, taking time on the front (though the ex-Oxford rower did far more than his quota – it was like drafting a bus!) and arrived in Vaux sur Seine with none of the fatigue I expected after 164km (103miles) on the bike. Here we had baguettes, cake, coffee then a bit of a wait while the groups came together, recharged and prepared for the final 40km (25miles) – to Paris.
The final miles to Paris felt important, like we had to remember every minute and there was a real buzz through the peleton. 160 bikes passing through a rolling roadblock, cheered-on by locals who toasted us from roadside, cafes and even the cars we were holding-up honking us onwards.
Entering central Paris, we followed a route that took in the Pont du Suresnes bridge, l’Arc de Triomphe roundabout, some cobbled descents and finally the Eiffel Tower where beers were savoured. We then made our way to the hotel for showers and the gala dinner, where we got a better chance to meet the people we’d been riding with, to hear their stories, speak about the miles, the climbs and the crashes (!) before making our way home on the Eurostar on Sunday morning.
We’re proud to have completed the Duchenne Dash in support of Jacobis Wish, and can’t wait to do so again in 2019. I may even join the DashMax and just keep pedalling, all the way to Monaco!
http://dash.duchenneuk.org/the-duchenne-dash
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