Home » United Kingdom France » Cycle to the Summit: Part I - London to Reims

Our first week of cycling started as we departed London on a fantastic wave of support. Since then we have slowly but surely been growing accustomed to our new equipment and to the task before us. The team has suffered several knee problems, all of which are now under control, permitting us to travel over the pleasant undulations of Northern France. Water has already shown its significance to our journey, but two and a half days of rain hasn't dampened our enthusiasm so far. We have been very genuinely and warmly welcomed by everyone we have encountered, and would like to express our thanks to all who have helped us on our way. A particular thank you also to our principal sponsors, Thames Water.

Cycle to the Summit: Part I - London to Reims

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 18:21:29

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source: http://www.cycletothesummit.org.uk

Monday 26th November - London to Otford, Kent 38km

Leaving London

Finally, the big day had arrived... Having wondered how to fit ten months' worth of clothing and equipment into our paniers - kindly supplied by Carradice www.carradice.co.uk - we were pleasantly surprised that it all fitted, with a bit of room to spare! The bikes felt heavy as we pedalled from Lewisham (our base for the last week) towards Trafalgar Square. There were some apprehensive expressions amongst us as we made our way into the city, not helped when Toby - not known for his brilliant sense of direction - took a wrong turn at the Elephant and Castle roundabout and lost his fellow cyclists before we'd even officially begun our journey! Eventually, though, we arrived at Trafalgar Square, our official set-off point.

A great send-off

It was great to see so many friends and family turn out to see us off on our big adventure. Her Excellency Lindiwe Mabuza, the High Commissioner for South Africa, was also there to wave us off and give us a few hints about the route through Africa. At about 1.45pm we made a few laps around Nelson's Column, and we were off!

The first few miles

We had a good first afternoon's cycling with no mechanical hitches. We arrived under cover of darkness in Otford, Kent, where good beer, delicious food and open fires were gratefully received by the team at 'The Bull'. We stayed with an old school friend of Toby's, Vicki, and her friend Mark. They looked after us really well - Mark's the chef in the local pub. Thanks to both of them for such a pleasant start to our trip.

Tuesday 27th November - Otford to Calais 112km

Sore bums, wind, rain and hills

We overstretched ourselves a bit on our second day. Despite being fuelled by a great fried ...