# London to Paris - What to expect



## batesy16 (28 Oct 2011)

Ok next year (1st August) i am doing the london to paris bike ride with a group of friends and i have currently started simple training, lot of riding etc as and when i can.

i am just trying to find out whether there is anything i should expect or what sort of training would be best for it.

so far i have heard different stories of what the trip is like, some say pretty flat, some saying hillier than they expected. so just wondering from anyone who has doen it what to expect.


----------



## MissTillyFlop (28 Oct 2011)

batesy16 said:


> Ok next year (1st August) i am doing the london to paris bike ride with a group of friends and i have currently started simple training, lot of riding etc as and when i can.
> 
> i am just trying to find out whether there is anything i should expect or what sort of training would be best for it.
> 
> so far i have heard different stories of what the trip is like, some say pretty flat, some saying hillier than they expected. so just wondering from anyone who has doen it what to expect.



The route I went on - London - Dover-calais-Abbeville-Beavis-Paris was VERY hilly and although I had trained for about 6 months, it was still very challenging indeed.

I am not the fittest/fastest/best cyclist by quite some margin, but I had worked really hard to get ready for it. My advice is to do as many hills as possible in your training - the harder the better and get used to windy and rainy weather.

My stats from it are here:
http://connect.garmi...hNBqp8.facebook

http://connect.garmi...S6MlJA.facebook

http://connect.garmi...rFVOJk.facebook

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/115414169

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/115414131


----------



## batesy16 (28 Oct 2011)

hi there,

thanks very much for your help, is much appreciated.

sounds like im gonna have to be doing some more hill training then. not many hills around where i am. so may have to go further afield.

Not 100% on the route we are taking yet, but it is an organised ride.


----------



## akb (28 Oct 2011)

Has this been organised by Skyline events?


----------



## colinr (28 Oct 2011)

I know nothing of France, but Dover has some really big hills.


----------



## rowan 46 (28 Oct 2011)

they drive on the other side of the road, so look out for that


----------



## Melonfish (28 Oct 2011)

Nobody?

i guess i'll go there then. What to expect? sore legs.



i'll get me coat...


----------



## DiddlyDodds (28 Oct 2011)

Im doing the same ride in September of next year , lucky i live in the Pennines as there are plenty of hills here to practice on. Are the hills on the route big steep ones or long rolling hills .


----------



## jefmcg (29 Oct 2011)

Melonfish said:


> Nobody?
> 
> i guess i'll go there then. What to expect? sore legs.
> 
> ...


I was thinking "croissants"


----------



## TheDoctor (29 Oct 2011)

I don't think there's any monstrous hills between Calais and Paris, just lots of smallish ones. I can certainly think of more exciting parts of France to cycle through though.
Best advice is - ride. A lot.
If you're heavier than you'd like to be, then lose some weight too, but really it's going to be about riding.
You need to be able to do a fair few hours in the saddle, for a few days on the trot.
Have a good trip!!


----------



## Brains (30 Oct 2011)

If you have any option re the actual route, then take a long look at the Le Havre to Paris route via the 'Route Verte' it's disused railway line most of the way


----------



## batesy16 (31 Oct 2011)

No its organised by a company called Discover Adventure.

think the route is a pre planned route, but need to find out what it is so i can have a proper look at the route taken. just had a lot of different tales of how hilly it is, so trying to find out from people who have actually done it.

im glad for the info about driving the other side of the road, that is always handy to know lol.


----------



## Jimmy Doug (8 Nov 2011)

Hi Batesy

I live in the north of France - south of Amiens and close to Beauvais. There are hills around here - but they're small. But an error a lot of people make when they look at the map in this area is to say, "Oh, the hills are small, it should be easy." I moved here 6 years ago from an area not far from the Alps and Jura mountains. I expected it to be easy cycling - I was surprised! There are lots of little hills. You know, the type that go up and down and up and down and up and down...It can make for quite a lot of hard work. But the thing that makes the area tougher than you might expect is the wind - not the hills. The place is very agricultural - lots of huge, flat fields that don't provide any shelter from the winds that whisk off the sea. I think that's the main thing to worry about. However there's some good news! The general direction of the wind is more likely to push you than to oppose you, so you may find you have a helping hand! The hills can be numerous and they can be steep, but we're not talking hors categorie climbs! Someone said up there about a road from LeHavre to Paris. That's actually a very good idea. There's some lovely countryside along that route. Note that Normandie can be hilly - it's certainly hillier than passing through the Amiens area - but it's prettier too.

Good luck!


----------



## Southport101 (13 Nov 2011)

batesy16 said:


> Ok next year (1st August) i am doing the london to paris bike ride with a group of friends and i have currently started simple training, lot of riding etc as and when i can.
> 
> i am just trying to find out whether there is anything i should expect or what sort of training would be best for it.
> 
> so far i have heard different stories of what the trip is like, some say pretty flat, some saying hillier than they expected. so just wondering from anyone who has doen it what to expect.


----------



## Southport101 (13 Nov 2011)

100 of us rode from London to Paris on August as a fund raiser for Marie Cuire Cancer Care. For most of us, including me, it was a first long distance ride. The route, hotels, stops were organised and we riders followed the arrows an accompanying car put down and a follwing van picked up We stopped every 90 minutes (15-20 miles) for 30 minutes to allow people to catch up and were fed bananas, oranges, nuts and biscuits with plenty of water. We had a leisurely lunch francaise, and an excellent meal in the evenings. we averaged 10 miles per hour and rode 100 kms per day. The total journey was 300 kms. We took the Newhaven ferry and stayed at Dieppe and near to Beuavais. There was one long hill out of Dieppe and lots of steep undulations as we passed through the vast fields of Normandy. The wind was mainly light and never a headwind. Training routines were very varied, some needed to walk at times. An ability to do a 30 mile ride, with some hills, would be more that enough for this journey. The undulations are memorable; we would attain the top of one to be faced with another bloody hill, as we called them. Riding round the Trocadero, over the bridge to the Effel Tower and along the Boulevard des Invalids on a sunny afternoon was a wonderful wend to the journey.


----------



## Jimmy Doug (14 Nov 2011)

The above is precisely the sort of thing you should expect - although there are less undulations on the East of Beauvais than the West - you can expect small hills, a tail-wind (unless you're unlucky), and lots and lots of fields. Someone suggested coming from Calais rather than following the old rail track from Normandy. Personally, I think this would be a shame. Normandy is far prettier imo, and routes following old rail tracks tend to have moderate gradients at most. Don't worry about it - I'm sure you'll find it easier than you expect and you'll have a great time!


----------

