London to Paris on the cheap

[Paladin - York]

I actually received London - Paris sponsorship details in December 2010 leaving June 2011. Then I joined CC and saw that quite a few CCers just seem to go out & do it anyway. I've been doing this for years in the UK but never in France. So September it is, I've got my maps let's see where I end up.

Thanks for the inspiration all.

 

[funnymummy]

You shouldn't be using sponsorship money to pay for the trip. All money raised should go to charity.

Pisses me off when friends and colleagues email me saying "I'm going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity! Need to raise £4000!". I'm not paying for someone's bloody holiday.

I've got a friend doing a sky dive for Diabetes charity, another doing an absail down some bloody tall building for Leukemia charity, a group of friends doing a Mountain challenge for RNIB, I've told all of them I won't sponser them - They've all got the hump over it!!
I'm sorry but i'm not going to pay out money when over half of it goes towrad the cost of the event itself - If you want to raise money then raise money, If you want to get an adrenalin rush, then pay for it out your own pocket - Do it not use a charity as a way of getting it for 'free'

I'm doing a 1000 mile cycle challenge, as proof that i've done the miles i've been using organised sportives as a way of recording the miles & my times - I've paid my entry fees out my own pocket & anything i've raised goes directly to the activity club for children with special needs that my son goes to.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I've got a friend doing a sky dive for Diabetes charity, another doing an absail down some bloody tall building for Leukemia charity, a group of friends doing a Mountain challenge for RNIB, I've told all of them I won't sponser them - They've all got the hump over it!!
I'm sorry but i'm not going to pay out money when over half of it goes towrad the cost of the event itself - If you want to raise money then raise money, If you want to get an adrenalin rush, then pay for it out your own pocket - Do it not use a charity as a way of getting it for 'free'

I'm doing a 1000 mile cycle challenge, as proof that i've done the miles i've been using organised sportives as a way of recording the miles & my times - I've paid my entry fees out my own pocket & anything i've raised goes directly to the activity club for children with special needs that my son goes to.

Good on you. After I did the Lon Las ride I was appauled to find out that the campsites, fuel and sundries were paid for from the charity money. I was under the impression the sites had given the pitches to us for free and the support drivers funded the 440Mile journey themselves.

 

[johnnyh]

Day 1: London to Calais (stop in the F1 motel)
Day 2: Calais to Amiens
Day 3: Amiens to Paris.


approx 100 miles per day, and not a bad ride.

 

[johnnyh]

as an aside, I wouldn't go too harsh on those who do events where they raise money but part of it is the costs are covered.

do you think the staff of any charity work for free?

it is a competitive market place and they will do whatever they can to make sure they get your £'s.
they employ top marketing execs and pay them handsomely

they would argue that by covering costs they entice more people to take part, and in doing so raise more money than if they didn't.
they are probably correct, and they take home their salary.

doesn't make it a perfect world though.

 

[apollo179]

I've got a friend doing a sky dive for Diabetes charity, another doing an absail down some bloody tall building for Leukemia charity, a group of friends doing a Mountain challenge for RNIB, I've told all of them I won't sponser them - They've all got the hump over it!!
I'm sorry but i'm not going to pay out money when over half of it goes towrad the cost of the event itself - If you want to raise money then raise money, If you want to get an adrenalin rush, then pay for it out your own pocket - Do it not use a charity as a way of getting it for 'free'

I'm doing a 1000 mile cycle challenge, as proof that i've done the miles i've been using organised sportives as a way of recording the miles & my times - I've paid my entry fees out my own pocket & anything i've raised goes directly to the activity club for children with special needs that my son goes to.

I agree.
It would never even occur to me that anyone would use sponsorship money to pay for the event. For private individuals to raise sponsorship and use any of the money raised to pay for there holiday is outrageous. The only person i get cornered into sponsoring is my sister - she can pay for her own holidays in future !

 

[funnymummy]

as an aside, I wouldn't go too harsh on those who do events where they raise money but part of it is the costs are covered.

do you think the staff of any charity work for free?

I realise that these events cost money to put on & that staff/equipment/facilities etc have to be paid for.
I'm doing the Capitol to Coast this Sunday, min sponsership is £250, but the entry fee's are paid by the riders, that is what covers the cost of the event, the sponsermonies raised will go directly to the three charities.

What I object to is people who choose to do 'Exotic' events, something that can cost a hell of a lot of money to do & therefore not somthing they would fork out of their own pocket to do at their own expense, so they get to do it using the guise of charity.

My eldest son is in the AirCadets, i'm treasurer of the local Sqd. He has been parachuting, absailing, mountaineering countless times over the last 6 years - I know exactly how much these events cost, I collcet weekly payments from the parents & then write the cheques for 20 cadets to leap out of a plane.

 

[johnnyh]

I realise that these events cost money to put on & that staff/equipment/facilities etc have to be paid for.
I'm doing the Capitol to Coast this Sunday, min sponsership is £250, but the entry fee's are paid by the riders, that is what covers the cost of the event, the sponsermonies raised will go directly to the three charities.

What I object to is people who choose to do 'Exotic' events, something that can cost a hell of a lot of money to do & therefore not somthing they would fork out of their own pocket to do at their own expense, so they get to do it using the guise of charity.

My eldest son is in the AirCadets, i'm treasurer of the local Sqd. He has been parachuting, absailing, mountaineering countless times over the last 6 years - I know exactly how much these events cost, I collcet weekly payments from the parents & then write the cheques for 20 cadets to leap out of a plane.

indeed

I am not disagreeing with you, but do realise that the charities run these kind of events in that way to entice people into events (people who might not do anything if it wasnt covered), and in doing so raise more revenues.
The fact there are so many such events running shows the idea works and shows how valuable they are to the charities who run them.

again, not disagreeing with your viewpoint, just trying to show why it happens.

 

[Lucasmik]

Yeah i would prefer to do it as a group and tbh i do like the sound of the organised events where the trip is planned out for you, at the end of the day i suppose as long as the charity you are sponsoring get a majority of the money then something is better than nothing, would be interesting to know why they want you to raise so much and how much of that exactly goes to the charities though.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

You shouldn't be using sponsorship money to pay for the trip. All money raised should go to charity.

Pisses me off when friends and colleagues email me saying "I'm going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity! Need to raise £4000!". I'm not paying for someone's bloody holiday.

I see what you mean. I am doing an organised charity bike ride to Paris, but I put in the hotel/ferry/eurostar money etc myself.

 

[Chris Loveridge]

Easy.

Get a tent and a rack. Campsites are around 8 to 15 quid a night. Foot passenger on the ferry is around £20. It's around 450km, so 100 km a day (so 5 nights max). Plus food and all the rest.

I usually spend about £20 a day when touring.

I have been looking into the London-Paris recently and do not want to have to pay £750 for a self funded organised ride or have a min of £1.5k to raise for a charity. Your camping idea sounds great. Do you have any tips about campsites to visit from your experience. I am relatively new to riding but quite driven so am looking for a challenge. I've completed two 35 miles rides and for some reason feel like i can take on the world. I may have a lot of learning and realisation to discover but i'm set on the idea all the same.

I have hybrid, not a road bike which i dont think will be too much of an issue. From your experience how did you find carting a tent round with you? apologies for the number of questions but its all new to me, so appreciate your pointers and tips.
Chris

 

[Chris Loveridge]

In addition to my last post, i do want to raise money but i dont want to line the pockets of someone else/corporates. I want to pay for my own travels and place every £ or € raised into the pocket of the recipient for his treatment. Organised rides raise money for charities but not of my choice and the cost of selecting my own charity is in the region of £750 which i just will not pay which i do not agree with. In line with many of the comments within this feed.

 

[Mark Grant]

Look in the touring section, lots of tips there.

 

[SWSteve]

^^^this

 

[arallsopp]

You can make a cheap and pleasant ride of it by going:

0900 London to Newhaven in time for the late afternoon ferry. Snooze on board, sleep in a cheap hotel in Dieppe.
0900 Leave Dieppe via Avenue Verte. Sleep in a cheap motel around Beauvais.
0900 Beauvais, pootle into Paris via choice of routes, see Chantilly, amble, bimble, sleep in expensive hotel in Paris.
1200 Paris. Take the Eurostar back to London with the the wheels whipped off and your bike in a bag.

No idea what the prices are now, but I did the above in 2007 (I think) for about £230 all in. Left London on a Thursday, arrived back in London for late lunch on Sunday.