We gathered outside Hampton Court station on a clear morning at the end of June 2005 and headed off for the coast to catch the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. What excitement - actually cycling to Paris!
As we all gathered on the other on the other side of the channel I noticed that there was a very long hill to climb out of the port but I was a bit younger then and it wasn't a problem.
In the days ahead we had a combination of weather, some rainy days and some sunny, very hot days. A fabulous memory from this ride was the evening we spent at a chateau. Sadly we didn't sleep in the chateau but were in modern student blocks. however our evening was spent singing along to the guitar of Jonathan and drinking while the rain belted down outside. Where did we get the booze I wonder?
I remember eating at a Chinese restaurant in the French countryside - very bizarre.
We rode into Paris along a canal on a very hot day and up to the Eiffel Tower. The roads were closed alongside the Seine and we cycled through a market and through some road tunnels to reach the tower. What a fabulous feeling! The subsequent ride to our hotel through the busy Paris streets was a bit less fab and really scary.
That evening in Paris we all dined in a very famous restaurant (Whose name I don't know) and then we all went our own ways to explore Paris on a warm balmy night.
The following day we met at breakfast to discuss our sightseeing plans for the day as we were leaving on the 17.10 Eurostar for London. Nikki and I decided to go to a Hamman where my sunburn was rather roughly attacked when I decided to indulge in a "gommage". (A rub down with a rubber glove!" )
An unusual and fabulous ending to another wonderful bike ride.
