London to Paris

[dang65]

Eat like there’s no tomorrow the night before and the morning of the ride and take plenty of fluids and snacks.

Ah, yeah, very good advice. I did London to Brighton a few years ago and was doing fine till about half way when I suddenly had a munchie attack of almost fatal proportions. Managed to crawl into a newsagents and buy pretty much his entire stock of chocolate and Lucozade. Was a good ride though, except for Ditchling Beacon. It goes up forever and I finally gave up trying to ride it, got off and walked round the next bend, only to see the checkpoint at the top

From wiki:

Underhill Lane, a minor road directly at the foot of the Downs, crosses Beacon Road adjacent to the car park. The road then commences its steep ascent, rising from 90 metres above sea level to the summit at 248 metres in just over 1.6 kilometres (one mile), and sweeping from side to side and around a number of sharp bends across the northern slope of the hill.

But you won't be going that way to Dover I don't suppose.

[sasguru]

Ah, yeah, very good advice. I did London to Brighton a few years ago and was doing fine till about half way when I suddenly had a munchie attack of almost fatal proportions. Managed to crawl into a newsagents and buy pretty much his entire stock of chocolate and Lucozade. Was a good ride though, except for Ditchling Beacon. It goes up forever and I finally gave up trying to ride it, got off and walked round the next bend, only to see the checkpoint at the top

From wiki:



But you won't be going that way to Dover I don't suppose.

He he that's fun isn't it?
OS check the route and note any difficult parts so you'll know what to expect - then get your glucose in just before.

[Mich the Tester]

Why not a racer. Surely the lighter the better for a novice?

No. Hybrid bikes are still fairly light compared to the weight of the average rider. Racing bikes have no shock absorption and horrid little castration saddles. They’re built for those little thin men that get paid good money to ride the tour de france, not for office fatties with soft backsides. Really, comfort is the best way to go if you’re a beginner. If you don’t believe, borrow a racing bike and go out for a 20 mile ride on a varying road surface with potholes and gravel. You won’t be able to walk for a week if you’ve never done it before.

[oracleslave]

He he that's fun isn't it?
OS check the route and note any difficult parts so you'll know what to expect - then get your glucose in just before.

Day 1: London -> Dover -> Calais
Day 2: Calais -> Arras
Day 3: Arras -> Compiegne
Day 4: Compiegen -> Paris

They all look like difficult parts!

[Moscow Mule]

Why not a racer. Surely the lighter the better for a novice?

Geometry. Racers are built purely for speed, not for comfort. If you take a racer, you'll end up with more pain than you need.

What you're (we're ???) really doing is touring.

The classic touring bike is the Dawes Galaxy but they cost an f'in fortune and are built like the proverbial tuliphouse (my uncle has a 1998 vintage that is still brilliant).

But, for a one-off trip, it's over-kill really. I suggested a hybrid/sport commuter as they are lighter than a mountain bike and have the benefit of bigger wheels, and I don't really like drop handlebars any more.

I guess you could get a cheaper touring bike, but I don't really know what to suggest on that front.

[Mich the Tester]

Day 1: London -> Dover -> Calais
Day 2: Calais -> Arras
Day 3: Arras -> Compiegne
Day 4: Compiegen -> Paris

They all look like difficult parts!

Will you be on the main roads or those beautiful cobbled roads they have in northern France? There’s a bike race from Paris to Roubaix each year over the cobbles and the world’s hardest professional cycle racers call it ‘the hell of the north’.

[oracleslave]

Will you be on the main roads or those beautiful cobbled roads they have in northern France? There’s a bike race from Paris to Roubaix each year over the cobbles and the world’s hardest professional cycle racers call it ‘the hell of the north’.

Am guessing the main roads but the honest answer is I have no idea

[Bagpuss]

4 Months is plenty of training time if you can devote about 5 hours a week (either two short rides or one long one).

100 miles on the road isn't that far (figure 10 hours with stops at a sedate pace under 6 if you push it).

.

10 hours for 100 miles is so slow it's almost a walking pace.
Under 6 if you push it!?

I'd say under 6 hours would be pretty easy. As Students with some mates we used to do 50 miles into the peaks (some of the steepest hills in the UK). All that would be after a night on the sauce too!

100 miles in fairly flat terrain @ 20mph is a piece of p1ss

[sasguru]

10 hours for 100 miles is so slow it's almost a walking pace.
Under 6 if you push it!?

I'd say under 6 hours would be pretty easy. As Students with some mates we used to do 50 miles into the peaks (some of the steepest hills in the UK). All that would be after a night on the sauce too!

100 miles in fairly flat terrain @ 20mph is a piece of p1ss

That's the key phrase. I'm assuming OS is a gentleman of fairly advanced years ?

[Mich the Tester]

Am guessing the main roads but the honest answer is I have no idea

I know a Dutch chap who once rode the Paris Roubaix race and he tells tales of big cobblestones with razor sharp edges that shred tyres and send you flying. He fell, smashed his kneecap on the edge of a cobble and never raced again. Still walks funny 20 years afterwards. Really, get a hybrid with a front suspension and nice thick tyres.