DEADLINE FOR BIDS – MIDNIGHT ON TUESDAY 31ST JULY

IF YOU’D LIKE THE COPY OF THE CICERONE GUIDE MENTIONED BELOW, IT WILL GO TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! YOUR BID MUST ARRIVE BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON TUESDAY 31ST JULY . I’LL DONATE THE MONEY TO THE TEENAGE CANCER TRUST AND THROW IN TWO MORE BRAND NEW CICERONE GUIDES FOR GOOD MEASURE: CYCLING THE LOIRE CYCLE ROUTE AND CYCLING THE RIVER RHONE CYCLE ROUTE.

*** CURRENT HIGHEST BID: £45 ***

UPDATE: CICERONE – THE PUBLISHERS – HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH. THEY ARE GOING TO ADD TWO MORE GUIDES TO THE LIST – CYCLING THE CANAL DU MIDI AND CYCLE TOURING IN FRANCE. THAT MAKES THE PRIZE WORTH OVER £60. KEEP BIDDING!!

Yesterday, I received an email from the Teenage Cancer Trust about two cyclists – Joe and Jason – who are, as I type, part of a group of cyclists who are cycling from London to Paris to raise funds for the charity. You can track their progress here (unless you are reading this after they arrive in Paris…).

“Joe is 24 from Beeston and was diagnosed with testicular cancer last year. He got the all clear in Feb 2018. He is cycling to raise awareness for the amazing work the charity does. Jason’s son, Nathan, was diagnosed with stage 1 Hodgkins lymphoma last year and is riding to give something back to Teenage Cancer Trust who supported his son throughout his treatment.”

You can read more about Joe and Jason’s story at the foot of this post and find out more about the Teenage Cancer Trust here.

The email got me thinking more generally about the popular cycle from London to Paris. There are various ways which it can be attempted (although I’ve never done it myself). The Cicerone guide focuses upon two of them:

…the ‘classic route’ and the ‘Avenue Verte’. From their online tracker (they are approaching Dover by the way…), it looks as though Joe and Jason are being old school and taking the traditional route:

The Avenue Verte has featured on CyclingEurope.org before and you can watch a video from 2012 here. Visiting the official Avenue Verte website however, things appear to be a little more complicated than the Cicerone guide implies. Here’s the official version of the route map:

The interactive version is here

As far as that arrival in Paris goes, you make a choice and take your chances… I do remember one contributor at the Cycle Touring festival in May commenting upon just how tricky is was to get into Paris by following the disused railway line. I can’t remember the exact reasons why it was so complicated; perhaps someone can comment below.

My own experiences of cycling into Paris were more successful; back in 2015 en route from Spain to Norway (although I did, at one point, almost knock over a Japanese tourist which doesn’t bode well for 2020…). Here is my journey, somewhat speeded up:

Good luck to Joe and Jason!

Joe, 24, Beeston

• Joe initially went to the doctors after finding swelling around his testicles,  GPs initially thought it was a buildup of water
• After further tests Joe was diagnosed with Testicular cancer in November 2017
• He was treated at the Queens Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital to remove the tumour and one of his testicles
• He was then suddenly rushed into hospital on Christmas Day was suspected sepsis
• Joe got the all clear in Feb 2018, and aims to raise as much awareness of testicular cancer, which is one of the reasons he is cycling from London to Paris in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust

Jason, Nottingham

• In April 2017 Jason’s son Nathan, 19, came home with a lump on his neck
• He was studying music at Goldsmiths University and had deferred a year so he could go on tour as a session musician
• Within around two weeks he’d had a biopsy, and then his diagnosis from Nottingham City Hospital: stage 1 Hodgkins lymphoma. 
• He was transferred to the Teenage Cancer Trust Hogarth Unit for 2 rounds of chemo followed by radiotherapy
• Nathan is in remission now and his Dad Jason wants to do something for Teenage Cancer Trust as they supported his son throughout his cancer experience

It’s worth it when you get there 🙂