By mollyb:
I had heard of Macmillan but it was something that other people were involved with. I had been lucky in that I had had no dealings with cancer – until my dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer on 29 June 2011. Scans and tests revealed the cancer was extensive and without treatment he would die very quickly “within weeks” we were told. He commenced palliative chemotherapy early August but the success of the treatment was short-lived and dad deteriorated rapidly. I think we were lucky in many respects as we were able to have him home and be with him when he died. To care for him, hold his hand and tell him we love him – not many people get that chance. He passed away on 27 December 2011.
I had taken part in the Moonriders event in September 2011 to do something positive for dad. This was cycling from London to Brighton through the night, reaching Brighton by dawn. Dad was up all night waiting for my updates and he was so proud when I completed the challenge.
I was keen to do something more to raise money, and I saw the London to Paris bike ride. As a keen cyclist anyway I was interested in this challenge. I told dad I was going to do it and he just said “wow”.
I drove down to Blackheath the day before, booking into a hotel where some of the other riders were. An early morning call, big breakfast inside of us and our rain jackets on we set off through the streets of London heading for Dover. This was the longest cycling day of around 92 miles. The first few hours were plagued with rain, but by the lunch stop the sun was shining and it was a glorious day. We then cycled through Kent (there is nothing undulating about Kent!) arriving in Dover with a few hours to spare. The sun was shining and we were elated so we took the opportunity to find a sea front bar and enjoyed a well deserved cold beer.
We took the ferry over to Calais and cycled to our first hotel. Checked in and went straight to bed, it had been a long day.
After breakfast we set off from Calais and cycled to Arras. I’d never been to France before so it was really exciting for me. The little towns we cycled through were beautiful. The terrain was a pleasure and the sun was out for short periods. The rest of the time it was raining! But spirits were high and we battled on.
When we arrived in Arras it was sunny and the town was lovely with shops, bars and restaurants all around us. We enjoyed a lovely 3 course meal in the banquet suite of a hotel and raised a few glasses of wine for the half way point.
Day 3 and we left Arras and cycled to Compiègne. This was a mixed day. The morning was warm and sunny and we cycled past some beautiful war cemeteries and finally reached The Somme. This deserved a good break and a look round, it was breathtaking. We were all in awe of the place. Once we’d left though the rain came yet again, heavy at times. We cycled into a head wind and had another 50 miles to cycle which was a long, hard afternoon cycling through fields of nothing, roads as long as the eye could see. A good night’s sleep followed and we were all excited that tomorrow was the final push. Tomorrow we would arrive in Paris.
Up early to clean my bike, which had got very dirty from all the rain and muddy roads, we set off Paris-bound. It was a short day in the saddle with just under 60 miles to go. The terrain was again a pleasure; the weather was fairly kind to us until we reached the outskirts of Paris. It was cooler too. With 15 miles to go and cycling through a rain storm I saw the first sign for Paris and was ecstatic! Cycling through the busy Parisian streets was something I wouldn’t recommend though! We met at a park about 4 miles from the Eiffel Tower so we could all cycle in together with an escort. This was the best bit for me. The sun was shining and it was lovely and warm. As we set off towards the tower though the heavens opened once more and we cycled through the busy streets in the pouring rain. Took a left over the Arc de Triomphe (very scary and on cobbles!!) and down the Champs Elysee towards the Tower. Sadly the heavy rain really took the shine off the arrival but we had done it, we had made it to Paris!
I cycled for 25 hours and 9 minutes in total raising £2,000. I had knee pain from the second day which was extremely painful and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to complete the challenge. Luckily with some help from the doctors that were with us and strong painkillers I made it. But never, not once did I feel like giving up, despite the pain, I would get to Paris no matter what. I thought about the pain dad would have been in, the pain all those currently suffering are in and my pain was insignificant compared to them.
I rode with my dad’s wedding ring around my neck to keep him close to me. I thought about him constantly and cried many times. But I could feel him with me and it was so emotional knowing that I’d made it. My drive was hoping that dad would be waiting for me in Paris, but the reality is he never left me, not once over the 310 miles in the saddle.
I would do it again in a heartbeat as the feeling I got from helping those with cancer was so warming and so satisfying. It was a wonderful experience.
