Dave, Zoe, Tim, Paul and myself managed to ‘qualify’ for The Beeston-Paris by riding 50 miles yesterday. Zoe, Tim and Paul then showed off by running half-marathons today ….! The ’qualifying ride’ was not really for people to be selected to do the ride but for individuals to be certain, in themselves, that they can have a crack at it. If you can’t do 50 miles now then it will be very, very hard work next May (but not impossible – read on) ….. Just a reminder of the meeting on 11^th October. Where do you want to meet?? School, upstairs at a pub? I think the night will allow for meeting each other and discussing the crucial questions:

• What route do people prefer? The current plan is to ride to London on day 1 (120 miles), London to Newhaven (70 miles) day 2, Dieppe to Neufchatel (70 miles) day 3, Neufchatel to Paris (70 miles) day 4. However I heard today that one of the three support teams would offer a 5 day trip if necessary so the option is there to extend it …  

• What kind of accommodation do we want i.e. hostels or hotels? How much do want to spend! What kind of celebratory night (assuming we make it) do you want in Paris?

• How do we want to ride? The current thinking is three groups (Pace, tempo and race pace) with the pace group setting off first and the faster groups then trying to catch up ….. is this a good idea?

• Training – with who, how often? Do you want one of the more experienced cyclists to put a training plan together for you???

• Is my bike ok? Should I change anything?

• Clothing, food, not getting a cold, recovering from strenuous training/rides – how??? Would you like a presentation on this ( I am thinking of Zoe and Paul presenting this one if needed!!!)

• Sponsorship, raising money, linking with a class, websites and blogs. How? Who has experience of these things or friends in the know?

• Shirts – do we want one if they are £40 each?

I guess there will be lots more questions that are of a  crucial nature but the above may be food for thought!And to finish the rider list is now: me, Tim, Richard Anderson, Dave Jordan, Zoe Fletcher, Paul Moffatt, Adam Bird, Shaun Murphy (Is that the right spelling?),  Simon Brittle, Graham Taylor, Lee Buttery, Mark Nandlal, Mark Rogerson.

Adrian