Pedal Studio Rider Mark Chamberlin takes time out to tell us about his ride from London to Paris

Hi everyone,

Day 1 : We departed from Croydon on a clear but chilly day and the forecast for the coming days was for no rain and around 22 degrees each day. We were warned that France is not flat (like most people think) and there were plenty of hills on the first day. Within 5 minutes of the start we hit the first major hill of the day and that really spread out the field, I ended up spending most of the morning riding with "Team Patel" and a few partners from a legal firm in London. Little did I realise that I would spend the rest of the 3 days cycling with them. A huge lunch was put on for us after about 75km and we then headed off on the afternoon leg to Dover to make sure we made our 6pm ferry. Two very big hills towards the end of the day took their toll on the riders but I was fine on them. I arrived in Dover at around 15:30 in the first 20% of riders and waited there for 2.5 hours for everyone else to finish. The ferry across to Calais was a shambles and cycling in the rain, dark and freezing cold to the Holiday Inn led to 2 accidents. I was roomed with a Scottish chap - weird rooming with a stranger.

Events of the day : 3 accidents, 2 people hospitalised. One guy fell and broke his finger and another woman's brakes failed and she went through a stop street, over a busy road, into a fence and straight over the fence into the bush.
MC - no punctures, no injuries, no accidents
Distance - 149km

Day 2: An early start to what would be the hardest day of the tour. The route took us through many small villages and towns, where I was convinced there was more activity in a cemetery at night than in many of these country towns and villages. The monotony of the route took its toll, along with the heat and the field was spread out over many miles. I headed off in the lead pack shortly after lunch and had a great ride in the afternoon mostly on my own. Got into the Holiday Inn in Arras at 4pm and took it easy until dinner. Roomed with the Scot again and he was starting to irritate me.

Events of the day - no accidents, plenty of punctures etc for many riders.
MC - no punctures, injuries or accidents.
Distance - 135km
Moment of the day - walking to bed at 20:45 and seeing a rider arriving at the hotel reception. He got lost when the organisers forgot about him and they had taken all the route signs down. Shame - 12 hours in the saddle.

Day 3: Another 7:45 start on what turned out to be the best day of the trip. The morning's ride was south from Arras which took us through the old battlefields from WW1 and many memorial sites for those who died during WW1. A truly moving experience. Other sights included passing the South African and British cemetery's as well as a tree now known as the "Last Tree Standing". The ride was at a casual pace and I stopped at most of these viewing points and memorial sights. No big hills on this stage, smooth roads and mostly down wind. Stayed at some dodgy hotel in Compeigne - bought the Scot his own room as I couldn’t share with him anymore.

Distance - 139km
MC - No punctures or injuries, but I did break my chain after 28km as I climbed a small hill - as my mayday call to the roving mechanic connected, I turned around and there he was at the stop street behind me !! It was quickly sorted out and I was on my way again.
Moment of the day - standing at one of the memorial sites taking a picture of a grave of a South African soldier with an inscription saying "Known to God".

Day 4 : The easiest and shortest stage of the trip with a flat 115km ride into Paris. A lot of excitement and anticipation amongst the riders. The goal on this stage was getting to the Eiffel Tower with no injury or accident or puncture. It was fitting that I ended up cycling into the heart of Paris with my buddies that I met on Day 1 and Tiesto cranking away in my right ear. Thanks Lee for all the CD's. Armin and Tiesto kept me going on Day 2.

Distance - 115km
MC - no punctures !!!
Moment of the day - cycling in convoy around the Arc De Triumph and then down the Champs Elysses with crowds lining the streets applauding us and taking photos.

On the whole it was a tremendous experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a challenge.
Finally, thank you so much to everyone for sponsoring me and supporting my charity that I chose. In the end, I raised an amount of £1835 for CLIC Sargent.