Itinerary

Our detailed itinerary and planning for the Cycle Challenge is as follows:

Pre-Ride

We're working on arrangements with a sponsor to offer the option of getting your bike into St. Paul's for you by 0830 on the Friday morning. To take advantage of this planned service your bike will need to be available for collection from Monday 21st August.

Day 1, Friday 28th August 2020

We meet at St. Paul's Cathedral at 0830 for registration and photos, with an 0900 start. Your overnight bag and any spare parts will travel in our support vehicle. Crossing the Thames, we use the Mayor's new cycle lanes to safely leave the City, heading south past Clapham Common and into the suburbs, with our first stop of the morning at the large Tesco in Sutton on the A217.
Our mid-morning break will be at Box Hill.
We head on south, crossing the M25 just north of Reigate about 1115. Then its down the hill and through Reigate, then along the A217 towards Gatwick Airport. We stop for lunch just at a delightful pub ten miles south of Gatwick Airport (bring a packed lunch with you, buy fresh from Tesco Sutton, or order at the pub), before threading our way through the Downs and into Newhaven by about 1730 for our overnight stop at The Premier Inn. Time to relax and soak before our team dinner together. (D)

Day 2, Saturday 29th August 2020

A lazy start to the day, with 0800 breakfast and an 0930 check-in for the 1000 LD Lines ferry journey to Dieppe. Choose your own lunch onboard. We leave Dieppe immediately on arrival and cycle to the start of the Avenue Verte, a former railway line now converted into a surfaced cycle track, heading through delightful Norman scenery towards our second night stop at Hotel Le Cygne in the charming market town of Gournay en Bray. We arrive in Gournay at about 1900 - time for a quick soak and freshen up before team dinner together in the hotel restaurant. (B, D)

Day 3, Sunday 30th August 2020

We leave Gournay en Bray after breakfast for the last 100 kilometres to the Eiffel Tower. Our route takes us through beautiful countryside, and we stop for lunch by the high level bridge over the Oise River at Cergy Pontoise, before heading into Paris through the Bois De Boulogne, crossing the Seine by La Defense and riding on to the Arc De Triomphe. We aim to finish at the Tour Eiffel at about 1600 where your bikes will be collected for return to the UK. Our hotel is the Holiday Inn Porte D'Auteil, a convenient and newly refurbished small hotel with a Metro station only 50 metres away, and a convenience store next door. Enjoy our celebratory team dinner at a local restaurant, before joining Ollie and new friends for a night out on the town!! (B, PL, D)

Day 4, Monday 31st August 2020

You'll be able to check out on the Monday morning and leave your overnight bag for later collection. Your day free to chill out and explore Paris before taking the 1713 Eurostar service from the Gare Du Nord back to St Pancras station in London. (B)