Unexpected Learnings from our Parisian Adventures

Gratitude, Camaraderie and Life Lessons

For someone who finds it hard to live in the moment, my life can often be a constant plan of how you’re going to reach your destination whilst rarely appreciating how you get there.

So when we first signed up for our challenge to cycle from London to Paris, it was all about reaching the end.  I’d read that we would ride in a  peloton around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysees and then finish under the Eiffel Tower and it sounded amazing.  For me, that moment was what the challenge was all about.

But having completed the ride, it wasn’t about that at all. It was about so much more.

As we stood at Blackheath in the rain with 80 strangers, waiting to head off, I would never have anticipated that in just a few days time I would have learnt so much, not only about multi-day cycling but also about myself.

In our pre-start briefing, our tour leader gave us some insight as to what to expect from the trip. I’m not sure I took much of it in as I was starting to feel really nervous, but one thing really struck a chord with me. He said that when it does get tough, when you’re struggling up a hill and you feel like you want to stop, take a moment and be grateful that you can be doing what you're doing.  Think about all of the people that can't do what you're doing but would love to be able to. It was a really humbling thought and despite the burning thighs and a hill that felt like I was almost going backwards, there was more than one occasion on our trip that I remembered this and genuinely felt thankful for the pain.

Being physically fit was really important for this challenge but the mental strength you needed really surprised me. One minute you felt like you were absolutely smashing a hill yet give it half an hour and you could feel like you’re riding through treacle. Cycling was much more about mindset than I ever really appreciated, I always thought it was about how strong you were and how fast you could go, but actually it's much more about how you tackle each problem. 

Doing our challenge for Ambitious About Autism, speaking to people who have navigated the world with autism or with autistic children, we've learned that every single day can be an uphill battle for them, so for us to be able to navigate our way up a few hills on our way to Paris to support them put everything into a little bit of perspective.

When we first started training, we focussed a lot on our speed, really keen to make sure we wouldn’t get left behind and that we could get to each checkpoint as quickly as possible.  However, I realised quickly that sometimes you need to take the pressure off a little, drop a couple of gears and take speed down to make sure you make it to your destination.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying the surroundings or taking your time to give yourself a bit more longevity in your legs (and maybe even taking a break every now and then for a quick stretch) if it then means you arrive at your destination in a much better frame of mind to keep going the next day.  Something I could definitely do with remembering on a day to day basis.  Living life at full speed can be fun at times, but there is much more value in stopping to appreciate the small things on route.

I didn’t appreciate how many others would be in our group, there were around 80 of us altogether and each day smaller groups who were cycling at a similar pace would head out together. It would have been so easy for the two of us to just cycle together and push ourselves through this challenge but we quickly realised that's not what it was all about.  All of our training cycles had either been on our own or as a couple but now there was an opportunity to cycle with people who added so much value to our journey.  People that made us laugh so much it hurt and people that supported us when things were a little bit bleak, on a 100+ mile day through the very flat French countryside when the headwinds were so tough, there were people there to help us through it.  And there were times when we were able to support others either up a hill or through the last stretch of the day when they thought that their legs had given up on them. It was a real team effort and it was incredible to be able to be part of that. 

Everyone in the group was doing this challenge for their own reasons.  Some were supporting a charity for loved ones that they’d lost, some were doing it to support people who were going through tough times and others were doing it just for their own personal achievement, but not only was everyone on the journey from London to Paris they were on a very special personal journey for themselves. It was so good to meet people who all had a passion for adventure and so many with a commitment for making life better for someone else.

The whole experience of training for and completing the challenge was incredible and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is considering doing something similar. 

I had no idea  what an achievement it would be, both physically and emotionally,  not every moment was enjoyable but overcoming those hard parts and making it to the end with the biggest smile on my face is something I’m incredibly proud of and I’ll remember for a long time.  I’d like to think that some of those lessons I learnt along the way will stay with me . . . until the next challenge.