It's the second blog from editor Jon's epic London to Paris cycle race with HotChillee. Read on to see how his first day went…
One day down on the road from London to Paris and, miraculously, I'm still in one piece. My limbs are still attached, my brain's functioning (as well as it ever does, that is) and I'm actually looking forward to clambering back on my bike and setting off on stage two towards Amiens.
Mostly that's because the HotChillee London to Paris ride is just about the most sociable – if hardly practical on a day to day basis – way of getting between the two cities. There's everyone from current pros (British star Dean Downing), former Tour de France champions (Stephen Roche) and rank amateurs (me and about 400 others) to formula one world champs (Nigel Mansell's riding for charity UK Youth), and the sense of camaraderie's pretty remarkable, even to this cynic.
Whether I'll still feel like that as I drag myself over the finish line on the Champs Elysées is a different matter. I'll let you know...
For more images, see londres-paris.com/news_article.php?articleid=10740
