300 Miles, 4 Days, 100 Riders — and One Big Finish

At The Foundry, we made Action Medical Research our charity of the year. To prove we were serious, myself and, good friend of The Foundry, Phil saddled up with nearly a hundred other riders from all walks of life.

Four days, 300 miles, and more than a few beers later, we were circling the Trocadéro with the Eiffel Tower sparkling above us. Here’s how it went down.

They said it was the hardest day. They weren’t lying.

Rain lashed Kent, the climbs stacked up, and I nearly came a cropper on a slick country lane. By the time we hit Dover, legs were wrecked, spirits weren’t. The group gelled quickly: snacks shared, encouragement shouted, and cold beers demolished. The ferry to Calais felt like a team bus.

France delivered: empty roads, wide skies, and villages straight from a postcard. The long drags still hurt though — so I tucked in behind Phil, who’d already earned his new nickname: “Philippe Van Wardrobe”. Imagine a Belgian lead-out man with the draft of a double-decker bus. Perfect.

The miles passed with a mix of banter and big stories: one rider on his fifth London–Paris, another whose child had been helped directly by Action Medical’s research. Purpose pedalled alongside us all day.

By now, we’d found our rhythm. Discover Adventure’s orange arrows led us through rolling countryside, their feed stops always bang on time, and their daily “drink water!” chorus became part of the soundtrack.

That evening, the courtyard of our hotel turned into a bike wash. Brushes, sponges, buckets — everyone scrubbing frames until they gleamed. Tomorrow, we weren’t just riding into Paris. We were riding on show.

The last leg. Heavy legs, light hearts. Discover Adventure vans leapfrogged roundabouts, blocking off traffic so a hundred of us could stream through like pros. Not every Parisian approved: horns blared, arms waved, but we rolled on, grinning.

And then — the moment. A lap of the Trocadéro, the Eiffel Tower glittering above. Goosebumps, relief, and pride all at once. For Phil and me, it was the perfect finish to months of training and fundraising — shared with a group of strangers who became teammates.

• 275 miles ridden
• 12,496 ft climbed
• 19h 48m in the saddle
• Avg speed ~14 mph
• Beers consumed: let’s not count 🍻
• Funds raised – check out our justgiving page here: support here

If you’d like to support life-changing work for sick children there’s still time to donate on our JustGiving page. Merci beaucoup!