UPDATE: PARIS 2023 NOW FULLY BOOKED
We are delighted to say that the ride to Paris to see the Tour de France finish is now fully booked with 13 riders plus Jason, our driver, making up the party.
We are also pleased to announce that we have slightly modified the itinerary by taking an earlier ferry at 5pm on the Thursday, and booking a hotel in Dieppe for when we arrive. This will mean less waiting at Newhaven and, effectively, we can start out later on Friday morning, which is the shortest day’s ride.
The longst day’s ride will be Saturday, from Gourney en Bray to Paris, with Sunday free to see Paris before the evening finish of the Tour de France. Thos returning by Eurostar are mainly booked on the 4.13 train back, allowing for Monday morning and a lunch in Paris before returning.
All riders are reminded that we will need your passport details before the ride for the ferry and Eurostar. Two further payments are due in March and May.
Riders will need to deliver teir luggage to Greenford by Wednesday evening and will be able to collect their bikes from Greenford once they have been brought back, we estimate Tuesday evening but Monday may be a possibility too.
Itinerary:
DAY ONE 131km ( 8.00am Thursday 20th July); Ride from RUISLIP to NEWHAVEN, catch 5pm ferry to Dieppe and stay in Ibis Dieppe. ROUTE HERE
DAY TWO 80km (TBAam Friday 21st July): RIde from DIEPPE to GOURNEY EN BRAY Stay in and around Gourney en Bray (2 hotels) ROUTE HERE
DAY THREE 160km (9am Saturday 22nd July) GOURNEY EN BRAY TO PARIS two nights in hotel near Montmartre (See Day TwoRoute)
DAY FOUR (Sunday 23rd July): Free day. See Paris and the Tour de France plus the Tour de France Femmes.
DAY FIVE (Monday 24th July): Catch Eurostar home, bikes will be in the van for collection during the week. We are proposing that individuals book their own Eurostar as some may wish to leave early whilst others may want to enjoy a day in Paris. Therefore this will not be included in the price, but we anticiapate it may cost arounf £75. LATEST Eurostar now booked at £65 each.
The final cost will depend on exchange rates and fuel costs, Fixed costs such as van hire will be shared across the riders. We have hotel spaces reserved but are yet to be in a position where we can confirm the petrol costs and any other incidentals, combined with exchange rate fluctuations. The van will bring the bikes back, and take riders’ luggage outbound. As noted above, riders will need to drop off and collect before and after accordingly.
We have costed this out and we are of the opinion that it should cost around £500 each plus food. Of this, we will collect £425 from participants for costs excluding Eurostar fare cost (now booked). We have collected £125 per rider in January, and will ask for £150 in March and £150 in May.
Participants will need to pay in advance as the pricing is unlikely to work if people drop out and can’t be replaced. If there is any underspend once we know the final price, then the excess will be refunded. We don’t anticipate the costs exceeding the budget, but a small supplement could be appropriate if, say, fuel prices were to increase significantly. You will need to pay for your own food and drink over the trip which we haven’t ‘priced in’. Hotel reservations do do include hotel breakfast but you can order hotel breakfasts.
We have organised a Whatsapp group for this event so participants can raiseany questions through that channel.
