Le Tour d’Argent (Silver Ride) 2010 – The Ride for Meryl

- Mon 26th Jul 2010

Paris to Hayling’s 25th Year Riders return in triumph!

We returned in triumph on Sunday 18th July, after a celebratory and historic 25th Paris to Hayling Charity Cycle Ride, resplendent in our newly designed commemorative road jerseys, given as a surprise to all riders. The ride was quite tough, with two of the 5 days over 90 miles, but everyone seemed to enjoy the challenge, especially at the end of each day! The Ride was not without incident, with a couple of accidents and injuries, along with a number of bike repairs needed, including broken saddles, handlebars, wheels and gears, but all recovering to continue on the road. A sad incident, however, was the theft of a bike from a hotel in Caen, which needed Pascal Pichon’s expertise with the French police once again. Initial feedback from riders is immensely encouraging, so we can feel content that this ride was possibly and fittingly the best ever!

400 miles in the saddle
In the end, it was 198 riders who set out for France from Portsmouth on Monday, 12th July, overnight for St Malo on Brittany Ferries, the majority having taken the Hayling Ferry, with the prospect of five days of cycling ahead. In our rider packs, we had a number of items of vital use, including three rider cards, showing us which hotel we were to stay at each night, two to be attached to our luggage and one for the bike; a pink sticker for the rear fork, to show that we were part of the group, for the benefit of support; a Meryl Browne and MacMillan Cancer Research helmet sticker; a personalised rider badge; an itinerary for the days of the ride, including bike storage information and our ferry tickets.

In the morning of day 1 we set off on a relatively short 52 mile ride to Rennes, with stops in Combourg and St Germain en route and all staying at hotels near the station. Day 2 was the first big challenge, with 97 miles of new route to Angers and the wind was up a bit, as well as some rain. Convenient stops in Janzé, Chateaubriant, Segré and Le Lion d’Angers, where we saw some real cycling on a circuit round the town, made it an achievable challenge for all. Day 3 had probably the best conditions of the ride, as it was 80 miles of pretty flat route, with the wind behind us most of the time and not too hot, unlike last year, so we were able to enjoy the sights of the Loire Valley, including the chateaux and vineyards, as well as lunch in pretty Saumur. Day 4 was the toughest day, with 94 miles going back up north, with some wind and rain, as we stopped in La Chatre sur Le Loir in the morning and lunched communally in Parigné l’Eveque. The afternoon stop was in St Mars Sous Ballon, where the owner of the bar welcomed us and took photographs for his expanding album of the last couple of years. We were all pleased to get into Alencon, with the prospect of the final day ahead. Saturday, the 5th day, was fancy dress day and so all the groups assembled by the station for the off, with two Robin Hood teams, a Peter Pan team, Andy Pandy and Loobie Loo and many others, more than half the riders dressing up – Pete McQuade and I felt it was time for us to do a turn on the fancy dress, so we jogged in as 118 118! The morning stop was in Argenton and we lunched in Falaise, before arriving, via a stop in Bretteville, in Caen after 71 miles, with all welcoming the riders as they came in, at a convenient bar. Then it was into our finery for dinner and dancing ay Caen Castle to local band Where’s Billy?, brought over for the event and a suitable celebration of our achievement, as well as Jane Browne’s 60th birthday. After a late night and an impossibly early start, we cycled the 12 miles to the ferry at Ouistreham, bound for our shores and another 12 miles on the bike back to Hayling, with a welcome by Hayling United FC at Hayling College – it was all over for this special year!

A Family Affair
The number of families taking part in the ride was a remarkable first this year, with the late Meryl Browne’s family being notable amongst them, her four children and her sister, over from Canada, all taking part. Parents and children teams included the Allcock (2), Alloway (3), Auburn (2), Borton (4), Clarke (2), Curtis (2), Edge (4), Gibbs (3), Harris (2), Leonard (5), Long (4), Marshall (2), Pfaff (2), Street (3), Tawse (3), Williams (2), Winfield (2) and Young (3) families.

Bike Ride takes precedence!

Our major sponsor over this past three years has been QlikTech. They are a leading business intelligence software company and went public on the NASDAQ during the ride. This might have presented Ride President and QlikTech Vice-President, Pete McQuade, with a dilemma since he was due to be in New York for the official ceremony. However, he informed his CEO (fortunately a keen cyclist himself) that the Paris to Hayling took precedence, but in Alencon Pete still managed to view the successful flotation on his laptop! QlikView, QlikTech’s brand name was a major road jersey sponsor, along with R.J. Morris Jewellers, C. J. Driscoll Chartered Accountants, Co-operative Funeral Care and Triangle Cars.
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During our Award Ceremony On the return ferry, Paul Fisher announced that he will be standing down as chairman of the Paris to Hayling Cycle Ride, at the next AGM. Paul has been chairman since 1994 and has turned a successful event into a highly successful one and on the way created a tremendous Hayling institution. Each year, Paul has invested an enormous amount of time in leading the organisation of the ride. The huge amount of money raised and the high rating that the event receives from participants is in significant part due to his tremendous work.
Like Paul, I have also decided to step away from organising the ride, though I am happy to stay on as president, or indeed co-president, if Paul were to join me. Several other committee vets are also leaving the committee, but with a recent influx of new blood, I am sure that the Paris to Hayling remains in good hands and will continue its success.
Perhaps Paul wanted to make sure he would not be forgotten (some chance!), but, for whatever reason, he felt the need to have a spectacular tumble, shortly before we left France. Cycle falls are often amusing to look at and this one outside the famous Pegasus Bridge Café was no exception! Moreover the fact that Paul, in his haste to see if Madame Gondree was in residence, and mis-judging a kerb outside the café’s entrance, broke his fall by hitting (or should I say demolishing) a postcard stand, resulting a significant disbursement of postcards on the café’s patio, only added to the hilarity. It’s fortunate that Paul was unhurt, since his cycling companions were in no fit state to assist, due to being doubled up with laughter. More fortunately, perhaps, the postcard stand was also undamaged! Paul, however, took it in very good spirit and graciously accepted the Value Added Trophy, during our Awards Ceremony. This trophy is awarded to the rider who provides most amusement during the event and this year it was a non-contest!
Peter McQuade

By forum user, Bruce_Bennett

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