The Investigo London to Paris Charity Cycle

​Our London to Paris cycling champions have returned to home soil. The team of 14 set off Thursday morning from our offices at One Broadgate. Georgia Sutton, Senior Consultant, was part of the team and we asked her to talk us through her experience – the highs and the lows, of the 3 day trip.

“Our journey began on a sunny Thursday morning in the heart of Broadgate circle, a fire at Vauxhall caused a slightly delayed start, however it certainly wasn’t going to stop us! We set off and headed straight for Clapham Common where we started our main descent down to the coast. Despite a minor mishap on the Boris ‘not so safe’ cycle lanes where one of the team had a run in with a poorly constructed curb, it was an enjoyable ride down. With a stop off for lunch in the sun, we found ourselves in Lewes within good time. We had a few hills to tackle, a common feature of much of the trip, but we all made it up in one piece and after a well-deserved dinner, we headed down to Newhaven through beautiful fields, whilst enjoying an inspiring sunset.

Newhaven was everything that had been promised, it was dark and cold with little to do but wait to board the ferry at 11pm. The crossing was quick and with a meagre 3-4 hours’ sleep it was quite the shock to the system to hear the alarm, along with the lady on the tannoy announcing to us we had arrived in Dieppe. We got our bikes from the van, filled up our water and set off again at 5am down the Avenue du Verte. I am not sure whether it was the blistering cold that quickly woke us up or the amazing scenery (or the smell of cow dung) but before we knew it, it was 8.30am and we had covered 26 miles.

After a breakfast stop and some warm pain au chocolates we were raring to go again, the beautiful scenery continued and after we had tackled a few more hills, we stopped off for a drink on route. We met a fellow cyclist who almost joined the Investigo cycling team on the rest of our journey to Paris! We arrived in Gourney with plenty of time to spare, so we enjoyed looking around the village, taking in some rays and recuperating after a long day cycling.

Our final day was definitely the toughest, after being told we only had 69 miles left and it all being downhill we were all in high spirits. Within five minutes of the start it transpired the downhill applied to the route if we had been travelling in the opposite direction! We conquered some very long, and very steep hills, but managed to get through it with true grit and determination. It was testament to the amazing team spirit and morale amongst us. The countryside was incredible and we travelled through various terrains, the hot conditions however did prove challenging.

The whole trip instantly became worth it when we glimpsed our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower, which was incredible. It was the culmination of our hard work, determination and a group of people that were nothing but amazing in their support for each other. We headed through Paris, ending up under the tower together with our support driver (Giles), some enthusiasts (George’s parents) and a well-deserved glass of champagne. The perfect way to round off the trip in a great way.

The elite call it the pelaton but we will continue as Investaton…until the next one. Any further sponsorship for Shooting Star Chase would be greatly appreciated. We have the bruises, scars and punctures to prove that this was no easy feat and is for a great causewww.justgiving.com/Investigoltd

In total we cycled over 220 miles over a 3 day period.”