I want to know are you taking part in any charity rides this year or have you done previously?

Feel free to plug your justgiving page!

I first mentioned Nightrider style events last year and they seem to have grown in popularity. This years event is sponsoring the Lymphoma Association who work on supporting lymphatic cancer patients and increasing awareness about lymphoma, the UK’s fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer.

This years ride takes place on the 11th of June and covers 100km around London at night. The ride begins and ends at Crystal Palace where riders are treated to a well earned breakfast.

The route takes you around London’s most famous landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Eye and the Buckingham Palace. It’s a fully supported and well sign posted.

All money raised will be donated to Lymphoma Association.

Please contact the fundraising team for an information pack 01296 619419 or email fundraising@lymphomas.org.uk.

http://www.lymphomas.org.uk/help/Nightrider.asp

So what is it that Andreas thought you might be interested in reading about? Is it a London Cyclist matter? Not exactly. But it is a cycling matter, and it started in London. And ended, four days later, in Paris.

Last summer I branched out, you see. I’ve ridden a bike all my life but I would never have called myself a "cyclist". And I’d never done anything that could have been considered much of a distance. But a friend of mine was organising a new London to Paris ride for charity, Arch to Arc, in aid of the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer. And somehow he persuaded me to sign up.

Now, the vast majority of my cycling at that point was just pootling round town only a couple of miles at a time. A cycle commuter, yes, but one whose commute was about a mile and a half. And riding an 18-year-old mountain bike. How was I going to cope with such a challenge? I had no idea. But you know what? I did it. And I loved it.

This time last year my training started in earnest. Over the course of just a few months I built my rides up until near the end I was going out for 20 or 30 miles at a time, about three times a week. Still on my old faithful bike. And that was about it in the way of training.

And then, early one morning last June at Marble Arch, I met my fellow Arch to Arc riders for the first time. There were just eleven of us, from a wide range of cycling backgrounds. A few were experienced club cyclists, but I was pleased to discover that a couple had hardly ridden since childhood; I wasn’t going to be the least experienced cyclist in the group! (But I was riding the oldest and heaviest bike.) The early start was necessary as day one was our longest day: 87 miles from Marble Arch to Dover. My longest ever ride, with another three days ahead. But it was beautiful. A bit hilly towards the end (of course) but we all made it in one piece and slept well in the hotel at the docks.

Another early start the next morning, to catch the first ferry, and soon enough we were cycling on the other side of the road for 72 miles from Boulogne to Abbeville. Beautiful rolling countryside, amazing weather, and becoming friends with my fellow cyclists. All along the route we were looked after by a great support crew who regularly kept us topped up with water and put on on fantastic spreads for our lunch breaks.

Day three was a beautiful meandering route, 64 miles from Abbeville to Beauvais, taking in Poppy fields of the Somme Valley and other beautiful scenery. And a few beer stops. Day four was relatively easy, about 45 miles from Beauvais to Paris. The fact that I could consider 45 miles to be a relatively light day said something about how I’d progressed in my cycling. And arriving in Paris was such a thrill. Such an achievement. As I said above, I loved it. If you’re interested to read my more detailed reports on each day’s ride, you can see them on my own blog here.

So, why suddenly decide to write about it now, nine months after the even? Can you guess? Yes, you got it: it’s time to sign up for this year’s ride. We’re doing it again, 23rd to 26th June 2011, and there are limited spaces available. You can read all about how to sign up on the Arch to Arc website.

Don’t think you can do it? Of course you can. I did. So can you.

If you want a bit more encouragement, at least watch this beautiful video that was shot last year:

Sign up on the Arch to Arc website.

Of course when I say I “always find myself” I sound like some sort of crazed sleep walker who is always wondering around the streets of London at 5am. I can assure you that is not the case.

On Saturday 19th of June, when the weather has warmed up a little and it is not constantly pitch black, a 100km charity cycle ride is going to take place. The company behind it is ClassicTours and some of the proceeds will be donated to charity. As far as I know there is a limit of 300 cyclists and around 75 have already signed up. So if you want to take part you better be quick!

The amount you have to raise is fairly easy to achieve with a minimum of £175. As it is a 100km (62 miles) challenge you will need to do at least a little bit of training before hand not to tire out too early.

The route starts at 11pm from Crystal Palace and covers some very famous landmarks including: Tower Bridge, a deserted City of London and Buckingham Palace. It is a circular route so you finish at the starting point.

The route will be road based and the organisers will be providing route sign-posting and support.

To sign up visit the: Nightrider Challenge page

Source: Road Cycling UK

Other charity events..

• The Tour of Britain charity rides

Also of interest..

• London Underground vs Bike – who will win?
• Winter cycling gloves – keeping your hands warm
• Why I love my local bike shop

The 9th of September is the launch of the Folding Bike Challenge. The 4-day bike ride to Paris which goes against conventional wisdom of charity bike rides in that it involves using a folding bike (shown below) as opposed to the more orthodox road bike.

To enter you can either raise money for Scope or British Heart Foundation or for the rich amongst us: self fund.  The organisers are pushing this event not so much as a race but as a light-hearted way to raise funds for charity and enjoy some fine food and company along the way. I caught up with director Julian Risley of Action Challenge who is managing the Folding Bike Challenge. Julian is a very keen cyclist and has previously done charity bike rides as far as India. His conquests include tough cycling in the French Alps, Spain and Italy. He uses his Brompton folding bike on a daily commute into London.

I asked Julian about the challenges of running such an event:

The main challenge is resolving en route accommodation requirements for a large group. On this event we wanted to incorporate some of the best country side in Northern France, avoid big cities (apart from Paris)  wherever possible, and have a route that was not too hilly for the folding bikes- finding sufficient hotel rooms outside of the major towns is a challenge in itself.

and about how they were getting the word out to cyclists:

Initially our main method was giving out leaflets at the major London railway stations, as the folding bike riders are easy to spot! We’ve backed that up with a Google Ads campaign that has been successful, and now intend to run a few press advertisements as well.

Finally Julian has this advice for first timers:

Get a few long rides in (equivalent to a day of the main event) to see how comfortable you are; not so much in terms of fitness, but rather back aches and just getting used to being in the saddle. Then adjust the saddle as required to get the right riding position that suits you over long distances. Apart from the obvious height adjustment to avoid knee problems, small backward/forward adjustments in the saddle position can make a big difference in avoiding back ache.

Whether its for the French food, French women/men or just to prove to your road bike mates that folding bikes are just as capable – the website to look at is Folding Bike Challenge.