Day 9 - Compiegne to Paris

Awoken to another sunny day but slightly on the chilly side to begin with.


This was virtually a straight road all the way to Paris though fantastic smooth country roads that were tree lined.

Only 56K to go!!!












Which way to go now????












By 3pm we had made it to the Champs Elysee with our arms in the air.











A small reception was held for us at the British Embassy just a few hundred yards from the Champs Elysee where cakes, teas, coffee and juice were laid on. Many thanks to Jill for laying this on.







I chanced my arm and asked Jill if she we kindly lend us a couple of tennis rackets so we could enjoy a short game of tennis on the lawn - we just couldn't resist!

Phil and I are very competitive and he thought he had me with a short drop shot over the net but I was extremely agile and managed to extend my arm like elastic and pop it straight back over to win the point! Unfortunately in doing so I forgot my mobile phone was still in my pocket and crash landed into the grass - pulled the phone out to discover I now had a cracked screen - but it was still worth it! Where we had the energy to play a game of tennis after cycling 500 miles I'll never know.



It was time to say cheerio (this is us within the embassy) and head back up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triumph for another classic photo op.







Navigated our way up the Champs Elysee through the sweltering traffic and dodging the tourists with our bikes to the Arc-de-Triumph.








Rather than cycle around the Arc-de-Triumph (didn't want to be mince meat on the last few hundred yards) we pushed our bikes across several pedestrian crossings until we hit Avenue de Kleber and cycled down to the Troccaderro where this photo was taken with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Well, there we were, iconic tower in view and the end of the ride. Approx 500 miles, sore bums, legs, and much carbs consumed in this journey of a lifetime.

It was time to sample the Parisian culture of sitting down in a bar, having a drink and watching the world go by......

This is Graeme & Phil signing off in this great sponsored cycle ride - a big huge thank you to everybody who sponsored us - because of your contributions the target of £2,000.00 was reached and Balerno High School will have a new Smart Board in due course.

A short clip of area around Notre Dame on the Sunday evening of the 5th September 2010