My Paris to London Journey Jan 2000

My interest in cycle touring began in January 2000 when, instead of flying all the way to London for business, I decided to take my old bike on the plane and ride from Paris across Normandy into southern England and then up into London. The timing wasn't the greatest - it was winter, but it made for some very challenging circumstances.

This is my photo as I was leaving Charles de Gaulle airport on the first day. It was dark and cold, but I was very optimistic. My aim was to head across Normandy for the beautiful Omaha cemetery on the DDay landing beaches which was featured in the movie 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Incredibly, France had just been flattened by the biggest storm in over 100 years, so all the rivers were flooded, included the beautiful Seine, which I basically followed on and off most of the way. This photo is one of the many villages along the way, the river being a tributary to the Seine.

The days were short because of the season, and extremely cold. I really had to keep riding to stay warm. My first day was a shock because I couldn't find accommodation. It was raining. I was freezing and wet, and had to keep riding into the night in order to get to a village with a Hotel. I was bordering on hypothermia on arrival, but a warm shower made all the difference.

Having tracked across country to Rouen, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, I made it to the English Channel, and crossed Pegasus Bridge, the first bridge taken by the British paratoopers in the early hours of DDay. I rode on to Arromanches for the night, where the British had created a floating harbour to unload their millions of tons of equipment to support the DDay landings. The next day I was very excited because I would finally reach Omaha Cemetery. It was a very moving experience to finally ride into the 170 acres of beautifully maintained cemetery where over 8,000 American lives are honoured.


I moved on to the village of Bayeux, famous for the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. I visted the British War cemetery, where there were 17 Aussies buried amongst the 4,000 British graves. I only found two. This photo is of FJ Knight, shot down on DDay. The head stone was marked "Our only son". I knelt on the
wet ground, tears in my eyes, as I pushed my little Aussie flag into

the soil, the flag that I had brought all the way from Australia, and flown from the back of my bike. It was still there many months later when I made a return visit. FJ Knight was only 21 years of age.

I crossed the Channel by ferry, landing at Portsmouth where I traced the history of Lord Nelson. It was then on to Winchester for the Cathedral, then a 2 day trek in the intense cold toward Seven Oaks before the final climb into London.

At Oxted I met these three 'old' characters out on their bikes. They invited me to the pub for lunch. They failed to 'shout' but we had a great time, before I left for London. I had to be there by nightfall. The final big surprise was Biggin Hill, the southern entry to London. Several kilometres long, it was a very tough climb after 2 weeks. Biggin Hill was the famous WW2 RAAF airfield where many Spitfires would have taken off and landed during the Battle of Britain. I made it to my destination - the International College for Salvation Army Officers. In its fifty year history, I am the only delegate in the world to ever arrive by bike!!