‘We rode in Paris rush hour sitting 2.5 meters above the ground on bikes without brakes’

TWO friends from Henley who drove from Henley to Paris on a penny say they wouldn’t do it again.

Matt Richardson, 58, and Bill Pollard, 57, arrived at the Eiffel Tower last Wednesday after driving about 170 miles in five days.

They have raised over £19,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mr Richardson, a cancer survivor, said: “While I am glad we completed the ride safely, I have not recovered. My heart rate is still not normal. Any form of exertion makes it race and the feeling is similar to overtraining, which I once experienced when I rowed competitively in the mid-1990s. My instinct is that I will feel better soon.

“I don’t regret anything about the way I prepared or completed the ride. On reflection, this is probably the most eccentric idea I’ve ever come up with, but it was all the more fun for that, not least because of all the people we’ve met and supported over the last six months.

“The ride was downright scary at times, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Would I do it again? No, but I am already thinking about what the next step will be.” Mr Richardson, of Deanfield Avenue, said he experienced an episode of “dizziness” on day four which almost caused him to lose weight.

He said: “I managed to get off and spent a while on my hands and knees by the side of the road recovering.

“I had to ride very slowly for most of the day to ensure I had a reasonable chance of completing day five, the last 56 kilometers to Paris.

“The next morning I felt positive, buoyed by the prospect of the relatively easy ride through Parc de Saint-Cloud and on to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, the day turned out to be the opposite of our expectations, with the planned route disrupted by the upcoming Olympic preparations.

“There’s no feeling like you’re riding through Paris rush-hour traffic while you’re 8 feet off the ground on a fixed-gear bike with no brakes.”

Mr Richardson said: “I knew the ride would be a challenge as it included five of the longest and hilliest rides we had ever done on consecutive days on a penny. Yet it was unexpectedly difficult for me. The consultant oncologist had advised me that it would take at least two years before I would feel like I was returning to normal at all after the intensive radio and chemotherapy I underwent at the end of 2022.

“Since it has now only been 18 months since my treatment, I knew I wouldn’t be able to prepare for the ride like I did before my diagnosis. Before my illness, I enjoyed competitive rowing, extreme cycling challenges and an Ironman triathlon and always trained hard.

“Because my energy level is much lower after the treatment, in the months before the ride to Paris I did not regard the rides as training, but simply enjoyed riding and tried to maintain my health. So I focused on the fun aspects of the ride: the coffee stops, different Victorian-style outfits and talking to people I met about the ride and the sponsorship.”

Mr Pollard, of Deanfield Road, said: “The best part of the ride was probably arriving at the Half Moon Inn in Warninglid in East Sussex where we were greeted by about 50 people cheering us on.

“We later heard that they were all following us on the GPS tracker. We hadn’t even heard of Warninglid yet, but when we arrived they all knew everything about us. We were simply overwhelmed by their kindness and generosity.

“The real champagne moment came towards the end of the fourth day, when we were faced with a steep hill going up through a small town. We saw two local teenagers get off on mountain bikes and walk up with their bikes.

“Even though we still had 80 kilometers in our legs, we both knew what we had to do and drove past with a smile on our faces. Needless to say, they were a little surprised when they were passed by two old men on a dime.”

The pair are now planning a more “flamboyant and dangerous” ride.