Hi all!

I always see the amazing holidays and trips people do on these forums, and I'd like to share with you our own.

On the 5th, myself and 3 friends will be cycling from Dover, England, to Genoa, Italy. It's about 800-850 miles all together, and we'll be flying home 18 days after setting off. We'll be riding completely unsupported, meaning all of our equipment will be carried in panniers on our bikes.

The route will take us down through western France, through Lausanne in Switzerland, before beginning the gruelling ascent into the French Alps, and finally descending through Northern Italy, onto the coast at Finale Ligure.

We're doing the ride in support of two honourable charities, the Help for Heroes foundation, which raises money to support wounded and recovering British soldiers, and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, who strive to support the research and treatment of CF patients.

We've got a website in place, which we'll be updating along the way with pictures and information, allowing anyone who's interested to follow us along our route.

If you'd like to take a look or make a donation, please click the link below!

The Italian Job!

If you prefer not to, or can't afford to donate, you can still help our cause by supporting our social media pages. Just hit Follow or Like, and share the pages with your friends.

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JustGiving

There's nothing in it for me at all, other than knowing I've done my best to support two very deserving charities before I leave in two days!

I'd love to hear from anyone who's done any similar long distance trips, to see how you got on and how you found them!

Thanks!
Ragtop

Hoping you'll have some decent weather, in the french areas you'll ride through, they are still waiting for the Spring to show out a bit !

We are here in England too! The forecast looks a little warmer in France at the moment which is something at least.

Where in France are you, and how has the weather/temperature been there?

We'd really have liked to have done the ride in May, but unfortunately it didn't work out!

I am from Southern France, Aix en Provence, but you do not come here I suppose ...here the weather is of course warmer than in northern areas but still colder than usual and still wet. Have a nice trip !

That's pretty awesome, Ragtop. I hope you have a safe ride and decent weather on your route!

Ditto !!!

You folks be careful on those descents.

Are you guys carrying spare brake pads with you? You may need to replace them before you finish...

We've got a lot of spare, but not pads. We all replaced them very recently and we figured it's the sort of thing you can keep an eye on.

If they start to look ropey then we can pop into the nearest bike shop.

Last day today, getting nervous!

Small donation made.

The wind might be cold, but at least it's blowing in (sort of) the right direction. Make yourselves as un-aero as possible and it'll be a breeze. Good luck!

Thanks Brun!

It was snowing hard today which wasn't inspiring! But the forecast is looking ok (ish), and we have plenty of warm clothes.

We're getting the bikes all loaded up at the moment, just waiting on a pizza to arrive, our last meal!

We'll be leaving at about 5am tomorrow, so plenty of sleep is needed!