The Founders
**** PRE-REGISTER HERE FOR LEG 2 – Paris to Geneva September 2023 ****
What is Ride25?
Ride25 is a mission to cycle from the UK to Australia over 25 legs spanning 25 years. The adventure began in 2012 with a group called “The Pioneers”. The Pioneers completed Leg 9 (of 25) from the UK to Sydney in June 2022. The group have now cycled 3,550 miles from the UK to Eastern Turkey. Pioneers help to define the journey and adventure to Sydney.
Leg 10 from Giresun to Tbilisi in Georgia is scheduled for June 2023.
To get a flavour of the previous legs visit the Pioneer Photos and Pioneer Videos. Or watch this short animation explaining the idea:
Here are a few quotes from existing Pioneers about their experience of Ride25:
“I can honestly say that the experience of pedalling with fellow Ride25 Pioneers for over 3,000 miles over 8 years has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. I’ve discovered new friendships, interests, fitness levels, counties, cultures, foods, wines and beers whilst also helped transform the life opportunities of those children supported by 1MoreChild. Each year’s leg is a protected date in my diary and highlight of my year. The final destination may be Sydney but it’s on the journey, and in the community, where I’ve found that life affirming magic.“ Paul Lindley, Founder Ellas’s Kitchen.
“I’ve been part of the Pioneers for quite a few years, every ride is a wonderful experience – a beautifully organised voyage into the unknown made even better by doing it with a wonderful group of people. We’ve still got a massive distance miles left to do, but still the thought of cycling into Sydney together is highly motivating. On top of this, it is great to see the good which 1moreChild is doing with the funds raised through this amazing adventure.” Erik Fairbairn, Founder Pod Point.
“Making friends, finding new business partners, keeping fit, and exploring the quiet roads of Europe and beyond by bike, all whilst raising funds that I know are making such a difference in Uganda. So many great memories, and so many more to come. I can’t recommend Ride25 enough.” Bonamy Grimes, Founder Skyscanner.
“Pioneers has been an amazing and truly memorable life adventure so far – exploring the world by bike, getting fit, and making great friends and business contacts along the way too. Beats the beach or a golf trip in my book – and in aid of a great charity. The ultimate distraction from the stresses of running a startup – I can’t recommend it enough.” Doug Monro, Founder Adzuna.
“Ride25 is something I look forward to and train for every year. It is an amazing way to see the world, enjoy quality time with friends and raise alot of money for a great cause – sign-up you won’t regret it – good for your body and soul.” Zach Douglas, Founder Orega.
“The pride I feel from participating and therefore contributing to 1morechild is priceless. The pay back is every year I continue to pedal, work on my fitness and then have a gathering of friends with whom we shed sweat, tears and bags loads of laughter making this a top life experience I would never trade.” Lara Morgan , Founder Pacific Direct & Scentered.
Who are The Founders?
The Founders are a new group that are following the steps of the Pioneers and cycling to Australia starting with Leg 1 in September 2022.
The ride is open to Founders of fast growth businesses and their leadership teams. The group is supported by the following organisations:
Itinerary
Start:
07.30 Thursday 22nd September 2022. Home Grown, 44 Great Cumberland Place, Marylebone, London, W1H 7BS.
If you wish to stay at Home Grown the night before please quote Booking Code “RIDE25”.
Finish:
18.00 Saturday 24th September 2022. The Eiffel Tower, Paris.
Days Cycling:
2.5
Distance:
214 miles
Total climbing:
9,757 ft climbing
Max capacity:
100 people
Day 1 – London to Brighton- 80 miles, 3,939 ft total ascent
Leaving the tranquility of Home Grown we head out of London to the South-West through Richmond Park. Before long the streets of London give way to the countryside of the Surrey Hills. A coffee & cake stop near Box Hill is followed by lunch at a Pub in Cranleigh. More great country cycling in the afternoon before a tea stop in Steyning and a cycle path to the sea in Shoreham. We then continue along the seafront until we reach our hotel overlooking the sea. Dinner at a local Italian restaurant.
Day 1 – Full route including elevation profile & GPX EXPORT
Day 2 – Brighton to Forges-Les-Eaux – 45 miles, 1,271 ft total ascent
We begin cycling along the seafront past Brighton Marina to Newhaven where we join the ferry to Dieppe at 10am. The four hour crossing is plenty of time to have a big lunch or even use the Ride25 masseuse! After disembarking we cycle along the famous Avenue Verte, traffic free, flat cycle path to Forges-Les-Eaux where we stay in a local hotels. The town has two casinos so those feeling lucky can “invest” some of your profits!
Day 2 (Pre-ferry) – Full route including elevation profile & GPX EXPORT
Day 2 (Post-ferry) – Full route including elevation profile & GPX EXPORT
Day 3 – Forges-Les-Eaux to Paris – 89 miles, 4,547 ft total ascent
After an early start we begin the hardest day of the leg through the rural French countryside to the heart of Paris. The majority of the day is rolling country roads interspersed with small towns and villages before approaching the Paris suburbs through the woods to the West. The finale is rolling into Paris under The Eiffel Tower. Lunch at a local restaurant in Marines. Celebration dinner in a French bistro.
Day 3 – Full route including elevation profile & GPX EXPORT
What is it like?
The challenge for the Ride25 adventure is to find interesting, quiet cycling on good tarmac with great scenery and good quality hotels. There is always an element of compromise, however the route is almost all very enjoyable with only small compromises required across the trip.
Traffic – 80%+ of the route is on quiet rural roads with a busier sections as we leave London and arrive in Paris.
Scenery – The majority of each day is open countryside.
Road Surfaces – all tarmac with very short sections of compacted gravel. We recommend that you use road or gravel bikes. We have had legs completed on hybrids and even Bromptons!
Pit-Stops / Food – We will have an organised lunch stop plus stops mid-morning and mid-afternoon. We have endeavoured to find the best places on the route to stop for coffee, cake and ice creams as well as a good lunch. The mechanics will also set-up a service stop here for any tweaks you need
Your Safety – this is not a ride where you are forced to ride with a group as we want riders to cycle with lots of different people every day. We do however we recommend that you always cycle in groups and not alone. Please also ensure that you wear a helmet.
Baggage – your overnight bags will be transported every day so no need to carry much but due to the size of the group it’s not feasible to have access to a day bag during the day which means you need to carry anything you need for the day – except extra food and water that will be supplied at every stop.
How will I navigate?
The route is not signposted and so you will need to download the route for each day from the links above and use either one of the following navigation systems:
Best Solution – GPS enabled Bike Computor
A Garmin or similar bike computor with GPS / Navigation that syncs with Strava or enables you to upload GPX files. We recommend a Garmin Edge 530. It is a mid price point, easy to sync with Strava wirelessly and has a long battery life to avoid running out of juice before the end of the day. If you like tech the Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar light is a great accessory to the Garmin Edge. It promotes an extra level of safety to the rider via its advanced warning system for any traffic behind you.
Garmin can take some getting used to so if using Garmin to prevent navigation problems please:
Follow a the route as a “Course”
Ensure that “Autocorrect” is turned off in your settings for each course
Do not “navigate to start” when prompted at the start of a ride
Acceptable Solution – An App on your phone
You can use a phone to navigate and either use the Strava or RidewithGPS Apps – either free or inexpensive. If you are using your phone to navigate we recommend using RidewithGPS because:
- All routes can be downloaded from at home and are available without roaming after you have uploaded them to your RidewithGPS account
- Detailed maps available if you get lost even with no signal
- High quality navigation setting including turn by turn prompts that enables you to navigate with ease
- Zoomable elevation data visible
If you are using your phone please ensure that you have somewhere to mount your device on the bike and that you carry a portable battery charger to get through the day.
Ride25 will provide a cloth map that will get you out of trouble if you are lost with no working devices but to navigate effectively you’ll need to use one of the above.
Do I need to train?
YES. 214 miles cycling is a significant challenge for anyone but it is achievable. We highly recommend you follow a training schedule.
Support Vehicles
You can always call the support team if you need picked up at any point. We will have a total of 4 x vehicles with first aid so you will never be that far away from help. In addition we will operate a sweeper system that means the crew will pick you up if you are too far behind the rest of the riders / are not going to make it to the finish before the sun sets.
We will have bike mechanics on the trip to keep you rolling – however they are not there to change tubes when you get a puncture. You should be able to do this on your own! Please make sure you have had your bike serviced recently, most issues are normally caused by poor bike maintenance.
The trip is in no way a race – everyone can go at their own speed. Those that stop and take in their surroundings probably get more out of it than those that get to the finish first. Breakfast will be at 07.00 each day so that you can leave early.
Everyone will be in a WhatsApp Group for the ride with all communication done through WhatsApp while on the trip.
Flights / Eurostar – UPDATED 11th July 2022
You will need to organise your own return journey to London. We normally recommend using Eurostar where you can take your bike fully assembled however as a result of COVID currently it is not possible to take normal bikes on Eurostar either assembled or in a bike box.
Eurostar still have temporary (COVID) rules in place so you are unable to take bikes back home from Paris on Eurostar.
Therefore we will pack up the bikes in our vans after the end of the ride on Saturday 24th and the crew will bring the bikes back to London so you can collect your bike from Kings Cross on Sunday 25th September at 16.45.
Please book your own Eurostar (without bike) at 15.13 on Sunday 25th September which arrives in London at 16.37.
If you don’t want to get that train please either arrange for someone to collect your bike from Kings Cross OR bring a bike box to the start and we will take it to the finish for you so that you can fly back whenever it suits you
You will need a bike box for future legs so you may was well get used to it!
What is the cost?
£1,800 per person for a twin room or £2,300 for a single room (limited availability). As in all Pioneer trips this is a not for profit – ie the cost is a sum of the direct costs of running the trip only. The direct costs of running the trip will be circa £700 with the difference, circa £1,100 (twin) to £1,400 (single) donated to 1moreChild.
This includes:
- Ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe
- 3 x nights accommodation in Brighton, Forges-Les-Eaux and Paris. All rooms will have twin beds and we will allocate you a room partner unless you specify who you would like to share with. You may select a single supplement in the booking process if you prefer not to share.
- 4 x breakfast
- 4 x Tea / Coffee & cakes stops
- 2 x lunch inc drinks
- 3 x dinner including drinks and celebration dinner in Paris
- 4 x manned support vehicles including bike mechanics, paramedic & masseuse
- Transportation of bags each day to the finish
- Transportation of bike boxes (if pre-booked) from London to Paris
- Water, fruit and emergency supplies in the vehicles
- 3 x personalised cycling – ensure you enter the correct shirt size when you register – don’t be too optimistic about your weight loss plans from now to September!
- 3 x GPS files of the routes
- 3 x “get out of trouble” cloth maps
Deposit of £900 (Twin) or £1,150 (Single) due on booking, balancing payment due in June 2022.
What’s not included?
- Travel to the start
- Accommodation in London the night before the start
- Return travel from Paris back home.
- Personal travel Insurance – make sure Cycle Touring is included in your policy particularly if you have an annual policy. Details of your policy required before travel.
- Bike
- Bike Box
Optional extras:
- Single room
- Accommodation at Home Grown the night before we start
Which hotels are we staying in?
The nature of the Ride25 adventure means that the routes and accommodation is dictated to by what the inventory of hotels looks like along our journey.
Night 1 – Brighton – 4* Hilton Brighton Metropole on the seafront.
Night 2 – Forges Les Eaux – 4* Forges Casino Hotel.
Night 3 – Paris – 4* Hotel Concorde Montparnasse.
What are we raising money for?
All participants or their companies will pay all their own costs and all money raised shall go straight to 1moreChild.
What is 1moreChild?
1moreChild was set-up by Harry & Hen Ferdinando in 2008 to help enable street children in Jinja, Uganda to go to school and prosper. Ride25 raises money for 1moreChild for the following key reasons:
- A small amount of money goes along way – as little as £15 per month can transform a child’s life. 100% of all money donated to 1moreChild goes to tackle the problem. There are no western overheads, admin costs or wastage. In addition Harry & Hen pay all their own costs. The money raised from the cycle will make an enormous difference to 1moreChild and enable them to take many more children out of the slum.
- 1moreChild provide school fees, 3 meals a day, school uniforms, school supplies, shoes, clothes, medical care, tutoring, mentoring, a football club and various other activities.
- For more information about 1moreChild:
Watch a short film made by Pioneers visiting 1moreChild in Uganda in 2017.
Visit 1moreChild.org.
What impact has the money raised by the Pioneers had?
The Pioneers cycle trip is the most significant fundraising initiative for the charity with circa 70% of their overall funding coming from this trip. We have raised over £1.17m for the charity across legs 1 to 9.
As a result of our trips 1moreChild has taken nearly 250 children off the streets and given them everything they need to go to school.
There have been so many amazing success stories but stand out examples include a former street child now studying Medicine at Kampala University and two children now representing Uganda at cycling at the world championships – inspired and funded by the Pioneers.
Sigma Sport are now very generously funding the 1moreChild cycling team.
How to book a place?
Initial Payment: £900 (Twin) or £1,150 (Single) payable to confirm place. This will be invoiced by Ride25 to your company once you have booked. The balance of £900 (Twin) or £1,150 (Single) will be invoiced in June 2022.
The Deposit will be donated to 1moreChild in the event that you cancel.
What are the opportunities for sponsorship?
We have put together a number of packages but are also open to offers from anyone for anything.
Cyclists pay for the costs of the shirts, banners etc so all the money given in sponsorship goes directly to 1moreChild. The more you sponsor the largest exposure your logo will get.
What about individual sponsorship?
Please do create your own personal sponsorship page (we recommend Wonderful as they charge less than other sites) or use the Group Page to raise money by sending it to all your contacts.
What else do I need to do / bring?
- Get your bike serviced – this will reduce mechanicals substantially and make the leg more enjoyable
- Hard wearing tyres – although the road surfaces are good it’s still with having hardy tyres
- Quality Helmet
- Sunglasses / clear lenses for glasses
- Large saddle bag with – 2 x spare inner tubes, puncture repair kit and tyre leavers
- Cycle pump or gas canisters
- 2 x large water bottles for hydration drinks and water
- We recommend you pack some homemade flapjacks or similar.
- Your favourite energy gels or bars
- Sun cream
- Top bar bag for phone, wallet and energy stuff
- Phone mount if you are using RidewithGPS as a navigation tool
- Garmin (or similar GPS navigation device)
- Don’t forget to check out our really useful Ride25 blog on the Essential Tour Kit List
What happens after Leg 1?
In 2012 we plotted the following legs / badges – with only some minor changes to the badges so far. Leg 2 is Paris to Geneva – 4 days of cycling in quiet rural France.
Sound Cycling Advice
Read one of our rider’s Tricia’s blog with advice for people doing their first long trip Part 1 and Part 2 – including a bit about why you should always ride commando!
