Hitachi Solutions team cycle from London to Paris supporting Young Lives vs Cancer
A team of 4 Hitachi Solutions employees have completed their latest challenge, cycling from London to Paris, in aid of Young Lives vs Cancer. The keen cyclists completed 300 miles across 5 days, raising money to support the charity to continue to be there for young people with cancer. Helping them and their families to find the strength to face cancer and everything it throws at them.
I’m taking part because it is a wonderful opportunity to genuinely try and make a difference
Jeremy Ward
Their feelings before completing the bike ride
Before the ride, we spoke to each member of the team to find out how they were preparing, what they were looking forward to and what they were nervous about.
What is your reason for taking part?
Enric Ortiz
There are two main reasons for taking part in this event: Several members of my family have suffered from cancer and cycling is my hobby, so for me, this is the perfect opportunity to support as much as I can Young Lives vs Cancer and practice the sport that I love.
Jeremy Ward
I’m taking part because it is a wonderful opportunity to genuinely try and make a difference. I cannot imagine the devastation that cancer brings to anyone, never mind those who are still early in their lives. The fact that Hitachi has provided me with the opportunity to do this is not one I could easily turn down.
Simon Robinson
I wanted to take part as both the charity and cause are amazing, and it also is a personal challenge for me to carry on my endeavours of last year, where I took part in a Triathlon after my son challenged me in September 2021, never having much of an athletic track record before this.
Alastair Thomas
I enjoy a challenge; love cycling, and it was a great opportunity to help our chosen charity.
Do you have a training plan in place?
Enric Ortiz
I don’t have a training plan as such. I cycle regularly but I am trying to increase my resilience by doing longer rides so I can keep up the 100k+ rides that we will be doing four days in a row!
Jeremy Ward
The training plan is somewhat unsophisticated – it just involves putting some miles in on the bike. Luckily, I can’t really go anywhere from my home without having to climb at least one of England’s Mountain passes as I am lucky enough to live in Keswick in the northern Lake District – ain’t nothin’ flat round here! So, a couple of rides out after work in the evening during the week, with some longer rides at the weekends.
Simon Robinson
I decided to join my local cycling club 3 weeks ago to help with my training. My training plan is essentially just riding 4 times a week. Typically, that is 3 evenings on the indoor Zwift app with a turbo trainer, and once outdoor with a cycling club. I’d prefer to do more outdoor however it’s difficult finding the time early enough in the evening when the light is still good. I’ve been gradually increasing my weekly distance over the last few weeks.
Alastair Thomas
I don’t really have one, but I am hoping the amount of cycling I normally do will suffice. I guess I will soon find out!
What are you most looking forward to and what do you think will be most challenging?
Enric Ortiz
Looking forward to cycling-related chats and even more the evening drinks with the team! As per my previous comment, the challenge is to be able to keep up four days doing 5h and more on the saddle.
Jeremy Ward
Looking forward to most of it; the camaraderie and inevitable banter with my colleagues will definitely be a part but I guess the satisfaction of rolling up to the Arc de Triomphe will be a highlight.
Simon Robinson
Most challenging definitely is that up until now, the furthest I have ever ridden on a bike is 70km in one go (and that was only a week ago!). However, I also crashed, and I only just got my bike back from the repair shop. So, I have a lot of training to do over the next few weeks. The other challenge is that most of my cycling for the past year has been on Zwift (online/indoor) so I have not had potholes, cars and other obstacles to deal with like in the real world.
What I’m most looking forward to is wearing lycra for 4 days straight. That and riding into Paris and finishing under the Eiffel Tower.
Alastair Thomas
Looking forward to Team Hitachi Solutions safely crossing the finishing line together.
It’s fair to say the team haven’t had a strict training programme in place but their efforts aren’t going unnoticed. As they set off, we will be keeping up to date with their progress and showing our support. If you wish to donate to Young Lives vs Cancer and support the team in their race to the finish line.
Their feelings after completing the bike ride
Since completing the 300-mile cycle, a week ago, we have spoken to the team to get their feelings post-ride and to find out more about the challenges they faced.
What was the most challenging part?
Alastair Thomas
The most challenging thing for me was finding the food and drink stations on the routes. Third time lucky, as on day 3 I got some lunch!
Simon Robinson
My bike developed a terminal fault around 90 mins into Day 2. The support crew could not fix it but they had a hybrid loan bike, not the sort of thing you would ideally ride for this and it was not set up specifically for me. But it was a bike and it enabled me to continue the ride to Paris, albeit more slowly. After riding it for 9 hours on Thursday through headwinds and torrential rain, I developed a repetitive strain injury from using the strange gear shifters and could not (and still cannot) use my right hand properly. I am hoping it will wear off in the next couple of weeks.
Enric Ortiz
Cycling for four days in a row with heavy rain and headwind at times was quite a challenge. We managed to get through it although we missed some water and lunch stops! It wasn’t intentional we were just keen to arrive at the end.
Jeremy Ward
The most challenging part for me was the headwind. This prevailed for most of the four days but was particularly bad on Day 3 – Cambrai to Soissons. Not helped by the rain, a puncture and, just possibly, a few too many beers the night before, celebrating the 100-mile day on Day 2.
How do you feel post-ride?
Alastair Thomas
I feel a great sense of achievement and would highly recommend the ride to others. Some people at this year’s event had never ridden anything close to that distance before and they all managed the course without a hitch. So next year Hitachi Solutions…
Simon Robinson
Exhilarated to have finished on Day 4 in Paris on a borrowed bike, having previously only ridden a maximum of 70km in a single ride. Many aches and pains but that is to be expected and mostly had subsided by 72 hours later.
Enric Ortiz
Although I have cycled for a long time, I have never completed anything similar. The experience has been amazing and has helped me realise that I can go even further! During the ride, we already started talking about the next challenge and I am sure we will find something else exciting to do that will help us to continue pushing ourselves to our limits while raising money for our chosen charity.
Jeremy Ward
Wet! Though, of course, I’m mostly left with a low-key sense of satisfaction from having completed the ride with my colleagues and the other riders taking part, without any major incidents, safe and sound. Riding through the outskirts of Paris was rewarding. That sense has stayed, helped by lots of people congratulating the team; people have seemed genuinely impressed by what we did and that has been very nice too.
Any other thoughts or feelings you wish to share?
Alastair Thomas
Everyone has been very generous and hugely supportive of the fundraising. So much so, that we have made a big dent in our yearly target. Thank you so much!!!
Simon Robinson
It was great sharing the ride with Jeremy, Alastair and Enric, but also 37 other riders (including one panda), with a great sense of camaraderie out on the roads and at breakfast and dinner each day. The organisers (Discover Adventure) did an amazing job of organisation, and I am so thankful for their loan bike which otherwise would have ended my trip on day 2. Also hugely appreciated to all colleagues and friends who have been super generous with donations over the last few weeks!
Enric Ortiz
I really enjoyed the camaraderie and the evenings with the team. It was great to share experiences and anecdotes from the ride with a cold drink whilst relaxing my ached body. Talking about what we had achieved was really motivating. I would like to thank all the people who have sponsored me and my colleagues and friends. We are making a positive change and the feeling couldn’t be any better!
Jeremy Ward
I am really happy with the amount of money we have been able to raise for Young Lives vs Cancer. I was not sure about the amount of interest, but I certainly didn’t expect to get the level of sponsorship that I eventually did. Friends, family, neighbours, and colleagues all sponsored me and that made the event very worthwhile.
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