Ride Date:
Guts in Motion is a cycling event between Paris and London over three days between Friday to Sunday.
Guts in Motion was formed to raise funds for research into and to drive awareness around Crohn's Disease and Colitis. All money raised goes directly to Crohn's & Colitis in Childhood, which is a UK registered charity.
The ride covers approximately 180 miles through French and English countryside, starting at Parc Monceau in central Paris and ending in Southpark Gardens in Wimbledon.
We welcome riders of all abilities and the route is fully sign posted and rest stops are provided at regular intervals. There is a crew supporting the event at all points.
All logistics and accommodation, which is in 3 star hotels, are handled for you.
It's a great weekend, with a real spirit, personal challenge and all whilst raising funds for a fantastic cause.
- Bikes are going to Paris by lorry on Thursday, the day before the ride.
- Nearer the event date we will let you know the arrangements for getting your bike to us. Normally we take the bikes in during the week before the ride.
- We will let you know your 'rider number' once you have registered and you should make sure that your bike is clearly labeled with your name and rider number. We will provide tags for this purpose.
- Please remove all loose items from the bike (e.g. bags, drinking bottles, pumps, lights).
- Your bike will be individually wrapped in a shipping blanket and tied down in the lorry. If you wish to use a box or pipe lagging for the frame that is fine. If you do use a bike box there will be time for re-assembling the bike in Paris.
- Please note that there is no ability to take a bike on the Eurostar on Friday morning. This is a Eurostar restriction and not something that we can influence.
- Your bike will be ready and waiting for you at our starting point near Parc Monceau. There will be time to check your bike out and do final adjustments. If you used a bike box, there will be time to re-assemble your bike.
- We will have a mechanic on hand to help, plus track pumps and tools, but please remember that there are a lot more riders than mechanics and their time will be limited.
- The Friday morning trip is an early morning Eurostar leaving from Kings Cross St.Pancras International at about 6.30am. We will confirm the exact time nearer the event.
- You need to be at Kings Cross at approximately 5.45am where we will meet by the Eurostar Ticket Office. Again, we will confirm exact timings nearer the event.
- One of our crew will be at the station with everyone's tickets and contact details. We will circulate their contact details ahead of time just in case anyone has any problems on the day.
- Do NOT forget your passport.
- We are on a group ticket so there is no flexibility. Please do not be late.
- We arrive in Paris at about 10.30am, French time. There will be a coach waiting to transport us to the Squires Patton Boggs office at Parc Monceau.
- There will be plenty of time to get changed, have some food and prepare your bike before we start cycling. You don't need to wear cycling gear for the train ride.
- The route is fully signed and we have support cars spaced along the route.
- There are rest stops every 15 miles or so and the crew will check that everyone has been through the rest stop before they close up.
- We have a 'sweep' van which is always at the back of the pack.
- There will be day sheets with a summary of the route, crew contact numbers and emergency details given out each morning.
- GPX versions of the route will be available for download ahead of the ride if you have a bike gps device, but this is by no means a requirement.
- The ride is not about speed, so we encourage riders to cycle together in small groups and enjoy the journey and the company.
- We provide all the meals. The only exceptions to this are:
- Friday morning on the Eurostar
- Saturday afternoon at Dieppe when there will be a few hours to enjoy the sunshine at the beach.
- Rest stops will have a good supply of water, energy powders, chocolate bars, bananas and rider encouragement.
- The accommodation is in 3 star hotels and is of a good quality. We are staying at the Hotel le St. Aubin in Gourney en Bray for Friday evening. The Premier Inn at Newhaven for Saturday night.
- Rooms are on a shared basis unless you have selected and paid for a single room when you registered.
- Your luggage will be moved to the evening's hotel whilst you are riding, so there is no need to worry about cycling with a rucksack.
- Please make sure that your bag is clearly labeled with your name and rider number.
- Our support crew have a full range of bike spares and tools. There will be an opportunity to have bigger problems attended to at the start and end of each day. Most small problems can usually be handled at the road side once you have made contact with one of the crew.
- However, please have inner tubes and a basic repair kit on you so that you don't always have to wait for help.
- In the event of a major problem with your bike, we will have a few spares available though we can't guarantee that they will be your dream machine.
Friday
- Start in Paris at Parc Monceau. There is about an hour of cycling through Paris and its suburbs before we hit the countryside. The route is about 60 miles heading north west to Gourney en Bray, which is pretty much the mid point between Paris and Dieppe.
Saturday
- Leaving Gourney en Bray we continue towards the coast and Dieppe. The distance is much less at about 50 miles and we aim to be there for lunch time.
- There will be a place to get changed and you will be able to leave your bag and bike with us so that you can explore Dieppe or enjoy the beach for a few hours.
- At about 4pm we will start heading to the ferry for the crossing to Newhaven. At Newhaven we will have dinner at the hotel.
Sunday
- The distance for Sunday is about 60 miles. Leaving Newhaven we head north to the infamous White Hill. At the top of the hill is the Harrow Pub where we will have lunch.
- From the Harrow Pub we cycle the last leg into Wimbledon, ending at South Park Gardens, SW19.
- About a half a mile from the end point we will stop and wait for all the riders to catch up so that we all complete the ride at the same time. We aim to be at the finish between 3.30pm and 4pm, but no guarantees.
- We actively encourage friends and family to join us at the end event where there will be drinks and refreshments, a few speeches and a chance to relax in the sunshine.
- We will provide you with a highly prized, incredibly rare 'Guts in Motion 2024' cycling jersey. These high quality tops, custom made by for us by Endura, will be given out to you when you arrive in Paris. We will be in touch regarding sizes nearer the time.
- We ask that you wear your jersey for at least the Friday and the Sunday. i.e. to cover the start and the finish.
- We will aim to get the shirts cleaned on the Saturday if you wish, though like all good quality cycling tops, they are simple to wash through and very quick drying.
- During the ride we will have prizes for specific achievements around cycling and fundraising. The winners will receive a coveted Yellow guts in motion jersey.
- We have a number of cyclists joining us on the Sunday as part of the UK Challenge for Guts in Motion.
- They will be joining us at Newhaven and cycling back with us to Wimbledon (60 miles).
- Before the ride we will ask you to complete two short forms.
- Medical Form, which will provide us with basic medical information and emergency contact details in the event of any problems. We will hold these securely and privately.
- Waiver, which we require every rider to sign before the ride.
- We ask riders to provide a £150 registration donation at the time they register on the Virgin Money Giving website.
- In addition, we ask riders to raise a minimum of £750 ahead of the ride, though we would love the amount raised to be larger if you can.
- Please check if your employer has a charity matching scheme, as this may offer matched donations in some cases.
- We actively support teams fundraising jointly and we have seen this be very successful in the past. In these cases the per rider registration donation and minimum fundraising requirements will still apply.
- Since starting the GIM cycling event in 2010, our riders have raised over £500,000.00 for research into Crohn's and Colitis disease. Due to the generous support of our sponsoring companies, we have to date been able to pass on the full amount of any monies raised as they have covered the costs of the ride.
- We sponsor research studies in a number of hospitals across the country, but all with the same goal.
- A great example is the UCH program, where the research is asking a simple question: Do Crohn's sufferers have a greater amount of fat around the blood vessels that surround the bowel than you or I and whether, by reducing the fat content of their diet, they can reduce the effects of this disease.
- In addition, the money has funded an international pharmacy fellowship at UCH, a probiotic study based at Oxford University Hospital Trust (looking at the use of probiotics as treatment in irritable bowel diseases) and a genetics research program based out of Addenbrokes Hospital. As you can see, the money raised has made a very significant difference to the momentum of research into Crohn's and Colitis in this country.
- The money raised this year will continue on this journey and fund further research into causes and ultimately cures for Crohn's. As we have more details, we will let you know.
- The funds raised are all in the name of our charity, Crohn's and Colitis in Childhood (registered 1000648).
- Please join / follow Guts in Motion at the following:
- Any questions or thoughts, drop the team a line at: info@guts-in-motion.com
- The vast majority of the costs of the event are covered by our sponsoring firms, so a BIG THANK YOU to them for their support. Remember that almost every penny you raise goes directly to fund research into Crohns and Colitis. No admin costs, no overheads. Crohns & Colitis in Childhood and Guts In Motion are managed and staffed on a purely voluntary basis.
