Paul Davies, from Grouville, decided to undertake the challenge of cycling from London to Paris in aid of Action Medical Research after his friend’s child was helped by the charity. Mr Davies, a father of two, has already completed two cycle challenges to Peru and Vietnam for Jersey Hospice and is looking forward to his third one.
He had been training twice a week by cycling 50 miles around the Island in preparation for the 3½-day journey that starts on 21 July.
Up to 600 people are taking part in the trip, which has three different routes. Mr Davies is doing the route from London to Dover, Calais to Abbeville, then on to Beauvais before ending up in Paris to cycle down the Champs-Elysées before finishing up at the Eiffel Tower. He has so far managed to raise £1,400 but hopes to raise more.
Speaking about what his family thought about the trip, he said: ‘They think it is cool as long as I am fit enough to do it, which I am. The closer I get to doing it, the more quietly excited I get about it. For the trip, you need lots of water, energy bars and a lot of will power.’
He said that he enjoyed the cycling because there ‘you make a lot of friends and the comradeship is great’.
Mr Davies is no stranger to fund-raising after once appearing semi-naked in the JEP to advertise a charity calendar.
He said that anyone who wished to donate money to the charity could send cheques payable to Action Medical Research at the Indigo Dental Practice, Oxford Road, St Helier.
Action Medical Research is a charity dedicated to improving the health of babies and children by funding medical research to save lives and to prevent and treat conditions such as cerebral palsy.
