Contact Details
Club Secretary
Beryl Bowes
4 Murrayfield Drive
Moreton
Wirral
CH46 3RS
Tel: +44 (0)151 678 2654
Email: beryl.bowes@btinternet.com

Saddle up for a trip to Paris
Registrations open for Royal British Legion’s charity bike ride

6th January 2008: The Royal British Legion today announced that registrations are open for its 2009 ‘Pedal to Paris’ charity bike from London to Paris in September. This year the charity will also be hosting a second, faster ride in June 2009.

The four day ride that traditionally takes place at the end of the summer will be the larger of the two events and entry is now open for cyclists to sign up and start raising money. Registration is also open for June’s inaugural three-day ride, geared towards those who enjoy a faster pace and an even bigger challenge.

To sign-up for either event, simply go to the Poppy Bike website www.poppybike.org to download an entry form and request a brochure. Alternatively, contact Dan Solley at dsolley@britishlegion.org.uk or on 020 3207 2270 for further information.

The Royal British Legion Pedal to Paris ride is now in its fourteenth year and has a well-established reputation as the best organised of any of the charity rides between the two capitals. Both of the 2009 rides will feature the same standards of service and logistical support including full rolling road closures, comprehensive technical support and sports therapist services.

The £500 entry fee (£450  for the three-day ride) includes all accommodation, meals, snacks at pit stops, souvenir kit and medal, outbound ferry crossing and eurostar return, as well as the return of all participants’ bikes from Paris to London. The Pedal to Paris ride is also the only charity ride in which cyclists arrive at the Arc de Triomphe under full police escort, for many it’s the real highlight of the event.

The September Pedal to Paris is designed to cater for all standards of rider and is broken into three speed groups. This set-up makes the journey an excellent social event with plenty of opportunities to relax and meet like-minded people. This can be over dinner in the evenings or even whilst enjoying the route as it winds through some of the best countryside that England and France has to offer.

The 2008 event saw over 250 riders sign-up for the journey from Greenwich Park and in 2009 The Royal British Legion hopes to see even more cyclists make the final approach through Paris. There are only 300 spaces available for the four-day ride in September and 150 for the fast ride in June, so the advice is to sign-up early to ensure your space. The only other requirement for riders, but possibly the most important, is to raise at least £800 in sponsorship.

Dan Solley, Events Manager at The Royal British Legion said: “The four day ride has gone from strength to strength over the last 13 years and I’m sure that 2009 will be no exception. The introduction of the fast ride in June is really exciting for us as we will be catering for a new group of cyclists. No doubt it will be just as much fun as the longer ride and it’s a great way to involve more people in a fantastic experience and this important charity.”

The Royal British Legion safeguards the welfare, interests and memory of serving and ex-Service people and their families and dependants. All funds raised by the events will be put towards this cause.


Ends

For more information please contact:

Richard Barker, Four Communications
T: 0870 626 9087
E: richard.barker@fourcommunications.com


Dan Solley, The Royal British Legion
T: 020 3207 2270
E: dsolley@britishlegion.org.uk

Annecy is ideally situated between the lake and the mountains and is a

magical place for cyclists. Whether you come to simply discover this

beautiful region or for physical training and preparation, we can

suggest a multitude of routes for you, such as touring the Semnoz or

crossing the Aravis.

Our youth hostel is here to make your stay here as enjoyable and as easy

as possible with:

* A large car park reserved for our guests

* Secure storage facilities to leave your bicycles

* A 24 hour staff presence with a reception desk open from 7.00am to

11.00pm and a night watchman from 11.00pm to 7.00am

* A hearty breakfast designed to give you the best start to the day

* Energizing, tasty and wholesome meals prepared by our chef

* Shared rooms for 4-5 people with a shower

Every season has its advantages to help you train, for example winter

can help you prepare yourself for the coming season (see brochure

<









annecy@fuaj.org <mailto:annecy@fuaj.org>

The summer is very much here. For those who haven't quite managed to book a holiday yet fear not! There are still places available at the hostel and also in the self-catered chalets.

The lifts start rolling in 4 days time meaning the season has officially started. Ryanair offer flights to Turin or Grenoble for peanuts these days but why not spend the extra and arrive by the train no queuing or carbon footprint and far less stress. Once you get here you can look forward to queue free mountain biking starting at 8am until the last funicular at 7.30pm. The cols are all open now so road-cyclists are free to roam wherever they choose - trip over to Italy is a must.

This year we have teamed up with JamCam to offer the best quality headcam rental so you cannot forget how good it was. Why not have a morning parapenting with the cam for some top notch aerial shots?

With prices from £35 a night half board or £90 per week self-catered you would be hard pressed to find a better deal this summer!

Here's what was said about us last year: (as 'chillchalet' we are now hotmarmot.com and can sleep up to 16 in the bigger better hostel!)

"LES ARCS
My favourite of the two places, great downhill course deviod of the usual braking bumps you find in Morzine. More importantly, fantastic natural technical singletrack serviced by a comprehensive lift network.

We stopped in a catered chalet in Bourg Saint Mourice called ChillChalet. Clean spacious digs sleeping up to 12, secure bike storage, great food and really convenient for the furnicular up the mountian to Arc 1600. Highly recommended, we will be back next year.

Contact us via http://www.hotmarmot.com

We also hired a guide for two days, this was the best 160 Euros we've ever spent. Fantastic bike rider who showed us some stuff we would never have found in months of searching. Getting a guide is an absolute must if you want to make the most from your trip. He also runs a fleet of buses and can transfer you to and from a number of airports including Geneva. We didn't use this service as we had driven down from Verbier, but it's worth considering if you're there all week."  - Stuart Nesham on BikeMagic

Dear Cyclists,

Annecy is ideally situated between the lake and the mountains and is a

magical place for cyclists. Whether you come to simply discover this

beautiful region or for physical training and preparation, we can

suggest a multitude of routes for you, such as touring the Semnoz or

crossing the Aravis.

Our youth hostel is here to make your stay here as enjoyable and as easy

as possible with:

* A large car park reserved for our guests

* Secure storage facilities to leave your bicycles

* A 24 hour staff presence with a reception desk open from 7.00am to

11.00pm and a night watchman from 11.00pm to 7.00am

* A hearty breakfast designed to give you the best start to the day

* Energizing, tasty and wholesome meals prepared by our chef

* Shared rooms for 4-5 people with a shower

Every season has its advantages to help you train, for example winter

can help you prepare yourself for the coming season (see brochure

<<cyclists: what to do this winter?).

If you intend to organize a trip with your club or your friends, do not

hesitate to contact us, we will be very happy to help you plan your stay.

The youth hostel team

Auberge de jeunesse d’Annecy

4, route du Semnoz

74000 Annecy

Tel: 04.50.45.33.19

Fax: 04.50.52.77.52

www.auberge-annecy.com <http://www.auberge-annecy.com/>

John can remember some names – Dick & Dot, Alec Noble who went to America, Bill Garry, Malcolm Hare – do you know which photos these people are on.  If you do, then let me know and I will amend the caption, also where you think they were taken.  John says these photos were taken between 1948 and 1956.  He married and went to live in Australia in 1957 – those of you who live “down under” let me know who and where you are and I will put you in touch with John.  Its good to keep in touch and with the technology that we now have, this is so much easier.  We need more people to come out of the woodwork.