Marc cycles London to Paris in four days for Children on the Edge

This April one of our loyal supporters, Marc Ng, took on the challenge of cycling from London to Paris to raise money for Children on the Edge.  Marc not only completed the journey in just four days but exceeded his fundraising target raising over £2500.  We caught up with Marc and found out all the details about his journey.

What inspired you to cycle from London to Paris?

It was a friend of mine, Ash, who first suggested riding to Paris. His 50th was approaching and he wanted to mark this landmark birthday in a 'special way’. Ash and I had both taken up road cycling not that long ago and he decided that riding from London-to-Paris (L2P) would be a good idea. Not wanting to do it on his own, he asked me if I fancied coming along. I said yes…

What training did you do in the run up to the event?

I joined Westerham Cycling Club and went to the Sunday club rides which were roughly 30 miles. I tried where possible to augment these with rides during the week to get an idea of what riding 70-75 miles in a day felt like. This was the average daily distance we would cover cycling to Paris.

I entered the Ordnance Survey Equalizer Sportive early in February. It was 'only' 60 miles but hard work and a good way to gauge how we were progressing. Also where I live in Kent it is hard to avoid the hills!  So every ride felt like a workout even if it wasn’t very long.

How did you first hear about COTE and what inspired you to fundraise for us?

I have known Ben Wikes (Children on the Edge,  Head of UK) for 25 years and heard about the charity’s work through him. I have always wanted to do something to raise money for Children on the Edge. I had thought of running the Chichester Half, but I really am not a runner.

I heard about Ben’s ride across the Pyrenees to fundraise for Children on the Edge and that triggered the idea that I could fundraise through cycling, not across a major European mountain range, but the seed had been sown. That seed remained dormant until Ash suggested the L2P ride.

How did you fundraise?

Primarily through tapping into my network of friends via Facebook. I also produced a flyer and did some 'old school' door-to-door appealing for donations. The primary school attended by my daughter kindly mentioned our challenge in a couple of the weekly school bulletins. I also asked my colleagues if they would make a donation.

Do you have a favourite moments from your ride?

Reaching the end of the ride under the Eiffel Tower with my wife Louise waiting there together with our daughters Rebecca and Charlotte, as well as my parents was a highlight. Ash's family had seen us off so to have my family there at the end kind of bookmarked the ride nicely.

Do you have any other future events planned?

I think so, yes. I have already signed up to ride the Prudential London-Surrey 100 in August for another charity. However I hope to get on my bike again for Children on the Edge at some point. I can't say when yet, but there is another ride on the Continent which has pricked my interest, so watch this space....

We would like to say a huge thank you to Marc for his amazing dedication to Children on the Edge. We are so happy to have his support and wish him the best of luck on his next ride! If you would like to fundraise for us please contact serenachana@childrenontheedgeorg.