Hello, my name is Zak Clifford, and first of all, no, I’m not crazy about wanting to cycle 170+ miles between London and Paris in 24 hours, but this was the challenge I set myself having put on some pounds over lockdown and wanting to raise vital funds to support The Cyber Helpline. I have seen first-hand the challenge facing victims of cybercrime & online harm and I know how important it is that The Cyber Helpline can continue to do its work.

Setting off from London

On the day of the ride - 29th April 2022 - the weather was smashing. There was no breeze, the sun was out, and it wasn’t scorching - perfect cycling weather. There were 115 participants in total and at 3pm we all set off at 1-minute intervals from Greenwich in London.

The route took us over the south downs, where we encountered undulating hills, beautiful scenery and quaint villages. The first stop was at a cricket club where we could take on more water and food and put on additional clothing as the temperature had dropped since the sunset. This was the final push to get to the ferry/carvery meal in plenty of time before we boarded.

The carvery meal was just what we needed after a 60-mile ride. This would keep us going whilst on the ferry and then before we stopped at the breakfast stop. We cycled down from the carvery to the ferry, and had our passports and Covid vaccine checked before boarding. Once this was done, we boarded the ferry and scrambled to find somewhere comfortable to sleep.  

France

30th April 2022 at 4:30 am - After a short power nap and well-needed reset on the ferry, we got washed, put a fresh cycle kit on and made our way to depart off the ferry. Once off the ferry, we were stuck at passport control, with there being 100 cyclists, this took longer than anticipated. At this point, it was 5am in Dieppe, we were cold, and we were buzzing to get going again. Breakfast was at the first 30-mile rest stop in a place called Buchy. On the way to the first stop, we had a 2-hour cycle, the rolling roads over in France were a sight to behold, we saw the sunrise over the valley, and we were motoring, eating up the miles. After the first hour, the temperature started to rise as the sun rose. Lots of fog was seen in the valley while we were blasting through small villages. And finally, we got to Buchy. By this time, we were hungry, so we fuelled up with coffee, porridge, croissants, pain au chocolat, peanuts and bananas. It was the first proper French croissant and pain au chocolat I’ve ever had, beats the pants off Morrison’s own brand.

We then cycled on to the next stop, where we ended up in the beautiful Les Andelys at the side of the river. The next stop after this one was the Lunch stop. I didn’t get any pictures from there or till the end now, so I’ll have to skip forward to the finish line.

Paris!

As we started to reach Paris and cycled through Saint-Germain-des-Pres, a lovely town to cycle through, it began to get busier and busier with people. We eventually came over the bridge, and it was at that point we could see the Eiffel Tower. This motivated us to carry on as we were very sore (as you can imagine, 170+ miles in the saddle), and this was our final stop.

We followed the signs through the centre of Paris, which is a bonus for a ride like this, it was fully signposted so you couldn’t get lost. Or should I say it was very hard to get lost as I won’t mention what happened back in England; I specifically left that bit out.

As we approached the final destination, a wave of emotion came over us, happy to be here, sad that it was over, but most of all, it was pride. To have done the challenge within 24 hours felt amazing!

Why the Cyber Helpline?

My dad, who did the challenge with me, decided to raise money for the Christies Teenage Cancer Trust charity in Manchester, I thought I’d do it for charity as well, but I wanted to support a cause that was linked to my career. If you don’t know me, I love my job as a Security Consultant/ Penetration tester and could talk about it for hours - so a charity helping victims of cybercrime was close to my heart.

Personally, I know someone that has had issues with stalking and online harassment, and it was not pleasant. It was someone who I was living with, in Oxford, and they told me a lot about what happened and how it happened. They had to move away to escape it. So, when I found out about The Cyber Helpline, I felt like I needed to do it for them and to raise awareness for that charity as I believe online harassment and cybercrime happen to a lot more people, and it’s not talked about, or no one knows who to talk to. The Cyber Helpline is a charity that offers free, expert assistance to people who have been affected by cybercrime or online harassment.

In total I raised over £645! It costs The Cyber Helpline around £500 a year to have a volunteer cybersecurity expert on their helpline and this volunteer will help hundreds of victims. I am really proud that my 24 hours and 170+ miles in the saddle will help lots of people get expert help when they need it.

Would you like to fundraise for The Cyber Helpline?

If you would like to take on a challenge and raise vital funds for The Cyber Helpline then you can get in touch direct with the team here.