Oxford to Paris, 2025

Ten years after the John O'Groats to Land's End ride, OOSO organised another ride: the Oxford to Paris Ride for Life, about 300 miles in three days, from 8 to 10 September 2025. OOSO's trustees rode with ten more cyclists, mostly clinicians and former patients, with Matt and his brother John driving the support van. I rode again.

The team at the Churchill Hospital before the start

Day 1, Monday 8 September: from the Churchill Hospital in Oxford at 8am, south past the M4 to Portsmouth, and the night ferry to Caen.
Day 2, Tuesday 9 September: from the ferry port at Caen, up a 3 km climb to the cafe at La Boissière for pain au chocolat, a picnic lunch above Bernay, and on to Evreux.
Day 3, Wednesday 10 September: freezing, horizontal rain and a headwind for the first part of the day, lunch in Plaisir, a stop at Versailles, and the final run into Paris to the Eiffel Tower. We came home the next day by Eurostar.

Day 1: south of the M4

Day 3: horizontal rain and a headwind in Normandy

At Versailles, before the last run to the Eiffel Tower

The team under the Eiffel Tower

The ride raised over £18,000 in donations and sponsorship, towards a new OOSO Fellowship: modest grants for young Oxford-based researchers working on better treatments and surgery for oesophageal and stomach cancers. Ten years before, the JOGLE had raised the best part of £60,000 for OOSO, which has since funded equipment for the wards and patient-focused projects.

OOSO's own page for the ride, with the full photo diary: 2025 Oxford to Paris Ride for Life. Photographs on this page are from that page, courtesy of OOSO.