Students cycle from Paris to Tilburg in one day: ‘You have to force yourself to eat another gingerbread’

While most people sought relief from the summer temperatures last weekend, ten students in Paris got on their bikes for a journey of over twenty hours towards Tilburg. ‘Fortunately, we only had six flat tires.’

The bicycle tour of over 400 kilometers from Paris to Tilburg is a tradition within the Tilburg Student Cycling Association De Meet and is organized once every two years. This year’s goal: to take on a sporting challenge and raise money for the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF). In total, the students raised over 1,300 euros.

On Saturday morning at 4:15 a.m., the group got on their bikes in the French capital. They did not reach Tilburg until around 1 a.m. Among them was 20-year-old Tim van der Meijden, a third-year Business Administration student and secretary of the student association.

‘We actually cycled for about fifteen and a half hours,’ says Van der Meijden. ‘Including all the stops, we were on the road for well over 21 hours.’

Heat and one hundred liters of water

Why would anyone voluntarily decide to cycle hundreds of kilometers in a single day? Van der Meijden laughs. ‘We actually ask ourselves that too. It is mainly the challenge. You are doing something you can’t really train for. You already know six months in advance that you are going to start.’

The conditions were tough. Not because of rain or headwinds, but due to the high temperatures. In the Netherlands, the temperature rose to 32 degrees, and in France, the cyclists even braved temperatures of 36 degrees. ‘It was incredibly hot. That is why we constantly had ice, water, and wet tights to cool down.’ To ensure the participants had enough to drink along the way, a support team of six people rode along.

‘Everyone had eighteen 750-milliliter water bottles available. That amounts to about fifteen liters per person. In total, more than a hundred liters of water were consumed. At every supermarket, our volunteers bought all the ice they could find so that we could cool down on the bike.’

Out of bed at three o’clock

The group arrived in Paris on Friday to start the trip well-prepared. ‘We went to the Eiffel Tower, had dinner together, and tried to go to bed on time. Then the alarm went off again at three in the morning.’

The first hours of the ride made an immediate impression. ‘The best moment was when we drove out of Paris. The sun was rising over the hills and everyone was comfortably in their rhythm. You are also happy to finally be out of the busy city.’

There were no major breakdowns along the way, although there were some technical issues. ‘We had six flat tires. Fortunately, we had spare wheels with us, so that was quickly resolved.’

Fight against gingerbread

Cycling turned out not even to be the biggest challenge in the end. Eating was at least as important. ‘Starting Wednesday, you already start eating a lot: pasta, pancakes, everything really. During the ride, you then have to eat something every half hour. A banana, a waffle, or a piece of gingerbread.’

But after hundreds of kilometers, even that becomes a chore. ‘At some point, you just don’t want to eat anymore. Mentally, you don’t feel like eating another piece of gingerbread, even though you know you need it. That really becomes a struggle. Candy often turned out to be the best solution in the end.’

Suffering together

TDuring the long ride, there was less talking than you might expect. ‘Everyone is mostly in their own world. You are focused on cycling and conserving energy. But at the same time, you really pull each other through it. You are proud of one another.’

The radio also provided a distraction along the way. ‘We had a speaker with us. At one point, we were listening to the World Cup match between the Netherlands and Sweden. When a goal was scored for the Netherlands, it gave us a boost of energy. Things like that break up the ride a bit.’

Relief at the finish

The final kilometers felt different for every participant, says Van der Meijden. Nevertheless, the realization that the finish was achievable dawned roughly around Turnhout. ‘Then everyone knows: we are going to make it.’

At the beginning of the night from Saturday to Sunday, dozens of people were waiting in Tilburg to welcome the cyclists. ‘At the university logo on campus, there were about thirty to forty friends, family members, and association members who hadn’t cycled along. At that moment, you really feel the relief for the first time.’

After being on the road for more than twenty hours, a small afterparty followed. ‘But to be honest, mostly I was thinking: I want to go to bed.’

The physical consequences are still being felt by the students. ‘My neck, shoulders, and hands hurt. And for the time being, I prefer not to take the stairs. But muscle pain is part of the experience.’ There seems to be hardly any rest, however. ‘I’m going cycling again tomorrow,’ says Van der Meijden. ‘Just a seventy-kilometer loop.’