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107, the perfect number.

15 Oct 2020

Cycling is not always only about cycling, it can also be about helping others. For Chris Hall, it’s all about helping those who need it the most.

Before 2020 even started, Chris Hall already knew it was going to be a special year. In July 2020, the world of cycling would focus all of its attention on the 107th edition of the Tour de France. For most of us, 107 is a number without any special meaning, but not for Chris. There are many ways to define him: Road cyclist, long distance, endurance, time trial, adventure… He likes to describe himself as ‘Just stupid’. We like to call him an exceptional human-being with exceptional riding skills.

107 is the number of children with cerebral palsy that The Pace Centre takes care of. For quite a fair share of personal reasons, this charity has always meant a lot to Chris. He has been doing quite a lot of projects to support them in the past, like riding 107 kilometers a day for 107 days in a row.

The plan for 2020 was to raise funds for The Pace Centre by riding the entire route of the professional 107th TDF, but without using any motorized vehicles for transfers from or to official host cities, and finishing in Paris on the day before the pros. It was about to be a challenge, with more than 6000 km to cover.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic made it impossible due to high restrictions in travel possibilities. Fortunately, Chris found a new plan, and what a plan.

107 The Perfect Number Green View

Not being able to travel to the European mainland, Chris transformed his TDF course in a trip around the United Kingdom, that he would achieve while the pros were riding the most prestigious cycling race in the world.

The project was quite simple: London to Land’s End to John o’Groats to London, covering at least 107 miles per day (172 kilometers). In total, that is 3609 kilometers & 38100 (yes, 38100) elevation meters in just a little more than 3 weeks.

Now you would ask ‘So, how did it go?’.

Chris described it himself as ‘The hardest challenge I’ve done. Period.’

107 The Perfect Number Dusk Scene

We will leave it up to him to tell the whole story.

We also encourage you to check out his route & donate to Pace Centre here: https://www.chrishallrides.com/107tdf

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