Today a group of 6 of the Merson team are setting off on a nearly 200-mile cycle from London to Paris. Cycling over 3 days, this challenge covers exactly 184 miles travelling from London, through the English countryside over to rural France and on to the heart of Paris, finishing under the Arc de Triomphe. At one stage in the event a rather badly timed ferry between Newhaven and Dieppe will mean the team will be disembarking at 2.00am on Saturday morning to begin the gruelling 40mile cycle to Gournay En Bray!
The team have been training hard since May to get ready for the event and excitement is brewing as they get ready to set off from Trafalgar Square at 12noon this afternoon.
These are the dedicated cyclists taking part:
Gavin McMurray
Stuart Dodds
Stuart Gilliland
Andy Long
Jeff Hillier
Steve Burrows
Also providing support from one of our vans is Tomek Gulinski.
Bike 2 Work Scheme
This trip has been in part made possible because of the Government’s Bike 2 Work scheme, which we have been a part of for over a year now. The scheme is a part of the governments Green Transport Plan, which aims to promote the use of environmentally friendly modes of transport such as cycling. It allows our team to save up to 50% off buying a brand new bike and equipment.It works essentially by Merson Signs purchasing a bike and spreading interest free monthly payments for an employee over a 12-month period. The reduction in cost is possible through savings on VAT, Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions meaning the Merson employee ends up paying up to 52% less for their brand new bike!
At Merson, we’re always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint but the Bike 2 Work scheme holds many more great benefits for our staff:
- They can adopt an even healthier lifestyle
- Save money on travelling costs
- Reduce the stress associated with the daily commute
- Save over £500 on a brand new bike and equipment!
The London to Paris cycle highlights just how successful the Bike2Work scheme has been in encouraging the uptake of cycling amongst our staff and now they’re not just cycling to work but all the way to Paris!
Best of luck to the team on their cycle and we’ll keep you posted on how they get on.
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