After my 2014 ride, which had to be cut short, Karen and I had to go back out to Mallorca, not only to pick up and fly back with my bike but also to return the hire car that she had hired for the summer and had been sat outside our apartment unused for six weeks.
I find flying with a bike a real pain due to having to box it up. It's probably not too bad if you have a lightweight racing bike - whip out the wheels, chuck everything in the box and away you go, but I've also got to take off four racks, mudguards, centre stand, pedals, etc.. Either way, you've still got to find a box. I went round the local bike shops who were all very helpful and said that I could have a box from their next delivery of bikes but that they didn't have one at the moment.
Over recent years Mallorca has become something of a Mecca for cyclists due mainly, I suspect, to the fact that many of the world's cycling teams train out there. As a consequence, there are quite a few businesses that have sprung up offering cycling holidays. We're not talking here about gently cycling around country lanes, we're talking about being supplied with a £3k full carbon fibre bike and all the lycra and spending a fortnight hammering around the island. As a last resort we tried one of these businesses for a cardboard box and, as luck would have it, they had one left. Whilst there, I noticed that they were selling off some of their bikes (apparently they change them every couple of years) - £3k full carbon fibre bikes in 'as new' condition for £500 - I was very tempted!
Anyway, I've decided that it's all too much hassle flying the bike home and so, for the next couple of years I plan to cycle to Mallorca one year and cycle back the next. The only downside to this plan is that I won't have my bike to ride whilst it's out there and so I'll need to get another for use in the UK (maybe a full carbon fibre for about £500?!).
December 2014 - I've bought a second bike - another Saracen Skyline! I found one second hand (Saracen don't make them anymore) on the 'Preloved' website and although I had a round trip of 500 miles to pick it up it's worth it. The bike is in great condition having been obviously well looked after and it means that I have an identical bike to ride whilst Sky (my first Skyline) is in Mallorca.
February 2015 - I've done a few upgrades to Sky 1 (my original Skyline that I'll be using for the ride). I get emails from various cycle tourists, one of whom is Tom Allen (check out his website) who's travelled far and wide. He's got together with the Oxford Bike Company to produce what they feel is the ultimate touring bike for circa £2k. I was checking the bike out online and looked at the Specification page and noticed that it listed all the code numbers for all the components. It basically means that I can systematically upgrade my bike using the vast experience of others, thus saving hours of research! So I've changed my front and rear derailleur for Shimano Deore items, put on a 11-34 tooth rear cassette to give me a lower 1st gear for the hills, and replaced the chain for a new one from Wippermann (It's not due for changing but, because of my plans, I reckon the bike will be doing circa 5k miles before it's back in the UK and so it's easier to do it now). I'm also going to swap the peddles over from Sky 2 which I've serviced and are still like new. The peddles on Sky 1 are getting on a bit now - I've calculated that they've done over 2 million revolutions. I'm also changing my bike computer for one with a built in altimeter, just so that I can keep track of my climbing.
May - I'm dieting again! I've left it a bit late but I need to get some weight off before the ride. As I've previously said, my all-up weight should really be no more than 140 kilos if I don't want to break spokes in my rear wheel, and my bike and luggage weighs 50 kilos. So I've cut out potatoes, bread, alcohol (!), and pretty much anything else that is high in calories. It seems to be working and I'm currently on track to hit my target before I leave at the start of July.
June 10th - The diet is going slowly and, whilst I've lost about a stone in weight I would ideally like to lose another one before I leave on Sunday 5th July. It's a tall order but it is just about feasible.
In Scotland the school year starts about four weeks before the summer holidays (don't ask me why!) and I've got a new 4 day a week contract for the next year. This gives me Tuesdays off and so yesterday I went for a 50 mile ride (a) for a bit of training and (b) to check the bike out. The weather was great and the countryside around Dumfries is spectacular. The bike went well and I felt good although I guess I must have looked tired at one point - I was cycling along and noticed a buzzard on a power line watching me go by. About a mile later I noticed that the same buzzard have moved along the power line and was again watching me go by. I'm guessing he thought I looked tired and that all his Christmas's had come at once!
June 16th - Managed to get another ride in today - 53 miles to Gretna and back. I'm not sure how many more rides I'm going to manage before I leave Dumfries on 5th July as I have loads of work to do before then so I may be a little light on 'training' rides.
June 26th - I've just looked at the weather forecast for the 5th July (my leaving date) - rain and a headwind - the sign of things to come?!
I find flying with a bike a real pain due to having to box it up. It's probably not too bad if you have a lightweight racing bike - whip out the wheels, chuck everything in the box and away you go, but I've also got to take off four racks, mudguards, centre stand, pedals, etc.. Either way, you've still got to find a box. I went round the local bike shops who were all very helpful and said that I could have a box from their next delivery of bikes but that they didn't have one at the moment.
Over recent years Mallorca has become something of a Mecca for cyclists due mainly, I suspect, to the fact that many of the world's cycling teams train out there. As a consequence, there are quite a few businesses that have sprung up offering cycling holidays. We're not talking here about gently cycling around country lanes, we're talking about being supplied with a £3k full carbon fibre bike and all the lycra and spending a fortnight hammering around the island. As a last resort we tried one of these businesses for a cardboard box and, as luck would have it, they had one left. Whilst there, I noticed that they were selling off some of their bikes (apparently they change them every couple of years) - £3k full carbon fibre bikes in 'as new' condition for £500 - I was very tempted!
Anyway, I've decided that it's all too much hassle flying the bike home and so, for the next couple of years I plan to cycle to Mallorca one year and cycle back the next. The only downside to this plan is that I won't have my bike to ride whilst it's out there and so I'll need to get another for use in the UK (maybe a full carbon fibre for about £500?!).
December 2014 - I've bought a second bike - another Saracen Skyline! I found one second hand (Saracen don't make them anymore) on the 'Preloved' website and although I had a round trip of 500 miles to pick it up it's worth it. The bike is in great condition having been obviously well looked after and it means that I have an identical bike to ride whilst Sky (my first Skyline) is in Mallorca.
February 2015 - I've done a few upgrades to Sky 1 (my original Skyline that I'll be using for the ride). I get emails from various cycle tourists, one of whom is Tom Allen (check out his website) who's travelled far and wide. He's got together with the Oxford Bike Company to produce what they feel is the ultimate touring bike for circa £2k. I was checking the bike out online and looked at the Specification page and noticed that it listed all the code numbers for all the components. It basically means that I can systematically upgrade my bike using the vast experience of others, thus saving hours of research! So I've changed my front and rear derailleur for Shimano Deore items, put on a 11-34 tooth rear cassette to give me a lower 1st gear for the hills, and replaced the chain for a new one from Wippermann (It's not due for changing but, because of my plans, I reckon the bike will be doing circa 5k miles before it's back in the UK and so it's easier to do it now). I'm also going to swap the peddles over from Sky 2 which I've serviced and are still like new. The peddles on Sky 1 are getting on a bit now - I've calculated that they've done over 2 million revolutions. I'm also changing my bike computer for one with a built in altimeter, just so that I can keep track of my climbing.
May - I'm dieting again! I've left it a bit late but I need to get some weight off before the ride. As I've previously said, my all-up weight should really be no more than 140 kilos if I don't want to break spokes in my rear wheel, and my bike and luggage weighs 50 kilos. So I've cut out potatoes, bread, alcohol (!), and pretty much anything else that is high in calories. It seems to be working and I'm currently on track to hit my target before I leave at the start of July.
June 10th - The diet is going slowly and, whilst I've lost about a stone in weight I would ideally like to lose another one before I leave on Sunday 5th July. It's a tall order but it is just about feasible.
In Scotland the school year starts about four weeks before the summer holidays (don't ask me why!) and I've got a new 4 day a week contract for the next year. This gives me Tuesdays off and so yesterday I went for a 50 mile ride (a) for a bit of training and (b) to check the bike out. The weather was great and the countryside around Dumfries is spectacular. The bike went well and I felt good although I guess I must have looked tired at one point - I was cycling along and noticed a buzzard on a power line watching me go by. About a mile later I noticed that the same buzzard have moved along the power line and was again watching me go by. I'm guessing he thought I looked tired and that all his Christmas's had come at once!
June 16th - Managed to get another ride in today - 53 miles to Gretna and back. I'm not sure how many more rides I'm going to manage before I leave Dumfries on 5th July as I have loads of work to do before then so I may be a little light on 'training' rides.
June 26th - I've just looked at the weather forecast for the 5th July (my leaving date) - rain and a headwind - the sign of things to come?!
