Dumfries to Africa - 2500 miles by bicycle for Macmillan Cancer Support. Anyone wishing to sponsor me can do so
at -
http://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Spracklen1
December 2012
Cycle touring should really come with a government health warning as it really is addictive. No sooner do I finish one ride than I'm planning the next. Any suffering on the previous tour is instantly forgotten and the compulsive planning starts with checking out possible destinations for the next ride. I'm guessing that it's a bit like mountain climbing - it can't be much fun hanging off a mountain by your fingernails in the freezing cold but the sense of achievement on reaching the top is such that you can't wait to start the next climb. Anyway, as soon as I was back home after my 2012 Mallorca trip I started planning. There are certain rides that I would like to do before I get too old and Dumfries to Africa is one of them. It's not as impressive as it sounds as I only intend to go to Morocco ie North Africa, about 2500 miles, but I like the idea of the ride. When I was about fourteen my parents took my brother and I on a camping holiday through France and Spain to Gibraltar, with the intention of crossing over into Morocco. Unfortunately we never made the crossing as there were 'troubles' in Morocco at the time. Consequently the thought of recreating that trip of long ago appeals to me.
I won't be going on a ride in 2013 as the bike was left in Mallorca and we plan to drive down and pick it up during the summer, visiting a few other European countries on the way. Once I get the bike back there are a few modifications that I want to make before I head off again. The brakes on the bike have always been substandard (I've even had emails from other owners warning me about them) and, although I had softer brake blocks fitted for the last ride which made them better, they're still not really up to the job and so intend to replace them altogether, either with v brakes front and rear or disc at the front and v at the rear.
When I arrived in Mallorca in 2012 my rear tyre was bald, having lasted 4 weeks and 1600 miles from new! For my next ride I intend to change from Continental (which now appear to be made in India) to Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres (having heard nothing but good reports about them) and explore the possibility of increasing the rear tyre width from 32mm to 37 or 38mm. The theory is that not only will the tyre have more rubber on it and so hopefully last longer but will also be more 'bouncy' and so absorb shocks better and hopefully help the spokes to last longer.
Whenever I start mentioning a new trip to people they ask if I'll be buying a new bike but, although I'm sometimes tempted when I look at expensive touring bikes online, I don't think I'll ever change my bike until I'm forced to. The thing is, I'd happily head off around the world tomorrow on my Saracen Skyline because, whilst it may not be the best touring bike in the world, I know everything about it - it's strengths and weaknesses - and I take tools and spares accordingly, knowing that I can fix anything that might go wrong. If I bought a new bike I'd have to do several short rides first to build up any confidence in it. Better the devil you know!
August 2013
I love it when a plan comes together!
(George Peppard in the original 'A Team' series - You need to be old to remember that one!)
Karen and I are just back from spending five weeks driving and camping to Mallorca and back to pick up my bike - I just love being a teacher!
Which reminds me -
A young teacher is being interviewed for a new job by the headmaster. "Well Mr. Jones, your answers to my questions have been excellent and I must say that you would appear to be the perfect candidate for the position. However, before confirming your appointment I would just like to ask you one final question. Can you give me two reasons why you originally wanted to become a teacher." The young teacher doesn't even have to think about the question and, without hesitation, replies "Oh that's easy - July and August!"
The old ones are the best!
Anyway, back to the plan. I've been asked to do another year's teaching at a couple of local schools with both contracts ending at the end of May 2014. So my current thinking is to head off at the beginning of June (about four weeks before the start of the Scottish school holiday), spend about seven weeks cycling to Africa, back up the Spanish coast to Valencia, then take the ferry to Palma and cycle across Mallorca to meet up with Karen at our apartment.
Sky hibernating in the corner of our Majorcan apartment.
September
I've fitted a 37mm tyre to the rear, although contrary to what I said above, I've stuck to Continental tyres (I've read a few blogs about people getting faulty Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and I don't want to find that I've got one when I'm halfway to Africa!). One of my concerns about this was how much the wider tyre would increase the rolling resistance and so I carried out some tests. Whilst this may sound highly technical it's actually very simple. Before changing the tyre I checked the pressures, found a road with a slight incline followed by a long level. I push off from the top, and see how far the bike freewheels. Repeat the test several times and them repeat the process with the new tyre. The results were very reassuring as the bike went further with the wider tyre! I suspect that was due to the fact that the old tyre was bald and so put lots of rubber in contact with the road.
I've also fitted centre pull brakes by a company called Tecktro that are much more powerful than the original Shimano. They look a bit ungainly but they have a better mechanical advantage and certainly work well.
My 32mm wide tyre after 1500 miles from new!
November
Sky is back from having a makeover. All new brake and gear cables, gel backed handlebar tape to help absorb shocks as I bump over roads (after a few weeks with the old tape the nerve endings in your hands die and you suffer from permanent tingling), and a rear view mirror so that I can see the French truck that's about to hit me!
Even though I've fitted a new wider tyre on the rear wheel I was going to keep the original width on the front to keep the rolling resistance to a minimum. However, I've now decided to change the front to 37mm as well. On my last ride the front tyre lasted just over 1500 miles - as I plan to do about 2500 miles this summer I don't want to have to put the narrow front tyre on the rear halfway through the trip or try and find a shop to buy a new one.
March 2014
I've been getting complaints that I haven't updated my website for a while! This is mainly because I've been playing a waiting game to see if the schools where I'm currently working are likely to want me after my contract ends at the end of May. It's now looking as though I'm going to be free to head off on my ride at the beginning of June.
So, since my last entry -
I've changed my route. I've decided that once I get to Bordeaux I'm going to head over to Carcassonne and cross the Pyrenees near Perpignan using the same pass I did in 2012, cycle down the coast (probably inland a bit) to Gibraltar, and then across to Tangiers. It's longer than my original route but at least I'm guaranteed campsites to stay at - they are just too far apart in the centre of Spain and in some areas there are few roads other than motorways.
I've started to lose weight. My target is that I, plus the bike, plus my luggage, should weigh no more than 140kg - that seems to be the point beyond which spokes in the rear wheel break. People have said that I take too much 'stuff' with me and that I should lighten my load by taking less but, when I'm going away for quite a while, I like to cover all eventualities and also have a reasonably comfortable existence - I'd rather lose weight from myself than leave anything behind or spend a fortune on lighter versions of equipment that only save a pound or two. As a consequence I've found myself needing to lose just over 22kg (49 pounds or 3.5 stone)! Although it's quite a lot of weight, it shouldn't be too much of a problem as I have plenty of time and I have a system that has yet to fail me.
The Diet
The diet industry is worth billions worldwide and yet most people who buy diet products fail to lose weight and blame it on being 'big boned' or having a 'low metabolism'. Losing weight is quite simple - consume less calories than your body burns - it's a scientific fact - as Oprah Wimfrey once said, "There 'aint no fatties in a famine!". If you can consume less calories than you burn and still put on weight I shouldn't worry, you've just disproved one of the basic laws of physics and will soon become a millionnaire!
To lose weight, all I do is draw myself a graph - the weight I want to lose on the y axis and the time I want to lose it over on the x axis. Then I draw a straight line graph from the current weight and date to the target weight and date (you must be realistic about this - I'm going to lose 49 pounds over 4 months which is probably pushing it a bit). I then reduce my portion size slightly and cut out foods like cheese, peanuts, cake, biscuits, booze (!), sweets, and takeaways. I weigh myself every day and plot the weight on the graph. As with most diets, you lose weight rapidly for the first few days but then it slows down, some days you even put on weight and can't figure out why but the thing is, you're still below the line of the graph and you know that as long as you stay below the line, you're going to reach your target on time. I find it works really well - it's pschological really because you can go out for the odd meal, which will instantly add a couple of pounds to your weight but you don't care because you're still below the line! If I'm losing weight too fast I eat more, if I'm not losing weight fast enough ie getting dangerously close to the line, I eat a little less.
Please note that I'm not advocating this as a way for people to lose weight - it definitely hasn't been medically approved but I find that it works for me. I started just after the beginning of February and now, just over four weeks later, I've lost 18 pounds. I eat healthily (all food is home cooked but is not diet food) and my evening meal is anything but small and I'm currently doing no exercise as the weather has been so bad - once it improves I'll try to get out on the bike.
I've started to get all my camping gear together. It's been stored in various parts of the house and most of it hasn't been used since my last ride in 2012 so it's a case of getting everything out and checking it carefully to make sure it's OK and also to see what I still need to buy before setting off - and then putting it all away again!
Monday 31st March
On Saturday I went for my first ride since well before Christmas - about 46 miles over a hilly route. I could certainly feel my leg muscles on Sunday! It was probably a bit far for a first ride but it highlighted the need for more training. Now that the clocks have gone forward and the weather's improving I'll try to get out for a few rides after work.
24 pounds lost - it's much easier to trim the weight off me than off my kit list!
Sky is back from having a makeover. All new brake and gear cables, gel backed handlebar tape to help absorb shocks as I bump over roads (after a few weeks with the old tape the nerve endings in your hands die and you suffer from permanent tingling), and a rear view mirror so that I can see the French truck that's about to hit me!
Even though I've fitted a new wider tyre on the rear wheel I was going to keep the original width on the front to keep the rolling resistance to a minimum. However, I've now decided to change the front to 37mm as well. On my last ride the front tyre lasted just over 1500 miles - as I plan to do about 2500 miles this summer I don't want to have to put the narrow front tyre on the rear halfway through the trip or try and find a shop to buy a new one.
March 2014
I've been getting complaints that I haven't updated my website for a while! This is mainly because I've been playing a waiting game to see if the schools where I'm currently working are likely to want me after my contract ends at the end of May. It's now looking as though I'm going to be free to head off on my ride at the beginning of June.
So, since my last entry -
I've changed my route. I've decided that once I get to Bordeaux I'm going to head over to Carcassonne and cross the Pyrenees near Perpignan using the same pass I did in 2012, cycle down the coast (probably inland a bit) to Gibraltar, and then across to Tangiers. It's longer than my original route but at least I'm guaranteed campsites to stay at - they are just too far apart in the centre of Spain and in some areas there are few roads other than motorways.
I've started to lose weight. My target is that I, plus the bike, plus my luggage, should weigh no more than 140kg - that seems to be the point beyond which spokes in the rear wheel break. People have said that I take too much 'stuff' with me and that I should lighten my load by taking less but, when I'm going away for quite a while, I like to cover all eventualities and also have a reasonably comfortable existence - I'd rather lose weight from myself than leave anything behind or spend a fortune on lighter versions of equipment that only save a pound or two. As a consequence I've found myself needing to lose just over 22kg (49 pounds or 3.5 stone)! Although it's quite a lot of weight, it shouldn't be too much of a problem as I have plenty of time and I have a system that has yet to fail me.
The Diet
The diet industry is worth billions worldwide and yet most people who buy diet products fail to lose weight and blame it on being 'big boned' or having a 'low metabolism'. Losing weight is quite simple - consume less calories than your body burns - it's a scientific fact - as Oprah Wimfrey once said, "There 'aint no fatties in a famine!". If you can consume less calories than you burn and still put on weight I shouldn't worry, you've just disproved one of the basic laws of physics and will soon become a millionnaire!
To lose weight, all I do is draw myself a graph - the weight I want to lose on the y axis and the time I want to lose it over on the x axis. Then I draw a straight line graph from the current weight and date to the target weight and date (you must be realistic about this - I'm going to lose 49 pounds over 4 months which is probably pushing it a bit). I then reduce my portion size slightly and cut out foods like cheese, peanuts, cake, biscuits, booze (!), sweets, and takeaways. I weigh myself every day and plot the weight on the graph. As with most diets, you lose weight rapidly for the first few days but then it slows down, some days you even put on weight and can't figure out why but the thing is, you're still below the line of the graph and you know that as long as you stay below the line, you're going to reach your target on time. I find it works really well - it's pschological really because you can go out for the odd meal, which will instantly add a couple of pounds to your weight but you don't care because you're still below the line! If I'm losing weight too fast I eat more, if I'm not losing weight fast enough ie getting dangerously close to the line, I eat a little less.
Please note that I'm not advocating this as a way for people to lose weight - it definitely hasn't been medically approved but I find that it works for me. I started just after the beginning of February and now, just over four weeks later, I've lost 18 pounds. I eat healthily (all food is home cooked but is not diet food) and my evening meal is anything but small and I'm currently doing no exercise as the weather has been so bad - once it improves I'll try to get out on the bike.
I've started to get all my camping gear together. It's been stored in various parts of the house and most of it hasn't been used since my last ride in 2012 so it's a case of getting everything out and checking it carefully to make sure it's OK and also to see what I still need to buy before setting off - and then putting it all away again!
Monday 31st March
On Saturday I went for my first ride since well before Christmas - about 46 miles over a hilly route. I could certainly feel my leg muscles on Sunday! It was probably a bit far for a first ride but it highlighted the need for more training. Now that the clocks have gone forward and the weather's improving I'll try to get out for a few rides after work.
24 pounds lost - it's much easier to trim the weight off me than off my kit list!
