The journey is the reward.
Chinese proverb - let's hope it's true!
He travels the fastest who travels alone
Rudyard Kipling - I don't think so!
Click on the link below -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugsCdLHm-Q
Sunday 1st June Dumfries to just south of Penrith Daily mileage 58 miles Total mileage 58 miles Temperature 20C
Chinese proverb - let's hope it's true!
He travels the fastest who travels alone
Rudyard Kipling - I don't think so!
Click on the link below -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugsCdLHm-Q
Sunday 1st June Dumfries to just south of Penrith Daily mileage 58 miles Total mileage 58 miles Temperature 20C
We're off! More a super tanker than a bike.
I nearly didn't get started at all. I went to put the bags on the bike yesterday evening only to discover that the front tyre had exploded! It was a new tyre and obviously a manufacturing fault as the bike had just been stood in our hall in preparation for my departure. The side wall of the tyre had given way - fortunately I had another but as I bought it at the same time I hope that the new one is not going to have the same problem. Still, better that it failed before I set off.
I got a nice send off as my boys came through with wives and grandchildren. Quite a good ride into Carlisle but very hilly and a headwind after. Lots of tractors and trailers bringing in the grass whilst it's dry and lots of big furry kamikaze caterpillars trying to cross the road (There must be a joke there somewhere!). 58 miles is a bit much for the first day but I wanted to get to this site which is great. I'm staying at Lowther Holiday Park, just south of Penrith, which is an extremely well organised site - supermarket, pub, restaurant - what more could you want? I come across quite a few sites owned by people who think that all you need is a field and a toilet block and you can sit back and take the money. Here they work hard to provide really good facilities. The shower blocks (I think there's three of them) are very modern and spotless. Best of all though, when I mentioned that I was doing a charity ride they said I could stay for free - aren't people wonderful!
Crossing the Pennines via Shap tomorrow - it's steep!
The river that runs through the campsite
And one of the inhabitants
Monday 2nd June Penrith to Carnforth Daily mileage 47 Total mileage 105 Temperature 17C
As it turned out, it's not much fun at the beginning of June either!
Not a good day today. Shap Summit is always a struggle but today was made much worse as I’ve had a strong headwind all day plus heavy rain over the hills – at one point I could only manage 5mph! It’s really depressing when you have to use a fairly low gear to peddle downhill. I only got up to 27mph descending from Shap which sounds OK but two years ago I hit 45mph with the brakes on!
On the brighter side I’m now at Morecambe bay at Red Bank Farm which is a working farm but has turned a few fields into a campsite. £6 a night, spotless facilities and a spectacular view of the bay from my tent. The down side is that it’s miles from any shops (It does have a ‘sort of’ shop/cafe but it’s not open much at this time of year). I knew this before I booked in but I couldn’t be bothered stopping and hauling the extra weight, so I’ve hit my backup food – pasta and noodles – which I must remember to replace. I’ve also done my first lot of washing – hope it dries by the morning.
So there it is -Shap Summit. Er, no you can't see anything because at this point I'm up in the clouds!
Although it's a bit of a sad monument, at least you know that when you get here you've got a lot of downhill ahead!
Me, taking a photo of myself, in the reflective glass window of a Porsche showroom - it seemed funny at the time!
Morecambe Bay from the campsite
The view from my pitch
Hot air balloon over Morecambe Bay. Although this looks like a rubbish photo, it was getting dark and the balloon was several miles away! (The camera's on 200x zoom) You can just make out 'Virgin' on the side.
Tuesday 3rd June
Carnforth to Simister (North of Manchester) Daily mileage 61 Total mileage 166 Temperature 17C
What a difference a day makes! (Could be a good title for a song!) I woke this morning and nearly turned over and went back to sleep – very high winds and lashing it down with rain. When I eventually looked out Sky (my bike) had been blown over, despite being locked to a post (The post had been pulled over as well). When I investigated I discovered that my rear view mirror had been broken off and the glass smashed (Must try and pick up another as I find it really useful). Needless to say my washing wasn’t dry so I took it to the camping site laundry and put it in their tumble dryer as I don’t want the extra weight of sodden clothes. By the time I’d done all this and got myself washed it had stopped raining and the wind was dropping and so I quickly packed and headed off.
It turned out to be a good day’s ride as the weather improved as the day went on and, whilst I still had the headwind it had dropped to a level that wasn’t slowing me down much. Not long after leaving Lancaster I pulled into a layby where I had spotted a burger van and ordered a bacon roll and a cup of tea. “How far are you going?” asked the owner. I told him. “Doin’ it for charity?” he asked. I told him. “Then the roll and the tea are on me!” Aren’t people wonderful?
The A6 after Lancaster is fairly flat and smooth as it follows the Lancaster Canal (or vice versa) and so I was able to make good time during the first half of the day. The second half was slower due to some rubbish road surfaces as I approached Manchester.
I’m staying tonight at my dad and his wife’s house in Simister (A lovely little village north of Manchester) and have just had a great meal – just what I needed! My dad’s 94 now and shows no signs of slowing down!
Wednesday 4th June Simister to Hollington (South of Stoke on Trent) Daily mileage 62 Total mileage 228 Temperature 16C
A very wet day. It started raining just as I got to the end of my dad's road and kept raining all day until I reached tonight's campsite. Sometimes it was really heavy causing localised flooding so that I had to lift my feet out of the peddles as I shot through. Consequently I'm trying to dry out as I write up today's diary.
I made three mistakes today. The first was leaving my reading glasses at my dad's, but being the superman that he is, by midday he'd sent me a text saying that he'd posted them on to my aunt's house in Kennington, Oxford where I'm due to stay in a couple of days time.
The second mistake was feeling sorry for myself because I was soaking wet and deciding that as compensation I would treat myself to a 'proper' lunch instead of the usual bacon roll. I stopped at a nice little café/bistro in an equally nice little village and ordered a piece of quiche (goat's cheese and roasted red pepper) and a cup of tea and sat waiting in eager anticipation. I waited and waited and waited. 20 minutes later the guy came over with my tea and apologised for the delay but they had a bit of a rush on. I looked around - there were six people in the place including me! It turns out that they'd only taken over the place at the weekend and didn't really know what they were doing. Anyway, because of that mistake, I wasted an hour's cycling time.
The third, and worst mistake, was trying to go through Stoke-on Trent. This is the third time that I've tried it on a bike and this is the third time that I've failed to do it without wasting time and clocking up unnecessary miles. Each time I've done more research and think I've got it sussed but no, it always beats me. It's not that I don't know where I'm going, it's just that bikes aren't allowed on some of the roads (despite them being 'A' roads) and they divert you onto a cycle track. The trouble is, what they don't tell you is that the cycle tracks go somewhere completely different!
Anyway, I finally arrived at this campsite (The Raddle Inn, south of Stoke) at 7pm, threw up the tent and adjourned to the pub for some food, an attempt to dry out, and to use their wifi. There's quite a nice view from the site but it's a bit overcast at the moment so I'll try again in the morning.
What a difference a day makes! (Could be a good title for a song!) I woke this morning and nearly turned over and went back to sleep – very high winds and lashing it down with rain. When I eventually looked out Sky (my bike) had been blown over, despite being locked to a post (The post had been pulled over as well). When I investigated I discovered that my rear view mirror had been broken off and the glass smashed (Must try and pick up another as I find it really useful). Needless to say my washing wasn’t dry so I took it to the camping site laundry and put it in their tumble dryer as I don’t want the extra weight of sodden clothes. By the time I’d done all this and got myself washed it had stopped raining and the wind was dropping and so I quickly packed and headed off.
It turned out to be a good day’s ride as the weather improved as the day went on and, whilst I still had the headwind it had dropped to a level that wasn’t slowing me down much. Not long after leaving Lancaster I pulled into a layby where I had spotted a burger van and ordered a bacon roll and a cup of tea. “How far are you going?” asked the owner. I told him. “Doin’ it for charity?” he asked. I told him. “Then the roll and the tea are on me!” Aren’t people wonderful?
The A6 after Lancaster is fairly flat and smooth as it follows the Lancaster Canal (or vice versa) and so I was able to make good time during the first half of the day. The second half was slower due to some rubbish road surfaces as I approached Manchester.
I’m staying tonight at my dad and his wife’s house in Simister (A lovely little village north of Manchester) and have just had a great meal – just what I needed! My dad’s 94 now and shows no signs of slowing down!
Wednesday 4th June Simister to Hollington (South of Stoke on Trent) Daily mileage 62 Total mileage 228 Temperature 16C
A very wet day. It started raining just as I got to the end of my dad's road and kept raining all day until I reached tonight's campsite. Sometimes it was really heavy causing localised flooding so that I had to lift my feet out of the peddles as I shot through. Consequently I'm trying to dry out as I write up today's diary.
I made three mistakes today. The first was leaving my reading glasses at my dad's, but being the superman that he is, by midday he'd sent me a text saying that he'd posted them on to my aunt's house in Kennington, Oxford where I'm due to stay in a couple of days time.
The second mistake was feeling sorry for myself because I was soaking wet and deciding that as compensation I would treat myself to a 'proper' lunch instead of the usual bacon roll. I stopped at a nice little café/bistro in an equally nice little village and ordered a piece of quiche (goat's cheese and roasted red pepper) and a cup of tea and sat waiting in eager anticipation. I waited and waited and waited. 20 minutes later the guy came over with my tea and apologised for the delay but they had a bit of a rush on. I looked around - there were six people in the place including me! It turns out that they'd only taken over the place at the weekend and didn't really know what they were doing. Anyway, because of that mistake, I wasted an hour's cycling time.
The third, and worst mistake, was trying to go through Stoke-on Trent. This is the third time that I've tried it on a bike and this is the third time that I've failed to do it without wasting time and clocking up unnecessary miles. Each time I've done more research and think I've got it sussed but no, it always beats me. It's not that I don't know where I'm going, it's just that bikes aren't allowed on some of the roads (despite them being 'A' roads) and they divert you onto a cycle track. The trouble is, what they don't tell you is that the cycle tracks go somewhere completely different!
Anyway, I finally arrived at this campsite (The Raddle Inn, south of Stoke) at 7pm, threw up the tent and adjourned to the pub for some food, an attempt to dry out, and to use their wifi. There's quite a nice view from the site but it's a bit overcast at the moment so I'll try again in the morning.
The bar at The Raddle Inn - a typical English pub. You can see my cycling jacket drying over the back of a chair to the right of the photo.
The view from the campsite at The Raddle Inn. You can see from the water on the ground how wet the site is.
Thursday 5th June
Hollington to Marton (near Rugby) Daily mileage 67 Total mileage
296 Temperature 18C
Quite a good day overall. It started off cold – it was only 9C in the tent when I woke up and, needless to say, my clothes hadn’t dried overnight and so I put on damp clothes - a bit chilly in the breeze. The hills around the site are very steep – I’d experienced them to get to the site last night. Now I had to tackle them again – not the best way to start the day.
However, once over the steep hills, the rest of the day was reasonably smooth – rolling hills rather than steep. At one point the front gear changer stopped working and I could only get the smallest front chainwheel which meant that my legs were going like crazy but I gave it a severe talking to and it sorted itself out (I’m guessing that it was a bit of muck or grit in the mechanism). The wind was strong but mainly from the side, only changing to head on for the last hour or so.
Later in the afternoon a bright shiny yellow thing appeared in the sky – the sun had come out and the temperature had risen to 18C and so there was only one thing for it, the legs had to come out. I pulled into a layby and stripped off my tracksuit bottoms and rode the rest of the afternoon in my cycling shorts (No, not lycra, the legs are bad enough, lycra would just bring the male species into disrepute). Ah well, that’s the start of the stripy tan then!
For about the last twenty miles of today’s ride I’ve been on the old Roman Fosse Way - generally quite a good surface but one or two stretches that looked like they hadn’t had any attention since they were first layed.
I’ve been clocking up slightly more miles than expected due to being directed round towns. Today I did the scenic tour of Uttoxeter and Burton on Trent (both nice places) which added miles to my total. Tomorrow I’m staying at my aunt’s house just south of Oxford which should be no more than 45miles away so tomorrow should be a relatively easy day.
The site that I’m staying at is a bit strange. When I ‘phoned to book the women said that as I was a single person on a bike she would only charge me £10 (Can’t remember what it was full price). “Great” I thought, until I arrived. The only good thing about the site is the fact that the ground is level. I went to have a shower, only to discover that there was only one, plus one toilet and one wash hand basin, situated in a unisex portacabin. The shower was so tiny that I had to get undressed outside before going in! Fortunately no one else was around. Later on I discovered one more toilet and wash hand basin in a 7’x5’ garden shed (it really was a garden shed!) and another shower in an outbuilding with the washing machines and tumble dryer – I suppose it’s fine so long as you don’t mind being watched having your shower by people doing their laundry!
Quite a good day overall. It started off cold – it was only 9C in the tent when I woke up and, needless to say, my clothes hadn’t dried overnight and so I put on damp clothes - a bit chilly in the breeze. The hills around the site are very steep – I’d experienced them to get to the site last night. Now I had to tackle them again – not the best way to start the day.
However, once over the steep hills, the rest of the day was reasonably smooth – rolling hills rather than steep. At one point the front gear changer stopped working and I could only get the smallest front chainwheel which meant that my legs were going like crazy but I gave it a severe talking to and it sorted itself out (I’m guessing that it was a bit of muck or grit in the mechanism). The wind was strong but mainly from the side, only changing to head on for the last hour or so.
Later in the afternoon a bright shiny yellow thing appeared in the sky – the sun had come out and the temperature had risen to 18C and so there was only one thing for it, the legs had to come out. I pulled into a layby and stripped off my tracksuit bottoms and rode the rest of the afternoon in my cycling shorts (No, not lycra, the legs are bad enough, lycra would just bring the male species into disrepute). Ah well, that’s the start of the stripy tan then!
For about the last twenty miles of today’s ride I’ve been on the old Roman Fosse Way - generally quite a good surface but one or two stretches that looked like they hadn’t had any attention since they were first layed.
I’ve been clocking up slightly more miles than expected due to being directed round towns. Today I did the scenic tour of Uttoxeter and Burton on Trent (both nice places) which added miles to my total. Tomorrow I’m staying at my aunt’s house just south of Oxford which should be no more than 45miles away so tomorrow should be a relatively easy day.
The site that I’m staying at is a bit strange. When I ‘phoned to book the women said that as I was a single person on a bike she would only charge me £10 (Can’t remember what it was full price). “Great” I thought, until I arrived. The only good thing about the site is the fact that the ground is level. I went to have a shower, only to discover that there was only one, plus one toilet and one wash hand basin, situated in a unisex portacabin. The shower was so tiny that I had to get undressed outside before going in! Fortunately no one else was around. Later on I discovered one more toilet and wash hand basin in a 7’x5’ garden shed (it really was a garden shed!) and another shower in an outbuilding with the washing machines and tumble dryer – I suppose it’s fine so long as you don’t mind being watched having your shower by people doing their laundry!
If you're going to have a motorhome, I suppose you may as well make it a big one! The campsite at Marton.
Nice old bridge at Burton on Trent
Barges moored up at Burton on Trent. You can see the Marston's Brewery in the background
A Harley Davidson convention at a hotel I passed near Hinckley - there were hundreds of them.
Friday 6th June Marton to Kenilworth (just south of Oxford) Daily mileage 55 Total mileage 341 Temperature 25C
Ah well, that’s the last time I say that the next day should be easy! Quite a hard day as it turned out. Hot, a headwind, and no level roads. I’ve renamed the South Downs the South Ups and Downs. With the headwind I was doing well if I got to over 10 mph. Anyway, the day ended well. I have to go through Oxford to get to my aunt’s house, here in Kenilworth. Oxford is such a cool place – literally thousands of bikes, everywhere you look. I also finally managed to replace my rearview mirror. I’ve stopped at every bike shop I’ve seen along the way to ask about a replacement but they all stocked Cateye mirrors which are not long enough for me to be able to see round my rear bags. The first bike shop I stopped at in Oxford – bingo! The exact mirror I was looking for.
So I’m sitting here, in a comfy chair in my aunt’s lounge having been amply fed and watered, and looking forward to a soft bed!
Winchester tomorrow and my last campsite before France.
On a bike you obviously can't use motorways, but using the backroads has its advantages - a lovely house - and it's for sale.
It always fascinates me - we think that we're so clever with all our modern technology and yet 400 years ago they could build houses that would not only last until the present day but still look good.
Bikes, bikes, and more bikes. Racks like these are all over Oxford.
It looked more impressive in real life! - the view up Oxford High Street.
Saturday 7th.June Kenilworth to a little east of Winchester Daily mileage 64 Total mileage 405 Temperature 21C
Ah well, that’s the first week over. One down and probably another six to go.
The weather forecast for today was heavy rain this morning and then much better this afternoon – and they got it exactly right. The morning was horrendous – it was raining before I set out and just kept on. It was very heavy causing localised flooding. One dip in the road that I came to had completely filled and it was sufficiently deep that some drivers decided not to risk it and turned back. I, on the other hand, being completely soaked to the skin anyway, just got off and walked my bike through.
I had decided from the outset that today would not be a short ride as I had decided to avoid the A34 at all costs (I mentioned in my 2012 ride notes that it’s suicide for cyclists). I’d worked out an alternative route which, whilst a little longer, should be much safer. I knew that I had to cycle into Abingdon, south of Oxford, and pick up the A415, which I duly did. I merrily cycled along for about 10 miles before it dawned on me that I was going in the wrong direction and my compass confirmed it! In my defence I had not been checking the map as the rain was hammering down so much. Anyway I decided that there was no way that I was going back and so I spent the rest of the day creating a new, and considerably longer, route.
Nevertheless it was a pleasant day’s ride, with reasonably smooth and level roads for much of the time, and once the sun came out I slowly dried out.
When I arrived at my aunt’s house yesterday, my eyes had almost closed up and my left eye was very swollen. I had just put in down to the wind and the sun but on looking in the mirror it looked pretty bad (Yes, worse than usual!). Between my aunt and I we decided that it was hayfever, which I used to suffer badly from when I lived down south but not since moving to Scotland. Anyway she gave me some antihistamine tablets (My aunt seems to have tablets and ointments for everything!) and all now appears to be well.
Apologies that theses last few updates are late – I’ve had no internet access, nor passed any McDonald’s, etc to use their’s.
Just a nice view as I cycled through Pangborne
Sunday 8th June East of Winchester to the ferry terminal at Portsmouth Daily mileage 26 Total mileage 431 Temperature 25C
I awoke this morning to sunshine and the tent at 18C at 7.15am - a lovely blue sky. Although it's only a relatively short ride to Portsmouth I thought I'd get here early as I'd not booked my ticket. A pleasant (if hilly) ride getting off the South Downs through some lovely villages. Loads of cyclists around, out for their Sunday morning ride.
Anyway, I'm now booked on the 8.15pm ferry to Saint Malo and I've been forced to come to a nearby pub to update my website as the Portsmouth Ferry Terminal does not have wifi (The sacrifices I have to make!).
Although I always feel that the real adventure starts at France, the UK is very valuable as a 'shake down' - the opportunity to check that everything is working properly and that I've not left anything vital behind. It also allows me to make sure that I'm happy about my own level of fitness.
I awoke this morning to sunshine and the tent at 18C at 7.15am - a lovely blue sky. Although it's only a relatively short ride to Portsmouth I thought I'd get here early as I'd not booked my ticket. A pleasant (if hilly) ride getting off the South Downs through some lovely villages. Loads of cyclists around, out for their Sunday morning ride.
Anyway, I'm now booked on the 8.15pm ferry to Saint Malo and I've been forced to come to a nearby pub to update my website as the Portsmouth Ferry Terminal does not have wifi (The sacrifices I have to make!).
Although I always feel that the real adventure starts at France, the UK is very valuable as a 'shake down' - the opportunity to check that everything is working properly and that I've not left anything vital behind. It also allows me to make sure that I'm happy about my own level of fitness.
Sorry, poor photography on my part - taken into the sun. The lovely village of Bishop's Waltham - quaint shops and bistros.
You know you're getting close when you can see the Portsmouth Spinnaker tower in the distance
Portsmouth Ferry Terminal and the end of Stage 1 of the journey.
9.30pm Last update before I head off to bed. I've now left Portsmouth (although we still seem to be heading along the coast). I've plugged into the ship's electrics and I'm trying to get everything fully charged whilst I can. Tomorrow I intend to head for Rennes.
HMS Warrior at Portsmouth
As you can see, I've not quite mastered the self-timer on the camera! Waiting to board the ferry.
A better view of the spinnaker tower
Coming into Saint Malo in the early morning. Nice looking chateau on an island.
Monday 9th June
Saint Malo to Chateaugiron (southeast of Rennes) Daily mileage 66 Total
mileage 498 Temperature 25C
Well, here I am in France at last (A bit late for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings). Quite an interesting first day. Whilst queing for the ferry at Portsmouth I was joined by a 68 year old guy from Doncaster who is going to cycle the Camino de Santiago pilgrim route. I’m not sure where it starts but it ends in northwest Spain. From there he plans to cycle down to Faro in Portugal and fly back from there. As we were the only two cyclists getting the ferry we were soon chatting away, discussing routes, etc. In the morning he said to me that he would cycle with me as far as Rennes. My heart sank. I know it sounds strange but I hate the idea of cycling with another person when I’m cycling long distance – is he going faster than he normally would because he doesn’t want to hold me up? Am I holding him up? How do we decide when to stop for a break? It’s just too complicated.
Anyway, we set off and I have to admit that there was one immediate advantage in having my new friend with me. He has a Garmin satnav on his bike and was able to guide us straight out of Saint Malo at the first attempt (it usually takes me a couple of laps of the town before I can escape). We headed out of town at a good pace but his satnav put us on a road which I was sure was a motorway, although he assured me that it was just a dual carriageway. He was slightly faster than me on the hills as he was carrying very little luggage because he was planning to use hotels and B&B’s and so I told him to go on ahead. A matter of minutes later I found him sheltering under a bridge trying to find his rain jacket. I said that I would go on as he would surely catch me up. I never saw him again! My guess is that he finally realised that it was a motorway, that the people beeping their horns were not just being friendly, and like me, decided to get off.
Once I was off the motorway, the day became a little voyage of discovery as the French can be a little conservative with their road signs on side roads and so I did a bit more zigzagging than I should have. Nevertheless, apart from a few steep hills it was a good day’s cycling due mainly to the smoother finish of the French roads which allow me to pull a higher gear and also to freewheel on slopes that in the UK I would have to peddle on. And the sun came out, with more strength than I realised, so I now have red arms.
One disadvantage of turning up in France today is that it’s a bank holiday and in France that means that everything is shut except for petrol stations and the very odd shop. Fortunately I’d deliberately bought some bananas in Portsmouth and I also managed to buy some bread and cheese from a shop in a little village today. It does mean though, that I’m hitting my backup food again tonight.
I’m staying at the municipal campsite at Chateaugiron, where I stayed on my 2006 ride. It’s a nice site, quite small (about 2 acres?), but is well laid out and has clean facilities. Being a municipal site means that it’s cheap (5 euros 50) and, like this one, they’re usually close to the centre of the village (which would be handy if anything was open!). I’ve managed to find a good pitch, but much of the site is very muddy and covered in water – they’ve obviously been getting roughly the same weather as us!
Well, here I am in France at last (A bit late for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings). Quite an interesting first day. Whilst queing for the ferry at Portsmouth I was joined by a 68 year old guy from Doncaster who is going to cycle the Camino de Santiago pilgrim route. I’m not sure where it starts but it ends in northwest Spain. From there he plans to cycle down to Faro in Portugal and fly back from there. As we were the only two cyclists getting the ferry we were soon chatting away, discussing routes, etc. In the morning he said to me that he would cycle with me as far as Rennes. My heart sank. I know it sounds strange but I hate the idea of cycling with another person when I’m cycling long distance – is he going faster than he normally would because he doesn’t want to hold me up? Am I holding him up? How do we decide when to stop for a break? It’s just too complicated.
Anyway, we set off and I have to admit that there was one immediate advantage in having my new friend with me. He has a Garmin satnav on his bike and was able to guide us straight out of Saint Malo at the first attempt (it usually takes me a couple of laps of the town before I can escape). We headed out of town at a good pace but his satnav put us on a road which I was sure was a motorway, although he assured me that it was just a dual carriageway. He was slightly faster than me on the hills as he was carrying very little luggage because he was planning to use hotels and B&B’s and so I told him to go on ahead. A matter of minutes later I found him sheltering under a bridge trying to find his rain jacket. I said that I would go on as he would surely catch me up. I never saw him again! My guess is that he finally realised that it was a motorway, that the people beeping their horns were not just being friendly, and like me, decided to get off.
Once I was off the motorway, the day became a little voyage of discovery as the French can be a little conservative with their road signs on side roads and so I did a bit more zigzagging than I should have. Nevertheless, apart from a few steep hills it was a good day’s cycling due mainly to the smoother finish of the French roads which allow me to pull a higher gear and also to freewheel on slopes that in the UK I would have to peddle on. And the sun came out, with more strength than I realised, so I now have red arms.
One disadvantage of turning up in France today is that it’s a bank holiday and in France that means that everything is shut except for petrol stations and the very odd shop. Fortunately I’d deliberately bought some bananas in Portsmouth and I also managed to buy some bread and cheese from a shop in a little village today. It does mean though, that I’m hitting my backup food again tonight.
I’m staying at the municipal campsite at Chateaugiron, where I stayed on my 2006 ride. It’s a nice site, quite small (about 2 acres?), but is well laid out and has clean facilities. Being a municipal site means that it’s cheap (5 euros 50) and, like this one, they’re usually close to the centre of the village (which would be handy if anything was open!). I’ve managed to find a good pitch, but much of the site is very muddy and covered in water – they’ve obviously been getting roughly the same weather as us!
I like the idea that they wanted to add a steeple to the church but there wasn't room so they built it over the footpath.
This was a great looking church. Unfortunately I can't remember where it was!
The chateau at Chateaugiron
My pitch at Chateaugiron, overlooking a small lake.
Tuesday 10th June
Chateaugiron to Ancencis (northeast of Nantes) Daily mileage 71 Total mileage 569
Temperature 26C
Quite a hard day with me never really getting ‘in the zone’. I was very tired on Monday evening and so I decided to set my alarm for 8am instead of 7.15 which it had been set to on previous mornings. My brain obviously wasn’t wide awake either as I forgot that my ‘phone would not have updated the time due to lack of wifi and so it woke me at 9am French time. In reality this didn’t really matter but it just got to me and I felt that I was playing catchup for the rest of the day.
The roads were smooth today but all up and down with no level stretches for cruising and so it was slow going. By 5pm I felt that I’d had enough and decided that I would stop at the first campsite I saw. Sure enough a few miles later I saw a sign for a campsite pointing down a sideroad and so off I went. 2 miles later I came across it only to discover that it was closed! So that was a 4 mile wasted detour which I could have well done without. There aren’t that many campsites in this area and so I just had to push on to the site here at Ancenis, finally arriving after 8pm.
I think I’m going to have a short day tomorrow and try and catch up on some much needed beauty sleep!
Quite a hard day with me never really getting ‘in the zone’. I was very tired on Monday evening and so I decided to set my alarm for 8am instead of 7.15 which it had been set to on previous mornings. My brain obviously wasn’t wide awake either as I forgot that my ‘phone would not have updated the time due to lack of wifi and so it woke me at 9am French time. In reality this didn’t really matter but it just got to me and I felt that I was playing catchup for the rest of the day.
The roads were smooth today but all up and down with no level stretches for cruising and so it was slow going. By 5pm I felt that I’d had enough and decided that I would stop at the first campsite I saw. Sure enough a few miles later I saw a sign for a campsite pointing down a sideroad and so off I went. 2 miles later I came across it only to discover that it was closed! So that was a 4 mile wasted detour which I could have well done without. There aren’t that many campsites in this area and so I just had to push on to the site here at Ancenis, finally arriving after 8pm.
I think I’m going to have a short day tomorrow and try and catch up on some much needed beauty sleep!
The French have built loads of these picnic areas by the sides of their roads - some of them are great.
And here's another one!
So now you know where the steak dish comes from.
Hmm, doesn't look like a steak. The chateau at Chateaubriant.
Now, for all you linguists out there, is this French for 'the cat flap'?
Wednesday 11th June Ancenis to Chambretaud (northwest of La Roche sur Yon) Daily mileage 47 Total mileage 615 Temperature 28C
A much better day today - I was more 'in the zone'. I'd intended it to be a short day to give me a bit of a recovery day and it worked out well, I even found a McDonald's to get my website up to date. Mind you, as it turned out, tonight's campsite has got wifi so I'm sitting in my tent typing this up. It's about the only good thing about tonight's campsite. I suppose it's OK, but they charge 18 euros whether your a single person in a small tent like me, or a couple in a big car with 22 foot long caravan and matching awning - it really annoys me!
I was slowly heading east as I eventually want to hit the south of France at Narbonne but I've noticed some nasty hills in the way so I'm just going to head roughly south until I get level with Bordeaux. I say roughly south because what I'm really having to do in zigzag down the country from one campsite to another.
A nice full moon
Thursday 12th June Chambretaud to Maillezais (east northeast of La Rochelle) Daily mileage 51 Total mileage 666! Temperature 30C
It’s starting to warm up! If you’re wondering about how I read the temperature – I have a thermometer buried deep inside my handlebar bag, surrounded by camera, paperwork, glasses, various assorted rubbish, which I try to remember to read between 1 and 2pm each day.
Today was a really good day. Loads of hills but more gentle ones that I could attack in a higher gear rather than dropping down to a ridiculously low gear and winching myself up. I could have gone on much further today but one thing got in the way – self-indulgence! I had marked a few possible campsites on the map and was powering along when I came to the first town with a campsite marked. I’d got it into my head to press on but stopped at a Co-op for some cold water. About 200 yards later I came across the first campsite – a really nice municipal site. That was it; I dived into the site, threw up my tent and then went back to the Co-op to get my first ‘real’ food in France. So here I am, typing up my notes, having had a big pan of cassoulet to myself!
Interestingly this site costs 6 euros 26 including wifi (Don’t ask how they arrive at that figure – it probably translates from French francs!) but has better facilities than last night’s site, which cost 18 euros – so you don’t always get what you pay for!
You have to admit it, the French do a good church! Even the smallest town will have a really impressive one. The figure on the steeple appears to be covered in gold leaf.
I'm always fascinated by the boulangeries/patisseries and their range of beautiful cakes, gateaux, and desserts.
Sky taking a well-earned rest at the top of a long climb. I, on the other hand, am scoffing pain au raisin that I bought from the shop in the previous photo!
Great big clumps of mistletoe growing in the trees. You could get kissed to death standing under that lot!
This is a really nice town!
Friday 13th June Maillezais to somewhere north of Saintes Daily mileage 55 Total mileage 721 Temperature 30C
Yes, I’m not quite sure where I am. I was merrily cycling along and saw this site which was on my road (a definite bonus – I can easily add 5-10 miles to the daily total cycling off route to a campsite). As I’d done 55 miles I decided to stop for the night. It’s a nice little site with clean facilities and at 6 euros it’s a bargain.
I had another good day’s cycling today. The wind was on the side and the hills, for most of the day, were gentle and so I was able to do some fast cruising which always lifts my spirits. Mind you, at one point I got so carried away with cruising that I realised that I’d missed a turn 10 miles back – a quick bit of re-routing required! I’m in Cognac country now, with vineyards all over the place and signs offering tastings (I abstained!). The grapes are tiny at the moment – about the size of a match head.
See what I mean, they're lovely aren't they?
I would be the first to admit that there are lots of disadvantages in cycling but one of the big advantages is that if you see a nice scene you can just stop and take a photo without affecting the traffic.
This is a photo taken straight up from my tent - a fig tree laden with figs. Unfortunately not quite ripe yet!
Getting organised. Sky is locked to the fig tree.
Another great thing about cycling is the smells (not always good it's true!). Here peaches and nectarines are giving off a wonderful aroma.
A Roman arch in Saintes.
I've started ignoring road signs that try to send you round a bypass at each town you come to and instead I ride right through the town instead - it's usually shorter and you get to see more. Unfortunately it was market day in this town and I ended up having to push the bike through the centre! I was rewarded, however, with a nice view of the square.
Saturday 14th June North of Saintes to La Roche Chalais (north east of Bordeaux) Daily mileage 73 Total mileage 794 Temperature 25C
Another good day. I suspect that the slightly cooler weather helped, although it didn’t actually feel like it was as much as 5 degrees cooler.
I was up and out of the site by half past eight and clear of Saintes by 9. The rest of the day was spent going up and down hills – nothing ridiculously steep but they nevertheless drain your energy over a period of time. Most of today’s roads were old Roman roads and perfectly straight – the shortest distance between two points and all that – very handy for moving your troops around. Unfortunately not many Roman soldiers had 24 speed touring bikes loaded with 34kg of camping gear (The Ryannair suitcase allowance is 15kg) and I was certainly tired by the end of the day. Never mind, it’s what I expected, having cycled this way before in 2006.
I saw my first live snake of the trip today. I’ve seen loads of squashed ones, several today alone, and that’s what I thought this one was until he/she (sorry, don’t know which and I wasn’t about to check!) suddenly slithered off the road. I guess they like the tarmac because, being black, it absorbs the sun’s heat and so it’s a good place for a snake to top up their tan.
Dogs. I don’t like dogs at the best of times but the French tend to keep big vicious dogs as guard dogs, particularly in rural areas. Now these dogs (being stupid as they are) are used to cars and trucks hurtling past making all sorts of noises but as soon as a lone cyclist appears they go completely whappy, running up the drive and hurling themselves at the gate, barking furiously at the same time. It’s enough to scare you to death. They then chase you the full length of the property, looking for a way to get out and kill you. I have had the odd one manage to get out in the past – it’s amazing how fast you can cycle when you really need to!
I’m now at this municipal site at La Roche Chalais. It’s a nice site (5 euros 50 I think, but I’m not sure because I haven’t paid yet as the Office is closed. Municipal sites only tend to man their offices for a few hours each day – time your arrival and departure carefully and you’ll end up camping for free). Tomorrow I plan to head for Bergerac.
Yes, I know, it's becoming an obsession! It just fascinates me that these little shops, in little towns, not only manage to make all these fantastic things but also, presumably, manage to sell them.
A photo from the back of my tent, showing the site at Bergerac running right down to the river.
Sunday 15th June La Roche Chalais to Bergerac Daily mileage 45 Total mileage 839 Temperature 24C
A short day today, which was just as well. Very steep hills this morning with no chance of attacking them, I just had to change down to a low gear and winch myself up. The problem is that a steep up is usually followed by a steep down. Now, don't get me wrong, I love flying down hills as much as the next person but the down is then usually followed by another steep up and your body hasn't had time to recover from the previous climb. This went on for over three hours this morning, so I was pretty drained by the end of it. This afternoon was slightly better as the climbs and descents were more gentle.
Lots of wild mint growing in the grass verges gave a nice fresh smell as I cycled along.
I'm now at the municipal site at Bergerac (6 euros 40). It's quite a nice site and I've stayed here a few times before. I stayed here in 2006 when I rode to Majorca, but I also stayed here about half a century ago when my parents first took the family abroad camping - I don't think it's changed much in all that time!
By the end of the day the site was quite full, almost exclusively with motorhomes. It was also interesting that, up until now, there has not been another British person on any of the campsites that I've stayed at since arriving in France. Here at Bergerac, there are seven British motorhomes.
I suspect that these guys sneaked in without paying their site fee.
I liked these traffic lights that I came across at some roadworks - they give you a countdown to green. Similar to the pedestrian ones that you get in the USA.
I'm getting some lovely views but it takes a lot of calories to get them!
This is the river Tarn, just before it flows into the river Garonne. These guys are my current best friends - they've given me pretty level cycling for two days.
Monday 16th June Bergerac to Golfech (east of
Agen) Daily mileage 73 Total mileage
912 Temperature 26C
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Nelson Mandela
A better day than expected as it turned out. I knew that today’s road to Agen was going to be hilly, you could tell from the map and the way that the road wiggled all over the place. I’d decided that the best approach was just to take my time and use the gears which is what I did – progress was sometimes slow but I reasoned that if I’m going forwards then I’m not going backwards (I’ve always been a deep thinker!) - I even came across a McDonald’s and stopped for a McFlurry so that I could recharge the batteries on the netbook and phone. Consequently I didn’t get too tired and arrived in Agen at about 5pm. Unfortunately the campsite that’s supposed to be there was nowhere to be seen and, as Agen is a big city, I wasn’t about to spend hours searching for it. So I headed out of town hoping to find a campsite to stay at – and here I am. It’s actually not a very good campsite – the toilet/shower block could do with a bit of TLC but it’s only for one night and it’s only 6 euros.
As I cycle along I have plenty of thinking time. However, as I have no stress or worries, I find myself inventing them. For example –
If a fly lands on my yellow cycling top (which they love to do) and I don’t notice him for a couple of miles, when he eventually flies away does he say “Where on earth am I and where’s mum and dad and little Jimmy?”
Why do so many of the French still use cheques to pay for their groceries in the supermarket? When was the last time that you saw anyone in the UK pay by cheque? Do UK supermarkets even accept cheques? It really slows the queue down and is frustrating for me when all I’m trying to buy is a sandwich and a cold drink.
Why do you have to stay out of your car when it goes through the car wash in France and Spain? I can’t figure it out. I’ve watched the process several times and it seems to be exactly the same as the UK.
Why is the background of the McDonald’s sign red in the USA and UK but green in France and Spain?
As you can see, I’m slowly building up quite a list of things to worry about!
Tuesday 17th June Golfech to Deyme (south of Toulouse) Daily mileage 67 Total mileage 979 Temperature 25C
I said in yesterday’s notes that I knew the day was going to be hilly and I was quite happy to accept that because I also knew that once I got to Agen the road would be fairly flat. The river Garonne, a canal, a railway line, and my road share the same route – it’s a pretty safe bet that the cycling will be easy- and that’s exactly how it turned out, until I reached Toulouse. It’s a big city (twenty miles across?) and of course they want you to use the motorway to either go round it, or to get to the centre, neither of which I can do. A kind Frenchman who had obviously seen the GB plate on the back of my bike and the puzzled look on my face, gave me directions to the centre but, even then, it took me ages to work my way out the other side and I ended up doing exactly the same as I did in 2006. I cycled down a canal towpath watching my compass and, when I thought that I was in roughly the right position I hauled the bike up an embankment onto the road and, as luck would have it, it was the right road.
So, here I am at this nice little site at Deyme, south of Toulouse (9 euros). It’s run by an elderly couple who whizz round the site on golf carts and take obvious pride in everything being just right. The ground is really hard and my tent pegs won’t touch it so I’ve had to resort to my 6 inch nails and a rock to hammer them in.
The only slight problem that I have just now as I right these notes, is that a thunderstorm has started with high winds and torrential rain so I’m hoping that I don’t get washed away!
PS The rain was some of the heaviest I’ve encountered in a tent. I retreated inside but the wind and rain had caused the temperature to drop considerably so I got in to the sleeping compartment of the tent and lay down on the airbed – the next thing I knew, it was a quarter to ten! I guess I must have been really tired.
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Nelson Mandela
A better day than expected as it turned out. I knew that today’s road to Agen was going to be hilly, you could tell from the map and the way that the road wiggled all over the place. I’d decided that the best approach was just to take my time and use the gears which is what I did – progress was sometimes slow but I reasoned that if I’m going forwards then I’m not going backwards (I’ve always been a deep thinker!) - I even came across a McDonald’s and stopped for a McFlurry so that I could recharge the batteries on the netbook and phone. Consequently I didn’t get too tired and arrived in Agen at about 5pm. Unfortunately the campsite that’s supposed to be there was nowhere to be seen and, as Agen is a big city, I wasn’t about to spend hours searching for it. So I headed out of town hoping to find a campsite to stay at – and here I am. It’s actually not a very good campsite – the toilet/shower block could do with a bit of TLC but it’s only for one night and it’s only 6 euros.
As I cycle along I have plenty of thinking time. However, as I have no stress or worries, I find myself inventing them. For example –
If a fly lands on my yellow cycling top (which they love to do) and I don’t notice him for a couple of miles, when he eventually flies away does he say “Where on earth am I and where’s mum and dad and little Jimmy?”
Why do so many of the French still use cheques to pay for their groceries in the supermarket? When was the last time that you saw anyone in the UK pay by cheque? Do UK supermarkets even accept cheques? It really slows the queue down and is frustrating for me when all I’m trying to buy is a sandwich and a cold drink.
Why do you have to stay out of your car when it goes through the car wash in France and Spain? I can’t figure it out. I’ve watched the process several times and it seems to be exactly the same as the UK.
Why is the background of the McDonald’s sign red in the USA and UK but green in France and Spain?
As you can see, I’m slowly building up quite a list of things to worry about!
Tuesday 17th June Golfech to Deyme (south of Toulouse) Daily mileage 67 Total mileage 979 Temperature 25C
I said in yesterday’s notes that I knew the day was going to be hilly and I was quite happy to accept that because I also knew that once I got to Agen the road would be fairly flat. The river Garonne, a canal, a railway line, and my road share the same route – it’s a pretty safe bet that the cycling will be easy- and that’s exactly how it turned out, until I reached Toulouse. It’s a big city (twenty miles across?) and of course they want you to use the motorway to either go round it, or to get to the centre, neither of which I can do. A kind Frenchman who had obviously seen the GB plate on the back of my bike and the puzzled look on my face, gave me directions to the centre but, even then, it took me ages to work my way out the other side and I ended up doing exactly the same as I did in 2006. I cycled down a canal towpath watching my compass and, when I thought that I was in roughly the right position I hauled the bike up an embankment onto the road and, as luck would have it, it was the right road.
So, here I am at this nice little site at Deyme, south of Toulouse (9 euros). It’s run by an elderly couple who whizz round the site on golf carts and take obvious pride in everything being just right. The ground is really hard and my tent pegs won’t touch it so I’ve had to resort to my 6 inch nails and a rock to hammer them in.
The only slight problem that I have just now as I right these notes, is that a thunderstorm has started with high winds and torrential rain so I’m hoping that I don’t get washed away!
PS The rain was some of the heaviest I’ve encountered in a tent. I retreated inside but the wind and rain had caused the temperature to drop considerably so I got in to the sleeping compartment of the tent and lay down on the airbed – the next thing I knew, it was a quarter to ten! I guess I must have been really tired.
They're very keen on these thin bricks around here. I'm guessing that they used clay from the riverbed and, being only about 30mm thick, the bricks would dry in the sun. An interesting church design - seems to have a Moorish influence.
I stopped here for a coffee and a demi baguette sandwich. Everything is baked in this wood fired oven - tastes really great.
Lizard with juicy worm - it's the lizard equivalent of a Big Mac. Hey, we've all got to eat!
This is Al Zonne, you may know his Italian cousin Cal. OK, it's been a long day!
I'm not the only one on a well-loaded bike. This Dutch woman has nearly as much gear on her Koga as me.
It shouldn't really exist except on a stage set should it? Carcassonne is an incredible place.
Wednesday 18th June Deyme to Carcassonne Daily mileage 52 Total mileage 1031 Temperature 24C
Isn’t life great?! Smooth roads, not too many climbs, almost zero wind for much of the day, sunny but not too hot – it doesn’t get much better!
As you’ve probably guessed, an easy day’s ride with lots of fast cruising, so much so that I had loads of time for rest/ coffee breaks.
Although there’s still wild mint in the grass verges, this has general y been replaced by wild dill with it’s smell of aniseed.
So, I’m now at Carcassonne, on a very nice site (“We do you special price monsieur, 13 euros 10”). It has a bar, restaurant, shop, swimming pool, etc, etc. Carcassonne is one of those places to see before you die. If you’ve not been, Google it and click on 'images', you expect to see knights in armour galloping around the place. My tent is pitched in a grove of walnut trees, partially on a bed of wild mint, close to the walls of the old town.
There are quite a few other cycle tourists here (You see, I’m not the only crazy person). Most are fairly lightly loaded by comparison but one Dutch woman seems to have almost as much luggage as me.
I got into a long conversation with a guy called Ken who came down on the European Bike Express, which I’d never heard of before. Apparently it runs from the north of England to Spain, picking up cyclists and their bikes and dropping them off wherever they want – sounds like a possibility for the future for me.
My plans for tomorrow are a bit vague – I’m thinking ahead now to the Pyrennees. I need to get myself into a position where I can get over in one go, as there are no campsites up there. So, in an ideal world, I’ll get to Perpignan tomorrow and Spain the day after, but it’ll just depend on how the day goes as Perpignan is at least 70 miles – it doesn’t really matter as I’m ahead of schedule at the moment, although I always like to keep a day or two in hand in case of breakdowns.
Ah well, time to go and see what’s on the menu at the restaurant.
Isn’t life great?! Smooth roads, not too many climbs, almost zero wind for much of the day, sunny but not too hot – it doesn’t get much better!
As you’ve probably guessed, an easy day’s ride with lots of fast cruising, so much so that I had loads of time for rest/ coffee breaks.
Although there’s still wild mint in the grass verges, this has general y been replaced by wild dill with it’s smell of aniseed.
So, I’m now at Carcassonne, on a very nice site (“We do you special price monsieur, 13 euros 10”). It has a bar, restaurant, shop, swimming pool, etc, etc. Carcassonne is one of those places to see before you die. If you’ve not been, Google it and click on 'images', you expect to see knights in armour galloping around the place. My tent is pitched in a grove of walnut trees, partially on a bed of wild mint, close to the walls of the old town.
There are quite a few other cycle tourists here (You see, I’m not the only crazy person). Most are fairly lightly loaded by comparison but one Dutch woman seems to have almost as much luggage as me.
I got into a long conversation with a guy called Ken who came down on the European Bike Express, which I’d never heard of before. Apparently it runs from the north of England to Spain, picking up cyclists and their bikes and dropping them off wherever they want – sounds like a possibility for the future for me.
My plans for tomorrow are a bit vague – I’m thinking ahead now to the Pyrennees. I need to get myself into a position where I can get over in one go, as there are no campsites up there. So, in an ideal world, I’ll get to Perpignan tomorrow and Spain the day after, but it’ll just depend on how the day goes as Perpignan is at least 70 miles – it doesn’t really matter as I’m ahead of schedule at the moment, although I always like to keep a day or two in hand in case of breakdowns.
Ah well, time to go and see what’s on the menu at the restaurant.
Now that's what I call a burger van! Quite a good use for old bendy buses I suppose.
Roman temple remains - needs a bit of a refurb!
Ah, there you are my old friend, good to see you again. My first view of the Med.
Thursday 19th June Carcassonne to Leucate Port (close to
Perpignan) Daily mileage 71 Total mileage 1102 Temperature 28C
I wasn’t really sure where I’ end up today, I just thought that I’d head out and see how far I got. As it turned out this was a good plan as it was definitely a day of two halves. The morning was brilliant with some of the best cycling of the trip. The wind was on my right and I was able to put in some fast (for me) cruising of 18 mph , and I thought that I might even get as far as the base of the Pyrenees. However, at Narbonne, I had to turn right, right into the wind. This dropped my speed right down to 8 – 10 mph and this was made worse because the road was very busy with large French trucks and I was forced to use the hard shoulder which was very rutted and pot holed. I realised that Perpignan was as far as I would get and the only sites are on the coast, so I had to do a diversion of a few miles, and so here I am, on the Mediterranean coast, on a touristy campsite (13 euros 10 – “It would have been the same price if your wife had come with you monsieur”).
I’m extremely tired after this afternoon’s exertions and so I’m going to take tomorrow as it comes – I’ll get as far as I get.
Mind you, it does occur to me, that this is now roughly the direction that I’ll be heading in all the way to Gibraltar, so I hope that the wind eases up a little.
I wasn’t really sure where I’ end up today, I just thought that I’d head out and see how far I got. As it turned out this was a good plan as it was definitely a day of two halves. The morning was brilliant with some of the best cycling of the trip. The wind was on my right and I was able to put in some fast (for me) cruising of 18 mph , and I thought that I might even get as far as the base of the Pyrenees. However, at Narbonne, I had to turn right, right into the wind. This dropped my speed right down to 8 – 10 mph and this was made worse because the road was very busy with large French trucks and I was forced to use the hard shoulder which was very rutted and pot holed. I realised that Perpignan was as far as I would get and the only sites are on the coast, so I had to do a diversion of a few miles, and so here I am, on the Mediterranean coast, on a touristy campsite (13 euros 10 – “It would have been the same price if your wife had come with you monsieur”).
I’m extremely tired after this afternoon’s exertions and so I’m going to take tomorrow as it comes – I’ll get as far as I get.
Mind you, it does occur to me, that this is now roughly the direction that I’ll be heading in all the way to Gibraltar, so I hope that the wind eases up a little.
I'm becoming something of an expert on McDonald's restaurants. This is a new one on me, serving beautiful pastries and having a proper coffee machine.
Friday 20th June Leucate Port to Le Boulou (at the foot of the Pyrenees) Daily mileage 42 Total mileage 1144 Temperature 28C
Quite a short but, as it turned out, pleasant, day. As hoped, the wind had dropped slightly and so I cycled up the coast road before turning inland towards Le Boulou, which is the start of my climb through the mountain pass. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I took a wrong turn and ended up on a gravel track that was so rough I should probably have got off and pushed but, as it was running alongside the motorway that I knew was going in the right direction, I persevered and ended up running into a tarmac track. Using my compass to decide which way to go, I headed off again and was soon rewarded with signs telling me that I was on a cycle way which ran all the way from the coast to Le Boulou – almost 20 miles! Great cycling!
Two French cyclists came up to me for a chat today. I think that my GB/Ecosse stickers help. Not only does it tend to make motorists more tolerant if I do something stupid but people are also more inclined to be helpful towards me.
So here I am, at Le Boulou (13 euros 75). It’s quite a pleasant site and I’m pitched just above a small river. When I arrived I went for a walk down to the river’s edge and something that looked like a tortoise jumped into the river and hid underneath the weeds. Are there wild tortoises? I don’t know.
I’ve been for a meal in the site restaurant – you can have anything you want as long as it’s moules et frites! The French seem to have gone for this in a big way but I just don’t get it. I love moules mariniere and I love chips but, to me, they don’t go together. Similarly, I love apple pie and I love Marmite (yes, I’m the one!) but I wouldn’t have them together! Anyway, if I’m bad in the morning, it’ll be the muscles!
Le Boulou is the start of the climb and so my plan is to head off bright and early so that the mountains shield me from the worst of the sun. It’ll be a very short day, as I plan to stop at Figueres, which is not too far into Spain but, my thinking is, that the next day I’ll hit the coast, not too far from Barcelona so that the following day I can make sure that I clear the city.
I donated my Michelin guide (which only lists French campsites) to the campsite's library before leaving, thus reducing my load for the climb by over one kilo!
Moules et frites - They seem to be on most menus in France but I don't really understand the combination - to me they don't go together - so I eat them separately!
Saturday 21st June Le Boulou to Figueres (Spain) Daily mileage 24 Total mileage 1168 Temperature 28C
A very short run today. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, I expected to be completely exhausted from going over the mountains and, secondly, I want to position myself to get well clear of Barcelona in a day.
As it turned out, the climb wasn’t too bad at all – I’ve used this mountain pass before and I reckon that they’ve smoothed it out a bit. It used to be lots of ups and downs, and the downs meant that the ups were steeper, whereas now it seems to be a much steadier climb. My cycling shirt was, nevertheless, soaked in sweat by the time I got to the top! Of course the best bit was whizzing down the Spanish side!
Figueres is quite a nice town but I suspect that it’s grown in size because of its association with Salvador Dali. Dali lived the latter part of his life and died in Figueres, but spent a lot of his life, in Cadaques, a little town on the coast. In Figueres they’ve got a Dali museum and various bits of artwork around the town.
The Pyrenees. They're a bit lost in the haze but you can just see that there's still snow at the top.
There were some great cork oaks at the Le Boulou campsites.
On each side of the border there's a town which cashes in on the fact that some things are cheaper in France and some things are cheaper in Spain. Every day people flood across the border in both directions to buy the cheaper goods.
The now obsolete border control as you enter Spain.
Figueres has what almost looks like its own leaning tower of Pisa (Apologies for the lack of sharpness of the photo - I'm about half a mile away).
Home sweet home. My pitch, in amongst tall pine trees at Figueres.
The Salvador Dali museum at Figueres, which he designed and where he lived until his death.
Sunday 22nd June Figueres to Santa Suzanna (on the coast) Daily mileage 62 Total mileage 1230 Temperature 28C
A bit of a trying day. A good start to the day as, whilst it was hilly, I almost had a tail wind and so was able to make good progress. However, once I left Girona life got very difficult. They're upgrading the road to a motorway and, once it's finished I'm sure it will be fine, with a clearly marked service road that bikes can use, but at the moment it's chaos. I was merrily cycling along what was clearly marked as the correct road only to come across a road block and 'no through road' signs. I had to backtrack on three occasions and drag the bike across road excavations on another - fortunately it was Sunday and so there was no one around!
I'm now at Santa Suzanna which is definitely not my type of campsite. The site itself is OK but it's situated in the middle of a holiday resort - my idea of hell! Anyway, it's just for one night.
The photo doesn't do Girona cathedral justice - in the sunshine it looks great.
I've zoomed in on some of the stonework on the front of the cathedral to try to give you some idea of the detailing.
Of course I don't have to be here. Oh no, I could be back in the UK preparing school work, marking school work, writing reports, attending parents' evenings. Mmm, now let me think..........
This is just me mucking about - it's actually sunrise, taken to look more like sunset.
Monday 23rd June
Santa Susanna to Barcelona Daily
mileage 44 Total mileage 1274 Temperature
26C
A change of plan folks. My left ankle has been playing me up for a bit and that coupled with the fact that the gears on the bike are playing up has prompted me to halt the ride at Barcelona and catch the ferry to Mallorca and rest up for a few days in our apartment and see if I can sort the bike out. In fairness it’s not the bike's fault. When I had all the cables replaced I got the bike shop to fit some in-line microadjusters so that I could very accurately adjust the gears and the brakes. Unfortunately they fitted the two gear adjusters very close to the front forks and, over a period of time, the forks have bent the adjusters (one in particular) to an alarming angle. The result of this is that it’s often difficult to get the gear to change and I suspect that I need to relocate the adjusters elsewhere to solve the problem.
Today’s ride was good. I had quite a fast run in to Barcelona and then, of course, lost my way. This always happens in Barcelona – it’s guaranteed. Anyway, I used my compass to guide me in the right general direction and, after I’d been working my way through the streets for quite a while, stopped at a parked police van to check my bearings. The guy in the front was a bit vague but suddenly the rear side door slid open and a guy who spoke good English gave me directions. What’s so strange? The back of the van was filled with policemen in full body armour and armed with various machine guns! I don’t know what they were waiting for!
A couple of Spanish cyclists out for a training run cycled with me for a while, just to have a chat about my ride – the GB plate working again.
I found my way to the Balearia ferry terminal, booked my ticket (130 euros!) and, after a quick cycle around the area for some photos, sat down to wait. After a while I noticed staff rushing around and making frantic phonecalls. A woman had walked in off the street, gone into the toilets, injected herself with some drug and promptly collapsed. Two police cars and an ambulance subsequently turned up and carted her away, conscious but staggering badly. Never a dull moment!
The ferry people wanted me to put my bike on their bus to transport it the couple of miles from their office to where the ferry was berthed. I refused, and pointed out that my bike was much too big and heavy. I fell for this last time I was here and ended up having to take all the bags, etc. off to load it into the luggage compartment of the bus. In the end they agreed that I could ride to the ferry, which is what I did, and lined up with the cars. A German couple came over for a chat and to ask where I’d ridden from, and then insisted on a photo (of the crazy British guy!).
The ferry is not really a passenger ferry but one designed for transporting trucks. As a consequence I’m going to have to share a cabin with three Spanish truck drivers!
A change of plan folks. My left ankle has been playing me up for a bit and that coupled with the fact that the gears on the bike are playing up has prompted me to halt the ride at Barcelona and catch the ferry to Mallorca and rest up for a few days in our apartment and see if I can sort the bike out. In fairness it’s not the bike's fault. When I had all the cables replaced I got the bike shop to fit some in-line microadjusters so that I could very accurately adjust the gears and the brakes. Unfortunately they fitted the two gear adjusters very close to the front forks and, over a period of time, the forks have bent the adjusters (one in particular) to an alarming angle. The result of this is that it’s often difficult to get the gear to change and I suspect that I need to relocate the adjusters elsewhere to solve the problem.
Today’s ride was good. I had quite a fast run in to Barcelona and then, of course, lost my way. This always happens in Barcelona – it’s guaranteed. Anyway, I used my compass to guide me in the right general direction and, after I’d been working my way through the streets for quite a while, stopped at a parked police van to check my bearings. The guy in the front was a bit vague but suddenly the rear side door slid open and a guy who spoke good English gave me directions. What’s so strange? The back of the van was filled with policemen in full body armour and armed with various machine guns! I don’t know what they were waiting for!
A couple of Spanish cyclists out for a training run cycled with me for a while, just to have a chat about my ride – the GB plate working again.
I found my way to the Balearia ferry terminal, booked my ticket (130 euros!) and, after a quick cycle around the area for some photos, sat down to wait. After a while I noticed staff rushing around and making frantic phonecalls. A woman had walked in off the street, gone into the toilets, injected herself with some drug and promptly collapsed. Two police cars and an ambulance subsequently turned up and carted her away, conscious but staggering badly. Never a dull moment!
The ferry people wanted me to put my bike on their bus to transport it the couple of miles from their office to where the ferry was berthed. I refused, and pointed out that my bike was much too big and heavy. I fell for this last time I was here and ended up having to take all the bags, etc. off to load it into the luggage compartment of the bus. In the end they agreed that I could ride to the ferry, which is what I did, and lined up with the cars. A German couple came over for a chat and to ask where I’d ridden from, and then insisted on a photo (of the crazy British guy!).
The ferry is not really a passenger ferry but one designed for transporting trucks. As a consequence I’m going to have to share a cabin with three Spanish truck drivers!
This was a free street barbeque being set up outside a shop. That's a lot of meat!
"The nearest McDonald's is that way mate". I always photograph this guy when I come to Barcelona but, I'm sorry, I can't remember who it is!
The original Barcelona Port building.
Some of the old port warehousing.
Of course you don't have to sight see in Barcelona on foot. Mind you, as the guy who invented these things managed to kill himself by riding one off a cliff I wouldn't be too confident!
OK, so they've got a really big yacht but are they happy? Yeah, probably! And how do they keep it so clean?!
Well, you see it's like this, we had all this stainless steel tubing left over from installing the ventilation system at the local SEAT car factory and it was a case of either weighing it in at the local scrapyard or ...................
Some of these cruise liners are really big. Mind you, I like the really big cherry picker doing a bit of maintenance.
My shared cabin on the ferry - cozy!
Quite a cute little en-suite. Mind you, who's that weird guy in the mirror?
Tuesday 24th June
Alcudia Mallorca
I didn’t get much sleep last night and, as the ferry docked at 5.30 am I was up early anyway.
News update – the idea of me resting up has been knocked on the head – by the time you read this I’ll be back in the UK, having spent 24 hours in Mallorca. I got a ‘phone call to say that my father-in-law is seriously ill in hospital and, as he’s in his nineties, I think that it’s best that I return on a temporary basis. I’m sure that it’ll be a false alarm but you can’t be too sure at that age. Anyway, I’m typing these notes in Palma Airport whilst waiting for my flight, which apparently could be delayed by up to four hours due to the French Air Traffic Controllers (bless them!). Mind you, as I booked my ticket last minute it only cost me 60 euros – can’t be bad. Hopefully I can get an outward flight for the same sort of price and pick up where I left off.
Tuesday 26th August
Unfortunately it was not to be. Karen and I spent the next two months commuting 120 miles a day to visit my father in law in hospital. Fortunately he has now just about recovered and has been allowed out.
Never mind - I'll start planning for next year's trip!
I didn’t get much sleep last night and, as the ferry docked at 5.30 am I was up early anyway.
News update – the idea of me resting up has been knocked on the head – by the time you read this I’ll be back in the UK, having spent 24 hours in Mallorca. I got a ‘phone call to say that my father-in-law is seriously ill in hospital and, as he’s in his nineties, I think that it’s best that I return on a temporary basis. I’m sure that it’ll be a false alarm but you can’t be too sure at that age. Anyway, I’m typing these notes in Palma Airport whilst waiting for my flight, which apparently could be delayed by up to four hours due to the French Air Traffic Controllers (bless them!). Mind you, as I booked my ticket last minute it only cost me 60 euros – can’t be bad. Hopefully I can get an outward flight for the same sort of price and pick up where I left off.
Tuesday 26th August
Unfortunately it was not to be. Karen and I spent the next two months commuting 120 miles a day to visit my father in law in hospital. Fortunately he has now just about recovered and has been allowed out.
Never mind - I'll start planning for next year's trip!
This is one of the two huge queues at the Ryanair desk at Palma airport - they had cancelled most of their flights, leaving people stranded!