ajft

  Trip total: ??km

The end is nigh! Walked in to the bike shop and picked up a bike box to lug home to Liz' house before cleaning and packing Norky bike away in the box. With each experience comes the reminder to add more packing to the parts of the bike that protrude!

Where?

Reading

  Trip total: ??km

Joe and Paddy picked me up at lunch time and we drove off through Henley to Hambleden for lunch. Its a fantastic little village, but with a heap of money tied up in the genteel stone houses — everything from picturesque cottages to the W.H.Smith manor house. Roast duck and a pint at the pub for lunch, then a walk around some of the lanes, then back to Henley where they dropped me off and I walked back up to Shiplake along the river.

Where?

Reading, Henley on Thames, Hambleden, Shiplake.

  Trip total: ??km

Today I walked down the river instead of up. Off along the tow-paths to Sonning Lock. The river and banks were packed, boats and swimmers and people and dogs strolling along the paths everywhere. A pause for an ice cream in the tea gardens at Sonning and on downstream to Shiplake.

I called Joe from the pub, then spent the evening with my uncle Joe and Paddy, sitting around in their garden — a great summer evening.

Where?

Reading, Sonning, Shiplake.

  Trip total: ??km

Another hot lazy day, at least I managed to force myself out for some exercise! Around lunch time I decided to walk up the river to the next town, but ended up turning around on its outskirts and heading back.

The river bank was lined with hundreds of people, all there for WOMAD. Lots of hippies and ferals, narrow boats docked four deep on the banks with people walking over each other to get to their boats. Naked children and lots of dogs, papers and garbage everywhere.

TV tonight was interesting. Eye of the Needle, a Donald Sutherland WWII spy movie, then Sliver, again with a spying/voyeurism theme. I found it interesting with the UK obsession with Big Brother and CCTV everywhere. I wonder if anyone else noticed? Guess I'm turning into a regular TV junkie.

Where?

Reading

  Trip total: ??km

Four pm and I haven't stepped out the door all day — hot and humid weather, yet again I'm lying on the couch reading my cousin's novels.

Eight pm and I head out for the evening....

Ten pm and I'm home gain. Three cheap pints while sitting in the evening sun and I decided I'm just not in the mood to go out alone on a Friday night. Instead I sat around the house feeling melancholy and thinking about the nine days until I'm home again.

Oof, I just saw the evening weather report! 32°C here in the South and 37°C in Cheltenham — lucky Mike!. No wonder I thought it was warm today!

Where?

Reading

  Trip total: ??km

Again, the morning held only a comfortable couch and an escapist novel. The riding yesterday really wore me out!

I spent the afternoon shopping and emailing and walking about, then came home for a rest before going out for the evening. I'd decided to sample some beers and entertainment, so it was a couple of beers at O'neals, then a walk, then a couple of Guinesses at the Walkabout. Franchised Irish bars to franchised Aussie ones. Their only redeeming features being the cheapness of their beers.

Tried to watch the highlights of today's tour stage, but ten minutes before the finish the bar staff turned off nearly all the TVs and showed only a direct video of the band that was playing at the other end of the room! Bloody annoying, when I asked, the bar manager told me “tuff”, and pointed out that I could still watch sport on two of the eight TVs. Wonderful, these were showing an “X-Treme Sportz” channel of snowboarders and skateboarders crashing into things and each other.

Where?

Reading

  Trip total: ??km

Oooh, Guiness hangover.

Too little sleep, too little food, and too much Guiness. After a quick breakfast and goodbyes to Andy, I felt terrible for the first hour this morning back on the bike. A few pastries at a bakery seemed to fix things up a touch, from then on it was just a long day of riding, made more than a little frustrating by the maze of roads and villages that make up Surrey.

To add to the riding woes, Norky bike's headset bearings seem to have died. I have no idea when it happened, but all of a sudden today I noticed that they have a big notch at the straight-ahead position, and gentle turns are a nightmare.

Where?

Brighton, Reading

  Trip total: ??km

A hot sunny day, a holiday feel in the air again. Breakfast was yet another episode of the English B&B's game of advertising a “full English breakfast,” and then seeing how small a portion of each item they can deliver.

I spent the morning walking around the Brighton Pier, then the aquarium. The aquarium was a bit of a disappointment, after reading so much about it I found it full of uncontrolled kids running around hammering on the glass and yelling at each other. In addition, most of the exhibits were designed for children or short adults, hardly anything was visible for anyone over about 5' 6” — I found myself staring at the wall above the tanks and had to keep crouching down to see in.

After the aquarium I just kept walking along the sea front. Up to the marina to have a look around. A standard upmarket waterfront development, same as anywhere else in the world, apartments, cafés and wharves. I did manage to purchase a pint of Hoegaarten in a glass that closely resembles a bucket, and had a lazy lunch watching tourists get on and off the tour boats, and the O.A.P's file in and out of their tour couches....

Eleven days to go... Feeling a touch melancholy as I wrote today's postcard — then later burst into laughter as I passed a newsagent and saw the catchy headline on one of the women's magazines “Is your man having a holiday fling — how to tell from his postcards.” I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy it to post the article to Jo.

Where?

Brighton

  Trip total: ??km

Yet another morning spent reading in Reading . I seem to remember spending most of my time at Elizabeth's house lying around on the couch reading novels. I did remember to check the clocks though, so as not to get caught and miss the train.

About lunchtime I walked into town to the station to find a train to Brighton. I had managed to cram enough clothes and stuff into my shoulder bag, including an empty pannier, to make overnight survival a non-event, and should have no problem carrying it all back tomorrow on the bike.

Tickets are £19.90, and there were two trains I could catch, either direct to Brighton at 13:07 or via Gatwick at 12:34. I aimed for the earlier train, then missed it when I ducked up the street to find a postcard for yesterday. Strangely, none of the myriad of shops inside the station sell postcards.

A relaxing afternoon sitting in the comfort of the train, watching the countryside rush past, feeling the sun on my face, and just generally enjoying life on my way to be reunited with Norky bike.

Once at Brighton I spiralled around trying to find a place to stay, ending up in a rather dishevelled looking B&B only two streets from where Andy and Suzie live! Managed to include the tour of the piers, the beach front, the poky little alleyways, and all the other touristy bits of Brighton along the way.

A measure of the B&B was when my keys fell off the desk and wedged down behind it in my room. Attempting to tilt the (nailed down) desk forward I managed to recover not only my keys, but also several pens, pencils, and four ancient pornographic magazines.

I caught up with Andy and Neale for dinner at a nearby pub, then a pint or two, then back to the dingy room to sleep.

Where?

Reading, Brighton.

  Trip total: ??km

Lazy me sat around all day reading and watching SciFi TV. I did get out around 1pm for a walk down the Thames and up along the Kennet canal. (That name still amuses me, depending on your political inclination, Jeff Kennet was a very popular/unpopular politician in Australia. A bit like finding a “maggie thatcher canal” I guess.)

Then foolishly, I decided to walk into town to see a movie, and chose Jurassic Park III. My el-cheapo bike computer nearly made me miss it by mysteriously losing 35 minutes. I was sitting having a bite to eat beforehand when I suddenly realised what the time really was and had to race out the door and over to the cinema. It was all a bit of a waste of the £5.50 really, very ho-hum and predictable.

Where?

Reading.

  Trip total: ??km

Vegetated around Reading some more. I started to look in the shops for presents for myself, something to use up any outstanding spending money. The Polar Heart-rate monitors caught my eye, but I'm not sure what the prices are compared to Australia, or even if they are available:

S210 : £130 : $349
S410 : £150 : $399
S510 : £170 : $449
S610 : £180 : $499
S710 : £200 : $549
S810 : £?? : $849

During the day I fiddled with one of the blogging bits of software on my Palm pilot.

Testing to see how useful this is. I wonder if I can ignore the hassle of writing here & use it as a diary?

Sat around reading all morning while Liz shopped, finished Lance Armstrong's book & wish I could put into words a few thoughts.

Eventually left the house at 3, walking into town to check out the Ale and Jazz festival. It was closed, with no sign why, or when it opens.

Been sitting in the pub from four til seven just wasting time & feeling sorry for myself & watching the girls go by. Tried to ring my cousin Toby, but no answer.

Where?

Reading.

  Trip total: ??km

First success of the day — I found that the Debenhams chain store operate a decent, cheap, internet café , I managed to connect back to Monash, and to read and sort through my 950 incoming emails! Even managed to reply to the important ones and check both bank balances.

Joey's shopping list:

• duty free gin
• Bootes ear plugs

Where?

Reading.

  Trip total: ??km

Thoughts on Lille — for the first time in France I seem to have seen lots of beggars and homeless people. Maybe it's just the first time I've been in a big city, maybe I just haven't noticed. Two-star hotels, kebab shops and sex shops. Maybe I should have tried to move further away from the train station.

A big bustling city, certainly lots of construction around the two stations. French police uniforms suddenly struck me as appearing very functional, Australian and British appearing more symbolic by comparison.

I walked around all morning, definitely a bustling place, a pity that more of the center isn't car-free. The squares in there have some great 17th century buildings — and one of the first McDonalds that I've seen in France.

After lunch I had a beer or three in a micro-brewery located handy to the station — an excellent wheat beer — as one would expect so near to Belgium and more good beers. Then it was back to collecting duffle for the stagger through customs and onto the train. Eurostar can't seem to work out whether they want a customs check or not, whether the UK is part of Europe or not, so it all seems badly designed and added on as an afterthought.

Sat down to find that Richard had the seat next to me, so we kept each other entertained for the trip, including a last-minute rummage through our pockets for all our French change to buy a mars bar. Then it was off at Waterloo, a phone call to my cousin, £10 and two hours more on the train and I was in Reading, in a hot shower, and relaxed.

Where?

Lille, London, Reading.

  Trip total: ??km

Rain, more rain, then a little more rain. A fine day to be leaving the mountains.

Amazingly, we all managed to get up in time for the 8am start, crammed everything and everyone into the van and the car and drove to Grenoble. A bizarre feeling sitting in a car and watching the world go past without having to pedal. Almost as bizarre was listening to The House of the Rising Sun playing on the radio ... in French. We tried to sing along, improvising in a strange mix of English and French as words occurred to us.

464FF later and I'm sitting waiting for the train to Lyon and onwards to Lille. My bike is still in the van, subject to the tender mercies of Andy and Suzie on their way back to the UK.

Step one complete! I arrived at Lyon and got myself onto the TGV. After smiling and nodding on the platform to the beautiful girl who had a burmese cat in her carry bag, I found myself sitting opposite her for the trip to Lille. Opposite her, but next to a large fat man who chewed his nails the entire time he was in the train — beauty and the beast. I want to take a photo of her and the cat, but don't know how to ask.

Where?

Vaujany, Grenoble, Lyon, Lille.

  Odometer: 85.2km
  Today: 39.3km
  Trip total: ??km

We left Vaujany around 10:00 to ride up to l'Alpe d'Huez. Some chose the route via Bourg d'Oisans and the main climb, the rest of us headed up to Villard Reculas and then around the side of the mountain to Huez. The unfenced vertiginous drop off the side of the road was too much for some, Richard flat out refused to ride on the right hand side and sidled along the wrong side of the road, hugging the rock walls. Crowds along the roads from Huez onwards made the ride slow to a crawl.

A quick coffee at Huez, a thorough telling off for wheeling my bike through the bar's courtyard, and it was time to head up the mountain to hairpin #5 and join the other Aussies that had accumulated on the mountain. Some of them had travelled here together, our group had met them in the pub last night! Others just dropped in when they saw the flags or were told that this was where we were—like the guy from Kiama, on the lookout for his wife, somewhere climbing up below us, or the couple that used to live just down the road from me in Richmond! I recognised their bikes before I spotted them, the “Blücher” name caught my eye and I looked up, wondering who here would have a bike from Mascott cycles!

A kombi van, beer, aussie flags and suntans - stereotypical and loads of fun. The atmosphere on the mountain was incredible. The Italian contingent on our left came and offered food, the Americans across the road offered entertainment and continual race updates from their radios. More entertainment than they had intended...

A reporter from Adelaide came and took some group photos for the Herald Sun and other papers. As we were posing, one of the American girls on the other side of the road tried to surreptitiously get changed, unfortunately straight in front of twenty onlookers. Loud cheers rang out as she panicked, got her head stuck in her shirt and danced around topless frantically trying to cover herself.

The whole spectacle of the caravan of sponsors vehicles giving out junk and bored models waving and smiling seemed to get everyone even more worked up. One model looked so bored that I blew her a kiss, at last there was a human reaction as she smiled and blew kisses back to us.

What an atmosphere!

The riders themselves were a blur, even on the hill. Armstrong, then Roux, then the others. So crowded and so fast that I really had no idea at the time who was who. I had even less of an idea of the photos that I'd taken. I've either got a photo of Stuart O'Grady by himself, or the back of the head of the guy who jumped in front of me just as I was taking the shot. Now I understand how every few years a fan manages to hit a rider while desperately trying to take a photo through an instamatic view-finder.

The riders hurtle past, I can't believe it is on the same mountain that I was crawling up last Friday. Lance Armstrong in the lead, gone past so quickly that I didn't even recognize him, a couple on his tail. A little later the polka-dot jersey — Patrice Halgand as I later found out. Stuart O'Grady was easy to spot, by himself and in the yellow, but unfortunately way off the back of the pack.

It was 6pm as we left, crawling through the crowds back to Villard Reculas, me hooting the horn the whole a way — a Dutch guy following us offered to buy it when we got stuck.

On the descent I remembered the day's many beers and tried to take it easy, but the adrenalin wasn't helping. It all finally hit on the climb from the lake up to Vaujany, a long slow slog, I didn't reach the hotel until 7pm, just as it started to rain.

Where?

Vaujany, Villard Reculas, Huez.

  Odometer: 45.0km
  Today: 45.01km
  Trip total: ??km

The pizza last night for dinner was a very bad idea. It stayed in me about an hour. The stomach pains and poor sleep lasted the whole of the rest of the night. This morning I feel a little better, but very weak, not having eaten much for the last two days.

On the plus side, it has stopped raining and the fog looks like it might clear up.

Feeling the need to do something, I decided to catch the telepherique across the valley and up the mountain. Colorado Mike and Karen decided to join me, and we caught it up to the 2800m point for a brief snowfight and 15 minutes of looking down on Vaujany. There's not much to do up there without skis, and so after tromping in the snow, we caught it back down to Alpette and spent a further hour and a half walking, exploring, stumbling in icy-cold mountain streams and marmot spotting before coming back to the village for some lunch.

Back down in Vaujany I hurried up to the phones at the village shops. I managed to get through to Jo on the phone and was in much better spirits for the rest of the afternoon.

Nearly 3:30pm and I went out for a bike ride, heading down the valley to the lake, then around to le Bourg d'Oisans. I think at the start I had a vague idea of riding up l'Alpe d'Huez again and trying to better my time. It was chaos, the closer I got to the town. People turning up for tomorrow, parking and camping everywhere, people riding little stretches of the route. I briefly thought of heading part way up the mountain and then coming back via Huez and the side road to Villard Reculas, but my heart wasn't in it so I turned around and came back the way I'd gone out.

As it was I managed to do an idiot thing and turned off at the wrong side road from the lake. I was half-way up to Oz, having climbed for ten minutes before realising, and having to go back down to the lake, around a couple more kilometres and up the road to Vaujany.

Where?

Vaujany, Bourg d'Oisans.

  Odometer: 179.8km
  Today: 0km
  Trip total: ??km

I wasn't feeling well this morning and slept in quite late. There were assorted bad dreams, I nearly fell out of bed a couple of times, and I'm still feeling quite bloated from the meal last night. Skipped breakfast and stayed in bed, watching the rain.

Around 10:30 I walked up the street to see what all the noise was about that had finally woken me up. Then stayed around to watch the start of the local MTB races with Mike and Richard in the rain. Wandered off through the village and joined David, Karen, Keith and Katherine for coffee, but I think this was a bad idea as it quickly made me sick again and sent me back to the hotel to bed.

Some of the others headed off either riding, driving or walking in the fog, so much for our grandiose plans to go riding — I stayed in the hotel in bed for most of the afternoon.

Around 10pm Mike and I headed up to the local shops and some pizza for dinner, I'm hoping I've recovered enough to hold it down. Had a long chat about cycling here and in the UK and Australia, and the attitudes that people have towards cycling.

Still wet and foggy and dizzling as we headed back to the hotel to go to bed. I'm starting to feel a bit depressed that the last two weeks have been such a high point, and that there's another three weeks of making time pass before I get home to see Jo.

Where?

Vaujany.

  Odometer: 179.8km
  Today: 28.73km
  Trip total: ??km

Where?

l'Alpe d'Huez, Vaujany.

  Odometer: 145.4km
  Today: 61.67km
  Trip total: ??km

Where?

Les Egats, Valbonnais, Le Périer, Chantelouve, Col d'Ornon (1371m), Borg d'Oisans, l'Alpe d'Huez.

  Odometer: 83.6km
  Today: 83.6km
  Trip total: ??km

Where?

Menglon, Chatillon en Diois, Menee, Les Noni&eagrave;res; Col de Menée (1402m), Bellegarde, Clelles, Mens, Col de Accarias (892m), St Jean d'Hérans, Les Egats.

  Odometer: 0.0km
  Today: 0.0km
  Trip total: ??km

Bloody cheap bike computers! The stupid thing completely reset itself today.

Where?

Vaison la Romaine, Mirabel, Les Pilles, Sahune, Remuzat, Cornillon, La Motte La Charce, Establet, Col de Prémus (903m), Jonchères, Luc en Diois, Luzeron, Menglon.

  Odometer: 2790.1km
  Today: 97.69km
  Trip total: ??km

Somewhere along the descents my bike computer stopped reading anything. I was too busy to readjust it at the time!

Where?

Avignon, Parnes, Carpentras, Bédoin, Mont Ventoux (1912m), Vaison la Romaine.

  Odometer: 2677.3km
  Today: 92.2km
  Trip total: ??km

Where?

Anduze, La Madeleine, Ners, Mussac, Garrigues, Arpaillurgues, Uzès, Pont du Gard, Remoulins, Avignon.

  Odometer: 2585.1km
  Today: 75.3km
  Trip total: ??km

Where?

Florac, Col de Faisses (1020m), L'Hospitalet, Le Pompidou, St Roman de Tousque, Col de l'Exil (704m), Col de St Pierre (597m), St Jean du Gard, Anduze.

  Odometer: 2509.8km
  Today: 105.8km
  Trip total: ??km

Packed up this morning in drizzling rain. Everything is damp. Everything smells.

Where?

St Geniez d'Olt, St Saturnin, Col de Lagarde (810m), Altes, Massegros, St Rome de Dolan, La Malène, Pounadoires, St Enimie, Prades, Blajoux, Le Chembonnet, Ispagnac, Florac.

  Odometer: 2404.0km
  Today: 91.4km
  Trip total: ??km

Where?

Conques, Grand Vabre, St Projet, Viellevie, Entraygues, Estaing, Espalion, St Come d'Olt, Lassouots, Ste Eulalie d'Olt, St Geniez d'Olt.

  Odometer: 2312.6km
  Today: 0.0km
  Trip total: ??km

Rain stops play.

After a restless night spent listening to the rain hammering on the tents and the gurgle of the rising river, we were all relieved to wake up and find that we still had a campsite! I think everyone was aware of just how close that river was, and how flat and low-lying the campsite. Breakfast was a rather damp affair, with nobody really wanting to start riding in this rain. There was a minor bit of excitement when the local fire-brigade turned up and after some shouting and arm waving, persuaded the manager to find a crank arm which they then used to open and close various lock gates on canals leading in and out of the river.

After a brief consultation, Andy, Suzy, Martin and Tony decided that it was probably not safe for us to be out looking for unfamiliar turn offs in the gloom, and that we'd be better off using the van to shuttle everyone to the next camp at Conques. I can't say that anyone protested too strongly!

By the time we got to Conques I was almost wishing that I had ridden my bike. The rain had lessened, and I was feeling quite car-sick from being crammed in the van as it wound its way through the hills.

Conques was beautiful. Somehow it has managed to miss all the ugly developments of the 20th century. There is a carpark on the road leading towards the village, and everyone visiting it parks outside and walks in. During the day there are no cars on the village steets at all, and at night only a few belonging to residents. No wonder it has achieved World Heritage status.

Dinner in Conques was on an outside balcony above the street, one of the many beautiful settings that Andy and Suzy managed to find us over the course of the fortnight, the souvenir label from the Château de Sauzetour 1999 Bordeaux is stuck in my diary as a permanent reminder of the dinner.

Where?

St Céré, Conques.

  Odometer: 2312.6km
  Today: 97.31km
  Trip total: ??km

Yay, it was cool and overcast this morning!

The ride out of Sarlat was remarkably easy, no problems getting through either the town or the traffic. The first 30km just flew past.

We stopped for pastries and coffee at St. Julien de Lampon and were served by a very grumpy lady in the bakery, then back outside were we sat in the square and watched as other cycle groups passed us in both directions. It was amusing to think that the “bon jours” that we called out were most likely being responded to by other visiting English and American cyclists. Some of the groups seemed to be riding a very low distance each day, their bus picking them up and dropping them on the outskirts of each picturesque spot, then letting them ride through it and back to join the bus.

The climb up to Rocamadour was great, if the weather had been hot like yesterday it would have been a killer with all the bare rock faces around us.

At Rocamadour Irish Dave and I were far more interested in food than in the natural and man-made beauty of the place, so after a quick look round we had a large steak and chips and flirted with the waitress at a café. It was all worthwhile with her smiles, then when the couple at the next table left she just handed us their half-full wine carafe to finish off.

Leaving in the light rain it was almost cold, but after the last few days it was a delight. The last 30km were in either drizzle or rain, a bit of thunder and then the 6km descent into Sarlat—taken at a very easy pace on the slippery road! I stupidly opened my mouth when we were around 5km from town, mentioning to Dave how we'd avoided most of the rain, and how lucky we'd been — not surprisingly, it then started to pour on us for the last stretch into town.

We got in at around 4pm, just in time to help Martin put up the marquee in the rain so that the others could be dry when they arrived.

Where?

Sarlat, Carsac, Grolèjac, Veyrignac, Ste Mondane, St. Julien de Lampon, Payrac, Calès, Rocamadour, Alvignac, Padirac, St Jean Lespinasse, St Céré.

  Odometer: 2214.9km
  Today: 125.7km
  Trip total: ??km

Before leaving I tried to take a few more photos of Limeuil this morning to try and compare the different lighting on the town. I'm not sure how they look, I just know it was a beautiful campsite.

Where?

Limeuil, Le Bugue, Savignac de Miremont, Rouffignac, Plazac, Thonac, Montignac, St Léon sur Vézère, La Roque St Cristophe, Les Eyzies, St Cyprien, Beynac et Cazenac, Sarlat.

  Odometer: 2088.8km
  Today: 129.4km
  Trip total: ??km

Limeuil had a magnificent campground on the banks of the Dordogne, we were directly across the river from the town, but it would have taken a very strong swimmer to make it across. The river was shallow, but very strongly flowing, I walked in up to my knees, dived in facing upstream, and came up ten metres downstream from where I started!

<literal><p> <a href="/photos/077-145/077-145_12"><img class="left-floating" title="Evening view across the Dordogne to Limeuil" src="/photos/077-145/m_077-145_12.jpg" alt="[]" /></a> <literal>

* Where?

St. Emilion, Castillon la Bataille, Ste Foy la Grande, Monbazillac, Lanquais, Tremolat, Limeuil.

  Odometer: 1959.4km
  Today: 88.7km
  Trip total: ??km

After breakfast there was a flurry of activity in unpacking and making ready the twenty bikes. The hotel had very nicely given us the use of their conference room to avoid having to do all this outside. I was lucky here, after a month on the road, everything on my bike was sorted out as well as it could be!

After an initial group photo, it was off on the bikes. The first day touring together with other people. I found this a vast relief as I'd been getting quite lonely at times.

After riding on almost empty roads all day we headed through St. Emilion to where we were camped on the far side of the town, then we all piled into the car and van to come back in for a magnificent meal in a restaurant courtyard. Great food, good wine, good weather, good conversation — it really felt good to be here.

Where?

Bordeaux, Cadillac, Rauzan, St. Emilion