dst. (km) Today 0.0 Trip total ?? Odometer 2312.6 Breakfasting in torrential rain at St Cere 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.
dst. (km) Today 97.31 Trip total ?? Odometer 2312.6 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.
Boulangerie and bicycles in St. Julien de Lampon 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.
dst. (km) Today 125.7 Trip total ?? Odometer 2214.9 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(44.8833333,0.9), 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(45.
dst. (km) Today 129.4 Trip total ?? Odometer 2088.8 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!
dst. (km) Today 88.7 Trip total ?? Odometer 1959.4 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!
dst. (km) Today 0.0 Trip total ?? Odometer 1870.7 Hangover time, last night there were far too many Newkie Browns with Debra and Nick (Irish barmaid and Welsh traveller) at Dick Turpin’s — an English theme pub. Debra kept trying to embarrass guys by flirting with all the guys in the pub and making jokes about her exceptionally large bust. I’d met Nick and another Welsh guy a few days ago in Nantes, but didn’t recognize them at first.
dst. (km) Today 0.0 Trip total ?? Odometer 1870.7 The English guys managed to flood our room three times this morning by overflowing the shower! Somehow the sign telling people not to turn the shower up too high just wasn’t getting through. They were going to the beach for the day and invited me to go with them. When I got to the station it all started to look too hard, the trains too infrequent, so I changed my mind and sat down to have a coffee.
dst. (km) Today 0.0 Trip total ?? Odometer 1870.7 I’m not sure if I’m getting better or not! There’s less phlegm, but more cough, maybe all that beer and wine and the smoky bar last night was the correct way to treat bronchitis!
I got in earlier today and paid my 160FF to take my chances on the winery tour. It turned out to be more of a chateau drive-by bus trip, with two winery visits thrown in.
dst. (km) Today 0.0 Trip total ?? Odometer 1870.7 Bronchitis hit me hard this morning, coughing and wheezing and spitting for an hour or more when I woke up. I was feeling sorry for myself and equally sorry for the others sharing the room.
Spent much of the day being a tourist and walking around, by lunch time I wasn’t sure whether my aching legs were from cycling, walking, or just from being sick.
dst. (km) Today 151.09 Trip total ?? Odometer 1870.7 Good news or bad news first? The good news is that sometime during the night it finally cooled down and now is slightly overcast and around 20°C. Perfect weather for cycling. The bad news is that my cold is now much worse, probably bronchitis judging by the coughing and spitting!
Fantastic weather to ride in, cool and a light mist, so little that nothing stayed damp, just enough to keep me cool.
dst. (km) Today 95.41 Trip total ?? Odometer 1719.6 I’d left La Rochelle with a vague idea of riding to Bordeaux today, optimistically managing to mis-read the map. At lunchtime as I neared Rochefort I saw that it was another 160km! Decided to make for Saintes instead, and only just made it there, during the afternoon the temperature just kept on climbing, around 35 °C I guess.
I found a bike track this morning that ran from La Rochelle to Rochefort, but as with bike tracks everywhere it didn’t seem to have enough signs and I managed to lose it a couple of times.
dst. (km) Today 0.0 Trip total 1455.0 It was nice to wake up and not have to pack up and move. Michael and I walked around for an essential visit to the laundromat, then spent the morning sitting on the beach watching the girls go by.
The beach and the bay looked fantastic, but as the tide went out we saw that the sand ended at the waters edge, and it was all mud and rocks from there out!
dst. (km) Today 167.7 Trip total ?? Odometer 1622.7 My cold is growing, I’ve been sneezing all day, and my nose is running constantly.
Stinking hot again inland, later in the afternoon it cooled as I got the sea breeze, but there were then 30km of head-winds across “Les Marais” which I think translates as “the swamp.” A flat, smelly, and very uninspiring ride!
It took me almost an hour and a half to get out of Nantes, I kept having to avoid motorways and zig-zag about, never seeming to make any headway.
dst. (km) Today 143.9 Trip total ?? Odometer 1455.0 I’ve had a sore throat all day, I think I’m getting a cold.
Rennes was nearly impossible to get out of on the bike, I ended up heading south on the main highway for a few kilometres before being able to escape onto the side roads.
Where? Rennes, N137-E3 to Chartres-de-Bretagne, Noyal-Chatillon-sur-Seiche, St Erolon, Bourgbarré, Chanteloup, le Sel-e-Bretagne, la Bosse-de-Bretagne, Teillay, la Thébaudais, Rouge, Châteaubriant, Issé, la Robertière, Nort-s-Erdre, D 26 to Sucé-sur-Erdre, Nantes.
dst. (km) Today 141.9 Trip total ?? Odometer 1311.1 A long day, but in some ways it didn’t really feel like it.
After getting out of bed and queueing for breakfast with hundreds of French school girls all on a school holiday trip, I headed out at 10 am along the minor coast road in the direction of Mont St. Michel. I hadn’t realised how far it was, so it was 64km and 1 pm by the time that I got there, very hungry and hot.
dst. (km) Today 48.11 Trip total ?? Odometer 1169.2 Young Sammie’s first birthday if I remember correctly…
I bummed around all day in the sun, riding out to le Corbienne lighthouse in the south-west. Once there I found a broken spoke, on the cluster side of course. Probably as a result of over-changing and dropping the derailleur into the spokes.
Rode back to St Helier and tried all three bike shops, all were too busy to change it.
dst. (km) Today 42.03 Trip total ?? Odometer 1119.5 I woke up this morning and couldn’t work out whether the clocks were right or not; I had no idea whether Jersey was in the same time zone as the UK or not!
I left the panniers in the B&B for the day and headed out on the bike. Riding into town after breakfast I was wobbling all over the place, its amazing how different the bike feels without the panniers on it, and how quickly you become accustomed to them.
dst. (km) Today 29.20 Trip total ?? Odometer 1077.1 Six weeks until I see Jo, and I’ve got a broken tooth. Feeling just a little depressed today, the grey English weather isn’t helping. On re-checking the calendar I found that it’s seven weeks, not six.
A lazy day, I rode the 12km or so through Studland and the coastal park to the ferry then paid my 80p to cross to Poole.
dst. (km) Today 89.45 Trip total ?? Odometer 1039.7 Worst part of the day — stopping to grab some fish and chips in Swanage from The Fish Plaice and breaking a tooth on a piece of grit in the second chip I ate. Staff in the shop couldn’t care less, grabbed another chip out of the fryer, poked it with their fingers and declared “nuffin wrong with em”.
I’m staying in a B&B because the YHA is shut!
dst. (km) Today 145.31 Trip total ?? Odometer 950.2 The hostel last night was far less crowded, our eight-bed room only held me and the two Swedish girls, and neither of them snored. Woke up to yet more drizzle though, a theme that continued through the day.
I dodged the rain; I got caught in the rain. I made it to Starcross just on 10.15 am, and since the ferry runs on the hour, I either had a forty five minute wait or I could ride up to Exeter and back along the other side of the river.
dst. (km) Today 0.00 Trip total ?? Odometer 804.0 Drizzle in the morning, fine in the afternoon, then pouring with rain in the evening. Not the best day to spend wandering around through the shops, although I did manage to go for a walk up along the beach path quite a way. Visited Torre Abbey, but I didn’t feel like paying the £3 entry fee, so I just walked around the outside and looked in.
dst. (km) Today 67.02 Trip total ?? Odometer 804.0 A grey day, a grey mood, a cold south-easterly head wind and about 10 km extra due to my inability to read road signs. Somewhere along the way I detoured off the A370 and ended up at Underwood, then had to retrace my steps as I was determined to not ride on the A38.
Felt rotten all morning, that the riding was just a chore to be finished.
dst. (km) Today 112.24 Trip total ?? Odometer 736.9 A few minor misreadings of the map and my estimated 80km trip turned into 112km!
Three ferry crossing during the day; three very different styles of ferry. There was a very touristy pedestrian one from Falmouth to St. Mawes, at Fowey a creaking little car ferry drawn along on chains, then another pedestrian ferry right at the end of the day into Plymouth(50.
dst. (km) Today 77.51 Trip total ?? Odometer 624.5 No breakfast at the backpackers so I cruised out at 8:30 and rode down to Lands End. It’s the sort of place that everyone knows is tacky, but everyone visits all the same. At nine in the morning before it all opens up everything looks even sadder and more depressing than normal. It was dead still, no wind, no people, just flat sea and gulls calling.
dst. (km) Today 94.66 Trip total 687.66 Odometer 547.0 Jo’s email yesterday and my thoughts of her were heavy on my mind all day, a melancholy day, and it’s only one week into the nine so far.
Right now its 7 pm, the sun is miles up above the horizon out over the Atlantic. I’m sitting on the headland up above Sennen Bay. It is incredibly peaceful here, the only sound is the waves on the shore, the sea is quite flat.
dst. (km) Today 64.97 Trip total 592.7 Odometer 451.9 Woke at 5.30 am as usual, but managed to sleep for another two hours with my mask on and ear-plugs in. When I finally did get up it was to see a gray dismal sky and listen to the howling of the wind.
At breakfast an old man celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary observed, “In my day, you was a sissy if you ‘ad gears.
dst. (km) Today 125.?? Trip total 527.7 Odometer 386.8 I discovered today that my panniers are falling apart! The right one has lost one of the bolts that holds a hook on, and the left one has come half-undone. The threads on the left hand side are stripped and the aluminium bar is bent where the hole weakens it. Will they last seven more weeks?
I got lost in Barnstaple in the Saturday morning market crowds, then it took ages to get out of town onto the Tarka Trail, and as soon as I found the trail I punctured the rear!
dst. (km) Today 115.4 Trip total 402.7 Odometer 261.7 A long ride, with some amazing hills. I discovered that gradients of 1:4 are scary downhill, and nearly impossible to ride uphill.
Leaving Glastonbury I got a little bit lost, heading north-west instead of west I’d turned off the A39 somewhere near Northove, desperate to get off the A road, and added a few more miles onto the route. Part of the problem was getting breakfast.
dst. (km) Today 62.41 Trip total 287.3 Odometer 146.2 Sitting in a pub in Glastonbury, the second of two pubs this evening, having a beer and watching the sun go down. The distance today was a little less, I didn’t feel so pushed for time.
Got in around 3 pm in plenty of time for a shower and a wander around town. I caught the bus out to the Tor and walked up to the top — then nearly got blown off by the icy wind.
dst. (km) Today 79.72 Trip total 224.9 Odometer 79.9 I must write this down while I remember it, sitting here in a pub in Bristol. Somewhere along the canal in the past two days I came to a little bridge, a narrow boat had stopped and a lady was carrying a bag of rubbish across to the bin. A stereotypical west-country old codger was sitting on a bench nearby, just watching the canal and the world go by.
dst. (km) Today 80.0 Trip total 145.0 Odometer ??.? Today’s distance estimated.
The sun comes up at 4.30 am! Jet lag kicks in and I’m wide awake. Lie around until 7 am dozing and listening to the birds — and trying to stretch my neck and shoulders. Ouch!
Pore over the maps and changing my mind — my original plans were to go further north, I think I’ll explore Cornwall!
dst. (km) Today 65.0 Trip total 65.0 Today’s distance estimated.
Day the first, long and arduous. Out of Heathrow and found that the airline had ripped off the speedo cables — finally, after years of the cables looking “nearly ready to rip off.” Then I managed to twist the valve while trying to pump up the rear tyre and flattened it — always the rear. After removing wheel and tyre I repaired it and finally got on my way.
A bunch of random cycling stuff; after wondering over the weekend what had happened to the Wide Open Road tour of France in July, and making up my mind to mail them today, I received an update from them about their ride — now I have to make up my mind which has the higher priority — going on the tour, or living here in a place that I really enjoy…
I’ve no idea what the motorist did, but months later I found this note to myself in one of the notebooks that I carry while cycling. If I wrote it down at the time then they probably either tried to hit me or threw something at me or similar….
Gold Holden Kingswood
`###-###`
21:12
Very sore shoulder and left knee since I was run off the bike path this morning by two annoying women out walking. Initially they were walking on the left — suprisingly, since 50% of pedestrians ignore the council sign telling them to do so — then turned a corner onto a bridge, glanced back at me, and decided to suddenly swap sides right in front of me from the LHS to RHS of the path!
Driven into in the Monash Uni car park by a student who drove straight past me and then turned left, no indicators, didn’t even look. After the loud bang, he turned and said “Oh, sorry mate”.
Arrived back in Melbourne at 06:15 and leisurely made my way through customs and to the baggage area. There was no point hurrying since bicycles and other large pieces of luggage are the last things to be brought out.
By the time that the bike turned up the crowds had dispersed and I walked straight through customs. There was a momentary delay when I stated that the bike was not spotlessly clean, but after a quick peek in the box I was allowed to continue without having to quarantine it for six months!
As I was sitting in the aircraft on the ground at Frankfurt I got to see the way that Lufthansa staff handled my bicycle. The box came down the ramp with the other oversize luggage and the handler attempted to pick it up by wrapping his arms around it length-ways rather than use the hand-holds cut into the sides of the box. Since his arms couldn’t quite reach around it and it slid out of his grasp he just threw it across the ground onto the trolley.
Vanity site? Technology experiment? Learning tool? Blog? Journal? Diary? Photo album? I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you…
I experiment. I play. I write and I take pictures. Some of the site is organised around topics, other parts are organized by date, then there’s always the cross-references between them.
Its all been here a fairly long time. Like the papers on my desk, or the books on the bedside table, the pile just grew… and it all grew without much plan or structure. I try not to break URLs, so historical oddities abound.
Long ago it started as a learning experiment with a few static HTML pages, then I added a bit of server-side includes and some very ugly PHP. A hand-built journal/blog on top of that PHP, then a few experiments in moving to various static publishing systems. I’ve never wanted a database-based blogging engine, so over the years I’ve tried PHP, nanoblogger, emacs-muse, silkpage and docbook before settling on Emacs Org mode for writing and jekyll for publishing. But the itch remained… I never really liked jekyll and the ruby underneath always seemed so much black magic. So now the latest incarnation is Org mode and hugo.
