In July 2009 Duncan, Adam and myself spend a week in a great apartment on the shores of Lake Como. We went cycling almost every day, circumnavigating the lake and exploring the nearby cols. It was great! We cycled 480 kilometres in five days, with over six kilometres of climbing. After this, Duncan and I cycled... read more
After cycling in Como for a week Duncan and I cycled back through Europe to London. (Duncan bailed out at Brussels). Along the way we crossed the Alps, the Black Forest, the Rhine, and cycled through Italy, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and England. We also found time to drink an... read more
Back to some speedy country crossing in Malaysia - fewer rest days and big cycling days, including one of 150km, K.L. to Melaka. Still no speedo, so the altitude readings aren't there, although it was mostly pretty flat, with some rolling hills in parts. I was going to go up to the Cameron Highlands, which is a... read more
Lots of days sitting around on beaches dropped the average distance significantly, but for some reason the on-bike days were big so the average distance for cycled days in the largest so far. My speedo stopped working towards the south so the altitude readings stopped, however the trusty GPS still gave... read more
Big travel days in Cambodia due to good roads and two dutchmen that were fitter than me. I know the stats don't add up - I don't count all days cycled as 'cycling days' if it was just to e.g. go sightseeing around Phnom Penh. Basically I screw with the stats to make myself look good. 1,016 Kilometres cycled 17... read more
This might be useful to people cycling the route... or at least a historical curiosity when they one day put a half decent road here. The Siem Reap to Poipet road is notoriously bad, the most famous theory being that some airline is paying the government not to upgrade it (or to do it slowly) so that more people... read more
Very fast going through Vietnam, helped by a prevailing Northerly wind, which I consider to be the Yin for my Turkish Yang, where I had a prevailing headwind. 2,324 Kilometres cycled 35 days, of which 22 cycling and 13 resting 66.4 km per day 105.6 km per cycled day 6,363m altitude climbed, which is 289m per... read more
The summary:
Racing across the Po Valley - flat and featureless but with nice towns. Day 37 Genoa - broken down train - Genoa (rest day) Took a train *towards* Cinque Terra, but there was an accident further up the line somewhere and it didn't make it. Went back to Genoa, wrote off the day. This is the day the monk walked... read more
In which our intrepid hero chills out in Avignon with Jannah, then speeds through the French and Italian Rivieras to Genoa. Day 26 Marseille - Avignon (rest day) Took bike on the train, was difficult but made easier by nice French train conductors and station masters. Hung out until Jannah arrived, was great to... read more
Through the beautiful Gorge Du Tarn, a spot of Kayaking then struggling through the traffic of France's second biggest city... Day 21 Severance - St.Enimie 70km, 16.6avg, patchy rain Starting off with ever more climbing and headwind (with rain thrown in) almost did for me, but I struggled to the edge of an... read more
In which I finally start heading west, I pass through awesome beaches, wine regions around Bordeaux, and a valley filled with prehistoric remains... Day 11 La Rochelle - Royan 90km, 16.7avg, Rain mostly; headwind Nasty headwind continued and the threatening rain arrived just after lunch. Lesson learnt - do not... read more
Day 4 Portsmouth - St.Malo (overnight ferry) No cycling except to the hotel; of course I did go the wrong way around a roundabout at the very first opportunity. Day 5 St.Malo - Ploermel 125km, overcast Huge day. Couldn't find original campsite - do not trust Google maps postcodes in France - but tourist office... read more
Day 1 Islington - Godalming 80km, 17.9km/h avg Kickstand fell off. One mudguard was being annoying. Felt fnie, knee got tired early but recovered. A Pomeranian dog yapped at me. Green Dene is an evil hill. Day 2 Godalming - Portsmouth 75km, 18.8km/h avg Repaired kickstand. Toiletries bag fell, made prayer... read more
Uninteresting for most people but possibly useful for anyone else considering a long cycle tour. Right now, of course, I've only gone on a few test runs but I will update this entry as I learn more about how these items stand up over time. Bike - Specialized Crossroads Elite (Hybrid) Not your ideal bike for... read more
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