Tag: musings
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Pau
I made it to Pau but it was a bit of a slog in the end. Always pedalling with no respite is not my strong point. There were a couple of small hills and it reminded me a little of Essex. I’m safely parked in my hotel, the restaurant is booked and tomorrow is much…
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Relaxed day
I’ve got all day to get to Pau, it’s all along a river and only about 5h of cycling, maximum. I’m finally going to take my time and do what I’d imagined I’d do rather than always moving on (memories of Africa where the bed to move forward became a trap). So, crossword by the…
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Double-Dipping
My tour is turning in to connecting the climbs in the book “Mountain High” by Daniel Friebe. The Urkiola is “the Basque Galibier” according to the book so off I headed from Bilbao. The climb was steady away and had trees all the way up with steep rock faces bursting up behind them. I didn’t…
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Coincidence
I met a fellow bike packer on the train. He was wearing gaudy African attire and had an ancient Decathlon bike with reversed brakes so I assumed he was not British! I smelt a rat when he leapt up and took a picture of the station name: Poo. It was Po on the timetable, not…
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What I learned
The whole point of this trip was to ask a few questions of myself and my kit. Am I able to ride all day with a loaded bike and manage 200km? Yes. And I average about 20 kph moving with minimal effort (and an eye on the whole day, and the next day) and 16…
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Half way – election, what election?
I’ve been moving about 4½ hours and have done 90km. In all that time I’ve seen two, TWO election posters. One house festooned in conservative signs (the candidate?) and two hours later a lonely LibDem one. Given where I’ve been riding I guess no Labour is not a surprise either. I’m writing in Beaconsfield, lots…