Cycling Colombia - Part 2

After 6 days of hard cycling in Colombia the rest day on Saturday 17th January came as a welcome respite. A group of us set off to downdown Medellin to replenish bike parts, visiting the bike shop established by the famous Colombian climber, Ramon Hoyas Vallejo, now run by his son, who was happy to serve us.
Leaving Medellin was a delight: on Sunday's the main highways in the city are closed to traffic and we joined the throng of cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, and dog-walkers having a car-free fun Sunday. We soon climbed out of the rim of mountains surrounding Medellin, with cable cars whizzing overhead providing access for the ramshackle neighbourhoods clinging to the hillsides high above the city.
The day provided 2,137m of ascent, over 54 miles, reaching the mountain top town of Santa Rosea de Rosas in late afternoon.
Monday saw the greatest descent of the tour, my computer registering 3,531m loss of altitude, (but also accompanied by 1,215m of gain). The descent from the highest point in la Cordilera was exhilerating, my hands aching from braking for over an hour, as I peeled off the layers with the temperature increasing nearly threefold from 12 degrees to 34 degrees.
On Tuesday a change of hotel required a route change, with a bus transfer to avoid the worst of the hot coastal Savannah. Our destination, after 60 miles of cycling, was a lively seaside resort on the Caribbean - dipping my wheels in the sea followed by a welcome swim to cool off.
Our last cycling day was a long hot slog of 113miles to the delightful Spanish colonial town of Cartagena, a World Heritage site. Finishing the tour led to hugs and congratulations all round, followed by a beer or two - most recognising the tour as probably their toughest cycling challenge.
Today was spent boxing bikes and enjoying the hot and steamy ambiance of Cartagena, and preparing        for flights to Bogata, and hence to London.
Bring on the Surrey hills!

Cycling Colombia

One week into my trip to Colombia and I'm finally getting to grips with cycling on an epic scale. The first serious ramp-up from the Bogata Plain (2,625m), left me light-headed, heart-racing and gasping for breath and wondering what I had let myself in for! Climbs totalling 1,300m up to 3,000m were more than enough for the first day. There followed over 40km of descent to the Magdalena Plain with temperatures in the mid 40's on day two.
 This so-called two-day gentle introduction was a primer for Andean road riding, with an ascent of the Alto de Letras - one of the so called 3 Mythical Mountains of Colombia, featuring in the Vuelta a Colombia. My bike computer read 3,739m altitude gain and though a relatively modest average climb of 5 per cent, over 7 hours of constantly ascenting totalling 54miles was physically draining. Half of the group of 14 were swept-up by the support bus before the summit and only one rider managed to descend into Manizales before dark. My new Enigma Etape - with lower gears than most, performed brilliantly all the way to the summit.
The rest of the week has been exhilarating, coping with altitudes of over 2,500m and descents sometimes lasting over 40km. The mountains are often lost in mist and cloud  but when clear the views are stupendous. Thankfully the roads are good but often unexpectedly turn to gravel where storms have swept them away.
The first week finished with a climb of the Alto de Minas - again an almost permanent feature in the Vuelta a Colombia; my computer recorded 2,641m gain. However the descent into Medellin (still at 1,500m), was nerve-racking, with 12 miles of manically fast traffic changing lanes at will and trying to split the group up on the way to the hotel.
Saturday has been a well-earned rest day.enjoying the delights of a transformed city from the dark days of the drug cartels. Thereafter the second week of the trip finally descents from the Andes to Colombia's hot Caribbean flatlands. More to follow!

THE LOIRE VALLEY - CHATEAUX & WINERIES

On Sunday, 1st June, nine members of the Midweek Wayfarers (Frank, Françoise, Cliff, Maureen, Tim, Alan, Ian, Pam and Gill) met up with 25 French cyclists to participate in a 7-day tour of the Loire Valley from Nantes to Chambord/Blois and return.  Brilliantly organised by Gérard and Guy of the FFCT whom we had met in Brittany last year, we cycled 50-60 miles per day;  we were on the road at 8.00 a.m. each day and the two leaders took it in turns to drive the sag-wagon which carried our luggage and provided teas and coffee at breaks en-route, plus picnic lunches.  The terrain was flat beside the rivers but hilly away from them and the weather was great apart from a couple of showers and a deluge on the third day.

We travelled eastwards for four days, mostly following the Loire but also its tributaries the Vienne, Cher and Indre.  We visited the Château de Brézé, Fontevraud Abbey and the two really famous châteaux – Chenonceau and Chambord on this half of the trip.  On the return, we visited Amboise, Villandry (wonderful gardens) and the 15th Chateau Langeais.  As for the ‘oenology’ part of the trip, we had wine-tastings at:   Montlouis, near Amboise, followed by a picnic lunch in one of their caves; at la Haie Longue – Coteaux du Layon – at coffee time; and finally, on the last evening before dinner, Muscadet wines, which made for a party atmosphere.

On Monday, 9th June, we said farewell to our French friends and spent the day being shown around Nantes, riding on a huge mechanical elephant and on a 3-tier carousel of sea creatures!  All great fun!  The next day was Departure Day and we were transported to Frank and Françoise’s home where we had a magnificent lunch, before cycling back to St Malo to catch the overnight ferry.  All-in-all, a wonderful trip.

- Gill Finlay

  (For the full story, see the Sou’Wester.)

 

More photos at http://tinyurl.com/lg5a2gc

The Dartmoor Devil

I started this year's Audax season with the Gospel Pass, a high and wild ride over the Black Mountains, and it seemed fitting to round off the year with another of the same sort.  So, on Saturday morning, Maggie and I set off for Bovey Tracey, I to ride the Dartmoor Devil and she to provide moral and practical support.  Like the Gospel Pass, the Dartmoor Devil is a long-standing and very popular audax, and just like the Gospel Pass it enjoys a reputation for, well, challenging weather.

We made our base in the Cromwell Arms, which has the dual advantage of being a decent pub and being the start control for the event.  So on Sunday morning all I had to do was to tip out of bed and ride.

Sign-on in the bar, then gather in the car-park with the first wave for the start.  The event is so popular that the entry is divided into two waves of about 120 each to manage the numbers.  The first starts at 0800 and the second at 0900.  I had an early start, which seemed the best thing.

Out of the pub car-park and past a medieval arch, and we were straight on to the first steep hill.  Young flyers shot off; the more mature rider took it a bit steadier - there were plenty more hills to come.  Over the top and then a rolling climb to Moretonhampstead, before the real business of the day began.  Steeply up to Northmoor then just as steeply down again to the Teign valley.  Although it was sunny, heavy rain and high winds had filled the lanes with leaves and run-off from the banks.  Road signs gave the gradients as 20% up and 25% down; the GPS, as is often the case, gives a bit less.  But pretty steep, and tricky riding.  Before starting I had agonised over the best bike for the job, and had settled on my Boardman cycle-cross bike - grippy tyres and disc brakes.  It was already obvious that this was the right choice, and I began to reel in some of the flyers, both climbing and descending. (It is also fair to say that I never saw some of them again, but you just have to accept these things.)

More of the same to the first control at Drewsteignton, where I leaned my bike against a signpost while I went to get my card stamped and eat cake.

On return, it looked as if a minor mishap had occurred - the wind, while not the hurricane that followed, was very strong, and my bike had blown over.  Picking it up, I thought that my ride was over.  The left hand shifter had hit a rock and broken, and my immediate thought was that riding the Devil unable to change the front mech and with only one brake wouldn't be possible.  All over.

But hope springs eternal, and my second thought was that fixing the gears in 'low' on the compact would make little practical difference on a ride like this, and, hey, disc brakes were twice as good as calipers and I still had one left.  Onwards and upwards.  Once on the road I found that the gears were unaffected and still worked fine, and then that by holding the lever 'just so' the brake worked too.  Perhaps not as strong as usual, but good enough.

Steady climbing in deeply incised lanes for the next few miles, warm in the sun and sheltered from the wind, then out on to the moor at under Hound Tor where you really felt the wind for the first time.  It was pretty wild.  Across the open moor to the control at Ashburton with light rain at first, becoming heavier.  No problem, I thought, it'll pass while I have my food.  Good pumpkin soup, crusty bread roll and a chat with fellow riders and back out into - pouring rain and gale force wind.  I had parked the Boardman in a sheltered place (slow learner, but not entirely stupid), and several people were looking at it.  The tyres and disc brakes attracted strong approval, and I realised that I could have sold it at this point, as the worst was yet to come.

Steeply up through trees, so some shelter, then on to the open moor above Holne.  It was wild.  Screaming wind and pouring rain.  The cold rain hurt my face, so I put my head down and it hurt my head coming through the slots in my helmet.  I plugged on, at one point noticing that there was a row of ponies, tails to the wind, standing on one side of the road doing nothing.  On the other side, a group of cows, tails to the wind, was equally stolid.  Presumably this has happened to them before.

It was a hard 20k up to Princetown, a grim prison town on the top of the moor.  I was very glad to get there, and delighted at the warm welcome at the Cafe that was the next control.  All of the waiting staff had donned horns and tails, and there was a special 'Devilish' menu for the cyclists.  I warmed up, dried my gloves on the stove and recovered my humanity.  But all good things must come to an end, and eventually I had to get back out into the weather to do the next stage.  Another Boardman Admiration Society had formed in the car park.  'Do those brakes really work, then?'  Heartfelt, after sixty wet, mucky and hilly kilometres.

Things were a bit better, now.  It was raining less, the wind was now a tailwind and, at least for a while, the road went downwards.  Speeds were up, even climbing, and I got 47mph on one of the descents.  Not bad, for a cyclo-cross bike with fat tyres in the rain.  Rolling along, I mused that the last time I had come along this road was on my way to John o'Groats, on a balmy May day in warm sunshine. If only ...

Gradually, the fears of the Audaxer began to resurface.  I had done 85 km and according to my brevet card there should be a control.  I had passed a pub a couple of miles back, and had looked very carefully for the 'Control' signs.  I couldn't  see them, but was now beginning to fear that I was going have to turn back and climb again, into the wind, to get my brevet stamped.  Missing a control means disqualification.  Carrying on for a couple of miles, in the middle of the moor with no human habitation visible, wind and rain rising again, my heart sank.

Then, on a narrow winding bit of road, the bike quivering in the wind, I saw the 'Control Ahead' sign.  It was nailed to a stick which was held down with rocks.  Around the corner, on a patch of gravel at the side of the road, was a small camper van with a hand-painted 'Audax Control' sign.  Two cheerful stalwarts, wrapped in blankets, stamped my card and wished me a good ride.  It is the wildest place I have ever known a control situated.

Last lap now, down to Widecombe and then about ten K to the finish.  Those of you who remember the song will know that it was Widecombe Hill that killed Tom Pearce's grey mare.  More than a kilometre long and stretches of 20%.  Nothing below 15%.  Makes White Down look a doddle.  

But then it was over. Across the moor and down a little to the Kestor Inn at Manaston, a fitting final control, high on the moors.  I got my card stamped, bought a badge and declined a beer, although it looked as if a serious party was beginning to develop.  Out into the rain again - more drizzle now, and downhill for a few miles to the Cromwell Arms where Maggie was waiting to hear of my heroism.

66.4 miles, rolling average 10.5mph, 10,168 feet of ascent.  A great ride.

Mark

Raid Dolomites

I've been wanting to do this ride for a long time. It's the longest - and the hardest - of the classic French long-distance 'Raids', going over the edge of the French Alps, through the Swiss Alps and then the Dolomites on the way from Thonon (near Geneva) to Trieste, on the Adriatic. The format is the same as all the others - it's organised by a local Audax Club - Thonon les Bains, in this case. You apply to the club for a 'carnet' and a route card, you get the 'carnet' stamped at the control points listed along the way, and they'll give you a medal if you succeed. It's 1180 km over 38 cols with 21,384 meters of climbing. Roughly Lands End to John o' Groats, but with rather more climbing. Well, a lot more.

The problem with the trip was getting van support. Baxter's had done it every few years until about 2008, but had then stopped, and for the last few years no company has done it at all. Obviously, you can set off with panniers and so on, but it would be a slow old ride, so I wasn't keen. Then, doing the Raid Alpine last year, I had a spot of luck. James Thompson, of Marmot Tours, said that he was planning to run the Raid Dolomites as a route this season. In the event it was so popular that he ran three trips. I got my carnet and booked a place.

So it was that on the 20th of August I stood by the lake in Thonon, carnet in my pocket, ready to go.

Marmot Tours weren't hanging about on this one - the trip was nine days from end to end, so we put the hammer down right from the beginning. 191 kms and over the 2000 meter Simplon Pass at the end of the run to get to our hotel for the first night. It was very hot on the Simplon, with some tedious (and quite dangerous) road works in the tunnels, but everyone made it in good time for dinner and the show was on the road.

I find it best to make an early start on these runs, to get as many miles in as I can in the cool of the day. The second day wasn't too bad - some climbing in the heat, ending at San Bernardino, but day three, going to St Moritz, was quite tough. Switzerland, then Italy, then back to Switzerland, with three big passes, the smallest of which, the Maloja, at 1815 meters I found the hardest. 30 kms up a hot valley followed by a big climb on steep hairpins. But it was followed by a blast along the lake to St Moritz and beers on the terrace of our hotel.

The next day was no easier, with four decent passes ending on the top of the Stelvio, where we spent the night. Thunder and hail in the late afternoon, which I missed by my 'do it early' policy. Not everyone did. Overnight it snowed.

In the morning, one of the vans went off early to check the road for ice (it was fine), and after another long and hard day we got to Selva Val Gardena in the Dolomites. 194 kms and a lot of climbing. Grinding up the Passo di Pinei in the late afternoon I was passed by a local woman racer, out for her evening training run. 'Salve', she said, a normal courtesy amongst cyclists. Then, taking in the situation and my Raid Alpine tag she said 'Courage'. Yes indeed. I made it in time for a beer before dinner; the last bikes were in after 2130, pitch dark and raining.

A couple of easier days - plenty of climbing, but not so long - were helpful to rest a bit. I deliberately took it easy, with decent cake and lunch stops. That left me in good shape for Day 7, which was very tough. Over the Passo di Giau, well known from the Giro, then up to the Refuge at the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, again a Giro classic. The Giau was OK, and I got up it well, but the descent was wet, treacherous and freezing. I was very cold when I got to Cortina, and warmed up with hot chocolate and cream cake, before setting off up again to the Tre Cime. Another very hard climb, but I got up OK and in a decent time. A great lunch in the refuge then down again by the same road, with words of encouragement for some of the party who were still on the way up.

Although there was plenty of riding left, if you had got over the Tre Cime then you were set for Trieste. The run of the country was down, interspersed with climbs, of course, and the pace rose steadily. The last fifty miles were fast indeed, with 'Trieste Express' line-outs vying to be first into town. Under the town sign, champagne and pizza at the Bar California on the front, and that was that. Another Raid done, and great fun it was.

I know it's not about the bike, but most people paid a lot of attention to their mounts, as did I. The steed of choice was the lightest piece of carbon fibre you could find, with a good saddle and a reasonable spread of gears - you can't go too low as you won't be able to keep the speed up on the climbs. I took the Condor that I had made for the Alps last year. SRAM Rival Groupset, with the 'WiFli' Climbing Group, a Fizik Aliante carbon fibre saddle, Mavic SL wheels and Continental Grand Prix tyres. Spot on, and trouble free.

And if it's not about the bike, it is about the logistics. Marmot Tours are top at the long-distance Raiding game, with a well-established system of two custom vans carrying food, spares and clothing, good hotels and your bag in your room by the time you get there. Good people and good to deal with.

Mark

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Missing letters and a link to some photos

Anyone reading my article in the May/June Sou'Wester about a 1984 cycle tour in northern Spain may have noticed that the letter 'n' was missing whenever it should have been present after the letter 'ó' in Spanish words and place names. Where all the 'n's went is a bit of a mystery but I'm happy to advise that they have all been rounded up and reinstated in the online PDF copy of the Sou'Wester which can be viewed from this website.

Thanks to Jeff and Colin Quemby for their forensic work and to Graham for amending the online version.

In addition there are some photos from Part 1 of this tour at this link -
1984 Tour of the Picos de Europa (Part 1)
as well as several taken on my first cycle tour of the Picos de Europa in 1981 at:
1981 Tour of the Picos de Europa


-Tim

Pam's photos from the Tour de Sarthe

Pam's photos from the Humphrey Tours expedition to France, including many cheeky portraits.

Dieppe Raid 2012

Ray and Ed admiring Dutch owned LHD MGA

Some of the past generations attending yet again. Sou'Westers won the Trophy for most riders.

Ray missed out for the second year on least

young rider in the 100km Randonee. A protest has been made to Caroline.

Eric won the least young rider overall.

Coastal scene near Dieppe from the Saturday 60km Randonee. The weather was fine but Sunday was diabolical until the evening sunset.

Wayfarers Abroad Massif Central France

Wayfarers Abroad Massif Central France

The Dieppe Raid 2011 - another viewpoint

Sunday dawns bright and sunny and continues pleasantly comfortable for the day – despite intermittent rain-drops all afternoon. Eighteen “Sou’ Westers” set off to up the climb away from the HQ in the town, shortly to become A & B groups of 3 and 15 respectively. We all agreed to meet at the HQ at 8am ready to leave asap and sadly Norman failed to leave the hotel early enough to ride with the groups, despite being one of the first down to breakfast.

Well done B team who kept together all day (well almost) at a comfortable pace, resting and waiting when required and stopping for coffee at Quiberville. A difference of opinion between the route sheet and the map in the HQ was settled when the painted arrows on the road agreed with the written instructions. However this year the 100km route seemed to have been waymarked by a man with a red spray can (marking the 140km and 200km routes and the 100km - where they coincided) as well as the man with the orange spray can for the 100km route only. By this time the confidence in the arrows led us to follow red arrows to the right where the printed route sheet actually indicated left, which ultimately led to some head scratching when we arrived at a T junction with a right turn and were faced with an orange arrow coming from the opposite direction and pointing to the left (our right). With a typical Gallic shrug we went right, back on the correct route.
 

Here Susie had a soft tyre and the group halted to pump it up before regrouping. As we homed in on the lunch spot - along the Avenue Vert at St Aubin le Caux - Susie’s stop to pump the tyre again went unnoticed by the group and we left her just as the valve tore from the tube and she could have done with help. Fortunately she was rescued by "three young lads" (all over 70!) and brought safely to the lunch stop, arriving just as the now refuelled group began to realise she was missing.

The group thinned again after lunch as 3 more peeled off, deciding to follow the ex-railway line that the Avenue Verte uses and head for home on the flat - while the rest headed up a long steady climb where Maggie punctured near the top, providing a relaxing stop for the group in the sunshine despite the drops of rain, while super-domestique Mark expertly fixed the puncture. This was a new Maggie, as we have never seen her on a solo before.

An afternoon stop on the easy run in to Dieppe was enjoyed by everyone and we checked in back at the HQ with plenty of time until the prize presentation. In the meantime we went our separate ways looking for a beer, an ice cream or a TV (to watch Bradley Wiggins secure his victory in the week-long Critérium du Dauphiné race which is seen as the precursor to the Tour de France each year – like Queens is to Wimbledon). Or all three!

The prize presentation saw the Sou’Westers called up a number of times: firstly we received the trophy for the most attenders – 21, Eric Ashford was awarded a trophy for being the “plus moins jeune” male rider at the shorter distances, Irene received “a crap trophy” for the same as a female rider at the 100km distance and would have cheerfully left it behind in the hall. Rob and Ruth received an award for completing the ride on tandem and the group also received a trophy for 2nd or 3rd (the announcements were a bit hazy at times) at the number of kilometres covered .

Once again we enjoyed an excellent – if nouvelle cuisine – meal at the Windsor Hotel on the Sunday night to round off the weekend, with many of the group carousing well into the night.

When we booked from the English side of things there was no indication of a Mountain Bike route in addition to the other distances, but the green arrows marked VTT (Velos Touts Terrains) leading up some interesting hillsides were evidence that there was an MTB ride.

Participants:

Pete & Lisa, Lynda, Liz, Susie, Rob & Ruth, Mark & Maggie, TonyH, Pam, Irene, Beatie, Cliff & Maureen, Brian, Simon, Ray, Eric, Norman

Dieppe…. A detour to the Somme

Dieppe…. A detour to the Somme On our way home from Dieppe, Ray and I called in at St Valery sur Somme where a preserved metre gauge steam train runs around the estuary to Le Crotoy on the other side. The area is popular with cyclists and has several marked routes leading from both towns. We took the train to Le Crotoy ( bikes are carried free in the “fourgon” or baggage van ) , had lunch and then rode a 10 mile circle to Les Bout des Crocs using one of the routes and returning via the lanes. Then we chased the afternoon train back to Noyelles and St Valery using the cycle track parallel to the D940, which is crossed twice by the train. For more information about cycling in the area see http://www.baiecyclette.com/En/default.php Brian Greenwood

Dieppe Trophies

Dieppe Raid 2011

Dieppe Raid 2011

My first away trip with the Wayfarers(Sou’Westers). Cycled down to Newhaven on Friday the 10^th with Simon Lambourne and spent the night in Telscombe youth hostel and were guided across the Downs to a pub called the Spanish Lady for some food and rehydration by two Kingston Cycling campaign guys also on their way to the Raid. They also supplied drinks back at the youth hostel, very resourceful!

 We all caught the Dieppe ferry the next  morning and met Rob and his wife on their tandem. Once in Dieppe we checked in for our meal at the  Cafe des Tribunaux and sampled the wine, very nice.  We then had our climb up to our hotel, the Formula 1, which meant cycling up the Avenue Leon  Gambetta, phew,  and with fully laden panniers.

We met up with the Wayfarer group for an evening meal  of moules and plenty of wine! Then the cycle back up to our hotel. We did mange breakfast at the Hotel La Plage with a large Wayfarer contingent before a ride to the start of the event.

The Raid was a fantastic event with the route being marked by spray paint on the roads. The scenery was great, with climbs and sea  views through lovely quaint villages, past chateaus, along part of the avenue Verte with a lunch stop and finally ending back in Dieppe with ice cream on the beach and off to  the prize giving. The French obviously like trophies as there was a large table overflowing with them  and it was a large table! The wayfarers bagged a good amount!   

After another ride up the Avenue Leon  Gambetta and change into casual attire we caught a cab down the  Hotel Windsor for the dinner.  After a very nice meal with great company and lots of Whisky we eventually retired to bed (via a lengthy wait for a cab!)

Monday was spent around Dieppe drinking, eating and sightseeing before catching the ferry back to Newhaven and the ride back to Telscombe.

Up early on Tuesday to meet Pam and Irene in Lewes for breakfast and a leisurely ride home via elevenses at Hayward’s heath, lunch at the Dragon pub at Colgate and afternoon tea at Denbies and indoors just after 6pm. What a great weekend! Would certainly recommend it and would most definitely do it again!

Follow this link to photos of the weekend.

 Dieppe Raid 2011

Tony..

Two Below Sea Level

Maggie and I have just returned from a trip to Death Valley with our tandem. It sounds an odd choice, but it's quite rational - Death Valley is a National Park, which means that the roads (and everything else) are immaculately maintained, people only go there on holiday so the few cars are outstandingly considerate of cyclists and the weather at this time of the year is spectacularly good. Access is quite easy - direct flights to Las Vegas, which is less than three hours away, and all arrangements were made by Rich Merrick of Cycling Escapes who provided first class van and ride support from airport pick-up to airport drop-off.

Cycling Escapes offers 'challenging' riding - 100+ miles on some days and more than 5000' of ascent on others. We found the climbs hard - harder than the Alps - as the roads tend to be relatively modern, with steady gradients sometimes going on for twenty miles or more. They are designed for cars, not for walkers or horse traffic as many European roads originally were, so there's no respite. But starting below sea level and ending 5600 feet above it is a good day out (Mont Ventoux is 4200 feet of climbing); or riding for eighty miles without ever going above sea level is another interesting experience.

The routes were planned and supported by Cycling Escapes. The van is important, as for most routes you encounter no human habitation at all. Distances are large, and running short of water would be a serious mistake. The van and trailer are comprehensively equipped with spares, food, water and so on and wait at pre-specified 'SAG' points - about twenty miles apart - until all the party has passed, before scooting on to the next 'SAG'. Lunch is taken at the roadside - chairs and tables from the van - and the van is last in to the hotel, so no-one is stranded. Despite all this, it's lonely out there...

The trip is billed as 422 miles and 21,300' of climbing - we cut a couple of corners so did less than this, but we were still over 400 miles and 20,000' - not bad for November, and, with daytime temperatures in the 80s, all in summer kit.

So if you're looking for somewhere to beat the Winter gloom, the deserts of South Western USA are worth a look. We'll be back.

Mark

News From Graham and Gill Holder

We are currently in Lithuania/ Vilnius having crossed the border at Scypliski - total mileage to date 1235.

After a few days rest in the lakes, in the north east of Poland we rode across very undulating country roads to the Lithuanian border to one of only two road crossing points, Unfortunately we chose the one that ALL 40t trucks use and so the 20 odd miles between the border and Marjampole were covered in an average of 13.5 mph - fully loaded. Gill was leading so I think a 'road bike' is in order for her and a crack at the club 10!

We have turned into tourists for a while and boarded a train to Vilnius for a few days. We have also bought tickets for another train ride on Saturday 97/8/2010) to Klaipeda ( on the coast) to rejoin the R1 heading north into Latvia/ Riga and then on to Estonia/Tallin.

I forgot to mention that the trains only stop a the stations for a few moments at Marjampole and Gill thought that she was going to be left on the platform with no money, bike or kit whilst I 'sailed' on to Vilnius! However a very helpful passenger came to our aid and helped load our bikes and interpret for us with the conductor for tickets - clearly our luck is still holding as our adventure continues!.

So far only one puncture ( outside a bike shop in Germany) and a loss of front brakes on my bike entering Vilnius - now resolved thankfully! Fingers crossed and well done to Dawes Super Galaxy not to mention Brooks B17.

Our view of Poland is not overly favourable, The secondary roads are generally dreadful ( pot holes, sand and cobbles randomly laid.) and the car drivers think that cyclists are fair game - hence our use of trains. It is I think the only country that we have travelled.todate. where off road bikes should be retitled on road bikes! Anyway hoping for better when we rejoin the R1 and if not there is always Denmark to look forward too.

More to follow when we rejoin the R1

Gill and Graham

News From Graham and Gill Holder

Sorry about delay in email, but the route has taken us mostly through countryside, and suprise suprise there are few internet cafes. We are now in Poznan, Poland, having completed 1076miles. Have been averaging about 40m + a day, but average seriously reduced since entering Poland as it is a cyclist's nightmare!!! Rough and busy roads, potholes you cannot imagine, and roads dwindling into sandy tracks!!

To arrive in Poland we have travelled from Dunkirk, through Belgium (along the N Sea coast route), to Netherlands (The Hague) where we cut eastwards along lovely cycle lanes to Germany, with equally good cycling routes (although slightly more off road in some places than we would like).

We had a couple of days rest in Berlin, where we also bought a new tent (Jack's lightweight one not quite up to the job - now proud owners of a Helleberg tent tested by he Swedish Army!!) and front panniers for our bikes to better balance the load. We then pushed on to the Polish border. From Poznan we are catching a train to avoid any further roads, to Mazury area, in the north east, where there are lots of lakes and opportunities for some kayaking etc. From there we will cross into Lithuania and cut back to the coast avoiding Kaliningrad visas etc. Plan is to stick to the coast through to Riga and Tallin.

En route to Poznan we were adopted by a Polish Priest for 48hours, after sitting in his church for a rest. He bought us dinner at a restaurant, provided us with breakfast and secretly paid our hotel bill!!! Fact is stranger than fiction.. Despite our protest he would take no money for anything!!

More later at our next stop. Hope all good with you all.

Graham and Gill xx

Two Up - A Tandem In the Alps

For the last several seasons I've been lucky enough to enjoy a week or so's pass-storming in the Alps with one or both of my sons. Maggie had always been careful to stay clear of these 'Boys Own Tours', on a variety of grounds, but the particular being that a tandem in the Alps would be hard work. However, this year things were a bit different. The boys are now embarked on careers and leave is too precious to waste, and Maggie and I have done quite well on the tandem in Provence and Mont Ventoux. So she was prepared to reconsider.

The rules of the game were to be one pass a day, a decent hotel and a good lunch - all of which seemed fair enough. The passes were the Col des Saisies, Petit St Bernard, Iseran, Galibier and Alpe d'Huez - all ones that I know well and which are Tour de France classics. We took our Cannondale tandem, which has twin big discs and a SRAM XX based gearset that I had set up for the Alps and it all worked out very well. The tandem was fine, the weather mostly very good - a shower on Alpe d'Huez but that was all - and all of the passes were within our compass. We found Alpe d'Huez to be the hardest, probably because it was the last of the week, and the Petit St Bernard was quite a pull, too. But we had a good time and next year, who knows, maybe the Pyrenees ...

Mark

News From Graham and Gill Holder

A short update on our travels....we are now in Goslar, Germany. We crossed the channel to Dunkirk on 30th June and headed north on the North Sea cycle route to the Hague were we joined the R1 route east to Berlin.

We have covered 610 miles with the highest mileage 63 miles. Today is our first rest day since we started! Bikes holding up but the tent needs replacing. Another week and we should be in Berlin.

Route generally flat although this part of Germany has a few hills.

Will update further when we find another internet cafe.....

Best wishes Graham and Gill

A Few Days in the Pyrenees

A couple of weeks ago CTC's weekly 'Cycle Clips' email offered last minute places on a Pyrenean tour led by Peter Mastenko. I've never ridden in the Pyrenees so I thought I'd give it a shot. The arrangements were made by Pyrenean Multisports and the centrepieces were a three day tour (van supported) over the Pyrenees, through Spain, Andorra and back, and a crossing of the Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde in one day. Not a bad package; for myself I'd have preferred a few more of the classics, but lastminute.bike has to take what's going.

And it went well, with a small CTC group of seven supplemented at times by one or two of Pyrenean Multisport's other clients. Long days and hard riding, basically.

The received wisdom of the Pyrenees is that they're harder than the Alps, and I think I'd agree. I'd normally use about a 28" gear for the Alps, but was persuaded that 32" would be fine for the Pyrenees. I'll know better next time... The main difference is that there are more long ramps and fewer well-engineered hairpins in the Pyrenees. There are also fewer creature comforts, but both are hot and high.

The week's totals were 368.41 miles; 33,624 feet of ascent; 17,511 calories and a maximum speed of 42.1 mph.

A couple of asides - my 'Crateworks' bike box worked well - www.crateworks.com. There were damaged bikes on the flight but my pretty fragile Boardman was fine; and a couple of the party met Lance in Luchon - he was courteous and posed for a photograph. Taking a look at some climbs, apparently.

Mark