Where to begin with this one! A day of two halves really. The morning was good, waking early on the campsite in the hills I knew I had a bit of a climb ahead, but nothing compared to the Oberalppass the previous day, so I stuck camp and headed out after a healthy breakfast of […]
Andermatt to Carrera
Ok, so leaving Andermatt, perhaps I should have listened to either the hotelier who commented “Are you ready for the mountain?” Or Google maps which advised that I put my bike on one of the Alpine trains to reach Oberalppass. Being me and being massively over confident I set off to climb the hill by […]
Getting to the start line
So this was something new for me. My previous cycling tours have started in Margate and the only foreign clime was France – easily accessible from the ferry ports at Dover. This time though, having looked at all possible routes, the only sensible way to get out to Oberalppass and the source of the Rhine […]
Cycle the Rhine
Having roughly planned out a route following the North Sea from Calais to Copenhagen I started researching things I might see and do. As usual, my research took me off down some tangents and suddenly I find myself with a change of plan. EuroVelo route 15 leapt onto my radar. Copenhagen would have to wait. […]
Tain L’Hermitage to Viviers
This was one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. The riding was a mix of nice hard roads with some very ropey surfaces towards the end. In total the distance worked out to be 47 miles by the time I’d missed a few turns and deviated to explore a little. The morning was […]
Lyon to Thain l’hermitage
Lyon marks the confluence of the rivers Saone and Rhône. It is a gorgeous city and one I thoroughly intend to return to and explore properly without the time constraints I had on this occasion. On leaving Lyon I transfered my river allegiance to the Rhône, saying goodbye to the Saone. Leaving Lyon in itself […]
Chalon Sur Saone to Macon and on to Lyon
Ok, so the ride down to Macon was an easy one, according to the wisdom of Google maps. Make of that what you will, needless to say the bike is getting seriously fed up with gravel and boulders, but is hanging together admirably. However, the kind of scenery more than made up for it and […]
Chaumont to Villegusien-le-Lac and on to Chalons Sur Saone
Having spent the morning bumbling around Chaumont’s streets, searching out a phone shop and a pharmacy I headed south once more around lunchtime. I had planned a nice easy 40 mile ride down to Villegusien-le-Lac as a rest day. The riding was actually quite tough, badly broken under wheel and hot, very hot. So I […]
Chalons en Champagne to Chaumont
One thing is for sure, I’m not picking an overnight stop which ends in “mont” again… Chalons en Champagne was a peculiar town at night, as I sat outside a bistro sipping a beverage or two it seemed to be that the town square was the venue for what I can only describe as cruising. […]
Crecy sur Serre to Chalons en Champagne
Been a couple of days riding since I last updated this, so about time I got my finger out! Leaving my hotel in Crecy sur Serre, I suddenly realised why the hotel was called La Tour de Crecy. This was right outside its front door, but I’d somehow missed it the night before. If you’re […]