Starting very soon

We're on the final countdown now with just days to go before we start.

In typical "Sod's Law" fashion, things have come up which have prevented an ideal run-up, but that adds to the challenge.

Once we get underway, we hope to post every day, assuming that we can get wi-fi access. (If we can't get wi-fi, obviously the posts will be delayed). 

The posts will be made via Blackberry so any photos may be of limited quality and will be positioned automatically by the "system" and without captions. We'll try to work around that. Just please bear with us.

Where any posted Comments need responses, these responses will be provided in a subsequent post, so please don't think we're ignoring you. For some curious reason, Blackberries don't allow us to see our own posts once a Comment has been added, although we will receive the Comments directly by e-mail.

For those with smartphones, to save logging in to this blog each day to follow us, you can receive our posts by e-mail, if you provide your e-mail address in the "Follow by E-Mail" box on the right hand side, and just follow the simple on-line verification. 

However, there is a delay of up to 24 hours or so in getting the posts this way. 

At the time of writing this post, donations to our 3 charities total over £2000, including Gift Aid. We, and our charities, are extremely grateful and we thank all sponsors. 

We won't let you down.

Loaded !

After chatting with Rob about the amount of stuff we're taking, I've cut down on what I'll be carrying. This is one of the advantages of having a sensible cycling buddy, as my failing is in tending to try to cover all the "what if" situations! (If I'd cycled alone, I think I'd have had to buy a trailer!)

Consequently, I packed the panniers, bar bag and stuff-sack with the reduced contents, loaded the bike for the first time this morning and set off on a training run, intent on climbing my "usual" hills.  

Wow! What a difference the load makes. 

I nearly did a wheelie going down my driveway because of the bulk of the weight being towards the back of the bike. Then I thought my brake had stuck. I'm not sure if it was a bit of stiffness on my part because I'd had a few days off. Anyway, after a couple of miles or so, I settled into a rhythm, realising that I had started into a dreaded headwind and cheered myself up by recognising that it was a south-westerly, which should be behind us, and therefore helping, when we come up from Spain. 

Notwithstanding that, the cycling felt comfortable, albeit that I had to drop down a gear or two more than usual and be content with a slightly slower run. The steering was relatively light too because of the load distribution and I was glad that I had a bar end mirror to save having to turn to look behind me too often, with the slight wobble that can result.

This is the bike fully loaded.

It took such a long time to pack, to ensure that items that I might need on the road are easily accessible, that I have resolved to list the items in each pannier or bag in packing order when I unpack them next week. This check-list will then make re-packing after overnight stops a lot quicker.
Also, fitting the dry-sack on top of the rack (the dry-sack carries the bulky and slightly-too-long loads like shoes and tent with poles), was a bit fiddly and there was always the niggling fear that the bag would disappear when flying down a descent. So, having secured the dry-sack, I've taken photos to remind myself where to hook the cargo net.

Meanwhile, Rob has had the gearing on his bike lowered a little and has just completed an impressive 44 mile training run, again in windy conditions, albeit without panniers. His route overlapped that of a local club's time trial. He was clearly riding well as an official in the club's support car encouraged him along, having mistaken him for a competitor!

Not long to go now and we're both anxious for the start..........

Cold weather training

Since the last post, I've had four tough days in the saddle but have been helped by some invaluable things:-

1. Disposable gloves (the type used to protect your hands at petrol filling stations) worn under woollen gloves - really effective at keeping wind chill from your fingers.
2. Ear warmers/muffs - stop your ears from dropping off!
3. Buff, worn around the neck - stops the heat escaping from your body (assuming that you're wearing enough warm clothing and the heat isn't escaping through the clothes too much) and stops the wind chill getting in, under your collar.
4. Patience - when your legs are aching and you're only part way up a hill, stop, let your legs recover, eat an energy bar if necessary, and when you resume, it's surprising how much easier the hill becomes. (Repeat as necessary). The same applies when you're battling into a headwind (as I have for the last 2 days ...... and cold east winds, at that!).

It's so easy to think that each cycle outing is a race against the clock. I admit that I time my training sessions against the mileage covered to gauge my training progress. However, sometimes I have to remember that we're touring, not trying to break records!

The jury's out on the use of bib shorts or bib tights in cold weather. For those who are unaware, they are padded shorts or tights with a high back and front and shoulder straps. They are great at keeping your back warm as the shorts/tights part cannot slip down, but when the call of nature comes, you have to take off both your outer jacket and inner jersey (shirt) and roll the straps etc down, leaving you naked from the waist up. This is not ideal in a cold east wind and rather embarrassing if traffic suddenly appears! When you're not as young as others, you also have to carefully plan how much water you take on and where suitable "convenience" stops may occur.

I've tried a few different "energy" bars now and I'm starting to settle on Kellogg's Nutri-bar Elevenses which are oat bakes that come in different flavours. They feel like real food (i.e. are suitably filling) and are not too expensive. They're probably not an immediate energy hit, but I've also bought some dextrose tablets for quick sugar (energy) intake. These take up no room and will be for emergency use. When the tour starts, though, we'll be looking to stop at regular intervals at cafes, shops and bakeries along the way to re-fuel.

Wet weather has been forecast for the next couple of days, so I'll give my legs a rest. When I next saddle up, I hope to have my panniers packed and will go out on the bike fully loaded.
Now that will be interesting!

Elan

The month before...........

Time is ticking away now (as you can see from the newly added counter on the RHS of the full webpage - invisible if you're using a smartphone, sorry) and final preparations are underway. Both our bikes have been booked in for checks and services before the trip starts.

Rob and I have had a few days off over Easter week so are picking up the training again, although the weather continues to be unseasonally cold. Nevertheless, our base fitness is holding us in reasonably good stead.

Recent reports from south-west France reveal that the weather down there has also been poor. In fact, people who have holidayed recently in southern Europe seem to have had more cold and rain than they bargained for! The 10 day temperature forecasts for towns on our route appear a little more encouraging:

Santander 12 - 24C

Biarritz 13 - 24C

La Rochelle 10 - 16C

Vannes 8 - 13

Morlaix (nr Roscoff) 9 - 14

Thanks to all the donors who are swelling the funds of our nominated charities. It really means a lot to both of us and we are both determined that we will not let anyone down