Welcome back to the UK!!

Yes, this is the sight that greeted me as the ferry docked into Dover this morning! Rain, rain and more torrential rain. What a welcome home! The rain along with the usual friendly email reminder from HMRC to file my next VAT return all shouted "welcome back to the UK, Andi!"

The bike bus was over an hour late picking me up last night. I was fortunate, it wasn't raining where I was but those who had been picked up from further South had been stood waiting in deluges. That can't have been nice. There is rarely any shelter at the pick-up points and who knows when a bus is going to turn up.

I slept reasonably well considering and was fortunate to have 2 seats to myself again. I think I slept in 10 minute bursts until I needed to change from one uncomfortable position to another. No sleep-chatting that I'm aware of and fortunately no-one sat next to me to experience all the dribbling!

The courier left a lot of hungry cyclists without our pre-ordered breakfasts this morning, not even a cup of tea. Perhaps he was asleep? The ferry was at 8.40am, I'm usually eating brekkie at 7am. I was famished and rugby tackled my way to the cafe on the boat to buy some food and drink. I then returned to normal Andi after that!

In Calais, it seems effortless and efficient to disembark the ferry and then get straight onto the roads and away. In Dover, everything gridlocks. So now we were in rain that was hammering loudly on the coach and we were barely moving. Stuck in never-ending traffic jams seemed to be the theme of the journey in the UK. Roadworks everywhere and ridiculous volumes of traffic. Where was everyone going on Monday morning? And Monday afternoon? And Monday evening?

I was looking forward to lunch on the bus, the menu is great. But the courier had once again sold out of everything, including water. And including milk so we couldn't even have a cup of tea. Intriguingly, there were hundreds of cans of beer stashed on the bus. This courier clearly understood the needs of cyclists......not!

And because of the traffic jams, it was then over 5 hours before our first stop at a service station for some food and drink. I bought most of Waitrose and half of Starbucks and felt much better after munching my way through that.

I asked the courier again for a cup of tea please a short while later. He muttered something, disappeared, the coach pulled into the next service station, I watched the courier run into the petrol station and run back out with a pint of milk. He'd obviously forgotten to buy any at our stop!! Honestly!

I slept, read, caught up with some diary writing and repeated for hour after hour until YIPPEE - there was the sign for Wetherby Services, my stop!

And lovely Ade was waiting for me as my bike, panniers and me got off the bus. Well, his car was waiting for me, he was nowhere to be seen! And I was glad I'd been pre-warned about his new Captain Birds Eye beardy look otherwise I might have got a shock! I can't say if I like it or don't like it. It's different and it's always good to try something new :-))

I probably nattered him to death in the car on the way home. After all that travelling and being quite sleep-deprived, I wasn't entirely sure what planet I was on. But he did leave me by saying "you go and get your shower" - yeah, thanks!! Drop a hint why don't you!

Thank you Ade for picking me up and delivering me safely home :-))

So that's it. Back to some kind of normality tomorrow I guess. Boo!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and encouragement and for being with me along the way. It's been a fabulous experience and lovely to share it with you all :-))

I'd better get planning my next trip ASAP!

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I did it!!

I did it!! I set out on this trip to conquer Mont Ventoux, Col de la Bonette and Alpe d'Huez (climbed for the 2nd time but the summit was closed the 1st time for the Tour de France) and I achieved all those things and enjoyed plenty more on this fabulous cycle-camping tour :-))

And I am now part way through the adventure of the journey home.

Firstly though, I enjoyed another thoroughly relaxing morning at Mary's. Chatting, building all sorts of creative things out of lego-type blocks with Max (helicopters, water-towers, coffee machines), strolling around their local village and eating even more fabulous food were the order of the day.

It then became rapidly less relaxing as it became apparent that the meeting place for the bike bus was quite a way out of the centre of Lyon, contrary to what I'd thought and understood from the map on their website. This learning occurred just as I was about to leave!

A rapid change of clothing was required - back into cycle kit as the cycle was around 1.5 hours from Lyon. A mon dieu! (OMG in English!!)

Mary went into super-speed mode, printed me some maps across Lyon and found another railway station that would get me closer to my pick-up point. Thank you always Mary :-))

Max gave me a lovely big kiss and a fabulous cuddle as well as his usual cheeky grin (and probably said something about "Madame Moussa", his current favourite saying) and Rene accompanied me by bike to their local station to ensure I didn't get lost and in case of catastrophic mechanical breakdown.

And then I was on the first of three trains, wondering what would come next and missing Mary, Max and Rene already :-(

The first train was simple enough. A lady sat behind me had a lot of questions about my tour, what I did for a living and the migrant situation in the UK (!), all in French of course. She was actually Hungarian. I had quite a headache by the end of it after searching the corners of my brain for French vocab I haven't used for over 20 years.

The second train was absolutely packed and, in my friendliest French, I had to ask some people to budge off their seats as that's where the bikes needed to go. Another guy with a bike was behind me who had been on my first train as well. He seemed to spend both train trips helping damsels in distress who were incapable of lifting their bikes on and off the bike hooks provided on the train. What a hero!

I then needed to cycle a few kilometres across Lyon, a major city, to find another train station. I wasn't unduly concerned as everything in France is superbly well signposted.

Not this time!! And I suddenly became incapable of following a map, despite 2 weeks of successfully doing so. I was on the right road, just heading in the wrong direction (little change there then). Thankfully, the pedestrians of Lyon were enormously helpful at getting me back on track. I was literally asking people at every street corner and pedalling to each point step by step. They were all so friendly, I was very grateful.

After a bit of an adventure attempting to catch a train on the metro (underground) system where bikes are not permitted, I found the actual train station I was heading for with literally minutes to spare to fathom out an automated ticket machine as no human beings seem to work on Sunday in France. A-ha! An English translation facility! This slowed the machine down to snail speeds whilst the clock was ticking, the train was approaching and my heart rate was rapidly increasing to palpitation levels. Agh!! The reason? This was the last train of the day!!

I did catch it and all was well. And then I followed the next map correctly to my bike bus pick-up point. Phew!

And now that I've indulged in a large glass of wine, all is well with the world again. And I've had yet more food despite Mary completely filling me up over the last couple of days!

The bike bus is running late but I don't know by how much. At least they responded to my text this time. Fortunately it's well-lit outside given it's dark and, as usual with the bike bus pick-up points, there is no shelter whatsoever. It has been raining on and off today so I have my full set of waterproofs with me just in case. Luckily, it is warm as heck so I won't freeze :-))

Here's to a night of almost no sleep!!

Xxx

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Rest Day 2

Another fabulous rest day! Sunshine, pottering, chatting, eating - what else is there in life!? And Mary was a bit worried I'd be chatted out after my day with Lorraine - as if!!!

Max was chat, chat, chatting away. We were all chat, chat, chatting back. He's a very entertaining and adorable character :-))

We had planned to go to Thonon-les-Bains for lunch but Max had eaten 1 too many blackberries from the bushes as he helped his Dad mow the lawn and was unwell, poor lamb. So Mary and I took off to the local supermarket where I drooled over the choice of food. It has been somewhat limited in the mountains these last couple of weeks. And a fabulous lunch of local cheeses, tasty salad and incredible bread was produced. Yum!

And we pootled off to Thonon in the afternoon, which is on the shores of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) for a stroll and, more importantly, some ice-creams. Max was back full of energy and happily played in the playground whilst we chat, chat, chatted a lot more over some drinks.

And tonight Mary is cooking a huge paella for us and some of their other friends who have come over to join in the food and fun! I know it will be another phenomenal meal :-))

So my holiday is now coming to an end. I can't quite believe it. It's been amazing! And when I think back to agonising whether I should cycle-tour in the Alps again - madness! The French Alps are my current adopted home!

I've got the morning here with Mary tomorrow, then the train from their local station to Lyon and finally catching the bike bus tomorrow evening arriving back into Wetherby and apparently the rain some time on Monday night.

Happy pedalling tomorrow Inters (and all Otley Cycle Club) and happy Sundays to everyone else :-))

Xxx

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Cycling from Chamonix to the Chatterbox Capital!!

I've finally found someone who chats more than me!!

3.5 year old Max definitely takes after his Mum, Mary, in the chatterbox stakes! Wow, we've nattered about all sorts already! Mary is putting him to bed now. Such a gorgeous little boy.

And another fantastic day for me on this tour! How lucky am I?

The day dawned beautifully. The snow capped mountains sparkled against powder blue skies and bright sunshine. It was utterly freezing! I stayed wrapped up in my sleeping bag to eat brekkie.

Thanks to bikes not being allowed on the main road from Chamonix, I ended up on stunning mountain roads through more spectacular, jaw-dropping scenery and through more exceptionally pretty mountain villages. And all in gorgeous, gorgeous hot sunshine.

The mountain road I was on was actually closed. I saw a few cyclists coming in the other direction and they said you could just about get through the closed road section. They were on road bikes and not carrying bulky panniers so I was a little concerned. It turned out it wasn't an issue at all. And the added benefit was no cars whatsoever - a dream!

I cycled to Cluses in the end to get the train to Mary's. Cruella the headwind was back and blowing rather unnecessarily viciously, I thought. And of course I was travelling in the same direction straight into Cruella for seemingly ever.

I turned up in Cluses and was buying my ticket with 1 minute to spare before the train arrived. Madame typed furiously away, steam coming off the keyboard, sweat pouring off her forehead so I could get that train. The next one was an hour later. There were a few comedy moments with me skidding through the train station with the metal on the bottom of my cycling shoes on tiled floors whilst trying to keep the bike upright at the same time and then flinging myself and the bike onto the train. Made it!

This train was then actually delayed a little later on - a French train delayed! I couldn't gather much from the announcement in rapid-fire French but they'd basically switched the electricity off so no train was going anywhere. It reduced the wait for my train in Annemasse and enabled me to eat my second lunch so it wasn't an issue.

And then I met Mary and Max (who had made a cake and a house out of stones whilst he was waiting - the cake was obviously bigger than the house...) waving wildly at their local railway station :-))

My greeting to them was me bent over my front wheel in concern as it had started grinding getting the bike off the train. Agh, panic!! I still needed to cycle to mary's house. It took a short while to discover the mudguard had been yanked out and had caught on the front wheel. Phew, easily sortable! Then I could say hello properly!

And since then Mary has been running around like a crazy thing whilst I've been looked after beautifully and allowed to completely relaaaax. She had even got some mini pastries in including, you guessed it, a mini pain aux raisins! Thank you fabulous Mary :-))

And oh, what food for dinner! An incredible caramelised fennel and onion tart with rocket salad and yummy bread followed by apple and blackberry crumble with apples and blackberries from their garden! I'm finally full!!

Hubby Rene has gone to a colleague's house-warming tonight so we've had a girls night in and a crumble party with Max.

Although it nearly is, this tour feels nowhere close to being over - there is still so much fun to be had!

Thank you again everyone for your lovely, lovely messages. Happy weekends y'all. And enjoy CavPav tomorrow, Otley cyclists.

Bye for now!

Andi xxx

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A Perfect Rest Day...with a HUGE Surprise at the end!! Part 3 of 3

So, I left the train at Les Praz and decided to walk into the village to see where I could buy some supplies tomorrow morning rather than heading straight back to the campsite.

In my own little world as usual, I heard someone call my name in absolute shock. It was only one of my best mates from university!!!!!!!

My family will recognise KC in the photo (Kathy). I knew she was holidaying in Switzerland/France but neither of us had any idea we'd be close enough to cross paths.

KC and I actually met on the first day of uni, were on the same degree course and shared a house for our 2nd and 3rd years. So this was an extraordinary and wonderful coincidence :-))

I'd had such an amazing day with Lorraine and couldn't believe it could get any better!

KC was with partner Graham and the chalet they were staying in was across the road so we managed a cuppa and catch up for 30 minutes. They had been on their way out for food in St Gervais which was a bit of a distance away and I didn't want to keep them. I know what a hungry tummy is like!

Poggle, we both say hi!!

So what an incredible day!

Although Lorraine and I had eaten so much during the day, I cooked a gorgeous ricotta and rocket ravioli for dinner with lots of fresh veggies and some tomato and vegetable sauce.

And I'm now drinking a bowl of tea again as I type up the blog tonight and the phone is charging at the same time. I was on emergency battery. I'm nearly topped up again now, phew! I'll need that to ensure I successfully meet Mary tomorrow!

So, as yet, I have no exact plan for tomorrow. I'll be cycling from here to somewhere that I can catch a train to Mary's. It's pitch black again now so route planning will have to wait until I find a nice cafe in a sunny spot tomorrow :-))

Lots of love to all of you for your continuing support and messages - they genuinely always make a massive difference to every day and I love hearing from you all :-))

Bye for now!

Andi xxx

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A Perfect Rest Day...with a HUGE surprise at the end!! Part 2 of 3

This photo is the view from my campsite that I woke up to this morning! WOW!! What a privilege to be here. I couldn't see this view last night in the dark. No wonder it was so cold!

And the "laying snow" I saw was the glacier!! And Mont Blanc!!

And so onto today....

We woke up to powder blue skies and glorious sunshine. Apparently everyone in Lorraine's walking group was delighted I'd brought the sunshine with me as it's been raining here for the best part of the week. I do bring sunshine with me wherever I go!!!

Lorraine was in a vest top; I was in a base layer, a t-shirt, a full fleece and with my fleece bodywarmer on top!! As the day warmed up, I lost most of the layers and zipped off to shorts. The temperature was showing into the early 20s and it was certainly hot in the sun but the mountain air still felt fresh and cool.

Lorraine and I pottered around, about and across the heart of Chamonix whilst indulging in a mega chat-athon.

Chamonix is a very pretty town and definitely bustling. Lorraine tried her first pain aux raisins, which got the thumbs up. We took photos of the famous climbing statue for Brian. We had a 2.5 hour pizza, salad and wine/beer lunch (lovely!). Afternoon tea came next. And we were still talking....

In fact, I was getting the train back just before 6pm and we still were nowhere near finished with our catching up! The day went so quickly but was so relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable. The hot sun shone for much of the day with some clouds gathering towards the end.

Lorraine did find it funny that I was so excited in the supermarket with the huge choice of food! I'm rarely in large towns and therefore buy what is available. This was a real treat :-))

We both had a brilliant time and kept pinching ourselves that we'd managed to meet up in fabulous Chamonix! How posh are we!

With massive hugs and even bigger smiles, we waved each other off as the mountain railway chugged away and took me closer to my campsite.

And then one of the biggest surprises and coincidences I've ever had happened (even Lorraine doesn't know about this yet)...

Onto part 3 of 3....!

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A Perfect Rest Day...with a HUGE surprise at the end!! Part 1 of 3.

I have just had the BEST REST DAY EVER!! In fact, I'm having the best holiday ever! It beats the misery of the attempted and then abandoned Lancashire cycle tour last August (ex-hurricane Bertha got in the way).

So, to finish the story from yesterday first. The trains in France are literally bang on to the second. So there was no issue getting the connections for all 3 trains. And I didn't need to scramble across platforms or anything; I just walked off one train and straight onto the next with my bike and all my belongings. The trains were not too full which helped. And the scenery was incredible.

The 3rd train of 3 was the mountain railway from St Gervais to Chamonix. I LOVED this ride! It was a bit like a rollercoaster ride - the tracks climbed up and down, the railway went round and round, clinging to the mountain edges and went over rushing rivers, past waterfalls and through seemingly enchanted forests, I swear!

I got the bike off at Chamonix Mont Blanc station as planned with the help of 3 lovely people. I saw Lorraine running along the platform waving and I waved madly back! Then I realised she was shouting "Get back on the train! Get back on the train!" I did as I was told and the 3 lovely (and now bemused) people helped get the bike back onto the train. Once Lorraine had got her breath back, she explained it would have been a mega long walk to the campsite from there.

So we stayed on the train the Les Praz and it was still a 15-20 minute walk in the nearly-dark to the campsite.

I was still in my Summer cycling clothes after a lovely warm pedal to Grenoble earlier. Lorraine gave me her fleece as apparently I was "turning blue". Grenoble had been 27 degrees, Chamonix was in single digits!! There was some laying snow.

I got my sopping wet, smelly tent up before it became pitch black and then left it to air as best I could. Lorraine and I had planned a lovely meal out but given the time and the rather freezing conditions, we went to the creperie stand for a rather incredible cheese and egg crepe which I then followed with a lemon and sugar crepe and Lorraine scoffed chocolate. Good girl!

The tea Lorraine ordered was the usual adventure. This time it came in 2 large bowls! That suited us perfectly so we drank tea from the bowls!

And, given the circumstances, we just howled with laughter at so many silly things. It was brilliant to see her again!

And to end the day's adventure, the campsite didn't seem to be able to contact any taxi company, so Lorraine got a lift in the creperie van back to her hostel!!

So, onto part 2 of 3........

PS The photo of Lorraine and me is us both enjoying a pizza lunch in Chamonix today.

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Heading to Chamonix

I thought I'd write the blog early today. I'm currently on train number 1 of 3 to get from Grenoble to Chamonix. I'm hoping to make all my connections with the bike and multiple panniers so I can turn up at Chamonix station just before 8pm to meet Lorraine's smiling face!

It was cheery-bye to the Hunts and Howcrofts this morning and then a rather freezing descent for the next 8.5 miles into Bourg d'Oisans for a cuppa and to consult my map. I knew I was heading for Grenoble but that was about it.

It was a gorgeous morning with deep blue skies and lovely sunshine. Mountain air is just jolly cold first thing!

I stayed on a main route with a cycle path descending the Gorges de la Romanche before heading off to the very pretty town of Vizille for lunch by a nice water fountain and overlooking the chateau. I then took a lovely peaceful route into the outskirts of Grenoble.
This is where I really wasn't sure what would happen next and I just hoped for helpful signs for the station. Even better, I found a greenway, a lovely wide cycle path along the river and far away from any roads, with signposts for the station. Hurrah!

Once off the greenway and well into the city centre, more cycle paths and signs guided me to Grenoble station. Phew!

Then I was fortunate again to have a really helpful railway guy to help me get the right ticket to Chamonix without having to take a bus (as many of the routes proposed). He kept coming to find me to make sure I was on the right platform at the right time. The security guys kept an eye on my laden tourer when I needed to nip off to the loo. It was a bit difficult to take my bike and possessions with me!

And now I'm whizzing through spectacular mountain scenery on my 1st of 3 trains.

Lorraine has already been awesome and found a campsite for me, knows they're open until 10pm and will meet me at the station to take me there. What a fab, fab friend!

And I can't wait for us to have a fun and relaxing day together tomorrow. My first rest day on this trip! If nothing else, my bum will really appreciate it :-)

The photo today is from the cycle path near Grenoble. It's hard to imagine from the scenery that a major city is around the corner, isn't it?!

Thank you again to all of you for your messages of support each day - you know who you are :-))

Lots of love
Andi xxx

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Alpe d'Huez: Conquered with the Clan!

We did it!!

It was a team effort to get the Hunts, the Howcrofts and me to the top of Alpe d'Huez today (especially as we had difficulties finding the actual top).

You'll see in the group photo from left to right: Joe Howcroft, Sam Howcroft, me, Harry Hunt and Jon Hunt at the back, Ellie Hunt (Eleanor), her Mum Hayley Hunt and Kate Howcroft in the middle with Tim Howcroft (also now known as The Devil for the route he took us after Alpe d'Huez up Col de Sarenne) sat at the front. A great clan to conquer one of the world's most famous and iconic climbs!

Although storms were forecast for today, we were fortunate to have lots of sunshine as well as some cloud which was apparently welcomed for cooling everyone down except for me who started to freeze. We were at an altitude of around 2,000 metres, way above Ben Nevis to give some context.

The first part of the Alpe d'Huez climb is pretty steep. There are large signs counting down the 21 famous hairpin bends as you ascend which were very motivating. We shouted out the number of hairpins left in French each time we passed one of these. There was also a whoop-whoop from Hayley around every hairpin as, unusually they flatten out unlike most hairpins that steepen to lift you up to the next section. The whoop-whoops were for a bit of relief from the climb around each bend.

Ellie got so many thumbs ups and "wows" as we went up. She must be one of only very few 12 year old girls who has completed this challenging mountain. She certainly blew me away and kept me going - what an inspiration and achievement Ellie! All the family must be very proud :-))

Harry, Joe and Sam also did incredibly well zooming off ahead of us - and letting us know how long they'd been waiting by the time we turned up!

And the boys won brownie points for exclamations of "woah" when picking up my bike with no panniers on before we set off. It is very heavy! But it does have amazing gears to get me up all these climbs at tortoise speed.

After we'd eaten lunch and taken lots of photos, apparently the next part of the route had been recommended. So instead of just heading straight back down Alpe d'Huez, we climbed another col on already very tired legs. Although we do plan to throw certain things at this person who recommended this tough follow-on route (but we're mostly blaming Tim anyway), the wild and remote scenery that we experienced was out of this world. It was also so peaceful in complete contrast to the very busy Huez village and ski/Summer resort which was a hive of activity and noise.

We also witnessed on the descent a big landslide with half the road having disappeared down the sheer drop of the mountain. Quite something and quite scary really to think that could happen at any time. I plan to keep well away from the edges now! (And for my Mum, of course I always keep away from the edges anyway...!)

A massive thank you to both of these families for bringing real entertainment, fun and sociability to my tour so far. And for looking after me so well too: tea, wine, cake, Ellie's home-made cookies (genuinely the best I've ever tasted - wow!) And recharging my phone (godsend!). It's been great fun and a real pleasure being able to meet up whilst pottering around the Alps with my tourer, tent and trangia :-))

Ade, we all loved the story about today's ride from Ari and Otto!! Thank you v much for that :-)) (But please stop calling it Alpe P'ooezz!!)

Brian, we all loved that you placed Ellie and me alongside some of the TdF greats for conquering Alpe d'Huez!! You'll see quite a few others did today too including 2 other ladies - Hayley and Kate :-))

Alison and Chris, Tim says hi!

Janny, I'm still making the most of every minute and living the dream!

Mummykins, I hope your neighbour is OK after the dog bite on her face, yikes. Love and hugs to you too.

Caroline, loving the daily texts and continued support, thank you :-))

Tony, well recovered in your latest text!!!

Lorraine, see you tomorrow!!!!!

Mary, see you Friday!!!

Tally-ho for now everyone :-))

Andi xxx

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A Big Thank You to Andrea!

Ellie's Grandma, Andrea, had very kindly and thoughtfully made me a "vegetarian, alcoholic cake" to support me on my cycle tour! This was hand-delivered by her daughter and Ellie's Mum, Hayley.

And it was SUPER-DELICIOUS, thank you! And rapidly devoured by the hoard of hungry cyclists.

Thank you so much Andrea! It was a wonderful surprise I can see where Eleanor gets her baking skills :-))

Xxx

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Sunshine & Warmth!

Sweet heaven, the sunshine and warmth is back! It seems France suffers the same fate as the UK - gorgeous weather during the week and then it nosedives in time for the weekend! Now it's Monday, the weather has improved considerably. Hurrah!

Cruella the Headwind must have decided she'd battered me enough yesterday and that I was worthy of a tailwind today. Thank you Cruella!

I loved my route today. I loved the long climb up to the Col d'Ornon (1,371m - just a bit higher than Ben Nevis), I loved the spectacular scenery, I loved the peace, I loved the tiny mountain villages en route. I often wonder why those little villages/hamlets are there. There must have been a reason in the past, they're ancient.

The descent was glorious. I then pedalled along the valley into Bourg d'Oisans, a gorgeous little town with a big focus on cyclists being close to the famous Alpe d'Huez climb.

I celebrated the last week and a bit of cycling with a well-earned chocolate crepe (I can't believe that's my first one this trip!) and a lovely pot of tea. I sat in the sun to warm back up after the descent. You can always tell cyclists who have just descended a mountain pass - they're well wrapped up with jackets, gloves and sometimes with woolly hats whereas the rest of the population are in t-shirts and shorts!

Time to pedal towards Bourg d'Arud and meet Ellie and co. Hayley (Ellie's Mum) had sent a text to say they would be out cycling this afternoon so I could take my time. As I cycled along, I heard someone shout "it's Andi!" followed by loads of hellos! A few minutes later, I passed Ellie, Hayley and Jonathan (Ellie's Dad) so I think the first group were the Howcrofts and Harry (Ellie's brother). I felt quite famous to be recognised!! I think it's the multitude of bright yellow panniers that are more famous than me!

I'm pitched up at their campsite now and hope to see them a bit later. They must be doing quite a ride :-)

I'm writing today's blog from inside a locked cubicle with a wash basin, the only place I can find a plug to charge my phone battery. How glamorous! The radio is on and they're playing some fab music. Such a shame no-one can see my fab dancing to go with it :-))

I think we're all hoping to cycle Alpe d'Huez tomorrow. There is a threat of thunderstorms so let's hope they hold off until well after we've descended the mountain.

Until tomorrow.....

Andi xxx

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Cruella the Headwind

As if it wasn't difficult enough to slog up Alpine climbs with a fully laden touring bike in the cold, along comes Cruella the Headwind to join in the fun and make it all just that bit more challenging.

It was a not-so-balmy 11 degrees when I set off this morning. I was grateful there was a lengthy climb to start which helped warm me up. With Cruella blowing through the mountains and straight at me, I felt to be at a standstill for some parts of this climb. There were probably some expletives uttered. But I eventually made it up the col and gratefully sank into the hotel at the top by the ski station. I did indulge in a pain au choc there in addition to my pot of tea (the teapot lid was a saucer this time...obviously). Today, as with yesterday, I was '2-pastries Andi' as I'd already eaten my pain aux raisins earlier. I'm sure I'm burning it all off :-))

After my second col, Col de Rioupes (1430m), I had a bizarre experience. I descended and descended and descended down to a lake, the Lac de Sautet. There is a huge EDF hydro-electric plant there. I was certain I'd cycled past that before but heading the other way. I stopped on the bridge over the lake to take a better look at the plant but nearly got blown off by a ferocious gust of freezing wind and so began the lengthy steep climb out. My poor leggies!

I dismissed it thinking there are probably other places that look the same. And I headed for Corps which looked as if it would be a good afternoon tea place. It seemed deserted from the main road so I headed up a short steep hill and a lively, buzzing street opened up before me.

Oh my goodness! I had definitely been here before. I remember being with Di and Mike on the 2011 Alps tour with Bike Adventures. It was cold then too! I'd gone into a cafe for tea and a chocolate crepe back then. The reason I remember it is Di and Mike stayed outside in the cold to eat tinned sardines with bread or something equally revolting! Today, I just needed a lovely cuppa to warm me up. It was 20 degrees by the time I came out which helped my afternoon cycling.

I occasionally wondered why I'd left boiling hot Provence with its vineyards and lavender fields for the chilly mountains. I hate the cold so why do I love the mountains so much? The spectacular, jaw-dropping scenery is the main reason. It's impossible to know which way to look sometimes, it's so stunning.

And I'm in full-blown touring mode which means absolute contentment. I just love pedalling along, looking at the views, eating, drinking, camping, the works. Nearly being blown off several times by Cruella wasn't much fun today but I have to hand it to her, she did help blow me up a few climbs too.

I stumbled across a lovely campsite late this afternoon after 46 very hilly, tiring miles. Across the road, I went to the bar for my cheapest glass of wine of the trip - 1 euro 20!! And had to chuckle as the bar was within a restaurant called "Pizzeria Chez Bernard"! For those who don't know, Bernard is a well-known character in our cycle club :-))

And more creative camp cooking tonight. A yummy mushroom risotto with lots of fresh veggies + the leftover tomato and cheese from lunch followed by the rest of my custard (not all on one plate of course). The custard is all gone now so I won't go on about that any more! Plus tea and biscuits, naturally.

Congratulations on conquering Col de Greenhow and Col de Brimham Rocks Intermediates today!! Tony informed me of your success. Alison, I could see you'd sent a photo on WhatsApp but they're not coming through properly for some reason. But thank you to you all for involving me in your ride today :-)

Ade, I'm going to need to see a photo of this beard! And glad you enjoyed your time with the grand-kiddies today :-)

JANE!!! Awesome to hear from you! (Jane is from NZ & we met on a Bike Adventures tour) Enjoy your stay in the Italian Alps :-))

Mum, I hope you've got back home ok after your lovely hols?

And I hope you've all had a super weekend.

Tomorrow I head for Bourg d'Arud near Les Deux Alpes where Ellie & co are staying. I can't wait! It should be enough incentive to get my now very tired legs up and over all those climbs tomorrow. And then Alpe d'Huez the next day..... One day, I will learn it is ok to relax and do very little on "holiday" too!

Cheery-bye for now.

Andi xxx

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From 40 to 4 degrees!!!

Well, that's certainly what it felt like this morning! Very cold and very wet.

Luckily, having cycled in the mountains for many years, I was well prepared. On went the long-sleeved thermal, a t-shirt on top, my cycling cardi and Goretex, a buff around my neck, a buff over my ears, a cap, Rainlegs, 2 pairs of socks, waterproof overshoes, liner gloves and my Winter gloves. I resembled an eskimo! But so did everyone else, all of whom just laughed and shrugged "it's the mountains" they kept on saying.

The last thing you need when so cold is to descend. And this morning, that's what I did for 18 miles. Descend, descend, descend. I was re-tracing my steps back to Barcelonnette and Lauzet-Ubaye. No wonder I'd found it a real slog to Jausiers 2 days ago - 18 miles of climbing having already climbed 3 cols earlier in the day!

I'd already decided I'd be having a cuppa in Barcelonnette. I found a Salon de The, perfect! I opened the menu of teas.

Kama Sutra tea. Hmmm. A little unusual. Ok, moving on......

The des Amoureux..... I'm not brilliant at French but that seemed to suggest lovers tea. What sort of cafe was this?!

Slightly unnerved, I tentatively questioned whether they had any "normal" black tea. Ceylon Madame? Yes! Yes please. Normal Ceylon black tea with cold milk. Thank you. Phew!

I had a cuppa in Lauzet-Ubaye as well knowing the climbing started after that and also wanting to escape the rain for a bit. What a lively, buzzing place that cafe was!

The climb was so welcome and I soon started to warm up. You can see the lovely views I had in my photo today!!

Gosh, my back tyre felt a bit squishy. I looked down. Oh no! PUNCTURE!!! Back wheel and in the pouring rain. I laughed! And then thought ooooo, I could use my new mini track pump!

I rarely get to mend my own punctures. Usually the most competent at fixing mechanicals on club runs (i.e. everyone but me) do the work to get the group moving quickly again. This would be interesting!

Actually, I did just fine. There was a big pin lodged in the tyre which I ended up removing with my teeth after various other implements failed. The tyre was sooooo much easier to get back on than my road bike. And my new mini track pump is AWESOME! I could get the tyre back to full pressure again no problem.

Congratulating myself on being utterly brilliant, I then struggled to get the wheel back in. Somewhere along the line I somehow also removed one of the back brake blocks. Weird. When I put that back in, the wheel wouldn't go round at all. Oh.

Sighing and knowing I'd have to take the wheel out again, which is hard work with such a heavy bike, I did what any normal person would do. I sat back and ate my pain aux raisins. I was being somewhat greedy having already scoffed a pain au chocolat earlier. And that was after a nice brekkie. The cold and rain make me hungry.

And then it came to me! A vision of what would happen next! There, right before me, were 2 couples on tandems!! Fab! The guys jumped off, slotted the wheel straight back in (it's easier with 2+ people - honest!) And then we were all back on the road. Hurrah!

For lunch, I managed to find a picnic bench mostly under a tree so that making my cheese and tomato baguette wasn't too soggy an affair. I sat on a plastic bag, I'm not sure why as I was already very wet. My fingers were so wrinkled!

Gradually the weather improved as the afternoon went on and I gradually de-layered to just my t-shirt and gilet again. It's probably back at about 20 degrees although I am at a much lower altitude tonight.

Given a rest day is unlikely, I was vaguely considering staying in a hotel tonight to get everything dried out. I looked at my computer and was really surprised to see I'd already done over 50 miles today. And as I realised that, I saw a great big hotel on my right hand side. STOP!!

Did they have any vacancies? Yes madame. Could they take my bike? Yes madame. That's all I needed to know. Book me in please!

So I'm typing this from my very own bedroom with en-suite and I now feel and smell nice and clean again. I'm surprised they let me in, I was absolutely covered in oil and grime. Bless them.

I cannot wait to sprawl out in my big double bed tonight rather than being confined in my (otherwise very lovely and snuggly) sleeping bag. I have 3 plug sockets to choose from to charge my phone! Such luxuries! No tea and coffee making facilities though, which is normal in France.

And then it's onwards and upwards for the next 2 days towards Bourg d'Arud to meet Ellie and her family and the Howcrofts.

Ade, a big thank you for the lovely photo of everyone at the Cav today. Loved it! I still feel a part of everything :-))

Tony, your text hasn't come through properly - something about eating too many crispy snacks. Did someone have a hangover post-poker last night?! Hope everyone enjoyed it :-))

Happy pedalling tomorrow everyone and happy Sunday for "normal" people who do "normal" things, whatever they may be :-))

Andi xxx

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Bonette in the Bag!

WOO-HOO!! I did it! I climbed Europe's highest road today! 2,802 metres (9,193 feet). I'm currently celebrating with a glass of wine (after a pot of tea and chocolate cookie of course). I can't wait to crack open the champers once home!

How lucky was I with the weather! It had rained during the night, the wind had whipped up and the temperature had dropped. I confess to being a little nervous as to what lay ahead. Having cycled many cols in the French Alps in atrocious conditions (blizzards, hail, biblical rain, etc.), I knew what could lay ahead.

But the rain stayed off until I was back in Jausiers. I had all the right kit with me. And whatever lay ahead, I had probably pedalled through worse. The sun even popped its head out from time to time, usually when I really needed it when the cold wind started blowing.

Incredibly I did eat some breakfast after that ginormous pizza last night (agreed Mary - no pizza for some time! And you're right Mel, Pizza Express need to up their game!). I think that pizza was partly responsible for getting me up the Bonette today!

Each mountain has kilometre markers that count down how many kilometres to the top plus the average gradient for the next kilometre. These markers were so motivating today. I was a bit psyched out by the challenge but these markers helped me realise it was no different to any other climb I'd done. Just take it a bit at a time. And in full tortoise mode, I wasn't trying to break any speed records here!

There were not many other cyclists. I saw a handful of men go past on their light road bikes (Jealous? You bet!) and one went past on an electric bike - sensible (although I hope the battery didn't run out!). No ladies. Very rarely any ladies.

I had a bit of an idea what to expect on this climb having watched the Col Collectives video. I went past the little lake. I went past the abandoned barracks. I continued onwards and upwards.

And I would like to personally thank the road builders who decided to ramp up the final kilometre to 15%....cheers for that! My legs were already shaking, partly with the effort of the climb and the last few days but also with the cold at this stage. So cruel. I'm sure cycling in the Yorkshire Dales played a big part in helping me up this last bit. And then to add insult to injury, I turned a steep corner and a gust of freezing wind nearly blew me off. That woke me up! After regaining my balance, I could see the top. And a big grin broke out on my face as I made it - double woo-hoo!! A quick couple of photos and a moment to drink it all in before donning plenty of clothes to head back down. It was jolly cold at this altitude, just a few degrees above freezing.

For the descent, I wore my sleeveless top, one of my two long-sleeved thermals, my cycling cardi and my Goretex jacket plus the buff over my ears and my liner gloves over my padded cycling gloves. Oh my goodness, was that descent cold! My fingers tingled and then went numb. I felt pockets of warmer air as I got further and further down the mountain.

It's taken me hours to warm back up. And I'm so glad I got down when I did. A storm broke this afternoon and it was right over the Bonette. Conditions can't have been very pleasant up there. I was so, so lucky.

I've been hiding in this cafe ever since whilst the storm rages. And luckily again, I've been able to recharge my phone here.

It will be camp-cooking tonight and a much lighter meal. My stomach has suffered a little today from being a greedy-guts yesterday! I'm quite excited about the pudding I've got lined up - bananas and custard!!! I don't think I've had that since I was 5!!

Janny, glad you enjoyed your prison cell last night! (For everyone who doesn't know, it was actually the Malmaison in Oxford which was formerly a prison). And glad to hear you celebrated your 40th in style despite being slightly hungover today!!

Mummykins, sounds as if you're having a fabulous holiday even if your suitcases needed their own room! Charlie, you're right - I've not entirely grasped the idea of carrying too many clothes until my panniers have their own tent!! Mum, I like your description of my tent being my own little home from home - it truly is and I love being in my cosy little tent!

Alison, great to hear from you and happy you're enjoying the blogs! You could be out here with me living this in August next year!

Ade, thank you for all the messages and updates from home.

Christine, enjoy celebrating your Mum's 80th in London :-). And sorry to hear about the conflict with the work in September, how annoying, grrr!

Caroline, loving the daily support - THANK YOU!!

Good luck with the poker tonight Tony, Bri, Alison & Chris. Sooooo sorry I can't be there. I'll be enjoying my bananas and custard instead!

Happy pedalling this weekend Intermediates (and Bs and Social!) and hope the weather is kind :-))

No idea what I'm doing next, my legs are hoping for a rest!

Bye for now - happy weekends y'all!

Andi xxx

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Time for a brew!

You can see from the photo that I'm now higher than Mont Ventoux - and still 12km to go!

It's very fresh up here. The sun is peeking out from time to time. It's mostly incredibly peaceful. The odd cyclist, the odd vehicle.

And then incredibly I see a bar/restaurant!! I thought I was hallucinating actually but no they are making me a monster mig of tea as I write!

This is the lazy and fun way of cycle touring!

Hope to see you at the top :-))


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Wish me luck!

Here we go - attempting to climb the highest road in Europe, the highest I'll have ever climbed on a bike! The Bonette is even higher than the Col d'Iseran, which is the highest pass whereas the Bonette is the highest road. No idea of the difference - can anyone enlighten??

A murky day and much cooler start + windy. Let's hope that's a tailwind then!

Am carrying so many clothes! 2 long-sleeved thermals, windproof gilet, waterproof, Rainlegs, waterproof overshoes, liner gloves, winter gloves...! Could well be snow at the top :-))

Cheery-bye for now!

Andi xx

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3 Cols & a Giant Pizza

Firstly, VERY HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY TO MY GORGEOUS SIS!! She sounds to be having a fabulous day, very well deserved :-))

And secondly, WHAT an extraordinary day! And after that giant pizza in the photo, which was very well-earned by the way, I am now extraordinarily full!

The day dawned beautifully. The beauty of camping in the Alps is mad hot temperatures when you go to sleep and then gradually throughout the night, the air gets fresher and cooler and I pull my sleeping bag further and further around me until finally I'm completely buried in it by dawn with not an inch of skin showing. It can feel cold but apparently it hasn't gone below 19 degrees at night yet! This is helping me to sleep incredibly well.

The sun was coming up from behind the mountains as I set off this morning, knowing I was in for a pretty tough day distance-wise and climbing-wise. I was in the right mind-set with my head in full-blown tortoise mode. It worked!

I climbed 3 cols today - Col du Labouret (1240 metres / 4068 feet); Col de Maure (1346 metres/ 4416 feet) and Col St Jean (1332 metres / 4370 feet) all on my fully laden tourer which I'm guessing weighs more than me. The gradients were kind but it helped being in the right head space. And the codeine helped my aching back and was goooooood........!! I don't think I'd pass a Tour de France drugs test though!

The scenery I can only describe as jaw-dropping. I sometimes didn't know in which direction to look. It was incredible. Photos would have done the landscape no justice.

I was really excited about cycling to Barcelonnette today. We'd cycled through this town with Bike Adventures back in 2011. After the climbs this morning, I thought I'd broken the back of today and that the final 20km into Barcelonnette would be quite easy. WRONG!!

These next 20km became quite gruelling on very busy roads, choking on traffic fumes and wondering if cars and lorries were actually attempting to hit my panniers as they screamed past at ridiculous speeds. I was still climbing and couldn't even reach 7mph to get this section over and done with more quickly. It shows how vital being psychologically prepared is. I just thought this last bit would be easy but it was so tough and quite horrible really. My nerves were pretty much shot to pieces.

Barcelonnette was just too busy, heaving with cars, people and fumes. 2 of the campsites now only took motor homes and caravans, not tents (then don't call yourself a b****y campsite!) And in the end I just couldn't wait to leave. I stopped at a fruit and veg stall and scoffed the juiciest watermelon I've ever had whilst contemplating what to do next.

I headed for Jausiers 5 miles away, a village we stayed in with Bike Adventures back in 2011.

Jausiers is a very sweet village and pretty much at the base of Col de la Bonette, my next climb. In 2011, the weather in the Alps was truly atrocious with some of the cols closed due to heavy snow. Yes, it was during the Summer! I burst out laughing therefore as I felt a few spits and spots of rain as entered Jausiers this evening. Luckily it hasn't amounted to anything yet. And, although the temperature is lower at this altitude (1230m - nearly the same height as Ben Nevis), it is still 29 degrees :-)

Jausiers is still very lively but much quieter than Barcelonnette. I'm very happy here and nicely relaxed now. The wine has no doubt helped :-))

This pizzeria I'm blogging from is amazing not just for the giant quantities of food (and by the way, there were 2 fried eggs on my pizza that you can't see in the photo to make it even more filling) but also because they have a plug socket alongside every table! They are clearly used to people coming in needing to charge their phones! So my phone is fully charged once again, hallelujah :-)

It's time for me to waddle out of here. I'm not sure if my stomach will tip me over. I feel like a weeble if anyone remembers those?!

A big thank you as always to all of you for your blog comments, emails and texts - and now tweets, thanks Christine! They make a big and positive difference to me every day - THANK YOU!!

Lots of love
A super-tired, super-happy Andi xxx

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Follow the Asse

That's follow the Asse Valley alongside the Asse river for those of you chortling away :-)). I must admit to a few juvenile moments when cycling through St Julien d'Asse and Bras d'Asse. I like to seek humour wherever I go!

What a truly fabulous day! This is what cycle touring is all about. Beyond incredible scenery, gorgeous weather and pure codeine tablets to stop my back feeling like it's breaking. My back wasn't as bad today thanks to the gentler gradients. I've got some lavender oil with me to massage into it tonight.

When I dreamt up this tour, I had 3 cols in mind - Mont Ventoux, Col de la Bonette and Alpe d'Huez. I wasn't entirely sure though how I would cycle between them all and hoped for valley routes through the mountains or train services or, worst case scenario, taxis. I'm actually amazed at how many taxis there are even in the smallest of places. It's a comfort, I might need one yet!

And today was the perfect route through mountain valleys. Given I'm making this up as I'm going along, I couldn't have been more surprised or delighted. It wasn't exactly flat but I'll take gently undulating (by Alpine standards).

The temperatures soared to hit 40 degrees today. No wonder I felt to happy! I know many people would melt in these temperatures whereas I felt completely comfortable. It's after 8pm now and still 34 degrees. It is warmer here in the valleys. I'm back in the mountains now so we'll see how stable the weather remains. I've loved Provence and it's hot, sunny weather :-)

Tonight I'm in the prettiest little village called La Javie. It's just over 12 miles north of Digne-les-Bains where I thought I'd be staying. I arrived there early in the afternoon so decided to carry on a bit further and reduce what looks to be quite a big day tomorrow. And I'm back in a campsite I'm more familiar and comfortable with - just a field with simple facilities and some lovely people. No swimming pool, no holiday village. The difference in price? Yesterday was 24 euros; tonight is 6 euros 75!!

I was back to camp cooking tonight. I had some of my Beanfeast Mexican Chilli cooked with a small, sweet onion, the rest of my carrot and courgette and what was left of my giant tomato from lunch. All munched with (Charlie will love this) some fluffy couscous!! And a mug of tea of course.

There is nowhere to recharge my phone battery at the campsite so I've come to the only place in La Javie that is open. It just so happens to be a bar - what are the chances!! A glass of wine in return for them allowing me to charge the phone. So apologies for the later than usual blog. I struggle a great deal with phone battery whilst on these trips.

Mel, have no fear, I'm scoffing a pastry a day. I used to love pain aux chocolats but I've not been impressed with those I've had so far and have switched to the uber-delicious pain-aux-raisins. I love all that custard squelching out when I bite into them. Yum, yum, yum!! A daily staple.

Both Caroline and Teresa have mentioned bikinis today - the former regarding what she would be wearing in these temperatures and the latter saying not suitable attire on her cycle tour in the Hebrides!! Definitely not something I have with me either!

Sis! Hope you've been celebrating your last day as a 39 year old! And loved the comment about grazing sheep walking faster than you cycled!! Really made me laugh and kept me going :-))

Mummykins, glad you've got wi-fi tonight, even though you thought you might not. Er yes, I'm not surprised you need a separate room for your suitcases! (Yours. Not Charlie's!)

Charlie, LOVED the French blog comment!! Mary and Rene I'm sure will be very impressed also!

Tony, I did end up camp-cooking last night instead of pizza - crazy! After that far too large glass of wine, I was extremely enthusiastic about cooking my mushroom risotto. In fact, I think there may have been a little dance as well! (No slurring though.)

Ade, hope you enjoyed your cycle today? Are the blankets you picked up for the twins super-cute? Happy pedalling with Bri tomorrow :-)

Bri, your DJ skills were needed at the mega-expensive campsite last night to help the "entertainer" (Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang anyone?!!)

Which reminds me: Poggle, in a supermarket today, they were playing "All That She Wants" from our uni days. And if I remember rightly, we did our own little dance video to this when at the villa in Provence with Ben, Straight Steve and Sandra!!! Happy memories!!!

Right, it's getting dark and codeine and wine don't seem to mix so I'd better make my way back to the campsite.

Cheery-bye for now!

Andi xxx

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Lavender scented cycle

From the vineyards to cycling amongst the lavender fields today. It was incredibly beautiful and it all smelled so gorgeous!

The first part of my journey today was from Bedoin to Sault. I thought I'd be there in time for a nice cuppa and pastry. I eventually rolled up at lunchtime. I'd forgotten how much longer everything takes on a fully laden tourer and in the mountains. My head hasn't slowed down to that pace yet so I was getting a bit frustrated. The first 13 miles were solid climbing to a col at just under 1,000 metres (3,268 feet). My lower back was in agony and that made the cycling hard going. The rest of me was generally fine. Crawling along at walking pace was a bit demoralising at times.

Sault was such a pretty Provencal village and incredibly busy with cyclists and traffic. I plonked myself down on the nearest bench, wobbled with my shaky legs to the nearest boulangerie and re-fuelled before heading to a cafe for a restoring cuppa. In fact, this was the most normal cuppa I've had so far - normal teapot, normal sized jug of milk and nearly 3 cups of much-needed tea out of it!

And there I sat with my maps wondering what on earth to do. I'd completely had enough. My legs felt as if I'd done a 100 mile bike ride and I'd not quite cleared 20 miles! My back wasn't going to cope with much more. Luckily, the head was still willing.

And now I'm in Forcalquier having clocked up just over 53 miles. I had a blissfully happy afternoon on much kinder gradients, really quiet roads, through some stunning old villages and I descended through some jaw-dropping gorges. And the wine here is helping to ease my lower back. And also help me get over the shock of the price - 24 euros for my tiny pitch tonight!!! But there is nowhere else to camp, there is almost what passes for grass in this arid region (no mallet or nails needed) and it's still much cheaper than a hotel. I'm just so happy to be here, I really don't care! (Or maybe that's the wine taking effect really quickly?!)

The temperature is in the mid-30s now which is very comfortable for me. My tent is in direct sunlight and therefore way to hot to sit in yet. However my clothes are drying at record speed! I'm pleased about that, they did smell pretty bad!

Thank you everyone for your continuing comments on the blog and texts. I can't tell you what a difference they make to my day :-))

Ellie!! Fantastic to hear from you and I can't wait to climb Alpe d'Huez with you too! For those of you who don't know Ellie, she is an awesome 12 year old and will be tackling probably THE most iconic Tour de France mountain with me in a week's time! Wow! I certainly hope to post a photo on the blog of both of us (and her family) at the top of that col next Tuesday :-))

Caroline, thank you for staying in touch and all your lovely comments, they were a real boost today. Please keep them coming! Not sure about another book though, more hard work than all this pedalling! Looking forward to seeing you in September with the usual crew :-))

Mary, Renee - wonder if I would feel inspirational if I smelt less bad, looked less bad and felt less bad!!! Will aim to still be standing by the time I see you in Geneva. The thought of that proper cuppa will get me there :-))

Chris, you're right, I probably had zero sympathy for the "broken" ones near the top of Mont Ventoux. It was all a bit macho with plenty of testosterone flying around on the climb. Me, a mere female, overtaking them on a touring bike, probably destroyed them, hehe!!! Revenge can be so sweet! And thank you to you and Ade for the chapeaus - I don't seem to be getting them this time from the disgusted French guys!

Mandie, great to hear from you and looking forward to being stalked!!

Ade, glad you're enjoying the Josie Dew book. Cycling as it is for females (don't show my Mum!).

Tony, look forward to hearing how the slurring goes at the Junction tonight, hehe! Hope the band is good. And hi to Barbara and Peter from me :-)) (And obviously Bri and Ken.)

Fresh pizza and fresh salad tonight or some of my camp-cooking? Hmmm, decisions, decisions. So far, I've been incredibly lazy and done no camp cooking. I've just eaten out in lovely restaurants. Anyone would think I was on holiday or something!

Until tomorrow and who knows where I'll end up. All part of the touring fun!

Andi xxx

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Mont Ventoux Day!

What an awesome day - and we're only part way through!

After my fabulous night's sleep and a yummy breakfast, I headed back down the hill into Bedoin. It was heaving with people, bikes, cars. It was market day. Quite a buzz and atmosphere! I bought a few food bits for the climb and then set off.

The first section was very enjoyable, past countless vineyards again and on an easy gradient. You could see Mont Ventoux from the start. It didn't actually look very far away, just up the hill in fact. But it was 22km away.

When we hit the forest, the gradient became much steeper with many double chevrons. I was grateful for my training in the Yorkshire Dales and especially my last Sunday out with the club. This climb was a bit like the one out of Colne with a few Addingham Moorsides thrown in and for much, much longer.

There were so many cyclists tackling the climb at the same time as me. 99% of them were male. I saw only 3 females the whole way up - 2 went past on their road bikes and I went past another who was walking with her bike. She didn't seem to be a serious cyclist, I think it was the flip-flops that she was wearing that gave it away.

Up, up, up. Push, push, push. I'd forgotten how much my lower back aches on these climbs especially on my heavy bike. But the tourer has amazing gears that can get me up pretty much anything.

Chalet Reynard was a welcome sight at the end of the lengthy forest section. I sat outside for a cup of tea with the usual unfathomable large jug of milk to accompany it. I drank the jug of milk as well which was far bigger than my cup of tea. A good extra dollop of protein and calcium :-)

Now there were just 6km to go. The riders from Sault join the road by Chalet Reynard so it was even busier with cyclists now. Most had overtaken me on the way up so far and this continued. I surprisingly overtook a few others as well. Some people were walking with their bikes, some were all over the road unable to pace themselves earlier in the ride and were now broken. One guy had a really slack jaw and could barely speak. I felt pretty good. But then I need to preserve energy for the next 2 weeks of mountainous cycling.

It was a real party atmosphere at the top! And absolutely packed. I hung around for a while, got my photo taken (attached), took some others photos and just drank it all in. This mountain has been on my hit list for so long and now I've done it! A wonderful moment :-))

Instead of just descending back to Bedoin, I wanted to head over the mountain and down to Malaucene which is another village synonymous with this mountain and the start point for many other cyclists. Malaucene was very pretty and I ate the 2nd part of my lunch there. I needed to warm back up after the descent. It's beautifully sunny and hot. The wind has not been too bad, despite the forecast. The temperature is set to get hotter again over the next few days.

And then I finally looped back round to Bedoin along a very pretty route heavily scented with all the trees (no idea what they are but they smell gorgeous). It was very undulating and with stunning scenery which helped to keep my mind off my increasingly sore legs.

And now I'm charging the phone again which is a great opportunity to get the blog written and I've brought my maps along to look at options for tomorrow's route. One aim is to go via Sault which is the last of the 3 famous villages associated with Ventoux. I think Sault is the most popular start point for cyclists climbing the mountain. Bedoin is meant to be the hardest, possibly because it's the longest? I'm not sure.

So I'm a very happy bunny today and loving this heat. I've earned my glass of wine tonight.

Mary, you said those magic words "a proper cup of tea", thank you. Absolute music to my ears. I'm on my way!!

Cheery-bye for now everyone :-))

Andi xx

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My Rocky Camp Pitch

I thought I'd show you the rocks and gravel I've attempted to pitch my tent on. You can see why I couldn't get my tent pegs in and why my lovely campsite neighbours have hammered nails in to keep the tent up. And you can see why I was concerned my self-inflating sleeping mat would puncture (still am concerned but it survived last night).

What an EXTRAORDINARY night's sleep! 10 blissful hours. I'm up now & already can't wait to sleep again tonight. Then I think I'll be caught up. That enormous pizza, salad and 2 glasses of wine (yes, TWO glasses!) last night must have helped.

And yes there was a storm last night! There was a gentle pitter-patter of rain on the tent which soon became heavier and then the thunder and lightening got to work. I'm not sure why I feel ridiculously happy when that happens! I laid there happily listening to it for a while and then fell back into a deep sleep amidst it all.

So I'm just having brekkie and contemplating my day head climbing the iconic Mont Ventoux. I'm slightly alarmed at how tired my legs are after just 32 miles yesterday! Although my lovely bike rolls along beautifully, it does take considerable extra effort carrying all this weight. I'm leaving the tent behind in Bedoin whilst I climb so will only have a few bits. (The club are now laughing knowing that a "few bits" means most of my wardrobe, plenty of food, etc!)

They say to set off by 7am at the latest because of the heat. That was never going to happen after 2 nights of virtually no sleep. It's warm but not searing heat. And I coped in 44 degrees whilst pedalling at Dad's in Spain in July. It's still v cloudy at the moment. It will probably be a delightfully sweaty day as it's still quite oppressive despite the storm last night.

A few thank yous before I get my bum in gear for the day:

Poggle, great to hear from you on the blog :-)) Hope you and KC had a lovely time together.

Mum, have a lovely hols.

Sis, spooky that you saw the same film on Fri! You turn 40 this week!!

Bri, thanks for the song quote - makes lots of sense for the physical and mental journey :-)

Mary, please get the sun back for when I visit Geneva!

Loz, yes to 20th but hopefully 19th in Chamonix for nice dinner first :-)

Charlie, I'll use the accounting conversation next time I need to - great idea!

Tony, Ade, wonderful texts, making me laugh, thank you for keeping me up to date :-))
And can one of you give Alison a (gentle) slap for asking "am I nearly there yet?!" when we hadn't even reached Dover and had nearly another 20 hours to go on the bus!!

And to everyone in the club, Teresa is keeping me up to date with her Scottish cycle tour and is having a fantastic time. She's especially happy that her new handlebar bag doubles as an in-tent table!

Bye for now!

Andi xx

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Arrived in France & Pedalling!

Goodness me, what a long journey! We watched The Imitation Game (v good) until around 1.30am & then attempted to get some sleep.

The chap sat next to me did the gentlemanly thing and found another seat to fall asleep on. Obviously my dribbling, wiggling & sleep-talking did the trick!

But this is when they also turned the air-con to full blast & we all turned into icicles. I was snuggled under my fleece top and fleece bodywarmer and some fluffy thick socks to stay warm. Best of all, I'd remembered to take my eyeshades which blocked out all the lights from the road.

I seemed to sleep in roughly 10 minute bouts before needing to launch into a new position in the limited but luxurious space of 2 whole seats. I might have got 3-4 hours sleep in total in the 27 hour journey, which is still more than the previous night. Perhaps the wine in the polystyrene cup really did help.

It was bouncing down outside during the early hours of the morning. Heavy rain outside is one of my favourite sounds so that helped me sleep a bit better.

Anyways, we arrived in Orange around 9am. I got changed into my cycle kit, packed up, shopped for supplies in the supermarket across the road and then set off (after a pain au chocolat for brekkie of course).

I'm glad I asked another cyclist if I headed right to get out of Orange and to where I wanted. No Madame, it is left. Ok! In fact it was the usual few false starts before getting out of the town.

I had many miles of happy pedalling on the flat past gazillions of vineyards (so many of my friends would definitely love to visit here!) and fields of sunflowers which are now past there best. Unusually, I had a lovely tailwind for many of these miles and I was bowling along. Fabulous as that was, I wanted to take it steadily, look around and savour every wonderful moment.

I stopped for a cuppa and was amazed that I got an actual teapot rather than just a cup. in fact, I got 2 teapots! One was full of hot water to which I added the teabag they gave me and the other was equally full of cold milk. Bizarre! And it cost nearly 4 euros - eek! Let's hope the wine is cheaper tonight :-)

The afternoon was mostly spent pedalling upwards into the foothills of the mountains. I think I've been pedalling towards Mont Ventoux all day but I can't see the top which has been covered in a thick blanket of cloud. That will either be suffocatingly humid tomorrow or freezing fog. I perform better in the former although neither are particularly appealing options.

The temperatures have been lovely and warm with lots of sunshine and some cloud. I've been in just a sleeveless top - no gilet! - which probably means everyone else would be melting in this!

For anyone following where I'm going on maps, I've done a fairly convoluted route from Orange to Bedoin today. If traced on a map, it would resemble a heart monitor with the heart beat going up and down and up and down. I knew it would be a super-short cycling day otherwise. The mileage was still low at 32 miles. But good to get the legs going after sitting on the bike bus for so long and it leaves me with plenty of energy to tackle Ventoux tomorrow on my heavy steel tourer.

The forecast is looking ok for tomorrow's ascent up Mont Ventoux (30 degrees, sunny, cloudy) although unfortunately windy - 30km winds in Bedoin so goodness knows what speed it will be racing at the top of the 'Windy Mountain'. Probably enough to blow me off my bike again, just like ex-hurricane Bertha on my Lancashire tour last year.

During my Summer tour of 2012, I experienced some bad camp pitches but nothing like what I have here in Provence. Rock and stones! I asked the lovely-looking couple in the next tent along and they have hammered enormous nails in to hold my tent out. I need to buy a tent capable of free-standing for future trips to France - the ground is frequently appalling and not suitable for tents at all, only caravans and motor homes. Anyway, my lovely canvas home is safely up again thanks to my rescuers.

Everything inside me is screaming for a glass of wine now (to help me sleep tonight of course) so I must oblige.

Thank you again to all of you posting comments on the blog - they're awesome to pick up and really make my day! As do all the texts and emails - thank you hugely for keeping me company and keeping me up to date :-))

Andi xx

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The Big Long Bus Ride

Well, I thought I wouldn't have much to write today. I have basically just sat on a bus all day after all. Nonetheless, let's give it a bit of a whirl.

Unsurprisingly, I got precious little sleep last night. Despite my lovely hotel room, it was boiling hot so it was a choice of either suffocating or opening the window and dealing with the roar of the A1M outside and everyone slamming their car doors in the Services car park. I kept the window open.

My alarm went off at 3.05am (those extra 5 minutes were important). It felt as if I'd just fallen asleep. I know I had ages before I had to be out at 4.30am but I don't think clearly at the best of times when I wake up so I had to make allowances. A lovely hot shower, fresh orange juice, big mug of tea and restoring pot of creamy porridge all helped get me going.

It took a few goes to get all my panniers, rack pack and handle bar bag down to reception. My bike had slept well in the conference room overnight.

Fortunately, it was a warm, dry morning waiting outside for the bike bus. A text came through at 4.35am whilst I was waiting, which I automatically thought would be the bike bus with a message. After all, no-one else would be up at this ungodly hour, would they? It was Ade!! Wide awake and wishing me well! What a nice surprise :-)

The bike bus arrived and is quite a spectacle as you'll see from the photo today. It's a double decker coach with a big bike trailer behind it.

We had a good journey all the way from Yorkshire and up until 49 miles from Dover where there was a severe multi-vehicle crash. We were stuck for around an hour with numerous fire engines and ambulances screaming past. It looked quite a mess when we went past and there were still many walking wounded including children and dogs. (Thanks for keeping me updated on the situation, Mum.)

Dover looked the best I've ever seen it under blue skies and sunshine. The ferry crossing was smooth and enjoyable. After hours sat on the bus, I spent most of it either outside enjoying the fresh air or walking around and getting the blood back in my legs. Never have I had such a numb bum from sitting so much!

Mel, you would be proud - a massive egg mayo sarnie followed by not just a chocolate brownie but a DELUXE chocolate brownie on board. Oh yes!

Calais looked better than when I left it 3 years ago in severe gales. All the ferries had been cancelled and several tents blown away. Today, people were sunbathing on the sandy beaches and no doubt enjoying ice creams and chocolate crepes. And the ferry just slid into port.

Given the significant media coverage of the migrant crisis in Calais recently, I think we were all a little apprehensive at what we would experience. Empty roads were not what we expected. We did pass a migrant camp behind some serious fencing that had swelled from 3,000 to 6,000 people within the last few weeks but all was calm, well-controlled and peaceful. Phew.

And I'm about to have dinner on the bus with a large glass of white wine. I've no idea what effect this will have on my sleep-deprived brain also riddled with a hefty dose of motion sickness. I'm hoping it will send me to sleep rather than have me swinging from the rafters. I'll decide what to report tomorrow! (Ooo, my wine has just arrived in a large polystyrene cup with lid - classy!)

And now here's an issue I hadn't considered. I'm a solo female traveller sat next to a solo male traveller (there are no other solo female travellers on the bus). I now have to sleep in very close quarters next to this complete stranger. I'm most concerned that I'll end up rolling onto his shoulder and no doubt dribbling or something equally embarrassing. Oh, and I sleep-talk too....

I guess I'm sort of enjoying the bike bus experience with all these other cyclists who are equally hyper about their forthcoming tours. And one couple have already called me brave just for being on my own!?! It's not quite just "sitting on a bus".

However, I will be exceptionally glad to start pedalling tomorrow, loosen off my legs and get started properly.

Thank you everyone for all your lovely messages. Please keep them coming :-))

Cheery-bye for now!

Xxx

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Escorted to Wetherby!

What a fabulous start to my tour!

7 lovely friends, including the wonderful surprise of my favourite 12 year old, Eleanor, pedalled with me to Wetherby in gorgeous warmth and sunshine for afternoon tea. I think we wiped the cafe out of tea and cake!

The attached photo was kindly taken by the cafe owner outside the cafe of the whole group. (I think Bri on the far left was checking his phone for the route to our next destination!) From left to right: Brian, Jack, Tony, Ade, me, Chris and then Eleanor and Ken stood in front.

And then it was a short ride to Wetherby Services and my hotel for the evening. I've a lovely room and walk-in shower. I'd better make the most of it before a fortnight of camping! The bike bus will collect me from here around 4.30am tomorrow morning.

I must admit, I thought I'd find it really hard cycling on the fully-laden tourer today. Usually, I do several cycle-camping weekends in the Yorkshire Dales but I've not done any cycle-camping since I abandoned my tour of Lancashire last August thanks to ex-hurricane Bertha. So it's been a full year and I'm now very much used to be lightweight road bike (lightweight until I put my heavy bag on).

However, I felt absolutely fantastic on it! The bike is amazing (Ridgeback World Voyage) and I settled into it almost immediately. There were a few wobbly moments but it does take a short while to get used to handling all that weight. I loved it!

I've enjoyed a slightly less nutritious than usual evening meal tonight - wholemeal veggie pasty with spicy wedges (the wholemeal bit sounded more healthy than most of the fast-food options here) and then a scrumptious rhubarb & strawberry cheesecake with a bowl of fresh strawberries and cream - YUM! And oodles of tea of course.

Thank you to everyone who accompanied me to Wetherby today. Bernard wants to know what you were all doing out instead of working and paying his pension!! (We passed Bernard and Geoff H en route.)

Jack and Ellie, thank you for the lovely surprise - you managed to keep Eleanor turning up a complete secret!

Ken, thank you for letting me have lunch at yours, for the big mug of tea and for the egg custard tarts even though we decided not to eat them (next time though) :-)

Tony, thank you for taking a day off work to pedal with me. You and I were the only workers in the group that should be out paying Bernard and everybody else's pensions!

Ade, thank you for coming with us to find out where you'll be picking me up from in a couple of weeks!

Chris, I look forward to the reports of the Pyrenees vs the Alps for next August's tour :-)

Bri, thank you for not falling off your bike and breaking your ribs this time!

Until the next update, do think of me at 4.30am tomorrow morning!

Xxx

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Here we go!

Here we go!!

Fully laden and ready for off.

Hope I've remembered everything!


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Phone Test

Fingers crossed this works!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

Less than 24 hours to go before I set off for my next cycle tour - the flat is chaos, I'm still packing, the panniers are already overflowing and too heavy to lift, a spider is running around with legs flying everywhere in an alarming fashion, I still haven't sorted out my route when cycling in France (although the 27 hour coach journey I'm sure will permit the opportunity) but, hey!  I've got a new blog up and running!  Priorities.

So, I'm heading back to the south of France where I sincerely hope the lovely warmth and sunshine will continue for the next 2 weeks (I've not got the best track record for good weather on cycle tours).  There are 3 main cols I'm aiming to climb, all being well: Mont Ventoux in Provence, Col de la Bonette which, at 2,802m (9,193 feet), is the highest road in the French Alps, and Alpe d'Huez which I've actually already climbed but we couldn't summit due to the Tour de France arriving that day so I've got to do it all over again to say that I genuinely have been to the very top.  And of course I hope to see lots of other stunning scenery in between all of those mountains and some of my lovely friends as well :-)

I'll post on the blog as regularly as I can and I'll hopefully be able to upload some photos for you as well.

Wish me luck!

Andi xx