Preparation

Preparation is proceeding at a pace.... All day train to Plymouth booked for one passenger plus bike .......Ferry with overnight cabin booked to Santander, start of route mapped out on google maps, no B&Bs booked just yet as I an still studying the Pyrenees and deciding how much energy they will sap over the first three days!!

Training is going well, although with work cropping up, I can only get out at weekends. Coast to Coast completed (140 miles) in 1 day 5 hours, so my legs and lungs are working. I've considered taking a rucksack on my back but reading other forums tends to lead me to thinking that I should get all the weight off my back and into panniers.

Must remember to pack some washing powders so the locals aren't curious about the cycling tramp on the way up!

Planning for the 2012 trip

Following on to last years massive Lands End to John O'Groats solo cycle ride (search for "tc-does-lejog" if you want to follow last years adventure), this winter I have begun planning my next epic journey.

I wanted to cycle the length of France from South to North, but because its so difficult to get to the bottom of France with a cycle and full travelling kit, I'm getting the ferry to Northern Spain - Santander to be exact which means I'll put an extra 185 miles of effort to reach the south west border of France around Biarritz, inluding some breathtaking climbs in the Pyrenees, before heading the length of the west coast of France to the top for a ferry back from St Malo.
I'm working on a low budget and not sure yet whether to camp or go chambres d'hote.  Weight on the bike is the problem!  If you camp and don't have a support vehicle then you have to work out a way of carrying a tent, sleeping bag and foam mattress as well as your clothes for the journey and your spares for the bike.  Everything you carry makes those mountains a little more difficult.

I've created this site to create a daily blog of the journey for family and friends to keep in touch.  I'll probably not be updating this until shortly before "take off" at the end of March for an early April ferry to Spain.  

This time I have a better phone so maybe the reports from a wifi cafe along the way may include the odd photo - last year's trip was without many photos, as my tiny HTC keypad was not the best while holding onto the handlebars!

Do drop by again soon.  Journey gets underway 01 April, pedalling starts 02 April hopefully in warm "Green" Spain - last time I visited it rained for most of the holiday!