A long day on the train

A nice cool breeze on the short ride to Newcastle Central in good time for 12:44 to Plymouth... but sadly
someone lost their life today when they were struck by a train near Northallerton and the whole rail network was grounded. We couldnt leave Ncle Central until 2:15 but worse was to follow. At York we had no crew and without me moving seat my train wasnow going to Reading instead of Plymouth. Loads of folk travelling to Cornwall were gobsmacked. We were told to leave the train at Birmingham and catch another later train to Plymouth. So its now7hours since I joined the trsin at Ncle and I'm somewhere near Gloucester. Tiring but staying cheerful. No dinner for TC tonight. Good job I brought my bike lights for the 4miles to tonights hotel. Would love a coffee. Theres nothing on board at the moment.

Bike fully loaded and ready to go!

I've put new tyres and tubes on, Andy has fitted new cogs gears and chain. I've loaded it up front and back with four days clothes, will need to visit a launderette every few days.

I had a test ride last night and its not too bad to handle with the extra weight. Just need to shake off a chest infection and all set for take off next weekend. Next update from the train

The Pyrenees

Looking forward to getting photos like this in the Pyrenees, although a little scared about the climbing on a bike loaded with luggage!

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!