John and Hazel's Cycle Tour 2007

Sunday 30th September (Day 74): Vitré to Combourg ( 86 km)

2007-10-05T01:16:00.000+13:00

Finally woke to a dry tent which cheered John up no end and helped alleviate his ever increasing snotiness (caused by a cold). There was a high wind that scattered acorns and conkers on our tent, and sometimes our heads and we were a little wary - turned out that it was another following wind though!

We cycled into Vitré and had a look around. What an awesome place; tiny medieval streets, a huge chateau and myriad other little features and adornments that make the place fascinating. Set off pedalling on a route that would have been fairly challenging if the wind was not blowing in the right direction.

We've seen the soil rocks change from limestone, to chalk, to slate, and now it is a mixture of granite and sandstone (which affects the look of the houses and walls, giving everything a slightly greyer, more angular look). Brittany houses tend to be solid, square and pragmatic with less florid gardens. There is still an incredible attractiveness about the place though, and some of the churches are incredible.

Saturday 29th September (Day 73): Grez Neuville to Vitré (90 km)

2007-10-03T01:17:00.000+13:00

Didn't sleep very well last night. Loads of things thundering around in my head now that the end of the trip looms...have to start thinking about things such as making a living!! :-)

Went down to a lovely breakfast served by our gracious hosts. We were joined about half way through by this fascinating couple from Berlin. They now have a small lifestyle block about 60km outside of Pottsdam, but previously he was from East Germany and she from the West. They told us about their lives at the time around the wall was built, as well as talking about their professions (he was a physicist in the area of R&D around the effects of welding on various materials and joints). It was all fascinating and we prolonged breakfast until nearly 10am chatting with them.

Today's cycling was in warm sunshing with, at long last, a following wind. Undulating roads wound around and through ancient farmland peppered with manor houses, chateaux, and impressive looking farm estates. Also passed through an area famous for its horses, especially thoroughbreds, and have been treated to a fine display of equines. Le Lion de Angers had a huge race course - nearly cycled into several passing cars as I gaped at the set up there while pedalling past.

A slight miscalculation meant that we did 90km today but it was not too bad due to the friendly breeze and the glorious day. Spoke to Linda last night - am really looking forward to seeing friends and family again.

It's all over ....

2007-10-03T00:54:00.001+13:00

St Malo Marina

We have arrived at St Malo and the end of the trip. We were wondering how to measure such a trip as kilometers just dont seem descriptive enough. Here are some of the alternatives we came up with:

4000 kms
7 countries
1 Polish haircut (very short)
573 cakes
147 mosquito bites
4 snake sightings
8 major rivers
4 punctures
4 spokes
3 Romanian hunnies rollerblading in bikinis (i nearly fell off my bike)
1 foot massage
36 rainy days
75 days in total
50 days in the saddle
1 great journey ....

Friday 28th September (Day 72): Saumur to Grez Neuville (70 km)

2007-10-03T00:39:00.001+13:00

Woke at 8.30 which meant a bit of a slow but very relaxed start. We'd done most of the packing the day before, and, to our pleasant surprise, the sky was blue - although there was a brisk breeze in our faces as we set off! Said goodbye to the splendid proprietor of the hotel and set off along the river, both of us celebrating how good our legs felt after a rest.

As we cycled along we got to thinking about some of the people we've met along the way, some that are truly inspirational. For example, Bruce, the 81 year old Canadian who regularly cycle tours around Italy, France, Spain and Germany with some friends. He was in Saumur on holiday with his daughter and son-in-law, and they had just spent the day cycling 40 odd kms around the vineyards. He looked as fresh as a daisy!! Today we also met an English couple, he a keen cycling enthusiast (60 to 65+), with hiswife who, after 40 years had just decided that cycling wasn't so bad after all! He was chuffed to bits, and they both looked incredibly happy and fit.

The cycling today took us out of the more touristy regions of the Loire and toward places where huge sand banks stretch along the river, often lined with great flocks of migrating birds. The villages are tucked in at the base of sheer chalky walls for some of this route, often with caves burrowed into the rock.

After lunch we said our goodbyes to the Loire and headed north; still into a rolicking head wind. Passed through some delightful rolling farmland full of stone mansions, working farms and late flowers. Skirted Angers as big cities are a nightmare to navigate and despite the wind, thoroughly enjoyed the undulating road and surroundings.

La CROIX d' ÉTAIN

The day was made extra peachy by our first adventure into staying at gites (avoided until now because of our awful French). John bravely rang the bell and our gracious host and hostess were patient, kind, and very helpful. The house is an old mansion, and has gorgeous gardens...one of the best places we stayed: La CROIX d' ÉTAIN (http://www.anjou-et-loire.com/croix ; Jacqueline & Auguste BAHUAUD; 2 Rue de l'écluse - F - 49220 GREZ NEUVILLE Tel. : +33 (o) 241 956 849 - fax : +33 (o) 241 180 272; croix.etain@anjou-et-loire.com).

Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th, and Thursday 27th September (Day 69, 70 and 71): Saumur

2007-09-28T02:40:00.000+12:00

John found a gorgeous hotel for us to stay in to celebrqte our 15th wedding anniversary: Hotel Saint Pierre (Rue Haute Saint-Pierre - 49400 SAUMUR - Tél : 02 41 50 33 00 - Fax : 02 41 50 38 68; http://www.saintpierresaumur.com/; e-mail: contact@saintpierresaumur.com). It's a family owned place, and is a renovated house so we have a huge fire place in the room which is just oozing with character.

We've thoroughly enjoyed some R&R in preparation for our final leg up to Saint Malo where we are catching the ferry to Portsmouth on 3rd of October.

Tuesday 25th September (Day 69): Savonnières to Saumur (70 km)

2007-09-28T02:25:00.000+12:00

A gift of a day, we started in sunshine (enough to dry the tent). The route headed off just up the way from the campsite, and we set off in good spirits even when we turned the corner and hit the - yup - you guessed it - head wind. Another blinder. We stopped for a cake break on the steps of an attractive little church and relaxed in the sun. Must say that the cakes in France are superlative. Our waistlines are suffering!!!

Following the cycle route we then headed away from the Cher (yes, John did all the jokes and the singing) and the Indre, back to the Loire. Next was a 14 percent climb (which we managed to cycle up) followed by an 18 percent climb - which we pushed our bikes up. Yes, both of these are indeed on the official cycle route. Gorgeous view from the top; crap decent into Saumur.

Monday 24th September (Day 68): Chaumont to Savonnières (105 km)

2007-09-28T02:09:00.000+12:00

The sun rose on a real autumn day with a blustery wind blowing the leaves across the campsite and grey clouds etched by the sun. It was chilly but not really cold - bracing - and there was the smell of wood smoke and freshness in the air.

We managed to get out by 10am including getting fuel for the stove. First we climbed the hill out of the town then turned the corner into the howling head wind. It was going to be a somewhat challenging day! We actually changed direction 3 times, and each time the wind remained in our faces. Initially we had 20km across a plateau with little to shelter us. We then headed off on our detour to detour Tours, and were peeved when we ended up doing a detour of the detour as a brand new (ie no cars yet) road had been built across some of the little roads we were planning to use.

Lunch was not picturesque - eaten by a large grain storage barn so that we were able to shelter from the wind and the rain, it wasn't our best to date :-)

There were high points to the day though such as cycling over the brow of a hill to see an incredible cloud scape towering above us, or pqssing through what was obviously very old oak forest.

Great campsite at Savonnières though with an uninterrupted view of the river. Had a glass while watching the sun set.

Sunday 23rd September (Day 67): Beaugency to Chaumont (68 km)

2007-09-28T01:54:00.000+12:00

Slept really well until 9am - what a luxury! By the time we had packed, loaded and bought pastries for the day it was already 11.30. It was, however, q gentle autumn day with clouds, mild sunshine, and a glorious head wind (hurrah for the head wind). By the time we had cycled through narrow lanes, past the towering edifice of one of the nuclear power stations, and onto the levee beside the river we were really enjoying the day.

Lunch was taken on a rather elegant bench overlooking the Chateau Chambord with its collection of ornate, lofty chimneys perched on grey-tiled towers. All is supported on a huge white stone edifice (shown in one of the pictures on this Blog). Amazing, especially as it was such a folly. The surrounding parkland is partially a wildlife reserve and is open to the public; Great for walking and cycling. After our picnic we headed off toward Chiteau and 'made it up', bowling along forest roads surrounded by the sound of falling acorns.

We pedalled into Chaumont, and because John had an infected gnat bite we decided to call it a day. We popped the tent up in the pretty camp site beside the river qnd then mooched up the hill to see the local chateau and the splendid view from the top.

Saturday 22nd September (Day 66): Chateau Neuf Sur Loire to Beaugency (66 km)

2007-09-27T23:25:00.000+12:00

Threatening clouds fulfilled their promise half way through packing up this morning. We faffed about changing our gear, and then changing it again as the rain became harder. We finally set off at 10am.

There was intially pleasant cycling along the levee alongside the river. The trees have gone pqst autumnal russets to dark browns and many are totally leafless. The smell of late autumn is everywhere, and now, instead of harvesters, there are tractors ploughing.

We followed the somewhat confusing and annoying Loire Valley Cycle Route for the first part of the day. It's a route full of surprises - sometimes you can be bowling along and suddenly the route ends - no warning. Or there's a bridge missing (and there may or may not be diversion signs!), or the surface disintegrates so much that it is actually easier to cycle on the grass. On the whole though, the concept and the opportunities it will offer are excellent.

As the rain came down and we skirted the numerous potholes on the path John sang a medley of rain themed songs. Even when I begged and pointed out that it was in fact raining all the harder, he continued to warble...by the end of it I was howling with laughter!

We cycled into Orleans (made easy by following the cycle route) and were lucky to stumble across the Festival of the Loire. It was perfectly timed for lunch so we stopped and sampled the many gorgeous cheeses, and filled up on hot food. We met with further encouaqgement for our endeavours, and left with wishes thqt all our hills be down from hereon in.

We cycled on through Meung-sur-Loire (scenic and with an engaging town centre complete will little, steep, cobbled streets). I was feeling a bit under the weather so we just cycled on to Beaugency where we booked into the expensive, but very helpful, L'Ecu de Bretagne. Had an awesome meal at a little restaurant in town and discovered the joys of the set menu. Strolled back through the medieval streets and enjoyed the lights reflectected in the rain laced cobbles.

Friday 21st September (Day 65): Beaulieu to Chateau Neuf Sur Loire (74 km)

2007-09-27T23:18:00.000+12:00

Today began with watery sunshine (recalcitrant and refusing to give out any heat) and the realisation that the campsite was adjacent to the local unofficial truck stop. Tempers becqme somewhat frayed as we often had to yell to each other the the racket of the idling lorries.

We finally set off at 10am and puffed up the hill back into town. Looked into the 12th century Romanesque church (Saint Etienne) later embellished with Gothic extras, before pedalling off into the hills.

The route we hqd chosen basically followed the route of the Loire meandering through towns and villages. We were often taken aback as we crested hills to see a fantastical chateau looming on the horizon. Sully-sur-le-Loire was particulqrly memorable.

Thursday 20th September (Day 64): Nevers to Beaulieu (92 km)

2007-09-27T23:10:00.000+12:00

Another misty, chilly start to the day. Saw our Dutch pals again...they sensibly packed up and went for breakfast in the campsite cafe before heading off on their 100km for the day. We, in the meantime had a rather crispy discussion about the merits of drying the tent out before we set off for the day.

We finally got going, and began to thaw out on the bikes as we headed out of Nevers. We passed by ore picturesque villqges, often with a grand old chateau thrown if for good measure. Lunch was idyllic. Stopped on a grqssy gnoll in the sunshine beside an apple tree. We lay in the sun for our repast, entertaining a couple of guys who drove past. Motorists were again friendly and encouraging giving friendly waves or tootles as they drove past.

Wednesday 19th September (Day 63): Decize to Nevers (49 km)

2007-09-27T23:01:00.000+12:00

Woke late to thick fog after a very cold night (down to about 5° - chilly in a tent°. Getting up was not pleasant and we were both a little snippy as we piled on as many clothes as we possibly could in an effort to stay warm.

We had a quick cycle around the pretty little town of decize which seems to have incorporated the ancient city wall into a lot of the buildings and houses. Had a quick coffee and thawed out our toes and fingers before setting off into brilliant sunshine. It was an easy 40km to Nevers with winding roads through lovely country villages, and the head wind, although making itself present, was not too bad.

We stopped to look at a 12th century chapel in the middle of a cow paddock! Wonderfully simple and peacful inside, but with a turbulent history.

Spent the evening in the tent listening to owls serenade each other. Nevers was disappointing; overrun with traffic and with no atmosphere. The campsite is splendid though with an uninterrupted view of the river and the cathedral.

Met a great Dutch couple who were cycle touring from across the Pyrenees bqck to Holland on a tandem.

Tuesday 18th September (Day 62): Paray le Monial to Decize (90 km)

2007-09-27T22:51:00.000+12:00

Awoke to a gloomy tent which could only mean one thing - the rain that had fallen with a vengeance all night had not quite done its dash. It was cold too - about 10°. Packed up and headed off to the local supermarket for supplies (almost impossible to get white gas in France, so we're going to try unleaded petrol in our MSR Whisperlite stove). Cycled along the side of the canal initially whick broke the force of the head wind a little initially, but it was a wind that was to plague us forcefully for the rest of the day.

The sun made a couple of guest appearances, and lunch was by the Loire. We bumped our way down a steep little track to the river bank where there was a wooden platform jutting out into the water. A perfect spot to relax. After pushing our bikes back up the hill (doh) the rest of the ride from thence on was just hard work with one of us cycling in front for about 10kms each, with the other drafting, swap positions...repeat. Decize finally hove into view, and the riverside campsite was a gem. Celebrated cycling over 3,000kms.

Monday 17th September (Day 61): Santanay to Paray le Monial (90 km)

2007-09-27T22:34:00.001+12:00

Last night was filled with the sound of owls and lit by stars that seemed an arm's reach away. We tried a bottle of the local wine (highly recommended if you like Chardonnay). This morning woke bright-eyed and ready to set off again. The British couple from the carqvan next door (absolutely gorgeous and very friendly) had warned of a mixed bag of weather heading our way so we wanted to get going as soon as possible. We packed up in record time and said goodbye to all the people who had befriended us during our short stay.

We hoped on the Green Route along the Canale Centrale. Saw a huge luxury barge complete with swimming pool and staff negotiate a lock...hmmmm. The day was very still qnd the route that we took allowed us to enjoy the mesmerising reflection of the autumn trees and passing countryside. Saw a lot of wildlife too including lizards, herons, a shrew, birds of prey, and multiple insects. Also saw a couple of chateaux. One in particular had slate grey ogee topped cylindrical towers and was situqted in manicured gardens. Of interest too were the mining and canal communities that we passed through.

Almost killed myself on a slippery corner - lost the back wheel, nearly lost the front, righted everything, and continued with shaky legs and a pounding heart; John was in front and did not witness this near catastrophe :-)

John suffered his second puncture in as many days so we decied to change the inner and the tyre. Efficiently he changed the necessary while I mended the puncture, qnd kept us fed with fresh hazelnuts from the tree under which we were working;

The final part of the day turned into a sprint to try to outrun the rain. We failed miserably. The thunder clouds caught us and made locating the campsite in Paray le Monial a bit of a mission. Lovely campsite though; peaceful and well-equipped.

Sunday 16th September (Day 60): Santanay (11 km!)

2007-09-27T22:21:00.000+12:00

We decided to stay another day in Santanay we like it so much. The weather is divine, and we fancy packing a picnic and heading off on the bikes without d'luggage.

It has been blissful. John cycled off into the village for croissants for breakfast (just needed the beret...) and returned with a big smile and lots of pastries. Sitting in the sun having made coffee on our rather splendid stovetop coffee pot watching the long morning shadows on the hills was just blissful. After breakfast we dawdled our way up to the local windmill. There just happened to be one of the gys who looks after the windmill (built in the early 1800s) up there, and he very kindly gave us a guided tour and run down (in French) of how the grain is milled. Amazing how much you can understand from context, a patient speaker of the language, and a smattering of appropriate voacabulary.

Once back at the campsite John set up a shade. A Dutch couple watched this until the bike that was holding the tarp up fell on my head, and then came over with some tent poles that they leant us for the afternoon. I spent the afternoon sketching the hills, while John does what he really enjoys - snoozing, reading, and eating.

Saturday 15th September (Day 59): Dole to Santenay (91 km)

2007-09-27T22:11:00.000+12:00

Today was another day of almost perfect cycling; a bit dewy to start with it was wall-to-wall blue sky with a light breeze that later turned out to be a following wind. We cycled up the hill and out of Dole (with guys shouting encourqgement out of their car windows) and then through the undulating countryside. The leaves on the trees now are really changing colour and we hqve been treqted to dappled lanes of cycamores hung with bright red vines backlit by the sun.

Today we encountered a lot of encouragement from other cyclists qnd from motorists ranging from friendly waves to fanfares of car horns;

We are now in a fantastic campsite. Santenay is a pleasant village from which the smell of apples and wine emanates and stone buildings are surrounded by flowers and old wine presses. The view from the tent is fabulous with hills covered in vines. I am now off to sample the produce of said hills :-)

Friday 14th September (Day 58): Osselle to Dole (44 km)

2007-09-27T22:00:00.000+12:00

A short day today so that we could get some much needed laundry done and a couple of things mended (including the inner tube from John's puncture this morning).

We woke to light fog that mean that everything was dripping wet, especially the tent. The failure of us to locate a supermarket yesterday also meant that breakfast was a little meagre, although Tobiqs kindly shared his bread with us. He decided to accompqny us as far as Dole, and then continue on from there.

The cycle was mainly along the canal on a sunny day that was almost perfect except for the head wind. Headed into town stopping at a place zith a fascinqting blocky church with one of the multi-coloured tiled rooves that are fmous in this region. Dole was a wonderful surpise. Chalky grey stone buildings built on a steep hill, narrow alleyways, and all topped with a cathedral. The campsite was a lovely place on its own island and we could see the whole town right out of the tent doorway.

People have been friendly and helpful in France in the last three days - they are lovely! Had a delightful meal in town by way of a change, and, clutching our phrase book, managed to do all the choosing etc in French!

Pics from France

2007-09-27T21:55:00.000+12:00

Here we have our wonderful tent at a lovely french campsite with all our gear scattered on the gras as if a tornado had just gone through.

Doing what we do best, eating cake.

On the Loire. The river is dotted with mediaeval (never could spell that word) towns with great bridges. Most of them had lovely little campsites by the river looking up at the castle/chateau/cathedral.

Rain in Orleans. Looking happy despite the weather.

Chateau Chambord. An absolute folly built by Luis or Phillipe the something-or-other as a hunting lodge. It has hundereds of rooms ands was supposedly designed with the help of Leo DaVinci. The guy who built it stayed there for less than 50 days in total.

Another Chateau, similar in style but much smaller at Chaumont.

The missus looking perky.

The missus looking completely knackered after climbing an 18% hill. This was the 3rd such hill that morning. The first 2 we managed the cycle up, but this one was just too steep.

From here we head north and into britany for the last few days of the trip. The next posting will probably be made from the ferry as we return to the UK. Booo.

Thursday 13th September (Day 57): Isles la Doubs to Osselle (91 km)

2007-09-27T21:42:00.001+12:00

Today was possibly one of the best days cycling we have ever done. We had a leisurely start and rolled out of the campsite at 9.30 am. I spoke some of the first 'autentic' French that I have ever used, and proudly emerged from, the boulangerie with a baguette and 4 pain au chocolat!! We then set off a nicely grqded hill though a couple of towns and along a 'busy' road. Drivers are, on the whole, incredibly considerate. For example, the roar that usually heralds the approach of a large truck - enough to strike fear into the heart of most cyclists - instead results in the truck slowing right down and then passing on the other side of the road, sometimes forcing the oncoming motorists onto the verge! It's awesome. Cars will also follow you for kms down narrow roads instead of trying to push past. No wonder cycle paths are only just under construction; they don't really need them here.

The hills were sometimes steep but never uncycleable with a load, and a lot were edged with great avenues of plane trees covered in vines just on the turn and coloured russet, red, burnt umber, and yellow. The villages we passed through were 'real' old farm houses with chooks charging around the yards, while others are colourfully painted. A couple of ladies sat with baskets of fresh walnts, relaxing in the sun. Many of the trees were rustling wildly as we cycled by as people attempted to dislodge various nuts and fruit. At the camp site in the evening the lovely lady there came up and gave us a couple of huge handfulls of fresh walnuts - delicious.

Tobias found us at our coffee stop and joined us for the day's cycling. We cycled into Besçancon (busy, trqffic-filled, but with interesting narrow streets ad great tarte au citron) qnd then cycled out onto a cycle route beside the river Doubs. The campsite, apart fro, its close proximity to a gravel pit, was restful and, after a chilly dip in the lake, we cooked up on the picnic benches while watching the sun set.

Wednesday 12th September (Day 56): Basel (Switzerland) to Isles la Doubs (France) (100 km)

2007-09-27T21:24:00.000+12:00

Regretfully, we left Basel which we adore (could get used to living there) to set off, with a little trepidation to France. We have been influenced and inspired by a book that I stumbled across in a bookshop in Vienna called France by Bike (1999 (4th ed), Karen and Terry Whitehill, The Mountaineers, ISBN: 0-89886-316-3). Although it is a tad dated now, it had the reassurance that we needed, and had some detailed instructions for 14 routes through France - a real bonus.

The sun was out in full glory as we threaded our way out of the city and over the border. The architecture gradually changed as we set off on some of the best cycling we have done to date. Mainly quiet, or almost deserted, , rural roads wound their way through countryside with many copses, fields of assorted crops, and paddocks with doe-eyed white cows. The hills were rolling, and the wind followed us, making what would have been a very tough day a little less demanding. The climb from Basel was, overall, gradual and we were helped by the many things to look at, as well as the fact that the temperature got up to aournd 25°!

Flowers seem to qbound in the tiny villages we cycled through, spilling out of window boxes, over fences, lining bridges, and hung in great clumps from baskets. Lots of small brooks gugled through the centre of villages and this delectable kitchiness was complemented by the sight of a couple of immense eagles very close by.

The campsite was huge, well8equipped, by the Doubs, and just about dark enough to look at the stars. Our 'neighbour' is a friendly German chemistry student called Tobias and who is cycling to meet his mates.

Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th September (Days 54/55): Basel

2007-09-27T21:07:00.000+12:00

We are staying in a fabulous (although somewhat pricey hotel) called Der Teufelhof Basel ( Leonhardsgraben 49, CH-4051, Basel, www.teufelhof.com; info@teufelhof.com). The hotel showcases local artists, and also has rooms that have been designed and decorated by local artists. The people who work there are brilliant - friendly, helpful, and nothing is too much trouble.

On Monday we sought out the maps that we need for France and marked our route on them. We also hopped on a tram out to the local hypermarket to pick up some white gas, and some of the excellent handle-less Sigg thermal mugs that we have been searching for ever since we saw them in Pottsdam.

In the evening we went to Basel's vegetarian restaurant, before heading back to a heavenly little wine bar just behind our hotel. We chatted about the future; our dreams and aspirations, and how undertaking the sort of journey that we currently are is so good for removing you from day-to-day "white noise" and giving you the time and space to really think what you hope for in life. Wine bars of this ilk seem condusive to such discussions :-)

Tuesday we decided on a together/apart day where we both go off and do our own thing and then meet up to talk about what we have just done. John headed off to one of the local art galleries (and to do some other chores), while I found a bench beside the fast-flowinfg Rhine in the sunlight and hooked out my sketch pad to try and capture a sense of the jumble of diffent buildings of different heights, widths, colours, and styles.

Sunday 9th September (Day 54): Bad Zurzach to Basel (88 km)

2007-09-26T23:51:00.000+12:00

The route today was strangely undulating given that we were following the Rhine downstream; Unhelpful was the heqd wind, complemented by the industrial estates; rubbish dumps, and electricity generating plants that the route passed through. The river was often q distant companion, not visible from the path we were on. That is not to say that the day was a total write off. The sun shone some of the time, and the woodland that we cycled through was lovely (native trees planted where pines had been harvested).

Fun was also to be had with the number of other cyclists who were out and about on a "Ride the Rhine" event. A fully laden touring bike is quite formidable, especiqlly at full pelt, but a couple of guys still nearly tried to run us off the track. The trick is to hold your line while the dogs whine and scatter, children cycle screaming to their parents, qnd old ladies throw themselves into the verges (I am joking, really I am).

We worked well together even though the 70km flat day turned out to be an 88km undulqting day. Basel, as indicated in all the guide books is an amazing place. Quite lqrge and set on two sides of the river, architecturally it looks like the sort of Medieval town a cartoonist might draw; it has real character. There was also a festival underway, so we soaked up some culture strolling alongside the river listening to African drumming, a particularly good funk band and soaking up the carnival atmosphere. We ended up at a superb little restaurant where we enjoyed some excellent galettes, and discussed some of the issues in the book that John is reading called The God Delusion. Got pretty heated at times....

I think we are going to stay a couple of days in Basel to rechqrge the batteries a bit, and also do justice to the great chocolate shops that are all over Basel.

Saturday 8th September (Day 53): Wildberg to Bad Zurzach (83 km)

2007-09-26T23:38:00.000+12:00

Had a relatively restful night given that we campers had all been squashed into a space between a concrete wall and a wire fence, right beside a brightly lit main road junction...hmmm.

We had discussed the idea of dropping on to the more demanding Route 3, but due to a bit of a late start, when it came to the point to make the turn off (or not) we decided to return to the Rhine on Route 18. As such we had a mixed day of cycling, including one 17percent ascent over & and a half kms; Lung bursting and leg quaking. The countryside at the top was superb though. More rolling hills qnd the suggestion of the magnificent Alps etched into the surrouding clouds. A scenic cake stop for sure, although if nature had seen fit to open up a little of the cloud cover, that would hqve been even better.

We skirted Zurich taking in the sights, sounds and smells of q very large quarry, Zurich airport, and a sewerage works. At times we knew not where we were or where we were heading, but we finally found our tun toward the Rhine, and headed off. Time for dinner now....

Friday 7th September (Day 52): Arbon to Zell (Wildberg) (68 km)

2007-09-17T03:42:00.000+12:00

A cold start (about 9 degrees again), but not raining. That is not to say that the clouds were not promising rain, and that, in fact, it had indeed precipitated all night. Set off along the lake for about 5km until my rear tyre went rather flat (valve problems - removing the dust cap, and a little action with the pump made all the difference). We then pedalled off onto route 5 into Switzeland. The route is superb. Well thought out, through picturesque rural land and communities, and past buildings and places of interest, such as the water schloss we passed (large painted building in a lake - most impressive).

The houses are distinctly different and there is a definite sense of industriousness in the fields and orchards.

The route climbs quite seeply at first, but then levels off, although there was a pretty steep climb on gravel at one point. Love the place, people, route, and cycling though...

Thursday 6th September (Day 51): Lindau to Arbon (Germany, to Austria, to Switzerland in a day (57km)

2007-09-17T03:23:00.000+12:00

Woke late and made the decision seeing how the weather was still rather grotty (there is snow on the mountains surrounding the lake, down to about 1000 meters!) to go to an Internet cafe to make bookings for the flight back to NZ. Failed miserably (the Emirates site...don't even get me started), but have since been successful. As such, we set off at about 1pm. It felt pretty good to be back on level ground as we cycled around Bodensee (Lake Constance), and we made good time. Excellent spot for lunch at Bregenz, and the sun actually made a couple of weak, watery appearances.

While pedaling along today we discussed a few top tips/observations and will be posting them soon (rather tongue in cheek, but based on experience).

We made the transition into Austria (welcome back cycle route signs), and then again into Switzerland. Oh my - do these guys know how to sign a cycle route!! Place names, distances, reassurance markers, the whole lot, and on big signs you can even spot if you are myopic.

The camp site we rocked up to is fantastic. There is an area set apart just for tents, right beside Bodensee, and in spite of being beside a railway track, there is no major motorway, or a halogen lamp burning down on the tents. We had a superb evening sitting by the lake, scaring the ducks, being scared by the swans, and watching the sun go down.

Pictures from Germany to France

2007-09-17T02:45:00.000+12:00

Some crazy Bavarians drinking beer on a raft.

Complicated route finding on the way to Bad Tolz at the foot of the Alps in Germany

When not drinking beer on rafts, Bavarians spend their spare time painting murals house fronts. Mostly religious, but this one has a more contemporary theme. Sadly, we did not find a Harry Potter house, but i am sure one exists.

The Alps. We only got close enough to look. Maybe next time, when our bags are lighter, we will go over them.

Why do we do this? The only reason i can think of is so that we can eat as many cakes as we like. This was taken in Switzerland. The trip from Germany through Switzerland poduced some of he worst weather so far, including hail and temperatures of 9 deg!

A lovely windy road in France. We have had days of this now. I just cant get enough.

A windmill in the Bourgogne region, near the campsite we are currently staying in in Santenay.

We are about to head into the Loire valley, so the next picture posting will have a few castles and wine bottles.

France

2007-09-17T02:33:00.000+12:00

We are 4 days into France now and so far it has been great. In fact, it is perhaps the best place we have been to in many respects. Given that it was not on the original route plan, this is a very pleasant suprise.

As far as i can see, the country is actually designed for cycling. Great little roads through glorious countryside with hardly any traffic. Any drivers that you do encounter are courtious to cyclists. Campsites are great and they are among the cheapest we have found on route so far. Also, the French are great fun. I recommend this country to anyone - based on 4 days experience...

Soon to be in France.

2007-09-12T04:02:00.000+12:00

We are about to start the last leg of our tour, through France to Roscoff (or St Malo, undecided at this point) where we will catch a ferry back to the sunny southern shores of England. Right now we are in Basel, a lovely town in Switzerland on the border with France and Germany. We have spent the last few days just relaxing and enjoying the place.

Our route through France is, roughly, Basel > Dijon > Orleans > Angers > St Malo > Roscoff. Wiggling along rivers to cross East to West then heading North into Brittany.

France is relatively unknown to me so I am looking forward to this bit. Sadly, though, i dont think the cakes will be the same as the carbo loaded confectionary heart attacks we have been enjoying for the past few weeks.

Wednesday 5th September (Day 50) Lindau

2007-09-06T21:21:00.000+12:00

Slept like logs - horizontal and totally inert. Spent the day wandering around the island (not a huge challenge as it´s a tiny island), exploring the nooks and crannies of the town, and chatting about the journey so far. The lake is huge and impressive, but very cold looking and wind-ruffled.

This afternoon, John replaced the brake blocks on all four brakes on our bikes while I came and updated the Blog and checked emails. There was a brilliant email from SJS Cycles from whom we bought our bikes and most of our gear. They are being extremely proactive in helping us with pannier failures and problems. Really chuffed.

We also bought a book of bike routes across Switzerland and are planning to follow the highly recommended route 5. Tomorrow we are heading around Lake Bodensee (Constance) toward Switzerland...let´s hope the rain goes, and the temperature rises.

Tuesday 4th Septmber (not December-thanks Aniket!!) 2007 (Day 49): Rettenberg to Lindau (83km, average temperature 9° centigrade)

2007-09-06T21:01:00.000+12:00

Brrrrr...well, the promised rain was falling (nay, hosing down) when we got up and had breakfast. It later turned to fair size hail, but I´m getting ahead of myself here! The route description was once again next to useless, and the day that had promised to be mainly downhill, undulated wildly. We are using one of the usually useful route descriptions available in Germany and Austria, with maps, places to stay, things to see, and relief profiles. The relief profile in this particular book had just averaged our the relief and drawn straight lines between destinations, thereby showing only total ascent or descent. On a given day the book might show 300 meters of ascent, but cumulatively you might in face ascend 1,000 or 2,000 meters in total. It has been a couple of days like this...ah well, we´re getting fitter.

We were, however, dressed in our rather splendid waterproofs (North Face trousers, Sprayway jacket, Goretex gaiters (can´t remember the make) and Sealskin waterproof socks). As such, we were warm and feeling rather rufty tufty, although the extremeties were somewhat chilly. The wickedly steep hill (not shown) did provide an opportunity to warm our feet up, though, when we ended up pushing the bikes as the surface was fine, `skiddy' gravel.

Between downpours we had a couple of heavenly, sunny moments to enjoy the landscape and our surroundings. The mountains were looking their best, with tendrils of clouds shot through with sunshine twining around the slopes and peaks.

The final few kilometers into Lindau were a bit of a mystery tour as there was no sight of the lake or the town until we were alomst there. Lindau is another of those fascinating Medieval towns with houses built topsy turvy beside each other, tiny alleyways, and frescoes beautifully restored on many of the buildings.

There was no dissent between us when it was suggested that we book into a guest house. After trying a few places we found a superb´`Bett und Bike' place called Hotel Schreier (Fabergasse 2, D-88131 Lindau, Bodensee, info@hotel-schreier.de, http://www.hotel-schreier/) where we even have a mini sauna in the room, something we made immediate use of. The staff are friendly and helpful too. No cycling tomorrow!

Sunday 3rd September (Day 48): Hopfen See to Rettenberg (46km - overall total to date 2,128 km)

2007-09-06T20:17:00.000+12:00

The climbing, it has begun! Well, the climbing, the descending, the climbing, etc ad infinitum...we dropped from an average speed of 20+ kilometers an hour in a day to 13 kilometers an hour. Bad Tolz was at 650 meters, and today we´ve dropped as low as at 600, and topped out at nearly 1,000 meters. An INTERESTING FACT :-) Apparently each kg cycled above your body weight takes an extra 1% of effort to haul up the hills. Given that, with our luggage + food + water + bikes (all of which varies depending on other factors of course) we are cycling between 35 to 50kg...that´s quite a lot of extra effort. However, it does make for more cake eating to fuel the hill climbing, so not really complaining too much. (Did I mention the 20km head wind and the rain that started at 3pm, and temperatures that dropped to 10°???)

We had a couple of fabulous hours climbing through steep sided valleys with tiny well-kept villages, all with the wooden chalets, red geraniums galore spilling over balconies, cow byres, and neatly stacked wood-piles, all with a mountain backdrop. Coffee and cake (a large, seed-filled pastry, with a light custard filling) was indulged in overlooking these self-same misty mountains..´sigh´...

At the beginning of the day we had said goodbye and thank you to our cycling expert friends from Denmark and had another chat about cycle touring with Brompton folding bikes. One of the guys had just bought himself a Thorn bike (like ours), and is hoping to drum up more interest in them in Denmark as an ultimate touring machine. We had nothing but praise for the bikes, apart from a couple of tiny quirky points, most of which were with the Rohlof hubs.

Our luck was in. The first town of the day had a cycle shop (Martin´s Cycles) which stocked spokes of the correct length for my rear wheel. So, no longer did we face a marathon push to try to get to a bigger town to get spares. There was also an excellent bakery around the corner where we were able to pick up lunch and other refuelling necessities! (By the way, we don´t survive entirely on pastries and bread, there is a healthy amount of salad, cheese and fruit consumed alongside, but the former is much more interesting.)

There was a splendid 12th century wooden church with an onion shaped dome in one of the little villages on the route. Rather weathered but very different to the white, square-towered churches prevalent in this region.

After our second cake stop, and another climb back up to ski-lift height, we decided to look for a guest house, especially as there were huge, bruised rain clouds heading our way. The rain started with a vengeance just as we got into Rettenberg. After booking into a rather non-descript pension, we showered snoozed, and headed out for käse späetzler (sp?) - potato noodles and cheese - a salad, and a couple of beers. The landlady informed us that the rain was going to continue the next day, that the temperature would remain below 10°, and that there would be snow...we thought she was joking!!

Sunday 2nd September (Day 47): Bad Kholgrub to Hopfen See (51km)

2007-09-06T00:59:00.000+12:00

After a very good night´s sleep we woke to views of the mountains, and blue skies with only a few clouds around. We could clearly see the ski fields which must be gorgeous in the winter. The first thing that we faced was the resumption of the climb that we had started the day before. We had an easy day distance wise so we didn´t hurry, and took plenty of photo and cake stops.

An excellent cycle through woodland, was followed by farmland with huge green pastures, which gave away to trees and then mountains covered with chasing cloud shadows. Lunch was in a picturesque stop where we watched paragliders throw themselves off the tops of the mountains, put to shame only by the eagle that was also soaring on the thermals.

We were both pleased to realise that the castle that we could see on a distant crag was Neueschwanstein, a startling folly of turrets, towers, and crenellations.

The campsite had amazing views of the lake surrounded by mountains. It made John´s job of replacing yet more of my spokes a heap more pleasant. It also just happened that a couple of guys who cycled in after us were bike journalists and mechanics, so they very helpfully checked John´s handy work, and gave us a top tip for cycling in Switzerland. They had just been to a huge bike expo (Euro Bike I think it was called), and one of the guys (Torben Finn Laursen) has his own Web site (http://www.cykelportalen.dk/) which is in Danish but has some excellent links on it. The other guy who helped us with the wheel - I´m afraid his name escapes me, but I would like to say thanks anyhow. The bike has been great so far...fingers crossed.

Saturday 1st September 2007 (Day 46): Bad Tolz to Bad Kholgrub (60km)

2007-09-06T00:49:00.000+12:00

Woke at 7am to the desolutory sound of rain on the tent and a temperature of 14°! Straight into the waterproofs, and off on the road as quickly as possible was the order of the day. The route was sometimes tar-sealed and sometimes gravel or stones, and the places we passed through had a particularly autumn air about them. The hills, grey skies, and mist rising from the valleys was superb.

We found a pleasant spot for coffee and cake beside a water meadow covered in reeds and daisies. It wasn´t raining! We then wound our way along country tracks dotted with wooden hay barns. (I was particularly impressed with one equine set up that had a great, brand new cross-country course!)

Headed into countryside where you almost expected Heidi (attired in a suitable waterproofs of course) to come skipping down with a couple of goats. All the livestock around here wear bells, so cycling is accompanied with musical accompaniment.

The 5km climb up into Bad Kohlgrb was fine until the last 1km where it was incredibly steep. We decided that we needed a little bit of pampering and booked into a lovely guest house (balcony with a view of the hills) - Gästehaus Bauer, Schmiedgasse 3, 82433 Bad Kohlgrub, fremdenzimmer.bauer@t-online.de - run by a friendly, very helpful guy.

Friday 31st August 2007 (Day 45): Munich to Bad Tolz (67km)

2007-09-06T00:36:00.000+12:00

I guess it was worth finishing the packing last night. John woke me up (grumpy - me that was) at 7.30am, and we were on the road saying goodbye to Munich by 9.30am. We cycled out along the Isar, a gorgeous river, with a lot of memories for us from previous visits, especially the one where we had cycled out and the snow was so deep, and the cold so bitter that our jockey wheels froze solid.

The cycle route took us up through some heavily wooded areas (Grünwald) and we started the first real climbs and decents of our journey, and on a fairly demanding surface too. The surface meant that while twiddling up the steeper sections, pebbles and rocks piong out from under your wheel, and either bruise the person cycling beside you, or set the steering off to one side or another at the most inappropriate moments - also making decents slow. It did however, warm us up (the 16-18° menat that we wore fleeces to cycle in for most of the day, poor weeds that we now are after spending so long in Dubai).

The route skirted most of the towns, often taking us along delightful lanes where streams ran totally clear and clean. During our coffee and cake stop a reef of rafts loaded with beer kegs, Bavarians (some in traditional dress), bands, and brezels floated by on the river beside us. It was superb, if a little odd.

Bad Tolz was very pretty, but even better was the landscape which is beginning to look and feel quite alpine. The hills now climb steeply around vibrant green pastures full of cows wearing bells. Some of the tracks we were cycling on were more suitable for mountain biking, but, they were certainly peaceful and we saw very few other people.

We camped in a site outside of Bad Tolz, inexplicably located by a huge main road (again!). Another ear plug night. The folding stools that we picked up in Munich are awesome, and keep our backsides dry while cooking.

Thursday 30th August (Day 44) Munich

2007-09-06T00:34:00.000+12:00

Today was mainly a chore day - doing all those things that you don´t have the time or the resources to do while you are on the bikes, like, washing, posting stuff, fiding maps for the next leg of the trip, re-packing everything etc. So, I won´t spend much time on describing the day!

Cycling along the Danube in Austria

2007-08-30T04:44:00.000+12:00

After this you will be wondering what else i can do with one hand while cycling .....

Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th August (Days 41 and 42): Munich

2007-08-30T04:31:00.000+12:00

Well here we are. Rested, full of great food, having had another art fix at the Neue Pinakotek. Old memories are following us - just glimpses of things half-remembered. Several of John's old haunts are still here: Zum Kloster, and Scheideger for example, but we can't locate the place he lived near Marianplatz. I went for a run along the Isar yesterday, and a lot of that was familar too.

We are sharing the hotel with the Kiwi rowing team and their supporters! It's the world champs in Munich at the moment, so we had some excellent craic chatting with them the other evening. Salt of the earth guys from Dunedin, Christchurch, and other areas around (mainly) the South Island. Odd collision of two familiar, but up until that point in time, separate worlds as we hadn't emigrated to NZ until after John had been to Munich.

Quite disorientating. We have celebrated John's birthday with a cake (with candles), and some mainly edible gifts (what DO you get for a man on a bike who already has a lot of luggage?). We are now off to pop a bottle of bubbles, and to expore some of the gastronomic delights of the city....

Sunday 27th August (Day 40): Mamming to Munich (130km)

2007-08-30T04:22:00.001+12:00

Our longest day's cycling to date, and not too bad given that we were on the bikes for 7 hours. Set off early, and had already covered 40kms by coffee and cake time (nut roll jobbies today). The Isar remained tree-lined which meant we were shaded from the sun all the way. We gradually climbed with the river (about 300 meters altogether during the day).

We decided to take breaks every 20 km after the intial stop to refuel. Had lunch in the shade of a large tree on the river bank. It was difficult to break from lunch having already cycled for 3 hours, and knowing that we still had a long way to go.

The Isar is a much different river to the Donau. The Donau appears unhurried and stately, whereas the Isar has clear, fast-running shallows with white water sections. Finally, Munich's suburbs hove into vie, Friesing and Iching near the airport were familiar names, and our spirits were bolstered. We put on a bit of a spurt of speed around the 100km mark, and finally made our way through the Englischer Garten to Mariaplatz where we are staying at the Holiday Inn. We have decided to stay a few days, partly to enjoy not being a human fly-paper / mosquito feast / horsefly meal, and also to celebrate John's birthday (29th August) in a bit of style.

Saturday 26th August (Day 39): Passau (river Donau) to Mamming (river Isar) - (104 km)

2007-08-30T04:16:00.001+12:00

Set off through the busy roads around the outskirts of Passau, and into the Bavarian countryside which has a great deal of farmsteads - mainly dairy. More 'gingerbread' style houses overflowing with red geraniums than you could shake a stick at! It was also a day for wildlife spotting: 2 deer, 2 snakes, 1 junior robin, 1 lizard, a hedgehog (deceased), and a mole.

We said goodbye to the Donau and cycled around 30km across country (including a couple of vertiginous climbs) before dropping onto the path beside the Isar, and old friend from 12 years ago when John spent some time working in Munich. The Isar was delightfully shaded with willows and we cycled happily to a campsite at Mamming that was not half as bad as we expected, located beside a gravel pit and between 2 major roads as it is....

Friday 24th August (Day 38): Wilhering (Austria) to Passau (Germany) - 84km

2007-08-30T04:04:00.000+12:00

Woke to the unusual sight of fog. Ethereally beautiful. Usual cliched dewy spiders' webs draped all around. Unfortunately, although attractive, it made everything extremely wet, and we set off in waterproofs. Luckily, though, the weather soon cleared, and we were treated to a fabulous day. The wind picked up after about 30km, but the surroundings were great. The scenery changed again with rolling, wooded hills alongside the river, and tiny immaculate villages. The change was particularly marked as we swung inland for a few kilometers, where we were constantly surrounded by the tang of overripe fruit.

We travelled across from Austria tp Gemany, and instantly the excellent cycle path signage disappeared. Also, we ended up doing about 20km along a busy road again. The sight of Passau though was a real treat, as we hadn't expected anywhere quite so awesome. Found a simple, but comfortable guest house for the night, and spent the evenign exploring the narrow alley-ways and many-coloured buildings. If you get the chance to visit Passau, go...it is really worth a visit.

Thursday 23rd August (Day 37): Ybbs to Wilhering (94km)

2007-08-30T03:49:00.000+12:00

After a very quiet night, with deep, uninterrupted sleep, we set off alongside the heavily wooded Donau. It felt as though around every corner there was a castle turret or schloss perched on a high peak overlooking the river. The wind was also following us at this point, so we were as happy as. We ended up with 30kms under our belts by 10am, and 50kms by 12 noon - including a cake stop (delicious sort of marzipan crumble cake).

Gradually we headed into farmland and away from the river. Loads of apple, prear, and plum trees as well as elderberry bushes in abundance. The ubiquitous fields of sweetcorn were broken up into small, odd-shaped fields surrounded by small copses or hedged with poplars. Idyllic - except for the now head winds which meant pedalling was rather hard work.

We crossed the bridge at Mauthausen (bad idea as I will explain in a moment) instead of taking the ycle bridge at Abwinden. The bridge across to Mauthausen is vusy, has a very narrow path (not god with wide luggage), and has steps down to the cycle path. Luckily we didn't spot the steps, and hurtled down onto the busy road. We then spotted the cycle path through a hedge and decided on some cross-country adventure which meant bashing through some trees and a ditch with our bikes. All in all, easier than getting our bikes down the steps. Our cockiness lessened as we set off through uninspiring new villages and towns, often alongside or on busy roads. Worse was to come though, as, when we popped out of dullsville, we were faced with something resembling Middle Earth (also known as Linz). If you happen to be over this way, avoid it like the plague. Huge chimney stacks deposit acrid smoke into the air making your eyes sting and your throat feel scoured. Other cyclists we met complained of headaches and respiratory problems. Huge piles of ore, coal, and gravel and pushed around, while machinery calnks and hisses. We almost expected Orcs to come bursting out to push us off the bikes! We quickly decided to jetison the plan to camp near Linz, and pushed on 25km toWilhering.

Alas, the 25km were mostly on a cycle path beside a busy main road. But we just pushed on, and were rewarded with a lovely ferry ride, and a peaceful little campsite for the night.

Wednesday 22nd August (Day 36): Krems to Ybbs (74km)

2007-08-30T03:38:00.001+12:00

It rained intermittently during the night and showered as we got up, ate up, and packed up d'luggage. Both of us were a little snippy and crispy at the beginning of the day, but cheered up as the patches of blue grew and it turned into a fabulous day with dramatic skies.

We headed into Krems first to have a look around. What a gorgeous old town. Winding cobbled streets under archways, old frescoes painted on walls often built in around 1800, and a dramatic castle that overlooks the town on a distant hill.

The day continued in this idyllic vein, wending through vinyards, under rocky outcrops, and through excellently preserved villages. Dürnstein in particular was tremendous, although rather full of tourists. After Dürnstein we had coffee and cake in Weissenkirchen. The walnut cake was a masterpiece. Moist, filled with walnuts, and topped with whipped cream it melted in the mouth and promised a heart attack at a later date. Sublime. The warmed apricot only paled in comparison with the excellence of the walnut creation.

We passed through and photographed manz of the villages in this famous wine making region, and had lunch in a shady tree outside of Marbach before heading across the river at Presenberg. The hills were now almost vertical, and were covered with trees, ferns, and delicate mosses. We found the campsite (the best yet - John is just putting a picture up as I type) just outside of Ybbs. It was right beside the river; only us and one other set of cycle tourers, and a marvellous sunset. What more could we have asked for?

Tuesday 21st August (Day 35): Vienna to Krems (95kms)

2007-08-30T03:05:00.000+12:00

Back on the bikes. We got started at a reasonable hour, found the post office, sent a large parcel off to NZ full of prints and posters, and then headed off. The wind was a little kinder this time, and assisted us some of the time, and made the overcast start a little more pleasant. The huge clouds gave way to a glorious sunny day and we bowled alongside the Donau on a fantastic cycle path that passed through towns with amazing, 'powerful' buildings that spoke of the wealth and priviledge around Vienna as once was....

The variety of people who cycle around here is superb. Ages range from 5 years old or younger on their own bikes (some with panniers that are approximately the same size as ours'!!) racing up and down the hills all day long. Others were are younger still and sit in trailers, or on 'helper' bikes. At the other end of the continuum there are the 'oldsters' who spend the whole day out on the bike, often in packs of 20 plus - it's excellent to see!!

The route took us along willow-lined paths, flower meadows and woodland galdes, all backset with huge cumulus clouds - all very picturesque. On the other hand, campsites were proving somewhat of a problem. The first was only 30km away, the second didn't exist anymore (it was now a mini-golf place), and the third was a rather vile 'city' of cabins built about 6mm apart from each other. As such, we ended up cycling another 20km to end up at the site at Krems (expertly found by John) which was squeezed between a main road and the caravans on the site, and cost the rather large sum of 32 euros (it only costs about 34 euros each to stay in a B&B). We did meet a lovely zech guy there though, and had a chat to him in an eclectic mix of English, German and Czech (all aided by the phrase book).

It was also a day for gear failure. John's Ortlieb rear pannier needed the tag tie on the replaced to make sure that it does not fall off; the front Carradice pannier lining has started to come away at the top; 2 spokes on my rear wheel snapped; our MSR spatula snapped, John's sunglasses gave up the ghost when the arm snapped off; and the John's sleeping bag stuff bag split at the seams. John, ace mecahnic :-) mended my spokes, and my mission was to mend all the stuff that could be sewn up. I'm also going to be sending some letters to various manufacturers and suppliers. I mean, some of the stuff is only a few weeks old. Ah well....

More photos

2007-08-30T02:28:00.000+12:00

I have finally found an internet cafe that allows you to access the USB port, so here are some of our pictures.

Hazel in a medieval town called Torun. Lots of old buildings to look at and little streets to wander aound.

We took a bus trip to a nearby town famous for having an intact wall all the way around. Spelt Chelmmo, pronounched something helmno with a welsh accent. This is a picture of the facade to a church. It is only a small town and this is one of many such churches.

These two pictures were taken on the train from Torun to Krakow. There is an enormous step up to a tiny little door, which can present a few problems. Fortunately, we got on this train at its first station and left at it`s last station, so we had plenty of time to sort things out. We were helped by some friendly passangers on arrival, who passed our various bags out the window to us. A tricky we used ourselves on a later train journey.

On the train from to Krakow from Torun. Tagging is a national passtime in Poland so we thought we`d capture some of it. Torun (and Krakow) were great places, but there is a lot of poverty (and boredom, I guess) in much of Poland. It makes an interesting contrast to the posh little towns and cities we visited.

Chilling out in Krakow. An absolutely lovely place with plenty to see and do, and lots of cracking little restaurants and bars.

This is Wawel Castle in Krakow, the seat of the Austro Hungary empire. There is a legend about a Hindu god ( i think) creating 7 stones, on of which lies under this hill. Apparently Nehru (first Indian PM after thez booted the brits out) came here specifically because of this. Anyway, it is a peaceful place.

The bikes and Hazel squeezed into a sleeper compartment on a train from Krakow to Budapest. I only had to remove the front wheel from my bike, and that is because it is a bit bigger than most. The guard was not happy, but being an idiot tourist lets you get away with a lot.

We were going to cycle this bit, but getting any details on the route proved impossible while on the road. Eventually, we got details for a route through Hungary, which I will post, but i still have nothing about the Czech section. After the roads in Poland, I didnt want to spend more days on scary roads, so we took the train.

Here we are safely arrived in Budapest. We spent an hour or two helping a couple put their bikes together (someone had dismantled them for the trip and they forgot to bring tools)

Some architecture from Budapaest. This is a castle in Pest full of a mix of baroque, gothic and classical styles - the guys build as the fancy takes them. The city is also full of excellent art neuveau architecure including a fantastic wooden passage - too dark for my little camera to handle.

It was raining again, and hard. At last, I had a use for the swimming goggles i have been dragging around with me. This was our first day back on the bikes heading out of Budapest.

Cycling out og Budapest we had a lot of ferry crossings on our first day. This is the last one of the day (and the last sailing as well) and we very nearly missed it. It was overcast (not raining any more) and late so we had to really push hard to cover the remaining 10 kms. A long day.

Just leaving our campsite in Hungary and about to cross the bridge in the background for a days ride through Slovakia.

And here we are in Slovakia looking at Hungary across the Danube. Cycling on this side was a good idea for this leg. It was much quieter and far less developed. We had just been for a skinny dip to cool off.

Back in Hungary again for the last few kms before Bratislava. Storks are a common sight and they put these metal platforms on top of some of the poles for the birds to nest on. They are huge, the photo doesnt really show it well. Also, you can not see the loud speaker below that is blaring out local music. I have no idea why this is done, and it only seems to be in some villages. It must drive the locals mad.

This was our last campsite in Hungary (we then headed straight to Austria). The countryside was beautiful but you had to be quick once the sun set as the mozzies were HUGE and hungry.

I left Hazel in Austria (Wolfsthal) and heading back to Bratislava for the day without luggage. It has a nice, small old town centre. This picture was taken right in the middle. Not everything is rennovated or restored, which is nice.

These are hunter`s lookouts. We would often see deer lazing in fields as we zipped by, so i guess there arent many hunters or they arent very good.

Here we are in Vienna on the balcony of our hotel room overlooking the St Stephen`s square.

A pretty little town on the Danube on the way to Linz.

A pit stop to refuel on the way to Pasau

One of the back streets in the old town of Passau

Now on the Isar, a tributary of the Danube, heading towards Munich.

In Munich, at the place where Hitler was arrested in the 1930s. Taken today in the first rain we have had for ages.

Saturday August 18th, 19th, Monday 20th (Days 32 to 34) Vienna

2007-08-28T21:21:00.000+12:00

Old Vienna is impressive in an overdone, cramped, symetrical sort of way, whereby, for example, huge stone statues are shown holding up doorways, celings, and other weighty structures. And once you've seen one, and marvelled at the stonemasonary, the abs and the well-developed quads, you've seen them all :-)

On Saturday, we took a tram to the Belverdere palace to get a bit of a culture 'fix'. The art exhibition there was excellent, especially the Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt collections (including "The Kiss"). A little irritated by there prevelance of some people to take pictures of the art, of have pictures taken of themselves in front of the art, rather than actually looking at it. Hey ho.

Bizarre event of the day: John and I were sat in the coffee shop afterwards (great apple strudel) doing the 'discussion of the art' thing that you do when all of a sudden a lady approaches the table. She looks a little sheepish and embarrassed, and asks if she could take my picture as I was a spot on likeness for a couple of Klimt's Secession works (and that this was a compliment - although John did suggest afterwards which works she may have been referring to, and he wasn't being nice!!). After blushing profusely, I agreed and then had to pretend she wasn't there while she snapped a shot or two....

The afternoon was spent meandering around the center of old Vienna avoiding the crowds. We lucked in when we found an awesome map shop near the Spanish Riding School (Freytag and Berndt; http://www.freytagberndt.com/) which had all the maps we needed to complete the routes in Austria and Germany, as well as information about cycling in France which is where we are heading next.

Sunday was another culture-filled day, with a trip to the Leopald Museaum to see more Schiele and Klimt, as well as some work by Paul Rotterdam, Adolf Hölzel and Kolo Moser. I won't go into too many details, but it was a sublime morning.

Exhausted, we staggreed from the gallery and lunched before plotting the rest of the afternoon. More wandering, and then I went for a run along the Donau Kanal, while John went on a search for art prints and posters. That evening, we had an entertaining watching a diablo artist 'juggling' - wow. He was extremely talented - I would have ended up knitting the strings, and making a general mess, but he managed to juggle 3 without dropping them, and remember which was going where at what time.

Monday, I went to the Spanish Riding School, while John headed out to the Albertina for another art injection. I relished immersing myself in a totally equine experience for a couple of hours, watching, reading, and generally absorbing. I, of course, purchased the DVD which I can use to torture John at a later date!! :-)

We 'picnicked' on the balcony overlooking the cathedral, and drank a toast to everyone with a bottle of bubbly. Off on our bikes again tomorrow, which will be excellent, although there is the promise of rain...

Friday 17th August (Day 31) - Wolfsthal to Vienna (72 km)

2007-08-28T21:02:00.000+12:00

What a day. It was in theoy an easy day. Somehow we had miscalculated it as an easy 55-60km day. We dallied around having an extremely relaxed breakfast, and saying goodbye to our host, Helene. Packed d'luggage on the bikes, before setting off at a leisurely pace...straight into the teeth of a ferocious head wind.

It wasn't raining, however, and the route was quiet and pleasant. We cycled about 20km before grabbing a coffe, cake and supplies from a little town called Bad Deutsch Altenburg, and then headed out of town over the 2km bridge across the Donau and surrounding flood plains. After that it was 50km along an almost perfectly straight flood defence - beautifully signposted and surfaced, but with no protection from the wind. As a result we both had to grind away for the whole day with no respite (except for the coffee and cake, and lunch stop of course :-) ).

We couldn't hang around either as it was Friday, in the peak holiday time, and 1) we didn't know what time the tourist info place in Vienna closed on a Friday, 2) we had no accommodation booked, and no idea where to go, and 3) the cycle path signs always disappear in big cities, and you end up looking at the map for ages working out where to go next. A diversion on the cycle route took us about 5km out of our way (through some lovely forest, but at a difficult time to appreaciate it), before we actually caught sight of Vienna; I was beginning to think it didn't exist!!

I was actually bitterly disappointed initially (HERE BEGINS A RANT) at how ugly the outskirts of Vienna are. Industrial, covered in tagging, with utliltarian apartment blocks, big roads, and few green spaces. You would think that, given all the supposed progress in construction techniques and materials, that aesthetically pleasing living areas could be designed that equalled, if not surpassed those of the past. (HERE ENDS THE SOMEWHAT CURTAILED RANT).

Things perked up once we got onto Prater Hauptllee through an enormous park and finally into the impressive classical and baroqu architecture for which Vienna is famous. John naviagated masterfully, and we arrived at the tourist info place with time to spare. We ended up in an extremely comfortable, renovated hotel called Hotel am Stephansplatz, with a balcony that overlooked the immense cathedral. Couldn't quite believe it, especially the next morning when I awoke at 6.30am, stood on the balcony, and watched the city gradully wake up....

Wolfsthal (Various)

2007-08-28T02:50:00.000+12:00

Another fabulous day. We are staying at this awesome place in a little village called Wolfsthal (Villa Pannonica, Villagasse 9, 2412 Wolfsthal, www.villapannonica.at) with a beautiful, peaceful garden. It even has a swimming hole (with goldfish) into which we immediately plunged on arrival at the pension.

John disappeared off to Bratislava for the day after breakfast, while I went for a run in the nearby forest and along the Donau. I followed the cycle route initially and then into the trees (it was about 35° so I needed to stay in the shade). The beech forest was heaven, and the leaves are just beginning to turn so there is a scattering of yellow and brown on all the paths as you trot through. It was windy too, so you often got showered with leaves, and were surrounded with the gentle sussaration of all that vegetation blowing around! I made up a route, and popping around one corner spied a doe and stag in a clearing. They spotted me at the same moment and bounded out of sight. Ran to the Danube and then followed a track almost back to the Slovakian border before heading back.

Another dip was followed by chores, and John arrived back soon after bearing fizz, and good things to eat for a picnic on the balcony. We spent most of the evening chatting about all the possibilities of things to do once we have headed back to NZ.... Off on the bikes again tomorrow - Vienna here we come.

Thanks.... :-)

2007-08-28T02:48:00.001+12:00

Just a very short note to say thank you to all who have sent emails and news. I'm sure the people in various Internet cafes have worried about the mad woman with the hair cackling away in the next cubicle!!!

big love

H xxx

Bratislava

2007-08-16T22:28:00.000+12:00

A quick blog entry to keep things ticking over.

We have made our way along the Danube into Austria and i have just popped back over the border to have a look at Bratislave and make this posting. The cycling in Hungary from Gyor towards Austria has been fantastic, as have the few excursions into Slovakia. The weather is being kinder to us and we are now on our third day of uninterrupted sunshine. The route is a bit fiddly at times, and you need to be guided by the force at times in big cities, but we have never been truely lost (a difficult thing to do when you are following a river the size of the Danube!). Scenery has covered the range from soviet concrete catastrophies and industrial skylines to isolated river beaches and forests in the early stages of fall (fantastic colours). Add in a few medeaval (can never spell that word) towns and castles of every style and age, as well as hundreds of small rural village, and you have an idea of what we cycle through.

From here we are going to head along the Danube to Vienna and then head to Cesky Krumov (Czech Rep), Salzburg, and Munich, although i am not sure in which order. After that we are heading further into Austria and then maybe over to Italy before going through Switzerland and into France. This is a bit different from the original plan, but you

Hazel will be back on line in a few days time to give a more detailed account and i will pop some pictures here as well.

I will post some details on our gear, which is working out really well and may interest someone.

Time to check out the sights of Bratislava .....

BTW - update on my backside. I have toughened up and can now walk more like a man and less like a gibbon.

August 9th, 10th, and 11th (Days 23-25) Budapest

2007-08-12T02:57:00.000+12:00

Budapest is a marvelous place. We are staying on an island in the middle of the Danube, and it is an oasis of peace and quiet apart from the music festival that is taking place on the adjacent island. I jest not! Ah well. John has been off exploring Pest and Buda, and I will leave it to him to describe. I have been drawing instead, sat in the park. It seemed the perfect opportunity to chill out.

A bizarre thing happened while I was drawing yesterday. There am I., minding my own business when a guy on a bike (taking his dog for a walk) suddenly screeches to a halt beside me and points at my foot. He then proceeds to get off the bike and sit down. The next thing I know, he is massaging my feet!!! (Only for the brave I can tell you). He only spoke Hungarian, and I only spoke English and about 10 words of Polish so I haven’t a clue why he was doing this!! There were loads of other people around so I wasn’t too concerned, but on a scale of 1 to 10 of strange and odd things to happen this had to be a 15!!! John was depressed as no one had hijacked his feet while he had been out :-)

Better go and see what he has been up to today. New pictures to follow soon. We are off on the bikes again tomorrow, following the Danube.

8th August (Day 22) Krakow to Budapest by train

2007-08-12T02:56:00.002+12:00

After packing up all our stuff, we left everything in the hotel, and killed time until our train left at 10.36pm. We had run up against the incredibly unhelpful Polish train administrators. We had bought a ticket for the overnight train to Budapest, plus two bike tickets (but only to the border – she had no idea how much it would cost to buy onward tickets, or what currency was required). We then found another place that seemed to be a bit more onto it. The lady cancelled our ticket to Budapest, and booked us into a sleeping compartment…we’d been 100% clear about having bikes. However, once we’d got out of the place we realized that we probably only had a reservation now rather than a ticket. I went back in, and the lady explained that indeed we did only have a reservation, but that our ticket was paid through to the border along with our bikes. She had no idea how much we would have to pay for the Slovakian or the Hungarian leg of the trip. So, off we went to the currency office to get large amounts of the two required currencies, plus some Euros just in case. Also, we had been to see the train the night before, just to make sure that the bikes would indeed squish inside a sleeping compartment (they did – photos to follow!).

Needless to say, we trotted up with our ‘tickets’ only to meet with an officious no (in Polish) and an explanation why we weren’t even going to be allowed on the train (in Polish). Well, John by now is apoplectic with rage. So, I point out, again, and again, and again that we had indeed bought our tickets, and had been sold our tickets, and this in fact should allow us to get on the train. I then followed the guy around while he went to see his colleagues to discuss the problem (after all, we had been sold the tickets thus not our fault). We also had all the currencies that were required. Finally, he caved. Furious, when I asked one last time if we could get on, he spat through gritted teeth the word “tak”! Hurrah –we were on. The bikes were unceremoniously manhandled through the narrow corridor and by dint of wheel removal and the turning of handlebars, we did indeed get both of them in the compartment. The train official did calm down, and was quite cheery by the end. We did manage some sleep – in between hammering on the door by passport officials at regular intervals as we sped across borders.

7th August (Day 20) 40km cycling outside of Krakow

2007-08-12T02:56:00.001+12:00

Went for a cycle along the river today. It was a gloriously sunny day, and it was great to get out of town and away from people. Cycling without the ‘luggage’ was excellent too, like having two different bikes. We made our way along the river, at first on good cycle paths, but then on potholed gravel paths, that finally dwindled to a track in the mud. We had a bite to eat beside a lake, disturbing the resident ducks in the process. They took off and swam around the other side of the lake, ignoring the bits of cake we were lobbing at…to…them :-)

On the way back we blatted up a hill to a monastery that is in the process of being done up. Glorious views of the surrounding countryside. Then it was back to Krakow to plan our exit from Poland to Budapest.

6th August (Day 20) Krakow

2007-08-12T02:55:00.000+12:00

The hotel we booked into (not many campsites around) was noisy, and seemed to be on the main route for every vehicle with a siren in the region. Thank goodness for ear plugs is all I can say!! Krakow itself is a wonderful city. The central square is enormous, and full of buskers, tourists, horse-drawn buggies, and random other entities. Wawel Hill is like something from the Gormenghast Trilogy! Every time you turn a corner there are awe inspiring buildings – often large Gothic structures with pinnacles, spires, unusual faced-statues, and blocky, solid towers.

There are a lot of other places to wander around, and Kazimierz is the area where a lot of Jewish Poles lived before WWII. It is full of galleries and little cafes now; very bohemian feel to the place. We had a blissful hour drinking coffee in a tree-lined courtyard, in a divine little garden.

5th August (Day 19) Torun to Krakow by train

2007-08-12T02:54:00.000+12:00

Today we were on the train to Krakow – 6 1/2 hours. We battled with the bikes and the train, and ended up stashing them in the corridor outside of the toilet, in front of one of the doors off the train, as there was nowhere else to put them!! It meant that we had to keep leaping up and down and letting people on and off whenever there was a platform on the side of the train where my bike was bungied. The fun really started when someone else turned up with a bike, and proceeded to squeeze it on beside John’s. The Polish passengers seemed to take this all in their stride though, and seemed not to mind clambering over the bikes every time they needed to visit the WC!

The countryside that we passed through was lovely, with vast tracts of pine and birch forests, as well as small villages with a range of agriculture.

Once we arrived in Krakow it was time to use the ‘elbow’ tricks we’d learned off the little old Polish ladies, and we managed to get the bikes off before the people crushed past. The panniers, however, were a different story. We couldn’t get back on to get them off! Luckily a very kind (and strong) lady who had been sharing our compartment lugged all of the panniers out of the window for us, bless her. The random kindness of strangers – never fails to amaze me.

4th August (Saturday, Day 18) Chelmno

2007-08-12T02:03:00.001+12:00

Took the bus into Chemno which was an experience in itself. Bought the ticket with ease as the lady spoke English. Clambered into a rickety old local bus,, and then watched at the bus driver spent on average 2 minutes per person issuing tickets to people. The trip to Chelmno took us through some rural villages which appeared to be relatively prosperous, with new houses being built.

Chelmno itself is described as a Mediaeval town with one of the most complete town walls in the country. It was indeed an impressive place. There are some excellent churches and a nunnery. One church in particular (photos to follow) had about twelve separate towers in a ‘v’ shape, towering up into the sky. Some peaceful parks too, and we chose one of these to have lunch while watching a pretty little fountain. It was also the day for weddings, and we watched a few groups having their photos taken in their finery. Stunning day with wall to wall sunshine, and little fluffy clouds.

Had a bit of difficulty working our where the bus back to Torun left from, but figured it out with a large amount of gesticulation, and a helpful bus driver. The trip back was long, bumpy, and lasted 45 minutes longer than the trip there. The route was more scenic though.

Tomorrow we are off to Krakow on the train…with bikes…facing the terror of the three-steps up and associated stresses.

1st to 3rd August (Days 16 - 18 - 13 days with rain) Drawsko to Pila (100km) and then by train to Torun

2007-08-03T22:56:00.000+12:00

After feeling refreshed after wild camping, we hit the road again, initially on the 181 which was fairly quiet and had a good surface all the way to Czarnkow. Some beautiful countryside and woodland (although most of it is under pines). The sun came out long enough for us to don sun glasses and suncream!

After Czarnakow we got on to the 178 - aka hell on wheels. Miserable, very dangerous cycling. We muscled our way through Trzcianka and on to the 180 to Pila. There was slighly less traffic, and quite a lot of climbing. We found the R1 again in Pila (which subsequently petered out having taken us a pointless cicle through the back streets). Found a hotel - the Gromada - over-priced and under-facilitated :-) Had a good meal out though, and discussed our options as neither of us were enjoying the cycling in Poland, nor the places that we were passing through (no coffee and cake for a start!! :-) )

We decided to hop on the train to Torun which meant buying tickets for us and the bikes in Polish (handy phrase book, and a helpful lady who happened to be queuing behind us), and then the next day turning up at the station, checking in Polish if we were in the correct place waiting for the correct train, and then, joy, manhandling the bikes on to trains that had three steps and five feet between the platform and the train itself. Not easy.

Once the train got going we were able to relax a bit. John helped a nun with her bags :-) At Torun, the fun and games began again - all the panniers were off the bikes because it was impossible to get the whole lot up that height at one go. Some, lovely Polish students helped us carry our bikes and bags off the train, while the old Polish ladies who were trying to get on, cursed us as we were trying to get off!!

It wasn't raining, but the first thing we hit was road works which meant that we had to cycle on the busy road across the bridge into the old town. The information center was extremely helpful, but because it is a busy time we have ended up in a tiny room overlooking a road that has a pedestrian crossing that beeps every one and a half minutes, very loudly! Ah well - it's dry.

It's now the 3rd of August and time to reasses our plans. I think because the cycling is so awful we are going to catch a train to Kracow and then cycle out onto the Donau (Danube)...we'll let you know in the next rain-sodden adventure from the Owen cycle tour :-)

31st July (Day 14 - 12 days with rain) Witnica to Drawsco: 100km

2007-08-03T22:49:00.000+12:00

It was 14.5 degrees when we got up this morning, overcast and blowing a gale. The first 10km of the cycle were through pine forests on very quiet roads, and then we popped back on the 138 toward Gracow - a busy road with lots of traffic, and no viable work arounds. Intially there was a cycle path, but this abruptly ended, and that is pretty much the last we have seen of cycle paths. The surface of the roads are potholed, the drivers are maniacs, and there is little or no respect shown to cyclists. Gracow is a grim, busy, industrial town, with road works which made it difficult to naviagate on to the 185. The 185, when we did find it, was nigh on a motorway, and it was a case of head down and peddle. Everywhere we stopped to rest, there was rubbish, even in places that were supposed to be pretty. The towns themselves have little to recommend them, and there is a lot of staring, and little smiling from the locals. We did have one road cyclist smile and wave, but that was pretty much it...

Decided to wild camp, which was wonderful. Peaceful, in the middle of a pine forest, and finally away from the traffic.

30th July (Day 13 - 11 days with rain) Wulkow to Witnica (Poland)

2007-08-03T22:39:00.000+12:00

Had a slowish start today. Lovely, quiet breakfast in the conservatory, and then we set off in to...yes, sunshine. Alas, 'twas short lived, and soon we were reaching for the waterproofs again. The buildings in the towns were very different to the ones that we had been cycling through earlier, and there was a generally a different 'feel' to places. Took a few photos and then set off for the border!

Of course, we managed to the lost the R1, and ended up going a fair way out of our way, but once we got to the River Oder we were fine. A following wind saw us fair flying along the top of the river embankment, bing dive-bombed by swifts who were snacking on the insects that were disturbed by our passing wheels. John's knee was pretty sore today, so it was good that we weren't slogging into the wind, and up hills.

At last we sighted Poland across the river. The wild flowers were something else! Gorgeous. The border crossing was a little scarey, with guys who would not speak to you even when you tried out your best rudimentary Polish (yes we have been doing our home work! :-) ). The border town had that cynical, unwelcoming ambience of most border towns. The road surface was atrocious, no cycle paths, and very fast inconsiderate drivers....Did not bode well.

Managed to get out of town and find a camp site (having successfully got something at the local chemists through dint of bad Polish, a phrase book, and lots of miming!!). John got us a place for our tent through similar means, and we settled down for the night as the temperature hit 13 degrees centigrade).

Some photos, up to 2nd August 2007

2007-08-03T22:32:00.001+12:00

Here are some photos of the trip so date. This will not be the tidiest posting ever made as I am struggling with polish instructions (cant work out how to change the locale as everything is in Polish!).

A rather splendid church (maybe an abbey or something) in Beverley during our extra day in the UK:

Here we are just about to get on the ferry (second time around) and a self portrait on said ferry.

Here we are in Holland in a lovely little village on the way to the Hague. Lovely coffee and cake just around the corner on a different canal.

Obligatory Dutch windmill photo....

Still in Holland. A pond, a castle, and a castle with a pond (and Hazel for some foreground interest).

And now Germany, this is another self portrait just after the border. We were about to head into Gronau, which was a rather portentious start to our time in NW Germany.

After a few days of practice, the weather moved on from light rain and intermittent showers (enough to make you stop and put your waterproofs on, and then take them off, and then put them on, and so on all day), it finally got down to business and really poured.

At the time of writing the ration of wet to dry days is 12:4!

A resturant at Potsdam in E Germany. This restaurant did fantastic glalettes (the best I have eaten since zum Kloster in Munich). I am drinking a very manly larger cocktail that I purposfully ordered.

Daytrip from Potsdam to Berlin. Here's one of the last standing bits of the wall. And now a new one is being built in Palestine (or is that the occupied territories, or is it now the disputed territories) - language is a subtle tool; walls are certainly not.

Next few photos are around Potsdam in a fantastic park full of historic buildings; some impressive, others fantastically tasteless. Note the rain gear, it had just stopped raining and was about to turn into the most wonderfully lit evening. Great nipples on this lass. I just couldnt resist a tweak!

A German windmill this time, same park. Couldn't decide which picture i liked the most.

Hazel wondering through the Orangerie in the same park. It was just such a lovely evening and noone was there due to the earlier rain. Sometimes you just have to get wet.

Last picture from the park. An angel with the most delicate feet and hands, brushed shiny by people feeling them. We just don't make them like this any more.

On the road again, heading for the border to Poland. We tool the train from Potsdam to Erkner to avoid cycling through Berlin.

And here is Hazel's backside heading into Poland over the River Oder. Note the rain gear again!

Second night in poland was spent inthe wild, in a pine forest. Our trusty tent (Hilleberg), great bikes, almost indestruible panniers, and stove (with right fuel) are all on display. It was not raining when the photo was taken.

Bringing us up-to-date, a photo taken last night in Torun. Busy roads and samey countryside drove us back onto the train to cover the last few kilometers. This was a dry day, number 4 so far. The river in the picture is the Vltava (or something equally unpronouncable). This place goes on my list of top spots to visit. In fact, i am going to stop typing and walk around the town right now...

29th July (Day 12-Sunday) Potsdam to Wulkow (62 kms)

2007-08-03T22:32:00.000+12:00

Took the train from Potsdam to Erkner to avoid navigating Berlin, and then successfully located the R1. Glowering skies dripped rain intermittently on us all day. However, the route was excellent. Signposted superbly throughout, we were able to cycle through some lovely old towns and along quite a lot of cobbled roads (not quite so good, but picturesque). Germany has got quite a few grants from Europe to develop the R1 route and as a result most of the cobbled areas have a cycle-friendly surfact alongside which makes the journey much more pleasant. The countryside was initially woodland, follwed by pretty, rural land.

The rain started to come down heavily and we 'happened' across this lovely old hotel. Well, it was meant to be. We holed up there, and sucked down a couple of hot coffees, and gigantic cakes, while upstairs our clothes steamed gently on a radiator.

28th July (Day 11) Potsdam

2007-08-03T22:23:00.000+12:00

We spent the day in Potsdam doing exciting things like chopping up sundried tomatoes, dried mushrooms and dates, and sending post!! We also marked up the newly purchased maps with our proposed routes through Poland and Romania. It rained all day, so this was the perfect thing to do.

In the evening, we ventured out, were promptly poured on, but then, hurrah, the sun came shining through. Armed with cameras we headed for the magnificent edifices to bad taste that make up several of Potsdam's heritage, as they are crammed with statues and decoration, and gaudy painting. On the other hand, buidlings such as the Orangery speak of a different time. It hasn't been restored yet, but you could imagine strolling through the long, long building in the winter, surrounded by plants, and looking at the snow across the surrounding parkland. The light was sublime - gentle sunshine and long shadows. It was pretty deserted too because of the earlier rain and a music festival that was taking place in town - interestingly called Fasination with Water!!!

Back on the bikes the following day - looking forward to being on the move again.

25th and 26th July (Days 8/9) Train Schloss Holte to Pottdam

2007-08-03T22:08:00.000+12:00

A little meltdown resulted in us making our way to the train station and getting on a train to Bielefeld, and then on to Pottsdam, Berlin. We arrived in Pottsdam (typically, it hadn't rained all day) in glorious sunshine, and found this divine little pension in a very peaceful back road near the park (Pension Falck, Lennstr 39, pension-falck@t-online.de, www.pension-falck.de). The guy who runs it is very friendly and helpful, and does a great line of patient German and mime :-) Unfortunately, he only had a room for one night, so we then moved on to a furnished apartment for three nights. Again, peaceful, but not half as attractive. It did mean that we had the opportunity to dry our tent and gear out, and get to a laundrette. Now this was no ordinary laundrette - this is one where you can get a beer, and sit and write, or draw, or read, while your laundry does. Extremely civilised to say the least.

We hopped on the train and headed into Berlin, which is a big modern city with brand new high rises cheek by jowl with East German apartment blocks, and futhermore juxtaposed with grandiose official buildings with various mythical creatures or famous figures peering from the inevitable dome or folly-like tower. We went and had a look at the remaining fragments of 'the wall' near Fredrickstrasse. It was a thought-provoking experience which prompted us to discuss the nature of integrity, and whether it is possible to maintain your integrity and still stay alive / keep your friends and family unharmed by your stance...

24th July (Tuesday - Day 7) Munster to Schloss Holte

2007-08-03T21:59:00.000+12:00

Managed to get up at 6.30am, and eat breakfast in the last sunshine of the day before the rain started to pour down. Other essential gear for cycle tourers include 1) good waterproof top and leggings, 2) gaiters, 3) waterproof socks, and 4) a character that can appreciate the beauty of a a rain drenched forest / field / road / town / river side!

It was actually lovely cycling through the nature reserves at the beginning where we had picked up the R1 (the famous disappearing route). There was actually a sign with the whole of the R1 route on it, with distances, and the signposts, while you are actually on the route and some idiot has not pushed the sign around to another direction / the route is not blocked by road works / the signs have not disappeared - are great.

Favourite town on the route was Warendorf which had an incredible church with intricate stone carvings, as well as a lot of original timber and stone buidlings, all prettily complemented with well-kept flower gardens. The main square was lined with old, well-preserve houses with distinctive lattice brickwork and intersecting wooden beams.

The rain continued for the rest of the day and there was an unpleasant bit of road with heavy traffic where we 'lost' the R1 again. We got a tad tired and crispy at the end of the day. Lovely quiet campsite though in the middle of the forest...

23rd July (Monday) Ruurlo-Munster (52km)

2007-08-03T21:47:00.000+12:00

John has given a much more detailed overview of the ferry trip and events surrounding that fun time!! :-) Now I'll bring you up to date with a few more sights etc...and the rain. Hey - have a proper keyboard today!!!

After spending a night in a rather grotty b&b in Ruurlo we wandered out for breakfast, which was fine. We then sorted out boring stuff like our phone, before heading to the train station to hop on the train to Munster, which turned out to be a bus, then a train, and then another train. Any of you who have travelled with bikes and 8 heavy panniers on public transport will know that this is not a particularly pleasant option. So we decided to buy a map of the area and cycle to Munster. Oops - wrong decision!

The rain started - lots of it, torrential indeed. And the head wind, the monotonous fields of sweetcorn, and the brand new roundabouts with no sign whatsoever! (There were a lot of rather gorgeous equine establishments though, but I don't think they really floated John's boat!)

Long, rather grotty stort short (one that involves me blowing a fuse, and speeding off up a hill in an attempt to go faster than the 10km of an hour that we were currently averaging, only to arrive at the top covered in sweat, and even more peeved!!), we gave in, and got the train from Billerbeck to Munster. The lovely guardsperson at the station even held the train for us while we dashed across the platforms and manhandled our gear on board. What a star.

The campsite we ended up in was packed; there was one point where I wondered if we would actually manage to get out the door the next morning without stepping on someone else's tent, as people were still cycling in and putting up more tents at 9pm. Ear plugs are wonderful - a must for any cycle tour!

How hard is it to catch a ferry!

2007-08-03T21:28:00.000+12:00

Finally got to an internet cafe – not easy to find if you are avoiding cities. Hazel has told you about the cycling through but the journey to Holland is also worth noting.

The start of the trip was a comedy of errors, accidents, false starts, inclement weather, and equipment failures. Here are some of the highlights:

1 – Just as we were about to leave the driveway in Telford and head to Hull for the ferry i heard someone cry for help. Outside in my sister's driveway was a poor old bloke who had tripped and fallen into the road, and was now unable to move. Went out to help him, Hazel called the ambulance, and together (old man (called Fred), his dog (also bizzarely called Fred), me, Hazel, the fast response paramedic, and the ambulance) we provided some excellent midday entertainment for an otherwise sleepy village. The best (most worrying, maybe) part was watching the ambulance driver spend 5 minutes trying to close the back door! Fortunately, Fred (the human) was OK, a bit upset and bruised but nothing boken. Fred (the dog) was loving every minute of it. After all the excitment was over we left for Hull about 2 hours late.

2 – Successful, but late, departure was shortlived as we almost immediately made a wrong turn onto the M6 and into heavy (stationary) traffic. Almost another hour later we manage to get out of traffic and backtrack to where we should have be (20 miles from where we started). On our way again.

3 – Arrived at Hull ferry port after speedy trip with one 5 minute pit stop. Remove bikes from car and assembled them. I leave hazel with the bikes and luggage and return to Hull to find the car hire office. After almost another hour driving around in circles in Hull (currently being dug up for a new shopping mall – oh how i miss Dubai already) I find the Hertz office. It had closed 20 minutes earlier!

4 – Back to Hull ferry port where we disassemble the bikes and put them back into the car. I change the ticket for tomorrow's sailing and then return to Hull to find a hotel.

5 – If you are in the Uk you will know that Hull recently suffered severe flooding. As a result, all the hotels were fully occupied with unlucky folks whose houses had been flooded. We ended up in Beverley, whichhas a rather splended church or two – apparantly it used to be an important place.

6 – Back to the ferry port, unpack, undissassemble, successfully return car and actually get on the boat. WooHoo. Smooth sailing, so plenty of sleep. The Hertz man was also wonderfully sympathetic (the story of Fred (the human) almost bought a tear to his eye) and didnt charge me for the extra day. I tried the same story during the taxi drive from Hull Hertz office to the ferry port, but the driver wasnt so soft hearted nor generous.

7 – One of the super new German panniers we bought (Ortlieb) to replace the crappy English ones (Carradice) break within 1 hour of cycle from Rotterdam! It looks like one of the important bolts has been cross threaded and is now stuck fast, but not tight in its fitting! As a result, the pannier falls of the bike when you go over a bump, which is not a useful feature. A helpful dutch bike mechanic applied a great temproary fix with a tie tag – these plastic wonders are a gift from the gods, almost if not more useful than fire. With the aid of a bungy, I have now converted the temporary fix to a permanent one. I am confident that it will last for the next few months.

8 – Stop for the first night at a lovely little dutch campsite and check out our gear again. I soon discover that i have bought the wrong gas cannisters for our little emergency stove. These are tricky things to find at times on the continent!

9 – Decided to start cooking with our trusty MSR Whisperlite stove and discover that i have bought the wrong fuel for this as well! You can burn a pint of Guiness in this stove, but i managed to bring the one thing that wont light! This is very annoying as i have used these stoves for years – pretty dumb! We ate cheese and bread that night.

After this things start to run more smoothly. I find the right fuel, the panniers are working well, we are heading in the right direction without unexpeted delays.

Sunday 22nd July 2007 - Day 5: Ruurlo-Gronau, Germany (62km)

2007-07-23T03:39:00.001+12:00

A day of sunshine and thunderstorms. Set off in record time, with one eye on the huge clouds, and the other on the goats that were crowded around looking for snacks. Managed to cycle the first 25km, before deciding the rain was imminent, and that we were going to have to...O no...stop for a coffee and a cake! The rain duly performed, with a bit of thunder and lightening thrown in, before the sun came out again making everything steam.

John's butt (if anyone is still interested :-)) is still in a state of agony, and he spend much of his time standing in his pedals above his seat, grimmacing. Just as well today is an easy cycle. No hills, a following wind, and a short-ish stretch. Windmills were a feature of today's cycle and we passed a couple of beauties. Delicious smell of rain drenched vegetation all around too.

We were rather excited when crossing over the border into Germany (a couple of signs in the road) as neither of us had ever cycled across a border before (if you don't count the cycle off the ferry into Holland that is). Now in Gronau, and are busy sampling the coffee and cake here too. We can't find a campsite, and everything is closed because it is Sunday, so we'll stay in a guest house tonight. That doesn't open until 6pm, so here I am in the Internet shop typing away (and cursing the 'y' 'z' thing!!! Aaaarrgghh). Better go and rescue John and the bikes I guess. Please feel free to leave ('polite' :-)) messages.

Crossing the border into Germany

Saturday 21st July 2007 - Day 4: Elst-Ruurlo (102km)

2007-07-23T03:27:00.001+12:00

A great day, Sunshine throughout. We decided to bid the LF4 a fond farewell, as it is a somewhat tortuous route and we are already a few days behind our very rough schedule. As a result we just stuck to the cycle paths beside more major roads. Holland just has the best cycle paths! Even on main-ish roads, the cycling is pleasant. After a slow start that involved drying out the tent as much as possible, and sliding our feet back in to saturated cycling shoes, we set off with a sense of purpose. We did 33km before morning coffee.

The route was actually rather undulating today, and we even got a decent down a hill marked 7%! Legs felt the strain a little bit, and the luggage weighed a bit more.

Tis' the season of fertility and small things, and we have seen a lot of lambs, kids, foals, cygnets, ducklings, etc. Also saw a lot of stately homes which are very classical, with a twist of 'Dutch' style (very angular). The gardens are all extremely formal, but extremely well-kept, with ponds full of lillies, and regal swans.

One thing that we did realise today while cycling along, as you do, is that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a bike shop and an ordinary shop as there are always so many bikes outside of all the shops.

Friday 20th July 2007 - Day 3: Woerden to Elst (79 km)

2007-07-23T03:21:00.001+12:00

Castle Haar

Just a short note after a very wet day. We started early with John firing on all cylinders, but stalling because of a sore butt, and the world of pain he faced!! Started to rain just as we finished packing up, then showered until 2pm, and then hacked it down.

Did have a coffee at a great spot looking at a rather splendid castle (Castle Haar) where there was a jousting tournament. Tempting. Wend our way through more avenues of magnificent beeches and poplars, farmland and little villages, still following the LF4. Played with an adorable skewbald mare and foal.

John flagged seriously at about 65km, and we missed the campsite. Fortunately, a side trip to the main road paid dividends and we located a campsite sign, a campsite, and a cold beer!!

Holland to Germany!!!

2007-07-23T02:59:00.002+12:00

Image via Wikipedia

I'm going to give a quick overview of our progress so far, this time from an Internet cafe in Gronau in Germany (and yes, the 'z' and the 'y' are still interchanged, but at least the keyboard works this time!!) I wanted to post some pictures, but there is no USB port so that is going to be impossible - sorry...we've been taking a lot, and will try to upload soon. (Had a chance to add pictures later :-)

Thursday 19h July 2007 - Day 2: The Hague to Woerden (65km)

Today things started to go right. In spite of a late start we got away and headed in the correct direction (for a change :-)) following the LF4 route. John had a headache which we later put down to caffeine withdrawal as we had not had a cup of coffee or tea for a day. The cycling was intially deliciously cool through deciduous forests, which gradually gave way to farm land. Saw a lot of horses and ponies of all shapes and sizes. The smell of the countryside here is a heady mix of wild flowers, grass, and rich soil.

One of the highlights is that there are so many other people cycling here of all ages, on a range of bikes from top of the range road bikes to old bone shakers.

The houses along the route were very distinctive, with squared off roofs, often thatched in funky stles, and meticulous gardens stuffed with flowers. After about two or three hours we passed on in to 'canal' land. The landscape is criss-crossed with channels, and each house has its own bridge to access it.

Lunch was beside one of the long roads, lined with huge mature beeches. Our entertainment was a flock of birds wheeling and circling above, and a constant stream of friendly cyclists.

After John started to flag (he calls me the Duracell Bunny for some reason!), we started to look for a campsite. A cup of coffee went some way toward alleviating John's headache and cheering him up. Even better we found an outdoor shop that sold white gas...tea-yay!!

Met a 73 year old Dutch guy in the last few kms who still cycles the world. He looked great, and was an inspiration.

John writes his diary at the end of the day

In Den Haag in Holland

2007-07-19T05:41:00.001+12:00

Just off the ferry

I'm typing this at our first campsite in Holland but the keypad does not work properly and the 'y' and 'z' are interchanged! Our first day has been a bit of a disaster with one of John's new Ortleib panniers breaking and finding out that the new MSR stove does not burn meths, but only white gas or kerosene. So it's sandwiches for dinner. And a rather grumpy John.

Ferry ride was uneventful, even though it was a day late. More disasters that culminated with us spending a day in Beverley instead of Holland.

Weather has been perfect though, and we have cycled in some very pretty, if flat countryside. Better get back to the sandwiches :-)

Will type more when have a proper keyboard that works....

Still in Wolverhampton ...

2007-07-16T21:56:00.001+12:00

... waiting for Hazel to sign off so we can get on the road!

Sitting in an Internet cafe in Wolverhampton!!

2007-07-16T21:35:00.001+12:00

Tonight we are getting on the overnight ferry to Rotterdam! Just have to get as far as Hull which means we have the laborious task of finishing our packing, and getting the bikes in the back of the car. Ah well. Soon we will be underway. Just hope we won't need the snorkel and fins in the rain-sodden landscape :-)