Cycling UK Forum

Get a mirror if you can. I got one at the last minute from a mate who runs a bike shop. One of these : fitted it to my drops

http://www.awcycles.co.uk/brands/Zefal/ ... index.aspx

It was fantastic for me in France. I was able to see HGVS and traffic coming from a long distance back and slow down, adjust my speed etc to assist traffic flow past me on some really tight roads. Would thoroughly recommend it. Thought it would be 'nerdish' but has to go down as one of my best purchases yet.

Steve Kish wrote:I recommend a Polaris Aqualite:-

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=polaris+aqualite

I used one of these on my latest tour. During 4 hours of heavy rain high up in the Pyrenees it let me down im afraid, likewise the following day when cycling into a westerly with rain for about the same time. I got soaked and on the second occasion despite putting layers on got seriously cold. Shower proof yes but not up to the job of serious hours in the saddle in constant rain.

I was in Olot in the Pyrenees 2 weeks ago during my Spain to UK tour. I locked my fully laden bike up outside a shop and went inside to look for some gas for my stove. A shop assistant immediately approached me and told me not to leave the bike outside unattended as 'it was market day and the gypsies come to town and they steal anything' (she could speak English). Further down the road outside a bike shop a man in an adjacent cafe offered to 'keep an eye on the bike' . The bike shop owner actually encouraged me to bring it into the shop. Clearly this town had a problem.

This was one of two occasions on the 10 day tour when I was on edge slightly. Later in Moissac in France I popped into town to do some shopping and the bike was attracting unwelcome attention.

The camp sites seemed okay, however I did visit a few municipal campsites in France where by the very nature of the camp sites location in town you would be bonkers not to use a bit of common sense and lock it up.
At night it was locked up against something solid ie a fence, tree, hedge, attached to the tent with a bunjee and washing line although this was mainly for my own peace of mind rather than a genuine fear of it getting stolen. I took all of my valuables with me to the shower block etc in a bum bag..

I also spoke with several French people who stated that municipal camp sites were to be avoided as they were used by travellers.I found the municipals to be as cheap as chips but mainly unregulated. One site I stayed at was housing immigrant workers, one site had an all night party by local youths, one site doubled as the local youth club. My guess is that these sites are mainly used in the busy months of July and August.

I certainly didnt feel safer than I would in the UK so please dont let your guard down just because you are on holiday. France / Spain have the same social problems as we do, crime being one of them.

Are your straps for the tents ? Use a bunjee each mate. So much easier than straps. I agree about their limited longevity but you arent going around the world. Plus you can hang your wet washing from them, extra things slip under them. I took both on my recent Spain / UK tour and binned the straps in France, they are a pain. It was a 10 second job to bunjee the tent on but a a right pain to put straps on - plus straps dont stretch to stick stuff under...you can also bunjee your bike to the tent at night if you are worried...they stretch so hang washing on them or wet kit.

I took a compass but what a waste of time..even in remote mountain areas I didnt use it. Brake cable / Gear cable? - honestly what are the chances of them going? More chance of your chain snapping on a hill but you arent taking a chain tool. Longs? I took some but put the insect repellent on my legs and didnt need them.

Tape :duct tape dont take the electrical tape- where are your zip ties? - essential

Do you know what the reality will be? You will be super cautious about weight then hit a supermarket on the second day and load yourself down with cakes, biscuits, chocolate, etc etc. By day 3 your panniers will be a mess by day 5 you wont give a monkees about weight- all you will want is food, food and more food

andrew_s wrote:For other folk...
If the tent is silicon coated, you have to use McNett SilNet instead. Seam sealing tape won't stick to the silicon coating (neither will Seam Grip), so if the tent seams are taped you have a PU-coated tent.

I discovered a small hole in my Vaude Taurus Ultralite during my recent tour. This tent is silicone coated. I used clear silicone sealant from screwfix to apply two small patches (inner and outer). You can mix with white spirit but mine was such a small repair I just used the neat silicone.

.

llayercake wrote:The only things I wished I'd taken were a pair of Flip Flops and a bar end/handle bar mirror as I'd like to look death in the face when the God of HGVs eventually smiles on me rather than cringe along waiting to get it in the back .
Kev.

I took a mirror on my 10 day blast back from Spain...it was brilliant, especially on the busy roads with HGV's up behind you. Its amazing how quiet they can be when they slow and coast up to you waiting for the overtake. With a mirror i could see them approach, give a little wave to acknowledge their presence and thanking them for their patience and 99% gave me massive clearance....all praise to French lorry drivers, even French white van man was giving me miles of clearancec... a brilliant tool that I will swap over to the other side now and use on my commute to work.

Edwards wrote:I have had a similar problem with some 25c marathons. Some 4 inner tubes have gone bang, the last time it was on the front and I saw the inner tube coming out pushing the tyre off the rim.
The tyre was also very loose on the rim and when inflated I had trouble getting it to sit properly on the rim. I have now fitted different tyres on the wheels and have not had any problems. The tyres as well have been fitted to other wheels.
The inner tube was definitely no trapped between the tyre and rim.

I got a weird noise momentarily before each bang, i guess it was the tube escaping from the tyre....just glad it didnt happen on some of the mountain descents I did as even at slow speed the whole back of the bike degenerated into one big floppy mess. My next tour : Holland / Germany will involve a proper bike designed for the job I think.

Cheers for the link.

edit...right I have deleted the other thread. It looks like a combination of rim tape and a tyre / rim size issue.

thirdcrank wrote:AFAIK, the accepted wisdom is that if an innertube explodes, the bit that exploded must have been outside the cover, usually because it has been trapped between the bead and the rim. If the tube is entirely within the cover, it cannot expand enough to go bang. I can't support that with anything other than "that's what I heard."

I was really careful in fitting, slightly inflating the tubes etc. Would this support the theory that the the tyres are too big for the rims? When it went again in Northern France this was after the cycle shop guy had fitted it so I presume he had done it correctly..if it had happened in a crowded street it would seriously have given some pensioner a heart attack...Im getting my trusty Bontrager race lites back on pronto.

I think I will re- post this in the technical section if thats okay

Just a little hint for some of you who may set off without checking such minor detail. I have just cycled from Spain back to the UK and had a rather nervy start to say the least.

I dont own a classic touring bike as such. I tour / commute and do everything on a Specialized Tricross. I upgraded my rear wheel about a year ago to a mavic open pro 36 spoke hand built job. I applied the rim tape myself and merrily commuted day in day out on 25mm tyres without a problem. For my tour I did a last minute purchase of some schwalbe Marathon 308's which I fitted literally a few days before I went. To be honest they went onto my narrow rims a bit too easy although the rims stated they could take 28mm's max.

I was flying out so read all the stuff about deflating tyres etc but kept mine at between 80 and 90 PSI. I rebuilt the bike at the other end. I was carrying 20kg including camping kit spread over 4 panniers. I cycled out of the airport around the corner and then BANG......it was like gun shot. Thank god it didnt happen at the airport or I may have been taken out by some armed policeman.

My inner tube was decimated with a 3 inch tear in it. Not a typical puncture but I had 2 spare tubes. I started to think that I had over inflated them, plus the weight and the flight had all contributed. I had toured on 25mms at 100 psi before with the same weight without a problem. I fitted the second tube and went off into the mountains when the second went 27 miles later. I nearly died as the noise was horrendous going up some narrow pass. At least i was going up hill, on a descent it would have been lethal.

I was panicking big time - luckily I had taken 2 tubes. So with my last tube on I slowly made my way to my destination about 12 miles away. I was in the middle of no where in Spain and would have been well and stranded having to resort to taxis etc.

I found a cycle shop in town the next day and guess what - my rim tape wasn't up to the job. I put it down to lack of experience even though I have commuted and cycled thousands of miles and done a few UK tours this Issue or problem had never entered my head when checking the bike out before the tour.

The strange thing is 600 miles later with double rim tape on it happened again in Northern France , I applied a third layer and made it home. Am I missing something here, anyone else encountered this problem?

Buy a Garmin Etrex Legend Hcx and back it up with a map. It takes 2 AA batteries. Ive just cycled from Spain to the UK and got 5 days out of a pair of AA Lithiums, 2 sets got me home and they were about a fiver for 6 batteries on Amazon. It was on for between 6 and 14 hours a day.

I stayed in camp sites and wild camped where obviously there was no means of charging anything so its just another thing not to worry about. Really impressed with the battery life of this little device.

You can do it no problem.

I have just done - Spain to St Malo in 11 days, 760 miles fully loaded with camping gear with 29000 feet of climbing involved. Im 46 have a bad back and dodgy knees. You will be amazed at how quickly you can recover if you stop for 5 minutes every 45 minutes or so or on the hills after every major climb. Drink plenty of water and munch on those little cereal bars. Plod up the steep hills in your granny gear and coast down the other side. If you fall behind schedule just keep rolling. I actually did 140 miles on one day with a fair bit of climbing but did cycle from 8am to midnight- as I said I was stopping all the time to take photos, have a breather, eat , look around.

If you can follow rivers or railways lines you will know that your route will be a little more forgiving (although may be busier)

ericonabike wrote:Meanwhile, back with the OP - glad you've got the route sorted Ossie, and am already feeling envious! If you're not camping, can recommend the 'Chambres d'Hotes' [French B&Bs] for overnight stops. Or even if you are camping, for an occasiona;l treat! I used them last year for the first time, having always been a bit suspicious of them being too 'twee' before. Great fun! Aslong as you make at leats an attempt to speak French, they all seemed willing to go the extra mile for you [one even let me raid the fridge and wine store as I was too late for evening meal]

Let us know how you get on.

cheers! Im taking the tent but I daresay will be tempted on occasion with a decent bed. I just need to get it in my head that its not a race back and just to slow down and enjoy things. Cant wait.

Thanks for the replies. Ive got of a bit of a schedule to stick to so have plotted a route from Girona in Spain to St Malo utilising the quieter yellow roads and white roads as listed on the Michelin map. Ive plotted these on bikeroutetoaster and downloaded them to my Garmin, in addition I have the maps as back up. I have also Google street viewed small segments of roads just to get an idea of traffic, some of the quieter D roads look to be a bit rough surface wise but I dont mind if traffic is minimal.

I am keeping clear of major towns / Cities apart from Niort and Cholet.

My only busy red road on the Michelin map is my route over the Pyrenees C38 then D115 into France. Will give an opinion on French drivers and roads when I return in a couple of weeks.