Rookie Cycle Tour from London to Trieste

[Tyre Lady]

Am in Geneva.
- the simplon pass burned me
- loads of blustery head and side winds today but managed to complete 175km
- had lots of hills to climb in last 30km to my destination in Geneva

James - was injured in my first 4 marathons. Retrained using pose technique and have not been injured due to running in over 70 marathon/ ultras. Definitely agree with Paula and vorpal about technique.

Nik - am with you - Having to pedal downhill sucks!...was even stopped temporarily on the flat (grr to the wind) and

And Vorpal the Drivers were jealous that they were stuck in traffic as you passed them tonguing snowflakes.

Good night all. Got a conference tomorrow:)

[Tyre Lady]

Geneva Marathon done and completed in a much better unofficial time of about 6 hours 15 minutes. More runners should cycle. Think it will help them with their endurance and speed.

now on the way back tot he UK having faced 3 days of high winds going up and down the Jura mountains.

Hope you are all thinking about how to reduce the amount of waste you generate (water, food, clothes, stuff)

Back to wild camping after tonight

[nirakaro]

Take your time and enjoy the ride home!

[Tyre Lady]

Thanks nirakaro.
26 miles on Monday, 17 miles on Tuesday and 40miled on Wednesday. Sadly my buddy has just got on a train. So will try to keep at a slower moving pace

[Vorpal]

Fantastic! Enjoy your ride home

[nsew]

Very impressive ride, Tyre Lady. Fair play to you. I re-routed south through the Jura’s to take advantage of those winds (and fine weather). It was murder overshooting the boulangerie and turning back.

[Tyre Lady]

Saw quite a few going your direction on the 3rd day. The ones that stopped to talk to us looked us pitifully

As I get closer to Calais am deciding whether I should go thru London to get to Windsor or again skip it. Find it dirty smelly and noisy (too full of cars and people). Does anyone know if the cycle route is worth it?

[Graham]

I'm afraid that London is right, slap, bang in the way from Dover to Windsor . . . . and Kent is more than a little "lumpy" should you head inland, rather than track along the Thames estuary.

I know what you mean though . . I cycled to Southampton a few days ago and my lungs are still recovering from the filthy air.

[mjr]

Saw quite a few going your direction on the 3rd day. The ones that stopped to talk to us looked us pitifully

As I get closer to Calais am deciding whether I should go thru London to get to Windsor or again skip it. Find it dirty smelly and noisy (too full of cars and people). Does anyone know if the cycle route is worth it?

What cycle route?

Going through the Vale of Holmsdale to Dorking would add only about 12 miles if that's what you prefer.

[Tyre Lady]

Ok thank you graham and mar. Am going to avoid London then and reroute cycle travel route

[Tyre Lady]

MJR - Loved the route back. Circle completed
Thoroughly blessed this weekend. 2500 miles - 4000 km - done. Going to bed. Thank you all for your support and help during this journey

[BrightonRock]

Great ride, you should be throughly proud of yourself!

[yutkoxpo]

Well done! You had everything thrown at you - mechanicals, snow, deadlines.... and have arrived home safe and sound,,, I assume!

I've a couple of questions.....
Would you do it again?
Which aspects did you enjoy and endure the most?
When your commitments were finished did you find the journey home to be different in any way?

Well done again

[Tyre Lady]

Well done! You had everything thrown at you - mechanicals, snow, deadlines.... and have arrived home safe and sound,,, I assume!

I've a couple of questions.....
1. Would you do it again?
2. Which aspects did you enjoy and endure the most?
3. When your commitments were finished did you find the journey home to be different in any way?

Well done again

Hey Hobbes thanks so much for following. Have been eating non-stop and have so many more stories - need to sort out my blog now
1. Yes - though would have liked more time to understand the equipment I was using......though I might be kidding myself here as am a "lastminute" person.

2. The challenge, especially when folk are telling me I could fail :p Love wild camping. Slept really well outside when there were opportunities and so much safer than having to deal with "men" (had 2 incidences & perhaps should have reported one of them). My favourite place was a cave I had discovered when I had decided to go up the side of a mountain near Bolzano. Was a hard push up a gravel path. Dunno why I was so determined to go up there but am glad I did. It was tranquil and beautiful.

3. The first 3 days after the Geneva Marathon were hard especially due to the high winds & us being very "blur" about the extreme weather conditions. Had a friend join me and was sad when she departed on the fourth day. But think the solo return was an important time for reflection rather than to simply land back and start work. Must admit - would have been fantastic to have just stayed hidden in the forest but at the same time, fires have been lit in places and will need to ensure the fuel continues to keep moving them forward towards zero waste & low carbon initiatives. Soooo although I wanted to hide, I was also anxious to return to get things moving faster, though in the last 5 days had equipment failure with the iPhone (used for GPS) no longer consuming power from the power bank when I wanted it to, forcing me to stop to power up.

So now repairing the panniers, sorting out tyres, etc on Eastwood to prepare his return to his owner and speaking to folk who want to move forward in their zero waste journey - which I think is major influence to carbon emission reduction as it reduces consumerism.

[Vorpal]

It's great to hear about a successful conclusion to your trip. I'm looking forward to the blog

The big question is: Are you going to get your own touring bike, now?