Planned Route

Decision day came and went and, as if there was any danger, I have decided to "get on with it". I'm pleased to report that I have had the green light from my most worthy chosen charities and have updated the DONATE page so please have a look there and see what you can do.

I will be leaving on 28th May by train (I know - what a wimp) to Frome in Somerset where I have a couple of friends who will put up with me for the night. With a moderate hangover and full of pasta I will ride to Portsmouth the next day

http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTg1NDM=

and take the overnight ferry to Le Havre. From Le Havre I will ride diagonally across France passing South of Paris to Brig in Switzerland rising up steadily and with a few climbs towards the end

http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTQ2NTI=

From Brig I will NOT be riding over the Alps. I will leave that to Bradley and the boys. No, I will sensibly take the train (not again?) under the Alps to Domodossola in Northern Italy and, hopefully, freewheel for a couple of days down the other side.

http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTQ2NTM=

I will bomb along the pan flat Po valley and then follow the Adriatic coast down to Ancona where I take the ferry to Igoumenitsa on the Greek mainland. From there I will follow the coast around to Athens.

http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTUzNzI=

That will be the end of the bike ride but from Athens I will be taking the ferry to Rhodes which is only an hour or so from my adopted home in glorious Fethiye where I will rest for a week or so before flying home early July to enjoy the remains of the English Summer hahahahahaha (cue hysterical laughter).

Here is the planned route

Stage	Day	Date	From	To	Dist	Total (km)	Gain (m)
1	T	28/05/2013	Wigan	Frome (train)
2	W	29/05/2013	Frome	Portsmouth	120.0	120.0
3	Th	30/05/2013	Le Havre	Evreux	117.0	237.0	439.0
4	F	31/05/2013	Evreux	Etampes	118.0	355.0	513.0
5	Sa	01/06/2013	Etampes	Sens	99.0	454.0	426.0
6	Su	02/06/2013	Sens	Chatillon	120.0	574.0	675.0
7	M	03/06/2013	Chatillon	Gray	113.0	687.0	723.0
8	T	04/06/2013	Gray	Pontarlier	111.0	798.0	1206.0
9	W	05/06/2013	Pontarlier	Montreux	101.0	899.0	718.0
10	Th	06/06/2013	Montreux	Sion	71.0	970.0	300.0
11	F	07/06/2013	Sion	Brig (rest)	54.0	1024.0	280.0
12	Sa	08/06/2013	Brig (rest)	Domodossola	train
13	Su	09/06/2013	Domodossola	Legnano	100.0	1124.0	254.0
14	M	10/06/2013	Legnano	Cremona	113.0	1237.0	44.0
15	T	11/06/2013	Cremona	Mirandola	105.0	1342.0	66.0
16	W	12/06/2013	Mirandola	Alfonsine	108.0	1450.0	75.0
17	Th	13/06/2013	Alfonsine	Pesaro	105.0	1555.0	192.0
18	F	14/06/2013	Pesaro	Ancona	63.0	1618.0	59.0
19	Sa	15/06/2013	Ancona dep 1500	Igoumenitsa arr 0930 nx
20	Su	16/06/2013	Igoumenitsa	Preveza	91.0	1709.0	997.0
21	M	17/06/2013	Preveza	Agrinio	97.0	1806.0	632.0
22	T	18/06/2013	Agrinio	Aigio	105.0	1911.0	818.0
23	W	19/06/2013	Aigio	Korinthos	96.0	2007.0	354.0
24	Th	20/06/2013	Korinthos	Athens	85.0	2092.0	482.0
25	F	21/06/2013	Athens dep 1800	Rhodes arr 1000 nx	boat
26	Sa	22/06/2013	Rhodes	Fethiye	boat

Decision Day Tomorrow?

Bad weather and punctures have impeded my training this week. I set off the other day but got a puncture after 2 miles and had no spare tubes so phoned home for a lift. It took me a couple of days to get spare tubes so that set me back but it rained almost non-stop anyway. To make up, I fully intended doing a long, long, all day ride with the Wigan Wheelers today but bad weather was forecast for this afternoon and I decided to restrict my efforts to a morning ride only and managed a 30 mile ride up to Preston and back. It was quite windy and I got wet near the end. Dodgy weather is forecast for all of this week but I feel I need to go out and ride every day, whatever the distance. I have done nothing like the same amount of training as for last year's ride but with a full weeks training I am confident that I will be able to "grow into" the distance and will manage OK.

So there it is. I have decided that it's on. I have quite a bit of organising to do and a number of people to contact about final arrangements but don't see a problem.

A Few Positives?

I tagged along with the Wigan Wheelers again today and managed just short of 50 miles at a decent pace (for me that is). It was almost ideal cycling weather, nice and warm with a slight breeze here and there. Before anyone asks the question, ideal cycling weather is - nice and warm with a howling gale behind (for me that is). I felt OK throughout and hopefully didn't hold them up too much.

After lunch, which was "sin free breakfast", seemingly everything bar sausages, I split from the main group and made my way back homeward through Newburgh where I called in on my "mentor" Robin who is not too well these days but battling on and smiling as usual. He made me two perfect cups of tea which I enjoyed along with the usual shedfull of chocolate biscuits and his own brand of encouragement, all of which were most welcome. The last leg was fairly eventful. I dragged myself over Parbold Hill without stopping but soon after I had a rear wheel puncture which is no surprise given the state of the roads in the vicinity. I fixed it OK which was quite a pleasant surprise, remembering the last puncture I had in the middle of Bulgaria where I used up all my supply of three spare tubes and ended up thumbing a lift. I've just checked and that occurred on 10th May last year. I wonder where Yuri, the "Mad Russian", is now.

I probably won't manage a ride tomorrow. I'm taking the BYW to the airport around mid-day and there is some dodgy weather forecast later in the day. I could get up early I suppose. Behave!

Decision day is getting closer. Looking more likely, I think.

Good Luck to Wigan Athletic tonight.

Here is today's ride. The time doesn't include for stops. I'm not that slow, honest.

http://my.viewranger.com/track/details/MzM2NDgx

Coming along nicely but....

I have managed a total of 124 miles or so this week which is a decent increase on past weeks but I think I need to step it up a bit in the next three weeks and lose a bit of weight and also start to carry a bit of weight, that is, with the bags on here and there. I now have a provisional departure date of 28th May but I am still not 100% certain to go. I have therefore set another date of 14th May for a definite decision so I am doing all the necessary preparations so that I will be ready whichever way the coin falls.

If I do go it will be a bit of a cop out because I will only be riding to Athens and then travelling by boat across the "Great Green" to Rhodes which is only an hour away from Fethiye by ferry. The whole trip should only take about three weeks. Not the same challenge as last year but a challenge all the same and promising to be quite spectacular in places.    

Third of a Year

Its a third of a year since I last blogged - and what a turd of a year it has been so far.

I started it off with the best of intentions. The plan was to slowly build up my mileage and get myself in shape for this year's ride to Turkey in April, around the same time as last year, but this time using a different route. I had approached a number of good mates to ride along for all or part of the way and there was some interest so I was hopeful of a different type of adventure.

After my New Year's day ride to retrieve the car from my mum's I did a couple of shortish rides in the cold weather and then got this "man-flu" all the women talk about. I'd struggle for a week and then think I was getting over it but then find myself welded to the bed next morning, unable to move. Any time I did feel reasonably well there was a blizzard (ok a bit of snow) or other inclement non-cycling-friendly weather, ie wet, windy, cold. The training obviously suffered and an April departure was out of the question. Also, one by one, the members of the prospective entourage had to drop out, all for good reasons, so I was then confronted with riding on my own which wouldn't be a problem but I just would have preferred going with some select company.

Over the last few weeks, however, the weather has improved slightly and training has gone well. I have done a couple of 30s and a 40 and went out with the legendary Wigan Wheelers yesterday and completed 60 odd miles. My legs (and bottom) don't feel too bad today and that has given me the impetus to make the tentative announcement that there is a possibility that I am provisionally intending to set off some time in the last week in May. I am being deliberately vague because I am nowhere near as committed as I was last year for some reason and I "may not feel like it" when I get nearer to the day. Having said that the slightly warmer weather has increased my enthusiasm slightly and I feel moderately positive.

It's good to be back blogging. I just hope somebody is still out there to read it.