Boats and Bikes!

Weather forecast:  “Its going to be wet, and where its not wet, it will be very wet” 

Despite the forecast, It starts off dry. After breakfast, I head off to the SNCF station to meet up with my friend Gregoire who is also part of the IEC Telecom team. Today we are covering 80KM and its great to have some company on the road. Gregoire is a great team cyclist with plenty of experience and a pleasure to ride with.

We are kind of lucky with the weather. For the first part of the ride, its dry. Typically I set an interval of 30 KM for coffee stops. But at KM 25, we decided to push on and cover some distance as it was still dry. Light rain arrived at KM 30 and lasted for a short period. A stop for hot chocolate at KM 40 and then we pushed on.

The lack of stops is evidenced by the lack of pictures for this leg. I also dont like getting my phone wet!

So, Komoot does it to me again! This is a very steep overgrown land down to the road we left 10 minutes ago. I will name the segment “Komoots Unnecessary Hill” as we had a steep climb to get to this point. Would have saved us 10 mins if we stayed on the road.

Here we are. Cergy St Christophe. The home of IEC Telecom .  The final 10KM was very wet and did not improve for the rest of the day. We found an open bar for a couple of isotonic beers. With the only restaurant in town closed, I just went to the hotelfor a snooze and then asked Uber to send me a Pizza!

Feeling lucky with the weather so far as its still dry. A few days back, there was an indication that I would have a wet ride. There has been head winds all the way, but since Port en Bassin, its warmed up quite a bit.

Shorter ride of 72 KM today. Mostly flat with a dip in the middle

This was a fairly rapid ride along a “D” road. For most of it, the road had a separate bit on the side for bikes. As I crossed the border from the Calvados Department to Eure Department, the road surface was not so great. Over many years of cycling I have seen many examples where I can detect a change in jurisdiction as I cross borders. Clearly Eure needs more road budget!

As I approached Evreux, its back to cycle lanes for about 7 KM.

The Greet hotel in Evreaux has a cycling theme. The recycling of old cycle parts is the way to go. Nice free beer on arrival (I am an Accor gold member!). What is there not to like?

So its day three and here is the route. Yesterday I made the 20KM on a slit tyre, so hoping to make it to Bayeux to get a new tyre. Have found a couple of cycle shops.

Here is the route. You will need to scroll the pictures to see the map!

So great to see such great quality cycle tracks. Given that I am on the road with a split tyre, I appreciate the very smooth surface. The tyre manages to survive the 10KM ride to Bayeux,,,,, BUT >>>>>>>>>>

The cycle shop is closed. I am there at 1100 when it’s supposed to be open at 1000!  I cycle a further 3KM and find that the next shop is also shut!  Then it kind of dawned on me that perhaps is a public holiday?  They have loads during May!.

So its back on the road. Another 20 KM to Caen. Tyre still holding out. I am heading to Decathlon which is open. This is not the first time I have been saved by this amazing chain of stores.

And here is my bike with a new tyre, so from here I can quicken the pace.

Now, take a look at the picture I have circled in the background of the bike shot. It is Yarmouth Pier where according to “Facebook then and now”, I was in Yarmouth exactly 1 year ago!.

The remaining distance from Caen to Lisseaux was a good ride but with a rather brutal hill at the end of the 102 KM ride.

Nice new ship to take me to Cherbourg. This is the Galicia on route into Portsmouth from Bilboa on the north coast of Spain. After an expensive ribeye steak at the Bar+Block, its off to the ferry and straight to my cabin. It was too late to eat on board as embarkation is at 2200. But I will spend time in the restaurant on the daytime return leg!

I woke up to quiet!  Could not here the engines running so thought we had arrived. The ship can easily cover Portsmouth to Cherbourg in 5 hours, but as this run is from 2300 – 0700, the ferry just sits a few miles to the north for a few hours before going into dock. So overall an 8 hour crossing which allows for a full nights sleep.

This picture of the breakwater looking north. NE with cloud and sun. No rain. It was chilly so I was wearing 3 layers all day.

Here is the Strava map for the ride today. Over 100km of chilly by dry cycling.

After a few KM, I am presented with this. I am not on a Gravel bike and I need to find a way stop Komoot doing this to me!

France has become a great place for beer drinkers. No longer a land of “Export 33”, “Pelforth” and “1664”, now a huge range of artisan beers. This place I just passed by. I tend not to drink mid ride!

The Normandy coast is very famous for world war 2 battles. So plenty of war graves and museums along the way. As I cycle through this area, I was thinking of the sacrifices made by the hero’s of the 1940s.  Also feeling a huge sense of shame at my generation for allowing the far right to gain such a hold in so many countries and doing evil things.

20 from my destination, I have wheel trouble. I heard a hiss and thought “OK” puncture to fix. Somewhat frustrated to find a split in my rear tyre. Best thing for me to do was to swap the tyres (front to back) as less weight is carried on the front wheel. After replacing the inner tube. I am on my way to Port en Bassin  -20KM hoping for the best.

This is Port en Bassin. Last visited in 1988 briefly on Electron 3 with a fine crew of freinds from HMS Collingwood. Back then we just poked our nose in to find the place was a busy fishing port with no marina. So we sailed along the coast and spent the night in Grandcamp.

Port en Bassin is a very nice spot. lovely hotel and a nice evening meal.

Weather was perfect for leg 1. Here is the map for the first leg.

Overall, the route was 137KM Plenty of hills and mostly calm roads. London was a bit manic, but I am used to that as an ex-London commuter!

Big Ben is the official start point. Had to move around a bit before getting this picture as some irritating folks were just getting into my selfie!

Always interesting features to see on a ride!

Quick pit stop in Long Ditton for some water.

Late afternoon, things start to cool off south of Petersfield as cloud comes rolling in. This is a small church in the middle of nowhere!

Close to the end and taking the Gosport ferry. Sun is back 🙂

And finally its beer O’clock at Le Park!

It has been a while since my last fundraiser (2023), so time to set off again on another adventure. This year I am riding to support ACF also known as Action on Hunger in the UK. 

After working in the aid sector for nearly 26 years, I have travelled widely to many countries in the global south and have seen at first hand the impact of disasters and war on local communities.

People are facing hunger in many countries including Sudan where civil war has been ongoing for more than 2 years. Institutional funding has been reduced by many nations so its more important that we step up and do what we can to alleviate suffering. It would be amazing if you can support me by donating direct to ACF using one of the buttons to the right.

If you are donating in the UK, you will donate via JustGiving.  Remember if you are a UK tax payer, a further 20% will be added to your donation by HMRC.

For those based in Europe, use the EU link. Here you will be taken direct to the ACF website where you can donate. For this based in France, donations can be declared for tax purposes.

Important Note: As with all my rides, all donations go direct to the charity I support. All logistical expenses including the ferry, hotels, train back from Paris, and BEER ! comes out of my own pocket.

If you click on the Route and Tracking button, you will be able to see my full route and live tracking of my progress. Live tracking has been donated by TrakSat  – Thankyou Pierre!

For this ride, I am using my specialized Tarmac as shown in the picture. As you can see, I travel light! Hopefully I will have some good weather for the road trip. Leg 1 will take me from London to Portsmouth and then after the bank holiday weekend, I will make my way towards Paris calling in at IEC Telecom HQ in Cergy towards the end. The IEC Telecom will be starting a series of challenges at the same tome also to raise money for ACF

Training as began and I hope to be in good shape for the challenge. I will be posting regular updates as the challenge comes closer and then each day as I make my way to Paris.

I have two projects planned for 2026. Firstly there will be a charity fundraiser in France during May.

In August, I am back in Spain riding from Santander to Gibraltar. Day 1 of the ride will feature an eclipse of the sun whist I am in northern Spain.

The target was 600 miles this year, but reduced to 463 miles, but the final day did not disappoint. Here is a map of the full route 🙂

The trip to El Chorro is very scenic with plenty to see along the way.

I am not a big fan of cobbles!  Sure they look nice, but they are expensive to set up,  hard to cycle on or walk on, and also very noisy!

Just beyond the cobbles, some old industrial buildings in Puente Genil a a heritage site.

Stopped in Campilos for coffee. Nice covered walkway.

The lake area to the north of El Chorro is one of my most favorite places on Earth.

A well known walk way in the El Chorro gorge. Needs to be booked in advance.

Sunset view from my hotel!  Observered over a beer!

So its a wrap. shame to cut things short but this tour has been a great blast. Starting to think about the 2026 tour which will focus on an area I have not get explored.

This part of the tour I have done before two years ago. The ride was very good with some very nice sights along the way, but news from the UK about my house kind of ruined my day. Part of my roof party all fell, thankfully nobody was hurt.

So, now a plan B, I will not progress to Gibraltar. Instead, I will end the tour at El Chorro, have a few days chilling and go back to the UK early !

Bikers at the petrol station where I filled up with water. This picture does not really show it, but when the biker was sat on the seat, the load at the back was slightly taller. I guess he has everything including the kitchen sink!

Looking back over Cordoba

This is just a bit further up the road. Nice long easy ride to La Rambla and finally Puente Genil.

Hotel Carmen is a nice spot where I have stayed before. Great value for money. Nice rooms and a good restaurant.

A hard day of climbing! Destination is Cordoba to a 4 star hotel at a good price. Tough ride to start with on country lanes with steep bills. Eventfully I am on the N road for the last 20 miles. Oddly three drivers beeped me with some attitude, like I should not be on the road. Most odd for Spain as I was legally allowed on this N road!

Interestingly on the country roads leading to the N road, two drivers stopped to check that I was OK. A few days back a lorry driver stopped to check all was well. Generally people in Spain are polite on the highway!

Day starts of on flat country roads but this will not last !

And here is a shot across the valley I have just crossed – that house in the tree is halfway up this side and where a driver offered to give me a lift!

Hot day calls for cool fluid. This first pint did not last long!

Hotel gave me the VIP treatment! Free fizz in a bucket. Nice touch, but after riding its beer and water I need, not fizz! So this was gifted to the hotel team 🙂