Tag Archives: George Jemmott

Removing the Belgian Kink

Posted on May 16, 2010 | 5 Comments

I posted yesterday that I was thinking of removing part of the route and avoiding Brussels and most of Belgium. It does make sense on all levels apart from the one that wants me to tick the box of having followed the route of the Eurovelo 5. George Jemmott comments as follows;

Best reason I can think of to go to Brussels is that the ECF office is there. Then again, talking to them didn’t enlighten anything about the route other than just how little they know about it. Also, as you read and re-posted earlier, there is no bike path through France between Luxembourg and Strasbourg.

George’s first point might be worth pondering over if the ECF (the European Cyclists Federation, based in Brussels and responsable for the Eurovelo network of routes) had taken any time in showing the slightest interest in what I and others are doing. I’m sure they are very nice people and very good at getting funds to produce glossy brochures and development plans but until they start engaging with the grass roots (I originally spelt that “routes”; I have cycling on the brain!), they will always fall short of what they purport to be in their name. Sorry folks, it’s the impression I get (and if you read this and want a right to reply, I’d love you to do so!). I think, when originally considering the route think that a trip to Brussels would include at least a cycle past their office and brief hello through the window but my enthusiasm for doing that now has waned somewhat.

George’s second point is worth pondering over as he speaks from experience (he cycled from Milan to Calais just a few weeks ago and wrote about it on his blog). However, as George himself was happy to point out at the time, he didn’t prepare the route in advance in sufficient detail to know where he would be cycling each day (again, correct me if I am wrong George!). He is right in saying that there is no cycle route through France between Luxembourg and Strasbourg but this is further south than the “kink” and I am happy to meander the border towns between France and Belgium, then Luxembourg, then Germany before arriving in Strasbourg. The picture, from the French Voies Vertes site shows the official routes that currently exist in France; certainly far short of a continuous line from Calais to Strasbourg that I might wish for.

A straight(ish) line charge for Strasbourg it is then!

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Itinerary: Suggestions Needed

Posted on April 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

Making progress, but not quite there yet! Thanks to Massimo in Benevento I have some detail south of Rome but north of Rome still lacks a day by day breakdown, as does the bit between Luxembourg to Strasbourg. This latter stretch has given George Jemmott some issues on his recent ride from Milan; what do you suggest George? Back in southern Italy, a couple of the days that Massimo has suggested involve some long days in the saddle… Will I be up to the challenge at the end of five weeks cycling? I can extend the arrival in Brindisi by a few days…. Still very much work-in-progress.

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George Jemmott: “Another Wasted Day…. Mostly”

Posted on April 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

This is an interesting read; I will have similar issues along the route of the Eurovelo 5 in just a few months time… It encourages in my quest to have a secure route in place before I leave.

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The Parish Notices

Posted on April 4, 2010 | 2 Comments

Just catching up with some people who have been in contact with me and who I have contacted over the past few months….

  • George Jemmott continues his journey to Calais and you can read his blog here. It will be interesting to see his GPS data when he finishes
  • Laura Birchenough, another WordPress blogger is heading in the other direction after having started her cycling trip in southern Italy she is now in Greece. For accommodation she is using a mixture of camping and Couch Surfing. I’ve mentioned Couch Surfing before (albeit quite a while ago). I’ve asked her how she is getting on with the CS and may well spend a few minutes reacquainting myself with the CS site. I am able to offer a “couch” in my flat now that the lodger has gone…
  • Australian Ian Hendry has postponed his trip to Europe for the time being due to personal circumstances but is still hopeful to do the Eurovelo 5 from London to Rome at some point in the future.
  • No news from Neil Shirley who contacted me a couple of days ago about cycling from Oxford to Milan but a chap called Vernon Osborne has commented on the post where I answered Neil’s questions. He writes: ” Have chanced upon your webpages and have read your correspondence with Neil from Oxford. I was so pleased to have done so as I too am planning a (charity) cycle from Siena to Valletta in June 2011. I intend following the (west) coast of Italy down to Reggio di Calabria then ferry to Messina and hugging the coast to Syracuse before getting a ferry to Malta. I am desperately trying to get information on the best route to take from Siena to Reggio (like Neil, I am a novice). The information on routes in Italy seems to lessen the further south you get ! I will keep in touch with your progress but would be grateful if you have any advice / information for me. I am doing this trip with friends to raise money for child cancer – CLIC). Training in the UK has begun already !! ” I’ll make sure that I get back in touch with Vernon, hopefully with some more detailed information about the Italian Cycle Network Route 3 than I currently have! The map shows how there is quite a stretch of similarity between his route and mine. He does have 10 months to reflect upon my experiences as he isn’t cycling until June 2011. Watch this space Vern! :)

And if you turn to page 146 we will sing Hymn number 23……

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Bloody Marvelous Friday

Posted on April 2, 2010 | 3 Comments
Well so far, my aim to make Good Friday “Bloody Marvelous Friday” is going to plan. I’ve picked up the bike from AW Cycles and they have, as promised, changed the handlebars for a set that are much wider and have far more space to place my hands on the horizontal bar. They have also had to change the stem that attaches the bar to the frame for a much snazzier one. Not sure why but it is a bit shorter than the previous one so the position may not be so uncomfortable as before. I don’t know yet as I walked the bike back from the shop in the pouring rain after having met up with a friend for coffee in Caversham this morning. Anyway, the picture shows the new stem, Cateye computer and Giant bell. I do like the scale at the centre of the handlebars for measuring the angle they are set at. It means nothing to me, but it looks good!
I’ve also re-joined the University gym and spent a good 20 minutes of the running machine followed by another 20 minutes rowing. A gentle start but an important step to make. I bumped into a former colleague which was nice.
On arriving home, I found the following email in my inbox. George Jemmott has set off o the Eurovelo 5 and is hold up Basel, Switzerland. He writes in blue, my comments are in black;
Hi Andrew!
Sorry to bother you on Good Friday (it’s Bloody Marvellous Friday George but I’ll let you off :) ), but I wonder if you might be able to answer a question by this time tomorrow… I’ll try and do it now!
I’m well on my way, having found EV5 all the way up through Switzerland.  So far it’s been fairly well sign-posted with a few major exceptions (I’ll note them!) and some minor ones that may cause some confusion. This is very intriguing news; the EV5 is sign-posted I’ll be posting more and more when I have internet in Amsterdam at the end of April, but at the moment, other than posting what routes and pictures I can, all my internet time is devoted to finding the route from here on.
Specifically, I’m in Basel Switzerland, about to cross into France, and have run out of maps!  I’m wondering if you know anything more about EV5 (I’m even more committed to following EV5…) than is posted on your route page and the couple of posts you made a while back.  For example, there are two cycle routes from Colmar to Strasbourg – one cuts over to the Rhine and rides alongside it (maybe crossing into Germany at one point, if I recall correctly?) while another rides along a gorgeous canal… and then some surface streets that I didn’t like as much as the canal.  So in this case I guess some pertinent questions might be “does EV5 actually go to Colmar?” or “do you have any resources more detailed than the list of major cities and the low-resolution maps they have on the ECF website?” OK, I’ll try and give you the best answers that I can.
First question: Does the EV5 actually go to Colmar?
My answer: The official description of the route says the following: “Strasbourg has many nice cyclist facilities and Colmar invites you in with beautiful old houses and nice cafes.” So I’m assuming that the route does go through Colmar.
Second question: Do I have any more detailed maps than the ones on the ECF website?
My answer: Kind of. I do have the maps from Jean-Marie Vion, the Belgium guy who cycled from Brussels to the St. Bernard’s Pass. However, that route is far more westerly and passes through Nancy and Besancon so his maps are not much good as they do not follow the EV5 as prescribed by the ECF. There is the Rhine Cycle Route and you’ll find more information on their website about the route itself (although it must be fairly straight forward to follow as you follow the river itself!). We are pioneers George – make a route if you can’t find one and let me know about it! Colmar looks like a pretty place – see the picture here – but if you follow the Rhine, a detour will obviously be needed.
I’m hanging out in a hostel, using the internet, until around noon tomorrow, finishing planning my route as well as I can, so
Thanks so much.
George
Here is George, with bike and trailer in a picture posted on his website – in Basel? He has more pictures on Picasso. Keep me updated with your travels George!

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Long-distance cycling with a folding bike

Posted on February 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

George Jemmott adds some useful comments to the GPS tracking and mapping strand of thought;

Re: sanoodi, I prefer bikely.com at the moment. It’s more bike-centric, and doesn’t have such a focus on GPS-enabled phone/computers (of which I don’t have one)

…and then goes on to explain his reasoning as to why he uses a folding bike for his travels;

The bike is a “Pocket Sport” from Bike Friday. I got it because I really liked the multi-modal transportation idea – being able to take my bike on trains, planes, boats, taxis, buses, etc. Specifically, I pull my duffel bag (or in this case, backpacking backpack) out of the suitcase, fold up the bicycle, and put the bicycle in the suitcase. The result is local transportation in one hand and all my camping gear in the other.

Given that idea, Bike Friday came super highly recommended (as does Brompton in England) for long-distance touring. People do self-supported tours around South-East Asia, Africa, South America, etc. Bike Friday’s cheapest model with 20+ speeds that seemed fit for the task was the Pocket Sport.

I’ve really enjoyed it, especially when it buys me advantages like being able to go on the metro during the day in Milano with my bicycle, or being able to take a night train from Dresden to Zürich or Milano to Berlin (neither of which allowed bicycles… but if it’s in a suitcase, how are they to know?). If I were to choose all over again, I’d probably get one with a folding seat mast and handle-bar mast if possible, as it’s kind of annoying to either have them sticking out full-length or have to pull them out.

Anyway, unless you plan to check your bike on a bunch of airplanes and whatnot, it’s probably not worth the extra expense to get one of the folders.

George

ps – the modified Samsonite suitcase is sold by a company that is closely tied to Bike Friday. I have been a bit disappointed in the quality, especially given a wheels-falling-off problem and a yoke-tearing problem which cost me a few days of my vacation in Budapest.

I think I’ll be sticking to the Ridgeback Panorama with some panniers. :)

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Tanks George

Posted on February 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Remember I asked George Jemmott (him of GPS fame) about the photo at the top of his new Eurovelo 5 website? Well here is the answer:

It just so happens that the only picture I have of my bicycle and trailer together is there in front of that American tank, which just so happens to be on EuroVelo5.  OK, 2 km away from EV5, but really close!  It’s at a battlefield monument from WW II, specifically of the ill-fated Maginot Line.  Here’s another photo with location:
Or the google-maps street-view location of it (so you’ll know it when you see it).
It was totally worth the trip.  Gun encasements with bullet holes and shrapnel still in them, tons of old stuff from the war.  Really pretty amazing to imagine the Second World War tearing through that peaceful little village of Marckolsheim or   It sounds like you’ll get even more out of it than I did, too, as you actually speak French!  :)
Cheers,
George

Here is the photo that he refers me to. Nice tank. The picture in picture is from the Google Street View reference that George also provides and it shows the road passing outside of the museum… complete with a separate cycle path! Please take note if you are a road planner, architect, builder etc… in Britain!

Thanks George

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Competition!

Posted on February 14, 2010 | 2 Comments

I believe in competition; it gives people an opportunity to benchmark what they do and try and make improvements. It sometimes gets bad press when it encroaches on things like health care or education, but I am generally very supportive to the whole concept of the chase. It’s just a great pity that I am not one of life’s born competitors.

In this light, it is good to welcome what looks like a quality Eurovelo 5 blog; George Jemmott has moved over to WordPress and has created a potential rival to Puglia 2010. This is a good thing!

If this were the real world of course, George’s attitude to business would no doubt attract the ire of the Competition Commission in the UK as he has emailed me with details of his new venture (neither of us charge for our services to the Eurovelo 5 community but this kind of activity can only lead to price fixing in the future). He writes;

“…I wanted to let you know about my recent progress.  I finally started putting stuff up on the net.  Check out eurovelo5.georgejemmott.com ….I’m working on the section of road between Switzerland and Milano.  I’m calling it “The Ticino-Milano problem,” and have a page dedicated to it on my site.  Hopefully I’ll get it resolved fairly soon.”

As you might guess from George’s style, he takes a more scientific view to the route than me. He is a GPS enthusiast and is undertaking some extremely valuable work mapping the route of the Eurovelo 5 from Milan to Calais. As he says, “The Ticino-Milano problem” is currently on his mind and I will be following carefully his findings; he lives in Milan and is thus in a perfect position to investigate whether it is better to take a westerly route from the Swiss border to Milan along the shores of Lake Maggiore or a more direct route via Como.

Interesting that he has chosen to use WordPress as well for his blog. It is certainly Rolls-Royce blogging software compared to the clunky Blogger system.

Competition? Bring it on :)

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Sanoodi Mapping

Posted on January 16, 2010 | 2 Comments
I need to remember this: Sanoodi mapping. It is a way of recording your route, en route and showing it live via the Internet. Oli Broom (Cycling to the Ashes) appears to use it (although it is credited on the map on his site with two other companies: ESRI(UK) and OpenStreetMap). It works, I think, via a compatible GPS phone (which I don’t have: i-Phone, Nokia S60, Blackberry…). Not sure how Mark Beaumont does his map, but he is via the BBC website so he has a bit of help! George Jemmott (GPS person) might have more to add to this – George: please comment below!

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WWOOFing: Clarification

Posted on January 16, 2010 | 1 Comment
In the comment to the previous post, George Jemmott has explained what WWOOFing is:
WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)ing is awesome. Work while you travel, see http://www.wwoof.org/ .

Actually he doesn’t really explain what it is does he? But if you visit the website it explains it all there. A kind of “I’ll scrub your back if you scrub mine” arrangement whereby volunteers work on organic farms across the World for free board and lodgings (including of course, lots of organic food). And this is what Rob Lewis and his new wife will be doing en route to Istanbul.

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