Tag Archives: Jonathan Scott

Screwed Up Days in France

Posted on June 20, 2010 | 2 Comments

Jon Scott continues to amuse me with his retrospective posts about his cycling trip through continental Europe; this is a fun read. And the pictures continue to be stunning. Hope he doesn’t mind me nicking them and posting them here. If you click on the photo it will take you to his Flickr photostream so I’m kind-of paying my way by sending him a little bit more web traffic… What are waiting for then? Click the photo!

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Blogging the EV5

Posted on June 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

Bill Vrabel, via his blog,  is going through the learning process about long-distance cycling that I have had to do over the last couple of years and it’s interesting to see his two most recent posts about camping (or not) and going down the route of clipless pedals. And Susan Hausberger has now started her blog  about her trip from Austria to the UK. It is interesting how they have both chosen a “look” which is very similar; the open bicycle path stretching out into the distance along a (very continental) avenue of trees… (although Sue’s look more English than continental on closer inspection, as does the sheep).

While updating the EV5 blog news, Jonathan Scott continues to update his blog retrospectively – his most recent post describes his journey in and around Dijon. I say retrospectively as if you look at his superb photos on his Flickr site, it would indicate that he is now in… Edinburgh!

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Heading North with Jon Scott

Posted on May 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

Jon Scott continues his journey north - he was in Bern on the 20th so he is making very good progress - and he continues to post some stunning photos on Flickr; here is a little montage of four of his recent images. His blog is here (or you can read summaries each time he posts in the feed in the right hand column of this blog).

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Jon Scott’s Photos on Flickr

Posted on May 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Jon is posting some amazing pictures on Flickr as he cycles up through Italy; this is just an example and was taken in the Cinque Terre.

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Rome to London with Jon Scott

Posted on May 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

Jon Scott – I mentioned him a few days ago – has now set off from Rome. His blog is here and I have put an RSS feed over there on the right to keep up with his progress. For some reason his blog wouldn’t allow me to post a comment so sorry Jon :( I’m watching your every mood however, albeit trying to do so with things in reverse as you are heading in the opposite direction to me. The weather didn’t look too good on day 1 and I hope the camping experience has got better since then. The picture shows his bike before he set off, minus all the mud!

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Update: Jonathan Scott

Posted on May 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

A name from the earlier days of this blog has just emailed; Jonathan Scott is an Australian who is planning to cycle from Rome to London and he is one of the people to be listed down there on the left as a Eurovelo 5 / Via Francigena blogger. He writes;

Hi Andrew

How is the preparation going for your trip?  I am in Rome at the moment, about to embark on my ride this Tuesday. I cant wait to get on the road but have a fair bit of stuff I need to do first. I was wonder if, once I get to England, you would be keen to go for a beer or something? I’m sure we’d have a lot to talk about and who knows, I might be able to give you some advice (or ‘what not to do’s'). Once I hit England I’m likely to head straight up to Scotland before heading back south before my departure on 1 July.  The best time for me would therefore be around 28-30 June.  Not much of a window but what can you do! If you are free and keen let me know. I will be on email fairly regularly. I am also blogging it at ecrubike.  Your blog seems very popular! I find it very hard to find the time to keep mine going.

Cheers

Jon

Jon’s route is slightly different from mine (apart from being in the opposite direction!) as he winds his way through central France along the Loire Valley (even passing through my old place of residence which is Tours!) after having climbed the Alps and cycled through Switzerland although up until then our routes look pretty similar. Of course I will meet him and glean every bit of information I can from him! Good luck Jon! The picture shows hin in Seoul btw which is where he was until arriving in Rome.

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End of 2009 Summary

Posted on December 28, 2009 | Leave a comment
I’m on the train en route home after Christmas with my family and thought I would use the time to pull the strands of my preparation for my trip to Puglia in the summer together. Let’s kick off with the route. That is more or less in place: National Cycle Network routes 4 and 1 from Reading to Dover via London, follow the canals to Brussels and then use the route maps supplied by Jean-Marie Vion all the way to the Great St Bernard’s pass. That’s where he and his cycling mates finished but I will of course continue south following the Pilgrim Cycle Route number 3 of the Italian Cycle Network. That takes me all the way to Brindisi. So that’s the route. Other people: never really thought that anyone would be interested in what I am planning but how wrong could I have been? Ian Hendry in Adelaide is cycling from London to Rome a few weeks before me and I hope to meet up with him when he arrives in the UK. It will be interesting to compare plans and then maintain contact as he cycles ahead of me. Jonathon Scott – the other Australian – is doing Rome – London earlier in the year. Again, it would be interesting to meet up with him when he arrives in London to use him as a source of advice and guidance, albeit in reverse! It would be interesting to have a beer with the aforementioned Jean-Marie Vion in Brussels. He sounds like an experienced cyclist and come that point in the journey, I may need some advice and guidance. Brussels is also, of course the point at which I will hopefully be joined by Richard Burton (if he has managed to do the Essex to Belgium bit earlier in the year otherwise he may join me earlier). Richard is able to stay with me for about a week to ten days so I imagine that will mean somewhere between Strasbourg and Switzerland. I have wondered whether contacting either Claus, my friend in Stuttgart or / and Richard Laid, a teacher in Reading who I haven’t seen for a while but who has a flat in the Alps where he spends his summers (or did the last time I spoke to him). It is further to the west than my route over the mountains but he is a keen cyclist and if he is in the area he may want to join me for a few days. Can’t imagine Claus will be up for cycling but he and his new wife may fancy meeting up on one of my rest days. Once into Italy I have no firm contacts until south of Rome where Massimo and his friends are expecting me. Not sure what that will entail! Finally, a warm welcome is guaranteed in Brindisi by Basil and Liz. Equipment wise, I imagine that a new bike is on the cards. That Bianchi might just be too tempting and then there is the tent. I will have to revisit all my research prior to last summer’s trip before I decided that I would stay in hostels instead. So that is a rough summary of my planning so far. Like all good plans, it will of course change… Roll on 2010!

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Australia calling

Posted on September 27, 2009 | Leave a comment
I forwarded Jean-Marie’s detailed maps to my two contacts in Australia and received the following replies:

Andrew
I only have a brief minute to reply, but thank you ever so much for these maps!!!! Outstanding details!!! I’ll reply in more details shortly. As we are overdue some enthusiastic conversation on this thing! :-P
Hope you are keeping well.
Ian

Ian, if you remember, is doing more or less the same journey as me although probably a few weeks earlier.
Thanks Andrew,
There seems to be quite a bit of detail there. Your French is very good! I could skim through and get the gist of some of that but you’re much more capable than I am. I’m trying to get at least a grasp before I leave. Italian I think will be my sticking point, I really have no idea there…
it will make it interesting though!
Cheers,
Jon
Jon is doing the journey in what I consider reverse: Rome to London (although to him it will be perfectly normal!).
I hope Jean-Marie reads this – the credit is due to him, not to me – as he has saved all three of us a lot of hard graft at the computer trying to work out a route from Brussels to Italy. I did update my own Google Map a little with the details from Jean-Marie but that’s going to be a long job and, quite frankly, unnecessary now that the detail is elsewhere. I am, however, interested to see if the route does follow the EV 5.
On other matters, not much progress over the last week or so. I have been feeling off colour for a few days and although it wasn’t bad enough to prevent me from cycling to work, I did feel a bit down come the end of the week (perhaps it was the withdrawal symptoms from coming off the concoction of drugs that I have been taking: I was using the odds and ends from previous packs of medicines purchased from previous bouts of colds and sniffles!). No broken commuting records, no great leaps forward in fitness. In fact, I am not sure that my recently bought waterproof trainers are doing the business: I have developed a numbness in my left big toe and index toe (does that exist?) that I am currently putting down to the trainer not giving me enough support while cycling but more probably, jogging on a Sunday morning. I gave my Sunday morning jog today a miss.
Someone else thinks I am “deluded” on the vote. At least I still have 0% “insane” and “inspired” is still up there at 93%.
October – it starts on Thursday – needs to be a month of action!

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Via Francigena / EuroVélo 5 Blogs of note:

Posted on July 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

Both Ian Hendry and Jonathan Scott have now got their blogs up and running! Ian has chosen the name “Hendo2010” and Jonathan “Cycling Via Francigena“.

Ian is cycling London to Rome but probably a bit earlier than me in summer 2010. Jonathan is cycling Rome to London in summer but not sure exactly when. Perhaps we’ll all bump into one another up some Alpine mountain :)

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An email from… Mark Beaumont!

Posted on July 26, 2009 | 1 Comment

I had to look twice at my inbox tonight on returning home after the morning ride to Newbury and the afternoon lazing in a Reading coffee shop with a friend (and getting frost bitten in the process: has anyone told the weather people that it is July?). I have received an email from none other than Mark Beaumont, the man who cycled the World! This is the equivalent of a reserve player at Halifax Town AFC (Blue Square League) getting an email from Ronaldo. If you are out there in Canada Mark and reading this – thanks for taking the time to respond to my blog post of a few days ago: Mark Beaumont’s tent. Here is what Mark tells me:
Hi Andrew,
The tent is a Terra Nova Laser Competition – a reliable choice for ultra light bike tours. Good luck with your prep.
Cheers
Mark (from the wilds of Canada)
So, it wasn’t a Vango Force Ten Helium 200 after all. Mind you, the Terra Nova Laser Competition (I want a job making up these tent names btw!) sounds a tent to bow down and pay homage to: the Pope of tents. A little bit of research tells me that it is 930 grammes (this cuts a whacking 300 grammes off the Vango FTH200 – even the abbreviation sounds cool) and used to be the Guinness World Record holder for lightest tent in the, err.. World. The Terra Nova website itself even has a “Certificate of Calibration” from Derbyshire County Council to prove the weight! I bet you are eager to see a picture, no? Here it is:

So thanks Mark for the info and the time spent actually emailing it to me.
Jonathan Scott – a guy from Australia I had also been in contact with earlier in the year regarding the Puglia trip has posted a comment on my Facebook page:
“Hey mate, How is the preparation going for the big tour? I’ve started to plan my route in a bit more detail – some of the mountains will be a bit scary though!”
I agree with him there, especially after having watched the experts crawl to the top of Mont Ventoux yesterday afternoon in the Tour de France – Bradley Wiggins came fourth overall btw after having seen Mark Cavendish win on the Champs Elysées today.
Off for a look around Hampton Court Palace tomorrow, but need to get the accommodation sorted for next week in the Pennines. Urgent!!

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