There is a risk of this blog becoming a bit monotonous: I just went swimming again this morning but refrained from sending a Twitter message…
Jon in Australia has emailed back. I had told him that I aimed to get from Reading to Berkshire in a maximum of six weeks but intimated that I was being a bit optomistic: he doesn’t agree: “I dont think your timeframe is unrealistic, it might just rely on you not getting badly ill/injured/having your wallet stolen and the weather staying reasonable over the period.” He goes on to tell me that he has a friend of average fitness who managed 80km per day over a 3 week period. He also makes a good point about the terrain. Choose the flat routes and you go further. In his first email he said that the whole route had an incline of maximum 6%. That needs checking. Can you really go over the Alps without going over 6%? Even via the Mont Blanc tunnel would require you to get to the entrance in Chamonix which is high in the mountains. A route via the Rhone Valley and the French / Italian Rivieras would be flatter. It’s great to have someone to bounce these ideas about. Thanks Jon! I’ve encouraged him to start his own blog. One good question that he asks and that I should really have added to my list a few days ago (see below) is “Where am I going to stay?” Hotel? Hostel? Camp? More things to ponder.