A few months ago I was approached by Jet2 Holidays who asked if I would be interested in discovering the joys of cycling in one of their winter destinations in southern Europe. Of course I said yes and had a look at the map. Where would be nice and warm in the middle of February? The Canary Islands seemed the most likely place to deliver good weather so I arranged to travel to Costa Adeje on the island of Tenerife. I hired a bike and headed along the coast and up the hills… This was a different approach to travelling on two wheels. How did I get on without a tent and four panniers but in a luxury hotel on an unfamiliar bicycle?Show less
According to the birdโs eye view of Morlaix in the image below, thatโs the motto of the town. Original, no? Itโs been a hot day so far, despite Brittany being the cold corner of the map of France on last nightโs TV forecast. I’ve returned to the hotel for a siestaโฆ Iโll head back out soon for anothercwander. Thereโs a festival of all things Breton taking place in Place Allende this afternoon so Iโll perhaps update this later. In the meantime, note that episode 055 of The Cycling Europe Podcast was published this morning – part 4 of my โGrand Tourโ series – so if you have 55 minutes to spaceโฆ All the links can be found by navigating over to the podcast page of the website.
A few mindful moments just after sunrise on my final morning staying in Costa Adeje on the Spanish island of Tenerife. It’s interesting seeing how, from the perspective of the drone, the natural and man-made worlds have collided rather sharply. But at 8am there was still calm to be found before people crawl from their beds and take up position beside the pools, in the cafรฉs and bars and on the beaches…
Friday 3 May โ Sunday 5 May 2024
John Ruskin School, Coniston
This yearโs Cycle Touring Festival is an in-person event, at John Ruskin School in Coniston, Cumbria.
You are not reading this on Wednesday 20th as, yesterday evening, my 25GB of data ran out. I was expecting this to happen at some point and also expected to be able to easily purchase more data. But thatโs when it got problematic. A phone call to Vodafone is on the cards when their call centre opens on Thursday morning. I suppose if all else fails I can buy a French SIM card. Thereโs also the matter of me having had to change my mobile number (could that be complicating things?) but that sorry tale is for another day (and probably another websiteโฆ)
Back to the writing. Iโm currently on a busy train thatโs about to set off for Le Mans. Iโll be getting off at Chartres, one step along the Veloscenie cycle route from Paris. Busy in terms of people, busy in terms of bicycles; the current count is six of which three are laden touring bikes. Itโs a sight that would leave your average Trans Pennine Express train guard seeking counselling. There are people clambering over the bikes as they make their way down the carriages to find their seat. Now far be for me to say but if people actually worked out which carriage to get on when they are on the platform, like would be somewhat easier. Anyway, I digressโฆ and we are off. Six bicycles it is.
There were times this morning when I thought this particular day – the whole trip perhaps – were being derailedโฆ It all started by me heading over the bridge back in the direction of La Rรฉole. Oops! Wrong direction. No big problem; Iโd only cycled perhaps 50 metres across the bridge and by doing so made a nice video clip (yep, you guessed it – watch the videoโฆ).
As I thought I would, I have spent the day in Aigle. It rained heavily overnight, continued raining this morning and this afternoon and only decided to stop at around 3pm. It remains very overcast with the clouds hanging around the mountains that surround the town on three sides and it wouldnโt surprise me in the least if we are in for more rain later today. Tomorrow morning there is a chance of rain but things are looking much brighter for the afternoon and continuing into the weekend and next week. Back to you Huwโฆ
