Monday, 13 June 2011
Saturday, 7 May 2011
London - Verona - the trip so far...cont
Wild camping seems like a dangerous game in Europe where land ownership is valued and fiercely protected, but our experiences have been fun and harmless. We camped on the fields of a shooting range, in woods with wild boars, by the side of the Loire, the Rhone and canals. We were seen by a farmer whilst camping in an orchard/vineyard and next to a field which was being ploughed when we arrived. No one has thrown us off or shot at us and the vineyard farmer just nodded and waved as he drove past our evening picnic. Sometimes we have to leave early but if well hidden we can sleep for a little longer.
...And then we were in Italy. The weather turned and we had our first drop of rain, the roads deteriorated, drivers passed closer and the towns, squeezed between hills and coast, were difficult for wild camping. We slept on dunes by the sea, then in a tight spot behind a church on a mountain valley. Easter monday led us to consume our emergency rations in a field by an abandoned office block, which, it gradually transpired, was used as a spot to court local prostitutes.
Northern Italy became industrial and we realised we had arranged to meet the girls too late in May. So we altered our route, taking in the beautiful town of Brescia, and spending days by Lake Iseo, Idro, Ledro and Garda. We cycled amongst mountains and washed in rivers, we slept atop tunnels and a foot from Lake Garda, with waves splashing the tent. Rooms with equivalent views to our campspots would command extraordinary rents so we feel lucky when we eat our dinner with the sun setting in some epic locations, romantic.
We have visited Ca' dei Frati and Pieropan wineries and tasted some beautiful wines. The contrast is amusing, a quick clothes change down the road, into my cream shorts with safety pin secured flies, and then we are wandering around spectacular cellars and tasting wines in grand locations. The ice cream in Italy has been a treat and a weekend in Verona with Mia and Annabel will enable us to try some local specialities in the Trattoria's.
The adventures of the next month are just a collection of possibilities at the moment but, fingers' crossed, they will be many, we will make it around Europe and cycle back to London with Kev and Gary.
Now we are sitting on a castle wall in Soave, later we will wild camp. Then we will emerge back into civilisation for three days with Mia and Annabel. After that we will go explore again. We have had sore achilles, sore knees, elbows and necks. A slashed tyre, a couple of punctures and crushed chainstays. A broken tent pole and a few sneezes and sore stomachs, but these have done little to dampen our spirits and excitement for the next half of Western Europe.
Peace.
Adam
Friday, 6 May 2011
London - Verona - the trip so far
France feels like a distant country from which I have taken many vivid memories of the bizarre and the peacefully simple. Sat by Lake Garda with the 'epic month' (self named) soon upon us. The spirit is primed for the attempt, but the achilles feels brittle.
France was broken into four stages; Normandie, the Loire, the Rhone and the French Riviera. They were all lined by beautfiul weather, red saddle sores and almond croissants. It was the destination for our descent from societal norms and our decivilisation, as we explored the forgotten frontier of Western Europe by wild camp.
Normandie villages, flat roads and beautiful countrside set a high standard for the trip. As we moved to the Loire we saw some spectacular buildings - the chateau in Sully-sur-Loire - but it became more industrial around Sancerre. The rivers were vast and the hills between the major rivers were tough to climb but hid ideallic villages. The entrance to the south coast of France at the sapphire waters of Nice felt like an achievement. An evening and celebratory morning in the hospitality of Andy's godparents was lovely and, clean, we headed off along the French Riviera - enjoying the juxtoposition of wealth in Monaco...
The element of the trip which makes it so enjoyable is the freedom, summed up by our choice of accommodation and travel. I rise at 6:30am and check we still have two bikes, Andy rises 10-20 minutes later, at his leisure. We hit the road by 7:30am and seek food which we eat in large volumes by the side of the road. Then we cycle, listening to music, chatting or just looking about. Around 12-1 we start to get hungry and find bread, cheese and other things to eat. If lucky we can also clean pans, or clothes in supermartket or other public facilities - along with seeing to other regular requirements.
We ride through the afternoon, stopping for snacks or to ask people for water and around 5-6pm we look for some dinner rations, hot or cold. By 7 we try and look for a suitable spot to wild camp. We fret about being caught for 1/2 hr then set up, baby wipe, eat and sleep. Then we do the same the next day...but with a hundred different quirky variations. It's really very liberating.
Wild campspots are never the same twice. Cheese varities and croissant and pastry options are vast and a cyclists' appetite in France means you become a connoisseur of both. The towns, villages and countryside change slowly enough to become well acquainted with regions but fast enough to see a wide variety throughout the days and weeks. Baby-wiping, crotch creaming, roadside washing/relieving, nakedness and dirtiness. These all occur daily in weird, unsavoury and disreputable forms.
France was broken into four stages; Normandie, the Loire, the Rhone and the French Riviera. They were all lined by beautfiul weather, red saddle sores and almond croissants. It was the destination for our descent from societal norms and our decivilisation, as we explored the forgotten frontier of Western Europe by wild camp.
Normandie villages, flat roads and beautiful countrside set a high standard for the trip. As we moved to the Loire we saw some spectacular buildings - the chateau in Sully-sur-Loire - but it became more industrial around Sancerre. The rivers were vast and the hills between the major rivers were tough to climb but hid ideallic villages. The entrance to the south coast of France at the sapphire waters of Nice felt like an achievement. An evening and celebratory morning in the hospitality of Andy's godparents was lovely and, clean, we headed off along the French Riviera - enjoying the juxtoposition of wealth in Monaco...
The element of the trip which makes it so enjoyable is the freedom, summed up by our choice of accommodation and travel. I rise at 6:30am and check we still have two bikes, Andy rises 10-20 minutes later, at his leisure. We hit the road by 7:30am and seek food which we eat in large volumes by the side of the road. Then we cycle, listening to music, chatting or just looking about. Around 12-1 we start to get hungry and find bread, cheese and other things to eat. If lucky we can also clean pans, or clothes in supermartket or other public facilities - along with seeing to other regular requirements.
We ride through the afternoon, stopping for snacks or to ask people for water and around 5-6pm we look for some dinner rations, hot or cold. By 7 we try and look for a suitable spot to wild camp. We fret about being caught for 1/2 hr then set up, baby wipe, eat and sleep. Then we do the same the next day...but with a hundred different quirky variations. It's really very liberating.
Wild campspots are never the same twice. Cheese varities and croissant and pastry options are vast and a cyclists' appetite in France means you become a connoisseur of both. The towns, villages and countryside change slowly enough to become well acquainted with regions but fast enough to see a wide variety throughout the days and weeks. Baby-wiping, crotch creaming, roadside washing/relieving, nakedness and dirtiness. These all occur daily in weird, unsavoury and disreputable forms.
Friday, 1 April 2011
It started out as a suggestion as many of these things do, "Do you fancy a cycling trip next year?", "Yeah, sounds good". It's been a long year of planning (kind of), reading cycling forums, buying bikes, testing kit, and more physiotherapy than we would have wanted. Finally however all of this is about to come to fruition as we (Andrew and Adam) set out on our bikes on the 6th April to try and cycle around Europe.
When you say "cycle around Europe" most people respond, "so where are you going", and we've taken pleasure in responding, with brash confidence, oh we're not planning a route, we're just going to see where the roads take us. But as you're following our blog we thought it was only fair to give you a sneak peak. We will start in Croydon and head South to take the ferry to France, we then aim to follow a route to the West of Paris cutting across to Bordeaux, before skirting the Pyrenees and cycling along the Mediterranean Coast towards Italy. From there, who knows……
Our bikes will become our friends, and enemies, laden with all the worldly possessions we need to camp and survive. We hope, with foolhardy optimism, that they will help us complete the 2000+ miles that we aim to achieve. Our biggest challenge however will be the discomfort of camping, which, on our shoestring budget we hope to do wild and free.
When you say "cycle around Europe" most people respond, "so where are you going", and we've taken pleasure in responding, with brash confidence, oh we're not planning a route, we're just going to see where the roads take us. But as you're following our blog we thought it was only fair to give you a sneak peak. We will start in Croydon and head South to take the ferry to France, we then aim to follow a route to the West of Paris cutting across to Bordeaux, before skirting the Pyrenees and cycling along the Mediterranean Coast towards Italy. From there, who knows……
Our bikes will become our friends, and enemies, laden with all the worldly possessions we need to camp and survive. We hope, with foolhardy optimism, that they will help us complete the 2000+ miles that we aim to achieve. Our biggest challenge however will be the discomfort of camping, which, on our shoestring budget we hope to do wild and free.
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