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You must try the Calvados in Normandy !!
I have decided to stay a second night here evennif its a crappy hotel F1
Yesterday was funny. I went to check into the ibis in the centre. No rooms there but they very helpfully booked me into the hotel F1 2 miles out of town and not really what i wanted. They where being so helpfull that itcwas hard to say no and maybe they thought all other hotels were full.
Next adventure is to get my clothes washed. There is a launderette nearby. Wish me luck!
You must try the Calvados in Normandy if you need paintstripper for some odd reason
FTFY
Pics from yesterday
https://i.postimg.cc/brywW1NM/20220816-110852.jp g" alt="" />
Once again one of the pics does not show
So.... how's yer bahookie?
Once again one of the pics does not show
I think there is now a limit on the number of links/embedded photos per post now
Any news on tjs boil yet?Has it been lanced?Perhaps giving it a name will help matters.
Boily Macboilface it is
The boil has burst which is good news. Somehow I suspect you dont want pictures.
Spent part of the day wandering around Dieppe and part of it sleeping.
Dieppe is gearing up for the 80th anniversary of the raid on 19 August. Lots of Canadian flags
OMG Boily Macboilface. Genuine laughing hysterically.
I mis-read that TJ was wandering around Dieppe and part of it 'seeping' , as in the boil.
🤣🙄
😅
80th anniversary of the raid on 19 August.
One of my great uncles was involved. When his dementia was bad he relived it, it was not a good experience. RIP Uncle Alf.
@tjagain - ignore slowol and do try the Calvados but a nice one, not the cheap crap stuff
Also, you can get some amazing dark rum in France as they still have very strong links to the Caribbean islands. Any good bar/restaurant will have it. Usually from small batch island producers.
No idea how I've missed this thread so far, but a fantastic and fascinating tale already.
Well TJ at least you have provided some with a laugh at your boil (oh I really hope it's OK from now) Bunnyhop you’re a bad girl for thinking he had seeping 😉
Sandwich I hope your uncle Alf had a peaceful end as I can only imagine the horrors he witnessed at Dieppe.
My grandfather on my fathers side survived the war as a Tank radio operator and never spoke about it. I can’t begin to understand what it must have been like to see friends “boiling up”
Back on the road this morning refreshed and rested. Gonna try back roads i think rather than the eurovelo. Lets see if i can get some good miles in.
Much cooler today but the skys are clear.
I can only imagine the horrors he witnessed at Dieppe.
Imagine TJ home surgerying a boil on his arse outside a tent, and then add some?
Please, I've just had breakfast! 🤢
Imagine TJ home surgerying a boil on his arse outside a tent, and then add some?
A biffins bridge too far
Imagine TJ home surgerying a boil on his arse outside a tent, and then add some?
Greater relief than Baden-Powell at Mafeking.
A biffins bridge too far
Tea and keyboard have just occupied the same co-ordinates in space and time.
🤣🙄
Second lunch. Thats better. Making good miles so far following the backroads. Heading south west ish . Perfect day for cycling . I found a lovely greenway that i followed for a while and even some singletrack which was a nice change if slow. I came down this. I ain't climbing it
What trailer tyres for singletrack?
Camped up south of the Seine between le Havre and Rouen
Good days riding today. Nearly 60 of them
^ I'm salivating at that beer
The beer evaporated . I had to order another and a pizza and chips
After a hard day out my first beer usually sizzles as it goes down.
I can hear my bed calling loudly. All those carbs and 3 beers after a days ride in the sun.
Good rote choices today. 400 miles from Amsterdam now and 600 to Bilbao
MrOvershoot - I am naughty, as I've just spotted a phallic symbol behind tj's beer. ;O)
Bunnyhop
MrOvershoot – I am naughty, as I’ve just spotted a phallic symbol behind tj’s beer. ;O)
I'm glad it was you that mentioned it first as I didn’t want to be the first to mention knobs. It was the first thing that made me laugh/project cider while scanning those pictures.
At first I thought it was a windmill then realised it was an umbrella in the garden.
There appears to be a massive traffic-free cycle path down the Atlantic coast:
https://www.cycling-lavelodyssee.com/
I realised that I am partially living through TJs adventure... As I sit at my desk I get pictures of a road trip through places I have never been and, right now, am unlikely to go to. It's like having a 20 minute holiday every day, but without the risk of boils.
Thank you TJ!
Just collected my fresh croissants and baguette. Sitting here with a good coffee feeling very European. I slept like a log last night. Now to plan todays route
There appears to be a massive traffic-free cycle path down the Atlantic coast
Yes there is, it is:
Narrow and sandy in parts
Busy like the M25 every Monday morning at this time of the year.
Some bugger stole my backup battery and charger. Few updates until.its replaced. ****. Thats the second one
There appears to be a massive traffic-free cycle path down the Atlantic coast:
https://www.cycling-lavelodyssee.com/
/blockquote>I've ridden this twice now, when I first did it about 11 years ago it had a few sections made of concrete slabs with varying gaps before the next one. 7 years ago it was all tarmac and wider, it can be busy but it's a great route for getting down the coast.
Got the charger and battery replaced ok. Camped in Livarot 🙄🤣
Lots of nice woodland and orchards today.
It actually feels cold out there tinight. 14C ish? I can see my breath. Today felt autumnal tho is too early for that but a huge drop in temperature
Have you tried the Calvados yet?
I have always said that autumn round here often begins the last week in August. Trees are all brown and dropping leaves as a result of the heat stress this summer.
Up bright and early this morning. Should be on the road by 9. Not a cloud in the sky this morning but it was cold last night- well cold in comparison.
On a camping municipale last night. 4 campervans and one other tent on site but im still paranoid about my battery on charge in the loos block🙄
Feeling a bit blue and meh this morning. Dunno why really. I guess a bit mid ride blues. Seems i have been riding for ages since Amsterdam but im only 400 of 1100 miles done.
Ill bet that all changes once i get moving
Won't be long until you have covered more than 50% of your distance and the weather might improve the further south you go?
I was able to occasionally charge my camera batteries from the electric hook up points on campsites when I was unable to charge in the toilet block. Before smart phones, tracking and electronic navigation though.
Yeah you'll make some progress on those open D roads. Bon voyages.
Thats better. Got my croissants and patisserie for breakfast and lunch. Nice freash bread some local stinky cheese and some nectarines. Now sitting in the sun stuffing my face
That is a LOT of croissants. That's enough to make me want to ride my bike to be able to scoff that
Feeling a bit blue and meh this morning. Dunno why really. I guess a bit mid ride blues. Seems i have been riding for ages since Amsterdam but im only 400 of 1100 miles done.
Stop counting miles and count croissants
Camped up in a delightful camping municipale. Short walk into town to get resupplied. Not too many miles todsy but plenty of climbing. The price of meandering along wee tiny backroads. Woodland and fields and beautiful wee villages today and i bet I'm quite a bit higher than this morning
In Carrouges on the edge of a national park
much nicer than eurovelo though?
More direct and some very quiet roads. I can pick up a marked cycle route here
I’m quite a bit higher than this morning
Mentally as well as physically I hope!
Really enjoy following your travels. I frequently use the cycle track between Paisley and Lochwinnoch as a conduit to the tranquil lanes of Ayrshire and every time I use it now I think of you using it early on in your journey. Puts my wee day trips into perspective.
A thousand feet up here. Thought i had been climbing all day
Carrouges I thought I knew that place but it was Alencon I stopped in, not far but I think I snapped my chain pulling away from a junction there!
I was going west to east so from now on I don't know your route on a bike think I camped at Bourg-le-Roi that night and got bitten by a wasp while trying to steal some apples 😮
Still waiting for your arrival for the DH World Cup here in Les Gets. If you put a shift in I reckon you can get here in time.
Tartiflette awaits.
The land of cheese and pastry,
Raclette mmmmmm, yum.
Glad your mind is in a better place today TJ.
BH x
Im sitting in the corner of a field eating bread and jam for second breakfast. Feeling good today.
Found an old railway to follow for a while
Found an old railway to follow for a while
You'll be well chuffed about that.
Lolz
Second lunch of bread and some rather dangerous cheese. Thunderstorms around. Im following a cycle route and about to hit a second much longer greenway i think that i might be on for a couple of days
dangerous cheese.
Sounds yummy. Is it stinky or runny or full of mould - maybe all 3?
Camped up for the night
i will drink to that - cheers TJ
now going to find the bit of the thread with your packing list, pics - its gotta be round here somewhere
Good luck finding it. End of the first section maybe?
if anyone else is interested
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/tjs-recovery-ride-advice-routes-rides-n-beer/page/4/
EDIT: bottom of page 4.
The cheese was both stinky and runny and very nice. I spent most of the day on old railway lines and think i have a canal to follow tomorrow. Maybe some old railway as well. Decent miles tiday. 50ish by wheel but 40 odd in a direct line.
Looks very calming...
Looks very calming…
I'm not sure that cloudy cidre fermier coupled with dangerous cheese is going to be calming 😂
And way back when. staying in a camping municipale in Provence while climbing, some had confused the showers for the shoot and shit traps - had to make a hasty exit that morning when i was after a freshen up
On kit. There is nothing i have taken i havent used and the only thing I would change would be either a dynamo or a solar panel for phone charging. Two batteries have been pinched when left in the loo block to be charged and its been a bit of a pain keeping everything charged.
More containers for food perhaps is the other thing that would be useful
2 croissants and a pain au chocolate scoffed this morning and a nice fresh baguette for today
I’m not sure that cloudy cidre fermier coupled with dangerous cheese is going to be calming
I saw Dangerous Cheese supporting Cloudy Cidre Fermier in a small venue before either signed a record deal, great mosh pit
<insert John Peel dot jpeg>