Bikes: Chris, as stated in the journal, borrowed, from a friend, a Dawes Galaxy off-the peg touring machine. This is very similar to the American Trek 520. The frameset is in Reynolds 531 ST tubing has cantilever brakes, triple chain ring, bar-end shifters, 35mm touring tires and mudguards [fenders].

I rode a 15 year-old F.W. Evans triathlon bike, with a Reynolds 531C frame converted not quite as far as possible for touring. Eqipped with a double chainset, [52 outer]I swapped the 42 tooth inner ring for a 36, and fitted mudguards [fenders]. This latter leaves little frame clearance, both front and back. It's worked ok but riding through mud is an absolute no-no. It has friction shifters on the down-tube, designated by the good Doctor Sheldon Brown as "suicide shifters". The rear derailleur [the front was] is by Sun-Tour. I bought a new chain and a more touring friendly freewheel 13-28. The rear-wheel [Mavic] will only take a six-speed block. I rode on 25mm tires and had no problems whatsoever, apart from an iffy valve on the first day. Neither of us had a puncture. The brakes are Weinmann side-pull, as stated in the journal, not ideal for loaded alpine descents. The saddle wasn't up to the task and Savlon antiseptic cream was a useful accessory. I'm pretty sure the jump from 36-52 teeth did for the front mech. I have since installed a new axle cassette and a Shimano Tiagra triple chainset. A word on gearing: again as stated in the text, even though the bike wasn't loaded for camping, my gear range gave me little comfort on the steeper stretches of the long climbs.

Gear: Took too much stuff, but I always will. I used Carradice Karrimor panniers, which are excellent, on a Blacburn rear rack, a seatpost bag for tools and tubes etc, an Altura handlebar bag with mapcase, of which the glue on the velcro closing strip melted in the heat. The panniers are supplied with hi-vis elasticated rain covers, which of course I carried but never used. During the first few days I wore padded touring shorts but ditched them in favour of my Lycra ones. I rode in cotton T-shirts and carried, socks, underwear, a sweater, 2 short-sleeved shirts, a pair of jeans, shoes and flip-flops. Then of course there was the raingear: medium-weight top, waterproof overtrousers and gore-tex overshoes none of which I used apart from at the top of La Cime de la Bonnête to keep warm while waiting for Chris. The foul weather gear was absolutely necessary of course. We couldn't have predicted the heatwave and being caught unprotected, in a mountain storm at high-level, doesn't bear thinking about. We both used SPD shoes and clipless pedals.

The Route: I did literally draw a straight line, in pencil on a small-scale road map from Calais-Nice. I then tried to theoretically follow that on minor roads using the Michelin maps. In practice we mostly fell in with the theory, but as previously stated there's a lot of map checking involved. Some of us obviously like that though. A friend of my brother is a Geography teacher. "Geography's not just looking at maps." he proclaims. More's the pity, say I.

For the most part, we were able to avoid heavy traffic by following the white roads on Michelin maps. In the case of us having to use busier roads, we found French drivers generally considerate to cyclists. If the road accident statistics are anything to go by, they are more considerate to cyclists than they are to each other. We encountered only one dedicated cycle route, alongside the main road into Châlons-sur- Saône, this disappeared close to the town centre and we we were left to fight the traffic to cross the river. France is twice the land area of the UK, with a similar population. That and a cycling-conscious population makes road touring largely carefree. Off the beaten track, a bit of the language is handy.

One of the disadvantages of using the quiet routes, in certain areas, was the difficulty in finding food stores. We ate the lukewarm Lasagne of Valhuon, on day 2, because we were unable to find a shop, even in, what appeared on the map, to be large villages. The hypermarkets in the nearby conurbations evidently take the business here. That was in the Pas de Calais. The village shop was hard to find almost everywhere. The car rules; see our conversation at the restaurant in Troyes. Village bars tend to close early [Chanceaux and Isola]. They open early in the morning, so I guess the owners need their sleep.

"Suisses" are to be found in at least two regions of France, meaning of course, a small area of hills in a predominantly flat area.. There is La Suisse Normande, south of Caen and La Suisse du Nord between Maubeuge and the Belgian border.

Chambres d'Hôte are the French equivalent of Bed and Breakfast. They don't appear to be as commom as in the UK and my impression is that the French versions seem to be a little more upscale, mercifully free of velour headboards and china ornaments. Camping in France is so popular and country auberges so common that the market is perhaps not quite there.

Gîtes d'Etape are overnight stops of varying standard, common in areas suitable for outdoor pursuits. I copied a list of phone numbers from a French website following our route and either couldn't find or couldn't get into any of them. I suspect they may be more available in July and particularly August.

GR, Grande Randonnées, form the French system of long-distance footpaths. They are extensive and combined with an even more comprehensive system of local pathways it seems you can easily, if you so wish, hike the whole country. I'm slightly flat-footed, so I've stuck to the bike.