June 1, 2016
Cycle Trip 2016
Departure!
Departure!
Prologue. For fifteen years a copy of ‘France by Bike’ by Karen and Terry Whitehill sat on my bookcase. I would regularly dip into it and ponder just how complicated the organisation for a cycle trip in France might be. Edward Enfield’s slightly madcap French cycle trip ‘Downhill All the way’ convinced me that with a sense of humour, all would be well. We had traveled through France by car on several occasions, as far back as our OE days living and working in London in the 1970s, but cycling was going to require more time and more detailed organisation. Thirty years of commuting to my job teaching at St Mary’s College in Ponsonby and a few short cycle trips in NZ ( Coromandel, Hawkes Bay) confirmed that it could be done; and so the idea took hold.
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Eurovelo online information was a great help, though, as we later found, in the interests of encouraging participation, it sometimes tended to gloss over the blood sweat and tears aspect a little. But who can blame them? With retirement looming, so did opportunity. Ann, a little disenchanted with car travel, following a three month sabbatical driving around Europe in 2013, was keen to try something more environmentally and personally, appealing.
The choice of direction was reasonably straightforward, and though we amended our plan en route, we pretty much kept to our original wish - following 5 rivers and then heading south to Italy. Reading a number of inspirational and informative blogs on Crazy Guy, was of considerable help.
We purchased two Merida hybrids, a Marmot Tungsten 2 tent and a jetboil. We carefully selected the rest of our equipment, focusing on weight, booked our Emirates flights, and found two sturdy bike boxes.
So with someone to mind the house,
We were good to go.
Auckland June 1st. Matthew has borrowed a van for us and bikes. We arrive at the airport in good time. Straightforward bike check in. Worried about weight but all ok. Enjoy a relaxed cup of tea. Has been a busy day evicting dust from Mark Rd. Washing on line and no rain today. Michael did lawns. Matthew has helped a lot with IT advice. I have “separation anxiety” as usual. But lucky us. Here we go…
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