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Tag Archives: Touring
Posted by cisamcgu on September 9, 2008 – 11:22 am
Filed under Places, Touring
Day Two : Tarporley onwards…
Wednesday August 27, 2008, 16 miles (26 km) - Total so far: 27 miles (43 km)
Woke about 07:30am, and lazily packed the panniers and luggage. We wandered over to the dining room of the hotel, and tucked into the cereal and fruit juice. Lucia had some bacon and toast, but the bacon, it seems, was almost inedible due to being more salty than the Atlantic ocean. I, on the other hand, had some smoked haddock and a poached egg - just lovely.
We checked out, and freewheeled down the High Street, laughing as we were effortlessly taken down the hill - the wrong way !!!!!! A hurried check of the map, and a rather severe glare from Lucia had us straining back up the road until the correct turning appeared. We cruised through the empty lanes, passing through Tiverton and climbing the hill at Beeston. We stopped at Beeston Castle, but decided against paying the entrance fee, and instead amused ourselves for 30 minutes in the visitor centre. For some, unfathomable reason, both Lucia and myself forget to buy an ice cream - this is something that would have to be remedied later !
No sooner had the promise of an ice-cream been made, than we arrived in Bunbury, a lovely village with elegant and beautiful cottages, and were able to buy a much needed ice-cream.
The weather hadn’t improved since the beginning. Cloudy, grey, overcast yet warm. There was only the faintest of breezes however, so I suppose the cycling was a pleasure even if the countryside wasn’t at its best in the gloom. After a few miles we reached Cholmondelely Castle (pronounced “Chumley”). It had a most impressive driveway, a leafy avenue stretching for almost half a mile before it reached the ticket man. He, the ticket man, was very helpful and friendly, pointing out the benefits of cycling in the grounds (cars have to park before the gardens, cyclists don’t).
We spent a few hours there, playing on the climbing frames and swings (well, one of us did). We also wandered around the gardens which, even to my rather philistine’s eye, were quite stunning. We had cake, we saw pigs and we bought some presents for those still at home. If you are ever in the area, I recommend it !
It was only a short few miles to our second nights accomodation, a farm house B&B near Malpas. It was, however, on the top of a long, steep(ish) drag, that came at the end of a rather tiring day. Lucia needed a little help to get to the top, but very soon we were happily esconsed in the warm, inviting amostphere of Hampton House farmhouse B&B. Our hosts could not have been more friendly or helpful, even driving us down to the local pub for dinner, and arranging for the pub to drive us back once we had finished. Lucia collapsed asleep as soon as we got back, but I managed to watch the football on TV, seeing Liverpool beat Liege in extra time !
 Even the bikes needed a rest Day Three : The end
Thursday August 28, 2008, 20 miles (32 km) - Total so far: 47 miles (76 km)
We rose, bright and early, and wandered down to breakfast. There were 6 other people staying in the farm house. It seems that there had been some sort of noise related problem last night, but Lucia and I had been fast asleep. The other people at breakfast included a couple who were spending a few days fishing around the area, and another who were visiting Chester Zoo with the idea of using it for their wedding venue ! We had a lovely breakfast, and were soon gliding through the silent lanes, which had become rather more “lumpy”, much to Lucia’s distaste. We climbed and descended steadily, the weather still a heavy, leaden grey, but the rain stayed away, much to our joy.
At about 11am we arrived at the Cheshire Ice Cream farm in Tattenhall. We looked around and sampled the home made ice-cream before pedalling back into Tattenhall village for lunch. We then returned to the farm to watch the cows being milked - not very exciting really, it was a very restricted view. We did get to see a vet with his arm buried up to his shoulder in a cows behind though, which caused some amusement  Once this excitement was over, we remounted our trusty steeds and turned our heads towards Chester, and the end of the journey.
We arrived at the farm early, so put the bikes back in the car, and watched the harvesters at work in a nearby field. The cat reappeared, welcoming us back after our epic trip, and received another scratch behind the ears. We were soon on our way home, it seemed slightly odd to be whizzing along the motorway at 70mph rather than pottering around at 7mph, but we were both tired, and the call of a long bath was dragging us home…
Posted by cisamcgu on September 1, 2008 – 3:30 pm
Filed under Places, Touring
Day One : The beginning
Tuesday August 26, 2008, 11 miles (18 km) - Total so far: 11 miles (18 km)
Well, today is the day; My daughter, Lucia, and I start our epic (well, not epic so much as tiny) tour of Cheshire. The plan is to drive to just South of Chester, near Stamford Mill, park the car in a farm yard, and then spend three happy days pootling around the quiet lanes of rural Cheshire.
 All ready and waiting I had bought some cheap panniers from Lidl (£15 - a bargain I thought) and strapped them to my trusty Dawes Horizon. We were having a supported tour, since this would be our first attempt, and therefore our main luggage would be moved from one night to the next by these nice people. So into the panniers went snacks, locks, waterproofs and other assorted necessities, adding quite a bit of weight, but nothing too frightening. We packed the bicycles into the back of the car, and at about 09:30am, drove down the M53…
We arrived in plenty of time at the farm, and parked the car and unloaded the bicycles, putting the panniers back on. At this point it became apparent that the velcro and strapping method of attaching the panniers that Lidl employ is perhaps not the most convenient, since it takes quite a bit of grunting and cursing, as well as rather a lot of manual dexterity. Never mind, I’m sure I will get used to it. We parked the bikes up against the wall and waited for Carolyn from ByWays to turn up.
A couple of minutes after 11:00am, Carolyn arrived, very friendly and efficient, she took our luggage, gave us a printed weather forecast, wished us well, and disappeared. The farm cat turned up, and curled around our legs, looking for food or attention. It got a quick scratch behind the ears, then we pointed our bikes down the track out of the farm, took a breath, and began to pedal - our adventure had begun.
 The last living thing to see us depart - hope we see it again when we return! Two minutes later we stopped, the first of many, many stops that we would take during the day. We had the route marked out on an Ordnance Survey map, and also described on a piece of A4 paper. Places of interest and places to eat were also marked - the problem was that I only had my panniers to store these most important items, so I had to stop again and again to refer to them. (Lucia would not have been pleased if we had ridden miles in the wrong direction so it was essential that we kept to the route ). Having checked the route yet again, we pedalled along a cart track, bouncing over stones and rocks “I don’t like this; it is too rough, I’m going to fall off !” We crossed over three tiny bridges that spanned a rather murky pool of water, and eventually came back to a tarmac road.
 Waiting on the bridge It was at this point that Lucia had a moment of inspiration, and a few minutes later the plastic sleeve that had held all of our information was now elastoplasted to my handlebars, holding the torn up OS map in full, easy seen, glory. A DIY map holder of the highest quality - nothing could stop us now ! We pedalled onwards, the aim of the day was to reach Tarporley, about 11 miles away; not a huge distance, not even a small distance, but one that Lucia and I felt comfortable with. So we cycled through Tarvin, a pleasant village with a picturesque church, before turning off the road onto another track, this one muddy and churned by cattle. We were forced to push the bikes for a bit, but were soon back on the quiet country roads. We passed through Oscroft and stopped in Willington for lunch. Happily stuffed with good pub food, and having spent a few minutes chatting to a handsome horse and feeding it grass in the adjacent field, we set off again, swooping down the hills (well, perhaps not swooping, since Lucia is not too keen on going fast down slopes - and neither am I really), and aimed our bikes towards Oulton.
After maybe an hour of pleasant pootling, a car overtook us, then pulled in. A women of mature years got out of the driving seat and flagged us down. “I’m trying to get to Tarporley, but the A51 is closed, and the blasted satnav will not tell me where to go!” Suppressing a small grin, I pointed to the crossroads about 20 yards ahead, the signpost to Tarporley just visible; “Turn right at this junction, and you should be fine” I said, so with a muttered thanks, she hopped back into her car and zoomed off. Lucia and I exchanged a wry smile and trundled over the cross roads, taking a long loop before we arrived at our destination. The last couple of miles were tiring for Lucia and she was immensely pleased to see ‘The Swan Hotel’ sign as we crawled up Tarporley High Street.
Our bags had been safely delivered by Carolyn, and within 30 minutes, we were checked in, our bikes locked up securely (in the kitchen we found out later), and we could rest our weary legs in the comfortable bar, sipping a Cains bitter and a lemonade.
Well, I usually go west on my rides out so have been getting a better tan on my left side, to redress the balance I headed east into the depths of Kent, next it will be south, if I go north I hit the river after a mile so that’s out.
I decided to ride to Faversham on Thursday, home of Shepherd Neame breweries, funny how cyclists will identify routes with particular beers. A very hot day, I decided to ride the main A2 all the way there and I could see the heat haze coming of the road surface, with the school holidays now in play the traffic was reasonably busy but I was afforded plenty of space by drivers, as is usual when riding a recumbent trike.
My plan was to do a 40 mile round trip, returning by a more rural route. The main road is more or less straight, passing through a few villages and one major town (Sittingbourne), there are a few hills but only one major hill, even this is preceded by a fantastic downhill though so at least half of it can be coasted, I arrived in Faversham sooner than I imagined and after just 17 miles, even though I was not making a particularly fast pace, so I rode to the other side of town then round the town ring road before alighting at a pub for a pint of Guinness and a bag of crisps, it was just to hot to eat lunch.
After the break I headed back following much of National Cycle Route one, missing the off road sections, I had forgotten about the one killer hill going this way just outside of Faversham but it gets the heart pumping so no harm. The road wends its way through various villages and homesteads and I had forgotten what a beautiful part of the world I live in, riding through here reminded me why Kent is known as the garden of England, with its rolling fields of crops, country houses and quiet hamlets it was an entirely pleasant ride, I have been asked a few times by Americans to organise a trike tour in Kent and will probably do just that from next year just so I can get paid to do what I enjoy so much. There is so much great countryside here that you can easily be complacent about it when you live here.
My tan is a bit more even now, although I look a bit cut and shut with brown arms and legs but a white torso.
Total miles 42.6, average speed 12.5 mph, highest speed 38.1 mph.
Day Four (Monday)
Distance: 70 miles
Top Speed: 28.6mph (Swanage to Romsey)
And so it ends.
I would first like to draw your attention to two important numbers. The first features in The Primordial Tourer Pt. 3 - here, I note that my upper distance limit was probably somewhere around the 45 miles mark.
Next, I would like you to note the distance undertaken today at the top of the post. Frankly, I was somewhat surprised I made it back without collapsing from exaustion. I very nearly did a few times, but I survived. Just.
Crossing through Moors Valley Country Park, I again regretted the Bontranger semi slicks. One very steep, very sandy hill and a lot of cursing on my part. Looking back it was good fun though.
We also investigated Sustrans Route 25, the Castleman Trail, from Poole to Wimborne Minster, and then moving on to a disused railway line. This was, for me, probably the highlight of the route back. Relatively flat, hard-packed tracks, and mostly free of traffic. A win-win.
By the time we reached the New Forest, I was dead on the saddle. As David took great pleasure in reminding me several times, I was overtaken by a fat lass. Well, it’s true. I bet she hadn’t just cycled from Swanage though.
We reached home about half six, having left sometime after nine in the morning. I think that’s quite reasonable, and already I find myself looking forward to the next (hopefully shorter) trip…
And so that brings me to what I now believe are the ten commandments of touring. Feel free to disagree with me, add, amend or generally abuse them in the comments should you wish, but these are mine from my primordial experiences:-
1. Your bike is your lord. Have no other forms of transport before it. Make plans for “get outs” certainly, but too many escape routes can take the enjoyment from a ride.
2. Be charitable and help your fellow cyclist in need. Carry a decent multitool and spares. They may come in handy, even if you’re not the person who ends up using them.
3. Remember the Sabbath day. A day of rest (not necessarily Sunday) is a great idea - using it for some other physical activity the day before the longest ride of the trip is perhaps not the best plan.
4. Honor your bike. You are expecting to travel great distances on your steed, so take care of it. Give it plenty of TLC before setting off, and if necessary on trip route as well.
5. Thou shalt not murder. Not even the motorist who cuts you up then stops suddenly. They know not what they do.
6. Thou shalt be seen. Carry a good set of lights and reflectors. Use them.
7. Thou shalt protect the more vulnerable party. Watch out for those drifting pedestrians. Honor the footpath and those that walk upon it.
8. Leave no trace. Dispose of waste properly and be considerate of your surroundings and others.
9. Do not bear false witness against your bike. Throughout the trip, and even in this blog, I made a point of how because my bike was X it couldn’t do Y. Actually, the bike wasn’t the problem, I was. I wasn’t quite fit enough, and I wasn’t prepared enough. All of the issues I attributed to the steed could have been corrected ahead of the trip. Don’t blame the bike.
10. Do not covet your neighbour’s bike. Again, throughout the trip, I saw my cycling buddy shoot off into the distance. It was the equipment, I told myself through gritted teeth. Actually, it was probably his legs.
Day Two (Saturday)
Distance: 55 Miles (Fordingbridge to Swanage)
Top Speed: 26.4mph
Early morning Saturday was gorgeous. Being an early riser, I left David snoring away, and had a wander around, and a chat with Tom, the campsite owner.
We had breakfast (rubbish croissants and ham) and left about 9.30. This was to be the real test of me and my bike. My assumption was about 38.3 miles - the stats at the top of this post make it clear just how wrong I was.
Until now, a “long ride” for me was just a little further than my commute. My ride to work is just under 12 miles, to my parents about 14 total. I thought that about 45 was my upper limit, especially with the weight that was being carried. I cannot recommend highly enough to those considering touring to do as much training in advance as possible. I thought I was prepared, but I most certainly wasn’t.
I discovered that I needed refuelling a lot as well. I had packed a number of Mars bars ready for when I bonked out. Actually, I could have done with more than this, and more water too. David had not attached a water bottle holder to his bike, so I was left carrying two. I like to think that I would have lasted a little longer than I did before resorting to pushing the bike up those final steep hills if I could have made more use of the liquid without having to share it around… but I’m possibly kidding myself.
Topeak suggest that the MTX Beam Rack is “Great for touring with full suspension” but I have to disagree. My bike is a GT Avalanche 2.0, and does not have the eyelets on the frame for a standard pannier rack. I am reliably advised that this is because the bike has disc brakes. About a year or so ago I plumped for this, assuming that I would be using the bike mostly for commuting, and by and large it does do the job. What I noticed over the weekend however was that, without fixings to the side, the rack had a tendancy to wobble, especially with the side bags on. This occasionally resulted in the rack rubbing against the rear tyre, or simply the momentum causing something of a hindrance when riding up a particularly steep hill. A much more civilised solution would have been the P Clip as recommended. I think I will investigate this now.
I also regret keeping my Bontrager Comfort tyres on for the ride. Whilst these have been perfectly fine for road use, and occasional gravel, I found that they had no traction on very wet surfaces, such as mud. Sandy ground was a similarly hard experience. I’ll hold my hands up to say this is my fault for not following Rule Three of touring and being fully aware of the projected route, but it did make things slightly tougher. In retrospect, I think I would have preferred to have left the knobbly tyres on even for the road sections for the extra grip I would have gained off road.
The campsite in Swanage, part of the Shorefield group, I found to be slightly disappointing. In truth, the facilities that it had on offer were no less than Tom’s Field, and in fact much better. However, it is a much larger site, built onto a very steep hill with only one shower/toilet block at the very bottom. Naturally we were placed at the very top, though beneficially in a quiet patch to ourselves as cars could not reach our little oasis of calm. For the price, however, I had expected a few more on-site amenities.
Swanage itself was very pleasant. Taking Sunday off as a day of rest, we spent it instead walking around the coast tiring out the other muscle groups, leaving Monday for the route home…
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