Tag: Cycling Around the World
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Puncture Watch
A sudden bumping, a thwack thwack sound, a sinking heart. I shout ahead to Tim to wait while I dismount and check. Yep, another puncture. Punctures are a pain at any time, but especially when your bike is loaded up with panniers. They mean dismantling the careful pile of drying clothes tied to the back…
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We Are Not Cycling To Australia
We have been cycling for just a couple of weeks and, of course, the people we meet along the way ask us where we are headed. In the first week, joined by friends who were pedalling with us to Paris, following the Avenue Verte cycle route which carries hundreds, if not thousands, from British capital…
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The First Country Falls
After a pleasant week’s pedalling south east from Paris, we have reached Switzerland via a 200yd stretch of Germany. We followed the wonderful EuroVelo 6 cycle route for much of the way – traffic free, smooth ground, flat following a river and railway line, and with regular picnic benches which make all the difference at…
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Photos from Cycling the Palace to Palace
Here are the first set of photographs covering about 500km of cycling from Hampton Court Palace to the Palace of Versaille and a little bit beyond, following the Avenue Verte for much of the way through France. They’re almost all taken by Laura. (They’re displayed below using an automatic feature from Flickr. It’s really convenient…
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A Holiday
And so a holiday comes to an end. It started at a palace in Hampton Court with a crowd of well wishers and continued with a smaller crowd of cyclists. Through the Surrey Hills we cycled, struggling under the newly heavy burden of a life in four panniers until met by friends and family with…
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We’re Off!
As off about this very moment, Laura and I are taking the first of many pedal strokes of our trip. The first leg is Hampton Court Palace to the Palace of Versailles. Tonight we camp on the South Downs and tomorrow (Monday) we cycle to Newhaven for a late night ferry to Dieppe. From there…
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5 Days To Go
It is only five days until Sunday 18th August when Laura and I begin our cycle to Australia. We are mostly ordering things from Amazon, opening parcels and making long To Do lists. Read on for details of how to wave us off or join us for the first few miles, to see if you…
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We are supporting JDRF: the Type 1 Diabetes Charity
It’s now only two weeks until Laura and I set off on our bikes in the vague direction of Australia and we are pleased to announce that the charity we will be supporting is JDRF. You can donate online now. [divide] Who are JDRF? JDRF exists to find the cure for type 1 diabetes and…
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We Are Cycling to Australia
In six weeks’ time, Laura and I will be starting a cycle ride to Australia. I’ve created a new page on the site where you can read about our plans and follow us. Please do have a look at it, leave a message and tell your friends about it… [button color=”blue” link=”http://thenextchallenge.org/portfolio/bigcycle/” size=”big” font=”arial” fontw=”bold”…
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Sealskinz Hats, Gloves and Socks
Whilst Laura researches trivial matters such as visas and border crossings in preparation for our bike trip this summer, I have been primarily concerned with gloves. Whether the blame lies with my circulation or just my constitution remains to be determined but, either way, my hands and feet are forever cold in the outdoors and…
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Brooks England
Myself and my bottom are very glad to announce that we will be cycling to Australia on the finest leather saddles from Brooks England. Brooks have kindly sent us two of their classic B17 saddles and a set of their lovely Lands End and John O’Groats waterproof panniers (made by Ortlieb) as well as a saddlebag…
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Lyon Equipment Sponsorship
Lyon Equipment are the UK importer for a number of well-known outdoors brands such as Petzl, Ortlieb and Exped. For some years they ran an annual expedition award which provided sponsored equipment for a selection of the best adventures to apply. Laura and I submitted an application a couple of months ago and eventually received…