I have been asked to give a talk “Daily pushed to my limits - just ME and MY BIKE” for the Austro-British Society.
This will take place at 18:45 on Tuesday 5th April at the Neue Akropolis, Müllerstr. 27a in Innsbruck.
Deutsch weiter unten.
People not only ask me whether I would do it again, but also what I would do differently.
I would try to plan it differently, to find out more about the areas I’m passing through and the lie of the land. I would also use a different bike. I had considered that before, but was persuaded to stick to my own. Although I did quite a bit of “off-road” I think the mountain-bike made the going slow on roads and a touring bike would be better. Obviously I would have to get used to it first, though. I definitely wouldn’t use a racing bike, as I have never ridden one with its slim, slick tires and I also like to get away from the traffic whenever I can. I would try to phone ahead for accomodation to avoid the long searches I had this time.
In addition to that I would obviously go to a different destination and it would be for a different charity next time. Although I am still extremely grateful to Macmillan and know that I can’t repay them enough, I think that I have reached the maximum I can. I feel the need to do something for a similar charity here in Austria and think that I would be able to raise more from the locals. I’ve already had a couple of ideas, but I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag just yet.
As I said, I also need to remain fit and healthy, so if I do it I think it will have to be within the next couple of years. Because in the meantime, I really hope there WILL be a next time…..
Viele Leute fragen mich nicht nur, ob ich es noch einmal tun würde, sondern auch, was ich das nächste Mal anders machen würde:
Ich würde erst einmal noch detaillierte planen, um mehr über die Landschaft herauszufinden. Ich würde auch ein anderes Rad nehmen, was ich dieses Mal auch in Erwägung gezogen habe. Ich bin aber geraten worden, bei meinem eigenen zu bleiben. Obwohl ich sehr viel “off-road” gefahren bin, habe ich das Mountain-Bike auf den Straßen etwas langsam gefunden, und glaube das ein Trekking Rad besser geiegnet wäre. Keinesfalls würde ich ein Rennrad nehmen, weil ich nie mit so schmalen glatten Reifen gefahren bin und außerdem jede Gelegenheit nützen möchte, vom Verkehr wegzukommen.
Ich würde auch versuchen, öfter vorauszutelefonieren um ein Zimmer zu reservieren, damit sich die endlose Sucherei von diesem Mal nicht wiederholt.
Natürlich würde ich auch nicht die gleiche Strecke für die gleiche Charity machen. Obwohl ich Macmillan ewig dankbar sein werde und das Gefühl habe, für diese Organisation nicht genug tun zu können, glaube ich, dass ich hier alle Quellen ausgeschöpft habe und dass ich für einen Tiroler Wohltätigkeitsverein mehr Spenden von den Einheimischen zu erwarten hätte. Ich habe bereits einige Ideen, aber die verrate ich heute noch nicht!
Wie bereits im letzten Post gesagt, kann ich es natürlch nur machen, wenn ich gesund und fit genug bleibe, wehab ich es nicht auf die lange Bank schieben darf. Weil inzwischen bin ich mir sicher, dass ich es noch einmal machen will………
Ich bin mehrmals gefragt worden, ob ich es noch einmal machen würde. Diese Frage ist sehr schwer zu beantworten. Natürlich werde ich nicht noch einmal das Gleiche machen, aber wenn ich gesund bleibe, und sollte sich die Gelegenheit präsentieren, wieder etwas Ähnliches für einen guten Zweck zu tun, warum nicht? Diese Fahrt war für mich ein tolles Erfahrung und richtiges Erfolgserlebnis. Ich war stark motiviert besonders durch eure viele Kommentare. Sollte dies wieder der Fall sein…………..
I am now home in Nassereith again and still can’t quite believe it’s all over. So many people have asked if (some even WHEN) I would do it again. I must admit I have been bitten by the bug and if I stay well enough and the opportunity presents itself, who knows?
Many thanks for all your donations – we have now reached £ 2427 excluding gift aid. However if you still want to donate, it is not too late – click on the link on the top right. The page will stay open for some time yet.
Vielen Dank fuer eure Spenden – bisher ca. €3000. Falls ihr noch spenden wollt, ist dies selbstverstaendlich noch moeglich (oben rechts klicken). Die Seite bleibt noch eine Weile offen.
Deutsch (Kilometer/Hoehenmeter) weiter unten
| Date | Destination | Distance
miles |
elevation
feet |
hr | min | sek |
| Aug 12 | Blaichach | 52.23 | 2,408 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| Aug 13 | Immenstaad am Bodensee | 75.03 | 2,175 | 8 | 0 | 48 |
| Aug 14 | Villingen | 65.21 | 2,461 | 6 | 52 | 8 |
| Aug 15 | Freiamt | 36.80 | 2,362 | 4 | 24 | 5 |
| Aug 16 | Freiamt | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 17 | Barr | 60.06 | 948 | 6 | 13 | 38 |
| Aug 18 | Raon L’Etape | 63.21 | 2,510 | 7 | 12 | 38 |
| Aug 19 | Colombey-les-Belles (Allain) | 61.93 | 2,694 | 6 | 36 | 17 |
| Aug 20 | Bar-le-Duc | 53.51 | 1,417 | 5 | 11 | 57 |
| Aug 21 | Dizy (Épernay) | 79.17 | 1,952 | 8 | 49 | 29 |
| Aug 22 | Villers Cotterêts | 53.72 | 2,733 | 6 | 22 | 8 |
| Aug 23 | Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée | 76.11 | 1,378 | 8 | 20 | 27 |
| Aug 24 | Longueville sur Scie | 64.77 | 2,215 | 7 | 34 | 54 |
| Aug 25 | Telscombe | 18.66 | 702 | 2 | 8 | 14 |
| Aug 26 | Emsworth | 59.35 | 669 | 7 | 55 | 23 |
| Aug 27 | Bournemouth | 65.44 | 1,138 | 7 | 40 | 53 |
| Total | 885.19 | 27,762 | 99 | 25 | 9 |
Metric:
| Date | Destination | Km. | hm. | hr | min | sek | Distance
miles |
| Aug 12 | Blaichach | 84.06 | 734 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 52.23 |
| Aug 13 | Immenstaad am Bodensee | 120.75 | 663 | 8 | 0 | 48 | 75.03 |
| Aug 14 | Villingen | 104.94 | 750 | 6 | 52 | 8 | 65.21 |
| Aug 15 | Freiamt | 59.23 | 720 | 4 | 24 | 5 | 36.80 |
| Aug 16 | Freiamt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Aug 17 | Barr | 96.65 | 289 | 6 | 13 | 38 | 60.06 |
| Aug 18 | Raon L’Etape | 101.72 | 765 | 7 | 12 | 38 | 63.21 |
| Aug 19 | Colombey-les-Belles (Allain) | 99.66 | 821 | 6 | 36 | 17 | 61.93 |
| Aug 20 | Bar-le-Duc | 86.12 | 432 | 5 | 11 | 57 | 53.51 |
| Aug 21 | Dizy (Épernay) | 127.42 | 595 | 8 | 49 | 29 | 79.17 |
| Aug 22 | Villers Cotterêts | 86.45 | 833 | 6 | 22 | 8 | 53.72 |
| Aug 23 | Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée | 122.48 | 420 | 8 | 20 | 27 | 76.11 |
| Aug 24 | Longueville sur Scie | 104.24 | 675 | 7 | 34 | 54 | 64.77 |
| Aug 25 | Telscombe | 30.03 | 214 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 18.66 |
| Aug 26 | Emsworth | 95.51 | 204 | 7 | 55 | 23 | 59.35 |
| Aug 27 | Bournemouth | 105.32 | 347 | 7 | 40 | 53 | 65.44 |
| Summe | 1424.58 | 8,462 | 99 | 25 | 9 | 885.19 |
Fortunately I only fell off my bike twice, both times off the road up onto the pavement and neither time did I injure myself. A couple of times my bike fell over, while I was standing astride it, trying to put on or take off a jacket, which was painful, but didn’t cause any serious damage neither to Bonny-TREK nor to me.
I did injure myself on leaving the bathroom in the hotel in Villers-Cotteret. There was a small step, which was not marked. The first 2 times it wasn’t too bad, but after the 3rd, where I banged my arm & leg quite badly I hung my bright yellow safety vest up near to the bathroom door.
In addition to that I had ant-bites (after sitting in their nest), sunburn due to too little sun cream and the odd headache due to too little water.
The saddle soreness was virtually non-existant thanks to my deer-suet (Hirschtalg) cream and I hardly felt my leg muscles at all. Sometimes my neck and back were a bit stiff, but on those days I seemed to be lucky and get a room with a bath!
So all in all I am very satisfied with my physical condition during the trip.
Today, 2 days later, I cricked my neck and the skin around my lips is sore!
Here the totals:
Calculated route distance: 750,00 miles
Actual distance: 883,72 miles
Elevation: 27762,47 feet
Total bike time: 99 hours 25 minutes 9 seconds
Average per day overall: 55,23 miles, 1735,15 feet, 6 hrs. 13 min.
Average 14 cycling days: 61,79 miles, 1740,30 feet, 6 hrs. 56 min.
Days with heavy rain: 6
Days around 90 degrees F: 3
Days with strong winds: 4
Hier die Summen:
Errechnete Entfernung: 1150,00 Km.
Tatssaechliche Entfernung: 1422,21 Km.
Steigung: 8462 hm.
Gesamt Radzeit: 99 Std. 25 Min. 9 Sek.
Durchschitt Gesamttage: 88,89 Km. 528,88 hm. 6:13 Radzeit
Durchschitt 14 Radtage: 94,76 Km. 589,14 hm. 6:56 Radzeit
Tage mit starkem Regen: 6
Tage um 30 Grad C: 3
Tage mit starkem Wind: 4
It’s a bit late in the day, I know, but I decided to give my bike a name, as she has been so good – I have decided she is female. She really gave me no trouble during the trip – the gears just weren’t adjusted properly from the start – I must learn to do this myself before next time (if there even is a next time). She started squeaking every time I did over 100 Kms. and on the last day she squeaked most of the time. She had just had enough. There was also some clicking and clattering, especially when she was tired, but she did a wonderful job in getting me here safely. I did give her a wipe down with a damp cloth a couple of times, cleaned and oiled the gear-change now and again and checked the tires once, but apart from that I sadly neglected her care. Of course, there was the problem of getting the raincover caught in the brake, but that was my fault, not hers!
Thank you, Bonnie-TREK.
As a reward I cycled on my first cycle free day to the carwash.
On the way back she was as smooth as ever.
Well, I still can’t believe it properly – I am actually here! I arrived with my friend Anna at 7:15 lst night. It was again not an uneventfull day:
We set off in the rain on a very interesting route which I called “ferry hopping”. The N2 national cycling route offers 2 alternatives – 1 going via Hayling Island and involving 4 ferry crossings, the other, further inland, mostly along busy roads. I initially said we would take the 1st option, then because of the rain I thought the 2nd might be better after all. However, the signs led us to Hayling, it soon stopped raining and we continued happily along this route. The first part of the journey went fairly smoothly except for a very wet and muddy track. The 1st ferry left within 5 minutes of us getting there, as did the 2nd to Gosport. On our arrival in Gosport, Anna went into the tourist information office and got what we thought was good help in finding our way to the next ferry, as we knew that the N2 was not complete. Unfortunately we were not able to pick up the route which should have taken us to the “Pink Ferry” and ended up on a path with enormous puddles which we had to side-step. Eventually we found the ferry, but not without my FIRST problem with my bike (apart from the original gear settings, which had been not quite right from the beginning). This wasn’t the bike’s fault – I had had a big bag on top of my panniers and had bought a raincover to go over everything. Anna suggested putting some of my luggage into her car, which she would then bring it to me, when she collected the vehicle. I opted to keep the panniers, but to give her the sportsbag, which meant the least repacking, but as it was raining I had put the cover over, trapping the surplus in the luggage rack, as I thought. However it was really still too big and it was this that got caught in the discbrake, causing me to come to a complete halt. Fortunately the man who had just given us directions came up behind me and immediately offered to help. He loosened the brake, removed the wheel and untrapped the raincover before putting everything together again. I hope the brake isn’t permanently damaged – he thinks it might be bent as there is a slight noise, but at least I could cycle again. Thanks, Good Samaritan, if you should be reading this!
After the “pink ferry” we were soon in Southampton, where we looked for the Town Docks and the Hythe ferry. We had picked up the N2, lost it again and asked a couple of people. While I waited, Anna asked a man “where is the ferry?” and he replied “It doesn’t run anymore, you’ll have to go over the bridge! So we carried our bikes up the stairs onto the bridge, then to find out there would have been a ramp on the other side! When we got to rhe other end of the bridge, guess what? The Hythe ferry was signposted. By the time we were in Hythe it was 3:30 in the afternoon and we had expected to be there by 12:30!!!
The journey throught the New Forest was very pleasant until the signposting could no longer help us and we went a fair way on the main A35. That was horrendous for me and we finally managed to get off it and back to the tranquil roads of the New Forest. We arrived at the hospital to find nearly everyone had been there in the afternoon to greet us and there were very few people left. However it was a very hearty reception with champagne, flowers and photos thanks to Neal Williams of Macmillan Caring Locally and his family.
I will add more photos later.
Trip stats for the last day: 105,32 Kms., 347 hm. 7:40:53 bike-time.
