We set off on Monday morning, in pretty windy and rainy conditions, waved off by a few friends and family. I live down a short but steep hill, so we had to begin our cycle to India by pushing our bikes up the hill.
We didn't have a great first day distance-wise, as we took the wrong road when in Plymouth, so we tried going a different way to what we'd planned, which didn't work so well. We set up camp in a field that night, made some tasty chicken fajitas on the camping stove for dinner, and got our heads down.
The next day Jodie's rear pannier rack broke, one of the bolts holding it on had sheered off completely. We found a motorcycle garage that was able to drill the bolt out, and then we fitted a new one. The next day the other bolt sheered off, just as we were coming into Exeter. We knew there was no point fixing it, as it was just going to do the same thing again. So we went to The Bike Hut, where they were able to fit a new rear pannier rack, and even a front one, which we had been told wasn't really possible on Jodie's bicycle. They did a great job on it though, and with a front pannier now fitted the weight was spread more evenly across the bicycle and all was much better.
We didn't have a great first day distance-wise, as we took the wrong road when in Plymouth, so we tried going a different way to what we'd planned, which didn't work so well. We set up camp in a field that night, made some tasty chicken fajitas on the camping stove for dinner, and got our heads down.
The next day Jodie's rear pannier rack broke, one of the bolts holding it on had sheered off completely. We found a motorcycle garage that was able to drill the bolt out, and then we fitted a new one. The next day the other bolt sheered off, just as we were coming into Exeter. We knew there was no point fixing it, as it was just going to do the same thing again. So we went to The Bike Hut, where they were able to fit a new rear pannier rack, and even a front one, which we had been told wasn't really possible on Jodie's bicycle. They did a great job on it though, and with a front pannier now fitted the weight was spread more evenly across the bicycle and all was much better.
All the problems had put us back quite a bit though and we were massively behind schedule to reach London by Friday evening, which is when we had promised friends we'd be there. We camped in the woods on Wednesday night, about 8 miles before Chard. We were trying to decide whether or not to get a train to London, but decided we could do that on Friday night if we had to, and we would just do our best to get as far as we could in the next two days. So Thursday and Friday turned out to be long days in the saddle. We were up both mornings before the sun had risen, cooked and ate breakfast in the dark, packed away the tents and were ready to go by sunrise. Both evenings we didn't stop until the sun was setting, and surprisingly for both of us we managed about 75 miles on the Thursday and over 80 miles on the Friday, reaching London just as it was getting dark.
We had a nice rest day in London on the Saturday, got a few last things sorted, and had a shower for the first time since leaving home. On Saturday night we had a few leaving drinks with friends, was good to see everyone, and a nice send off. We stayed at my brother Tim's house, who fed me well and even put my bicycle in for a final service. The next morning (Sunday), after being told I had my cycling shorts on back to front, we set off again. Nice and sunny to start with, and then gradually the hurricane winds began to build.
We had a nice rest day in London on the Saturday, got a few last things sorted, and had a shower for the first time since leaving home. On Saturday night we had a few leaving drinks with friends, was good to see everyone, and a nice send off. We stayed at my brother Tim's house, who fed me well and even put my bicycle in for a final service. The next morning (Sunday), after being told I had my cycling shorts on back to front, we set off again. Nice and sunny to start with, and then gradually the hurricane winds began to build.
We were heading to Dover, where we would catch the ferry the next morning to Dunkirk, France. We reached Ashford, but by that time the storm was really coming in, so we took shelter for the night and stayed in a travelodge. We were up early the next morning and had about 25 miles to do before the ferry left at 10 am. The winds were super strong, and we were getting pushed and pulled all over the show. Luckily the storm had caused Dover Port to close, as we weren't going to get there in time. When we did arrive, at 10:30 am the port was just opening again. We boarded the ferry, took one last look at England and the white cliffs of Dover, and started thinking about Europe.
I'm a little worried about the fact I called this trip 'The High Road To India', as England proved pretty hilly and tough, especially now that my bicycle wont go into the bottom gear! I'm sure we will gradually get fitter and stronger though, and The Alps will be a nice "little" warm up for the mountains in Kyrgyzstan & The Himalayas.
So, we are in France, currently sat in a McDonalds, where they have free wifi, comfy seats & great toilets. We are now trying to plan our route, as we don't have one yet. It's a little cold and windy still. I found myself wearing my big woolly Russian hat yesterday when we got off the ferry, as I was very cold. I then noticed the temperature on a digital display in a town we were passing....it said 15 degrees Celsius. I instantly took my hat off, and had a little daydream about the -20 degrees in Kyrgyzstan.
I'm a little worried about the fact I called this trip 'The High Road To India', as England proved pretty hilly and tough, especially now that my bicycle wont go into the bottom gear! I'm sure we will gradually get fitter and stronger though, and The Alps will be a nice "little" warm up for the mountains in Kyrgyzstan & The Himalayas.
So, we are in France, currently sat in a McDonalds, where they have free wifi, comfy seats & great toilets. We are now trying to plan our route, as we don't have one yet. It's a little cold and windy still. I found myself wearing my big woolly Russian hat yesterday when we got off the ferry, as I was very cold. I then noticed the temperature on a digital display in a town we were passing....it said 15 degrees Celsius. I instantly took my hat off, and had a little daydream about the -20 degrees in Kyrgyzstan.
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