Sunday 30 May 2010

The Waiting game

It's been a while since I last posted on here. All sorts has happened since then. The Teepee has finally arrived and it's fabulous. I pitched it in the play park where I live to have a look at it. It has so much space and is really easy to pitch with just one pole and ten pegs.
As soon as it was up, loacls started coming over and looking at it!!

I did a four day tour of Dartmoor last month and a weekends camping. It was so nice to be out there enjoying cycling and not training, just travelling. It was such a lovely route. From my house I followed the Devon 'Coast to Coast' South to Plymouth, skirting the Southern flanks of Dartmoor before heading North from Ashburton across the moor proper on roads I hadn't been on previously. Wow, what a lucky boy to live here, it's so beautiful.

Camping is always a joy, but I was amazed how much fuel I used to keep my engine going!!! Unfeasibly large amounts of food were consumed enroute! Even more suprising was the weather. Beautiful, sunny skies and cold cold nights. Hmmm, I suppose it guarenteed an early start. Waking up and getting a brew on straight away, was the main feature of the mornings, coming slowly back to life as the sun gained warmth, a bit like a lizard on a rock.

I've always struggled with mornings, I hate them. I don't want to eat, need lots of coffee, and force myself from a reasonably comfy bed in order to get ready to move on. Then I can eat and get into the day. It's always been the same.

Plymouth was a laugh, I followed the National Route 2 sign and ended up in a housing estate with no particular place to go! Out with the iphone gps and I wriggled and wiggled my way back to the start of route 2 before the battery went flat! LOL, you have about 90 minutes from a full charge to 'no way Jose' Still it worked and all the sites happily charged it up for me.

The third day, over the moor was sublime, stunning scenery all the way to my campsite with views back towards the moor for the evening. I was the only person in the backpacking area and the couple running the site were lovely. This was just the start to touring I needed.

This week things were a little different. I got my new bike, a Dahon Cadenza XL. A 26" folder that looks and rides like a mountain bike/ Hybrid. I was just leaving the town where I live when WALLOP, the front wheel came out and I hit the deck head/shoulder/wrist etc. I was really shocked and still don't know what happened? I gues I may never find out, but it took a week for my head to clear and things to start to settle down again. The bike is back at the shop who are trying to understand what has happened with it?

So, after a week off, mostly sleeping, i went out today on the old Vitesse. Just over thirty miles confirmed I'm fine and ready to rumble. I just need a bike now, and the I'm finally off around the Cornish/Devonshire coast, returing home up the old faithful Coast to Coast. I will write it up here after it's done. it should be a good one
Be careful out there
Graeme