They say ‘when a bike is stolen, a fairy dies’; so I’d like to think that when you give a bike to someone ‘a fairy is born’. Hence yesterday a bike fairy fluttered into life as we met with Jane and Ruby (Mike’s sister and niece) so that we could hand Mike’s old (but much-loved) lovely, red, hand built, steel Orbit bike on to Jane. This will hopefully give the bike a new lease of life with Jane as it’s been stored hung up rather underused in our outhouse for quite a few years. It was a bit sad watching it go, but good to know that it’s going to a good home (and thinking of all that extra space we’ll have for more bikes!).
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Cycle hire sir? Visa? That’ll do nicely!
In London for the weekend – thought I’d picked up my bike hire key (it’s normally in my Oyster card holder), but I realised once at Paddington that unfortunately, I must have shoved it in the pocket of my trousers when we went to the Proms last week. Thankfully, it is now possible to use the bikes with a credit card, so with a bit of patience we were soon on our way. Still only costs £1 for 24 hours as long as you’re no more than 30 minutes on a bike at any one time.
Lots of fixed-wheeled cyclists in London, all very trendy and zippy. Michael loves them! I know it’s very bad to race, but I can’t help myself sometimes. Especially when I’m on a London cycle hire bike (they weigh a ton), I nearly beat another cyclist tonight, but a bus got in the way. Would have been no good if I’d had to stop in a hurry, once you pick up speed (which you’re not meant to of course), you’re off like a velo-missile! Back to a more sedate pace tomorrow I think.
Join the Bristol cycle hospitality challenge
Tonight I chaired the Bristol Bike Forum, the first time I’d managed to get to a meeting for ages. I guess it is inevitable that when you get a bunch of hardcore cyclists in a room it all gets a bit geeky. I had attempted (and failed) to try and get more women to go along to try and improve the feel of the meeting, for some reason they didn’t seem to be very attracted by endless talk of this pot hole or that advance stop line. I can’t imagine why, it’s all so thrilling! My heart sank tonight when very near the start of the meeting, one attendee said ‘I’d like to discuss anti-social cyclists’. We all know they exist, but it’s not like there are thousands of them – what about anti social car drivers or anti social pedestrians? (Yes I was once knocked off my bike by a rogue pedestrian!). It wasn’t exactly what I’d intended spending my evening talking about. Thankfully, that agenda item was deferred to the next meeting – mark the date in your diary now: 29 Sept!
On a more positive note, I mentioned WarmShowers under any other business. I was a bit surprised that very few people at the bike forum had heard of it. It had a very positive reception and it was even proposed that we make it one of the forum’s aims to make Bristol the most cycle hospitable city in the UK by having more WarmShowers hosts than any other city. So that is the challenge, will you be part of it? All you have to do is join WarmShowers, (if you haven’t already) – become a host and live in Bristol obviously. I’ll be keeping a note of the number of WarmShowers hosts between now and September to see how we do.

Sweet smell of…
Sweet peas! The sudden warmth has meant they are going crazy. I’m picking bunches of sweet peas from the garden every day. They bring back memories of my brother’s wedding, I think Richmal’s aunty put two big bowls of sweet peas by the church door as people went in. I’ve not had very much time for the garden at all this summer (work, work, work) and I fear what it will look like when we return from America. We’ve been very fortunate that a friend has agreed to house-sit for us, but I don’t think he’s much of a gardener – maybe I’ll be proved wrong … are you reading this Rauri?!

New shoes
Posted by Matthew
New shoes arrived today, nice shiny new Specialized road shoes – my first pair of road bike shoes for road riding. I’ve worn shoes with cleats for a while, but they’ve been mountain bike shoes, which means that you can easily walk in them when you’re off the bike as the cleat is recessed into the sole of the shoe. The new shoes have the cleat sticking out so they are far more efficient for road riding… but much harder to walk in!

Buying new shoes is not easy at the best of times, but cycling shoes are particularly hard to buy. They are not very stylish and certainly can’t be compared with Jimmy Choos, but I’ve gone with a very plain black pair. I was momentarily tempted by the patent red pair, but then thought no, too Wizard of Oz and so put them back on the shelf. So now I have shoes and bike, just need to put the two together and go for a test spin – the only trouble is I’m probably not going to have time to until next Monday :0( At least when I do go for a spin it will be to go and see my friend Polly – and I might even get to meet her man too, for some reason she has kept him well away from me – can’t imagine why.
Jam today and jam tomorrow
The temptation of picking my neighbour’s plums became too much today, so as soon as I arrived home it was out with the ladder. Next door have a very overgrown back garden, (in fact the whole house is pretty overgrown as well!). With the exception of some Buddlieia, the only other recognisable feature is the plum tree. Each year it manages to fight its way through the weeds and offer up its branches laden with fruit, hanging temptingly over our back garden wall and into Vicarage Road. Seems a shame to let them go to waste! Plums now picked, stewed and jammed.

With a dissertation to finish and a long cycle ride, I’m having to be quite organised with the preserving this year – especially as I have a prize-winning jam title to defend at the local Best of Bedminster Show. With that in mind I’ve upped the stakes with some additional secret ingredients – but I’m not revealing what they are yet. Let’s just say, I think the Women’s Institute judges will approve!
Belgium visitors
I know I’ve already sung the praise of Warmshowers on here (and probably will do some more once we start our trip), but I can’t not mention the guests we put up on Saturday night. Arend, Mireille and their children Emrys and Kiren, from Mechelen in Belgium were passing by on their way to Lands End. They had cycled from London to Bristol in one of the wettest weeks of the summer, so we were very pleased to host them for the night with a dry, warm bed a washing machine and of course a warm shower.
Thankfully, the weather looks much kinder for them this week as they wend their way down towards Cornwall. They’re travelling at a far more leisurely pace than we’ll be going at which is rather enviable, but it’s hard work: Arend and Emrys are on a tandem with a well-loaded bob trailer, while Mirelle was cycling with Kiren on a pull-along. I don’t think that Kiren was doing much pedalling – but she was quite small, but this meant lots of work for Mirelle. I hope that the Teddy makes it to Cornwall (and back to Belgium) – Kiren was holding it dangling from her handlebars in a very precarious grip as they set off.
Bike envy (Mike not me)
I am a very happy (and lucky) boy, I have a lovely new bike. We collected my titanium frame Van Nicholas Yukon today from Leisure Lakes in Cheltenham. It is beautiful and means that we both have bikes ready for the trip. Poor Mike is very envious as he’s been pining for a new bike for ages and I’m the one who has one. Can’t wait to go out for a ride, but that will have to wait until Wednesday as that’s when my new shoes will be arriving. Anyway here’s a picture of the lovely new bike … this one makes us an 8 bike household now!

Changing plans and changing weather
Today I’d intended to be visiting Coventry to see Dad, Janet and family – picking up my new bike on the way. The bike is ready, but unfortunately I’ve been engulfed in a lack-of-sleep/too-much-work wave or tiredness, so am not really up to the ride. The bike will have to wait and I will need to rearrange a date to see Dad and Janet – although unfortunately it probably won’t be before their holiday to France.
It’s a shame not to be riding today as the weather is lovely and sunny – the first time it’s been like this for ages. This week has been wet, wet, wet, I hope we don’t get too much wet weather along the west coast. August/September is meant to be the driest time of year along this route and it should get drier as we go south. I read an article on the BBC News website about the heatwave currently sitting over the central/east of the USA and Canada. There was a little bit at the end saying that on the west coast they were experiencing unseasonably cool weather. Someone from Seattle was quoted as saying they didn’t know it could be so cool at this time of year. I expect we’ll still find it pleasantly warm compared to a British summer though!
Prom-pt pedalling required!
We’ve been practicing some high-speed cycling today in preparation for our holiday. The only trouble is that travelling at high speed on a Transport for London (TFL) hire bike is heavy going!

After work we travelled up to London for tonight’s Prom (Sibelius No 7, Bartók Piano Concerto No 3 and Janáček Sinfonietta), well worth the effort, but travelling back from the Albert Hall to Paddington to catch the 22.15 return train to Bristol required some seriously strenuous pedalling – but as we did it in ten minutes I’d say that is a promising sign for our USA trip.
For charity, or not for charity – that is the question
When I tell people that we’re riding nearly 2000 miles for our holiday, many of them ask: “Are you doing it for charity?”. Well the answer is “No”, but the more people who ask, the more I wonder whether I should.
If I did do it for charity, I’d have to choose a worthy cause. There are two that spring to mind. Number one: the Southville Centre, (of which I’m chair of trustees). The Centre is twenty years old this year and there are plenty of bits that need some love and attention. It would be mainly fundraising for the ‘un-sexy’ bits, (such as the glass roof lantern, new door etc) – the bits that are really necessary to enable all the fun stuff and community development stuff to happen.

The second one I would probably go for is MacMillan nurses. I have a good friend who is having a rough time with cancer at the moment. I know that the MacMillan nurses have been a great help to her, it would be nice to be able to thank them in some way.

So if I do ride for charity, the other question is – would anyone sponsor me? I can’t answer that one … over to you!
Ban bad white van drivers
Well I’ve been hoping that we’d get through the next six and a bit weeks before our American holiday unscathed. Unfortunately, a very bad white van driver had other ideas today as he overtook Mike at a traffic light, turned left across himself and sent him flying across the road. Just to round things off, he drove off without even stopping. It all happened during the morning rush hour and so lots of other drivers were around – fortunately many of them stopped to check Mike was ok. Thankfully he was. A bit scratched, bruised and shaken, a ripped Rapha top and a broken key ring but no broken bones, thankfully. Let’s hope that’s the last road incident we have for a long, long time.
Another thing ticked off the list
Having planned the entire route down the west coast of the USA, I’ve been pondering how best to actually get to Heathrow airport with two very large bagged-up bikes. My initial thought was to use the airport coach from Bristol, but it appears that they have a ‘no bike’ policy! And Bristol is supposed to be an official cycling city! Someone did tell me that it is up to the driver whether they’ll let people on with their bikes. I decided that I’d rather not take the risk of missing a trip of a lifetime because of being stranded at Marlborough Street bus station in Bristol! So I have opted for the train to Reading with a little bit of airport bus, (which apparently does allow bikes as luggage) to Heathrow. Not sure how I feel about the fact that the cost of getting to Heathrow is 10% of the cost of the flight ticket – I’m pretty much certain it isn’t 10% of the distance! Is it a case of ‘rip off Britain’ or are airplanes seriously under taxed – or both? Anyway, at least I can relax a bit now knowing that the last bit of our journey plans are arranged.
Uh-oh, the spelling police have found me
I admit, I have been known to make the odd ‘blooper’ with a misspelt word or incorrect punctuation. Thankfully I have a guardian spelling angel who has been known to kindly point out the error of my ways on my Facebook page – in full view to the social media world. My angel has now visited this blog, so watch out for corrections – I’m sure there will be a few!
Mike says: I’m on to it!
Little green giant
They are smiling in the Isle of Man tonight, yes, Cav has done it again. A fine stage win in the Tour today plus he’s extended his lead in the green jersey competition. Fingers crossed he’ll hold onto it until Paris – pity we won’t be there to see the finish this year, but there are only so many holidays that it’s possible to have in a year. Anyway, to ‘mark’ the occasion, (no pun intended), here’s a picture of the man himself at last year’s Smithfield Nocturn in London.
Warmshowers people are very nice
If you’re a touring cyclist who hasn’t experienced Warmshowers (the touring cyclists equivalent to Couch Surfing for backpackers), then you should. We first tried it at Easter this year when we rode to Hamburg and back. We stayed with Klaus and Katherine in Munster who fed us with a fab breakfast and sent us on our way with a packed lunch. In Oldenburg Dietmar (a retired Lutharian pastor) had a four course vegetarian meal waiting for us on our arrival and in Zwolle Faulkirt and Lineka also fed us wonderful meals. Whilst the food was delicious, the best thing about all our Warmshowers hosts was their friendliness and insight they gave us into the places we were visiting. They all showed great interest in our trip.
We’ll be staying with ten Warmshower (WS) hosts during our ride down the west coast of the USA and from the communication we’ve had so far we’re really looking forward to meeting them all. Today we go a message from our WS hosts in San Diego who’ve kindly agreed to receive and store our bike bags during our trip. Posting them from Vancouver to San Diego is a lot more inviting than having to carry them 1800+ miles (they are quite big). It seems apt that as we’ll be taking advantage of lots of WS hospitality we should repay the favour, so we’re pleased to have been contacted by a young Belgium family who’ll be cycling the south coast of England later this month. I hope we’ll be able to repay some of the hospitality we’ve received through Warmshowers.
It’s Pride – so time for a little ride
It’s Pride Bristol today, so we’ll be marching with Pride at 12 noon. Afterwards I’m helping to staff the Cycle Out stall in Castle Park – so I hope that the drizzle stops and it dries up later (it’s forecast to improve). I’ve baked some rock buns and some home made Jammy dodgers to sell for the Cycle Out club funds. With a bit of luck we’ll drum up some more punters for tomorrow’s very short family pride ride from Queen Square to Castle Park. When I say short, I mean short. It will probably take us about 10 minutes, quite a difference from the trip we’re planning!
We have a route… or we will soon
The Garmin City Navigator for North America arrived today, which means we can start to plot the detailed route. Well, actually it means that Mike can start to plot the detailed routes. I’ve done the task of finding our start and finish points for each day, including accommodation. Where ever possible we’re staying with WarmShowers hosts (if you’re a touring cyclist and don’t know about WarmShowers – you should, check it out). Anyway here is the basic route:
Thur 25 Aug – Flight Dep Lon 12.55 / Arr Vancouver 14.25
Fri 26 Aug – Vancouver – Mount Vernon
Sat 27 Aug – Mount Vernon – Seattle
Sun 28 Aug – Seattle – Centralia
Mon 29 Aug – Centralia – Portland
Tue 30 Aug – Portland
Wed 31 Aug – Portland – Neskowin
Thur 1 Sep – Neskowin – Florence
Fri 2 Sep – Florence – Port Orford
Sat 3 Sep – Port Orford – Orick
Sun 4 Sep – Orick – Myers Flats
Mon 5 Sep – Myers Flats – Fort Bragg
Tue 6 Sep – Fort Bragg – Sea Ranch
Wed 7 Sep – Bodega Bay – San Francisco
Thur 8 Sep – San Francisco
Fri 9 Sep – San Francisco
Sat 10 Sep – San Francisco – Seaside
Sun 11 Sep – Seaside – San Simeon
Mon 12 Sep – San Simeon – Buellton or Solvang
Tue 13 Sep – Buellton or Solvang – Ventura
Wed 14 Sep – Ventura – Los Angeles
Thur 15 Sep – Los Angeles – Seal Beach
Fri 16 Sep – Seal Beach – Solana Beach
Sat 17 Sep – Solana Beach – San Diego
Sun 18 Sep – San Diego
Mon 19 Sep – San Diego
Flight Dep San Diego 20.05
Tue 20 Sep – London
Flight Arr Lon 14.25
Big bags arrived
Very impressed with the speed with which our new bike carry bags have arrived. They are rather large, but we’ll need to do a few test runs packing them before the off. Unfortunately we forgot to order the road bike insert we’ll need for our bikes to pack nicely, so we’ll need to wait to practice before they arrive.
Cavendish does it again
It’s in the bag…
Posted by Mike
…or rather they will be. The bikes that is. After much research and discussion (should we take our bikes with us, buy them there, use hard cases to transport them etc) the decision has been made. Mike has today ordered two Evoc bike bags, one blue and one black. We can’t get the bags in Bristol as they’re out of stock until the 13 August (and that’s a bit too close to our departure date for comfort), so Mike has sourced and ordered them from a shop in Croydon.
We’ve watched this You Tube video showing how to pack your bike – it looks pretty easy, let’s hope it is! Our plan when we get to Vancouver is to pack the bags and post them down to San Diego the warm shower hosts we’re staying with. With luck they’ll be all ready and waiting for us to repack the bikes in before we fly home.
Must remember the sun cream
When I said ‘warming up’ I was thinking of warming up the legs – not the temperature. As it turned out the legs barely got warmed up (barely doing 12 mph today, on our trip to Hamburg it averaged 18-20 mph), but the temperature definitely rose. I learned from the Easter trip not to wear cycling gloves that would leave a spotty sun tan pattern on my hands. Today I wore solid gloves and now have a white stripe around my wrists and completely white hands. I think some strong lotion is needed before we head west.
Warming up
I’m the leader for today’s CycleOut ride today – part of the Bristol Pride celebrations. It’s a gentle 40 or so mile ride ending up at a joint BBQ with the Bristol Bison gay rugby club. It’s going to be very sedate as most of the riders are not used to the long distance riding that me and Mike do. In fact it is too sedate for Mike who has opted instead to go for a ‘fast and furious’ ride with our friend Andy. I’m sure that they’ll ride further and be home well before me! 40 miles will be about a third of an average day on our USA trip – barely warmed up by then.
Weight is everything
Of all the things that I could be preoccupied about on our trip it’s weight that is featuring pretty highly right now. We’ll be travelling light – by which I mean mega-light, only one small pannier each. This means packing very small and with the minimum of weight.
Last week with the help of the kitchen scales I weighed various items of clothing, passports, shoes, sunglasses etc and so far my luggage is weighing in at just under 3kg. Pretty good, but can I do better? Well I could loose a few grams off the waist (and I’m working on that), as for the luggage the weight reduction challenge continues.
Just 7 weeks to go!
Posted by Matthew
In just under 7 weeks we’ll have arrived in Vancouver, unpacked our bikes, put them together again (they need to be dismantled and packed into bike bags before they can go on the plane) and set off on the first stage of our trip.
The first stage takes us towards Seattle – a perfect destination for coffee and some therapy!


