Euro-trip 2019 - cycling near Reims

Wednesday 03 July, Circular from Reims

 (Copied from my "aliwalks" blog.

34 miles, almost 1100 feet of ascent and descent. Very hot weather again.

We set off at about 10 am from Reims. First stop was Sacy, where we made ourselves a coffee,
since we couldn't see a convenient café.

The old lavoir provided shade and seating.

Nearby they were preparing to celebrate the passage of the Tour de France - not through the 
village itself but on the road in the valley.

I asked if the maillot jaune was for me, but it seems not!

So onward and upward and along some vineyard tracks.

Not a lot of shade.

More of a mountain bikers' area according to this.

 A church among the vineyards

 Grapes.

We headed uphill towards a wooded area.

 There was even some mud, but the shade was welcome, so we stopped for a lunchtime picnic.

Our map was not great, and signposts were a bit lacking. After riding for some time we stopped

in Sarcy, at an American-style bikers bar. This was just after the American women's soccer team

had beaten both France and England! But the lemonade was good!!

After another unintentional detour and 15 miles or so of riding we arrived back at Anne's.

Another delicious meal on the veranda, as the evening cooled.

Euro trip 2019 - a hot day's cycling La Gileppe

Friday 28th June - cycling from Theux to la Gileppe.

We cycled to the Barrage de la Gileppe, a long drag uphill, but there was a fair breeze so we didn't feel too suffocated. 

A little tricky to find the route out from Theux at first. Then under the motorway viaduct. In spite of warning signs and  road works at Polleur but we managed to get through with bikes. 

The twisted spires of Europe....

I had a puncture, which Harry mended pretty quickly.  A longish hot drag uphill to Jehanster, on a mainish road. At Jehanster we stopped for a coffee and cake, in the shade next to the church. Then we took rue Alphonse Collette   We followed the Chemin du Bois des Recollets as far as the Chemin des Aubépines, mostly an unmade track, which turned right and became Vervierfontaine. 

This met a main road, which we crossed into Foyr. At the route de Foyr we turned right. Short pause to check the route. Then downhill quite a way, over the little river and up a bit, eventually turning left at Foyeuru. This led uphill briefly then more downhill to the Pêcherie de Foyeuru, then uphill to the N629. We came out opposite the Café de la Gileppe, which looked distinctly closed. 

There was a track beside it, called Chemin de Lisaion de ... La Gileppe. We  followed this downhill and up. It was not a brilliant idea, as at some point it turned into a mountain bike track, and we decided to head for the road through a thicket of brambles. Shredded legs proved too much, so we went back down to the track, pushing the bikes. And finally arrived at the route de la Gileppe and the dam. We visited this more than 30 years ago, when cars were still allowed on the road by the lion...I think.

 A coffee, then we rode over the dam and along for a mile or so.

Had a picnic in the woods, a nap on the grass, and set off back at about 10 to 4, taking the N629 as far as the cafe de la Gileppe (now open) and then retracing our route. 

We were astonished how far down the hill fromJehanster to Polleur was - no wonder we were knackered.

In Polleur we found a little alimentation and bought baked beans, spuds, eggs and strawberries. A feast was had on our return. Spuds were pretty awful, but ok mashed with yogurt. Strawberries were good.

Altogether we estimate around 25 miles. Google says 16 km by its route one way.And ours back was around that too. The return trip involved 761 feet of descent and 188 feet of climbing. I think the journey there involved more up and downs than that especially with the detour.

Watched France-USA women's football. Rapinhoe is an interesting character.

Bridport West Bay - a dip in the sea.

19 June 2014.

We'd spent a short time in West Bay before the walk to Golden Cap. The water looked tempting, but we hadn't brought our swimming gear. Memories of a cycle ride to Cromer from a few miles inland some years ago told us that swimming in cycling shorts and then wearing them to ride isn't the greatest of plans and probably much the same is true of walking clothes. 

The next day we packed swimsuits and towels, and decided to ride to West Bay, maybe swim a bit, sketch a bit, nip into Bridport to look for a present for a four-year-old, and generally chill out.

The first swim had to be faced before coffee, and though the water was not as balmy as Cromer had been it was less cold than some we've known.  The air was warm as well so no shivering fits on emerging! And we have photos to prove it.

Coffee at the beach café - much classier than Charmouth's. And a sight of a Harris hawk which deters the gulls. They were making one hell of a racket at the sight of the hawk, though its handler claimed it wouldn't predate anything as large as a gull.

We cycled into the town, a lively place, and managed to find presents and a card, and arrange to pick them up by car later.

A picnic lunch and an hour or so sketching near the harbour, a ride along the seafront, and another dip brought us to five o'clock, so we decided to buy fish and chips, from one of the stalls  rather than make the effort to cook dinner after a fairly active day.

We bought Dorset Apple Cake again and took it home unsquashed!

Most photos by Harry.

on your bike

bike round the water

new lagoons are promising

a lapwing flies by

On yer bike. . .

for the first time for a while, just a very few miles - to Longdown Activity Farm - ideal for little people.  Esther ran back, with me cycling alongside - nice gentle pace for a cyclist!

Make our roads safer for cyclists and walkers

From a Guardian article - link in title of this blog entry

Cyclists are more likely to end up in hospital as a result of traffic accidents than are car drivers, but the following observations are very important in this context.

Deaths and injuries per distance travelled by cyclists in the UK are more than three times those of the Netherlands and Denmark, they say. "This scale of variation between countries, and our findings of substantial seasonal variation, underline the scope for prevention of unnecessary injury."
Debra Rolfe, campaigns co-ordinator of CTC, the national cyclists organisation, said: "It's important to remember that the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks by a factor of 20:1. Cyclists live two years longer than non-cyclists, have the health of someone 10 years younger and take 10% fewer sick days. CTC's Safety in Numbers research has shown that in places where more people cycle the risks of cycling is lower. In order to get more people cycling, we need to address the fears that deter people from cycling."

Round the Water on wheels

Anemones in the woods

Harry has a well-earned break

Bristol - cycling city

From a BBC article

Bristol will receive a share of £100 million in order to

Create the UK's first on-street bike rental network

Establish a 're-cycling' scheme that repairs bikes and provides them free of charge to deprived communities

Build state-of-the-art facilities for cyclists commuting to the city centre

Create a dedicated cycleway to link the suburbs with the city centre

More than double the number of children receiving cycling training

Develop a Personalised Travel Plan programme, focusing on changing the way people conduct short journeys to work.

Excellent news for the city which started Sustrans, and well done all those hill-climbing cyclists in the town. It will certainly encourage me to cycle more when I'm there. Last week's score - 2 rides of about 30 - 40 minutes.

Other areas which will receive funding for cycling include York, Stoke, Blackpool, Cambridge, Chester, Colchester, Leighton, Shrewsbury, Southend, Southport and Woking.

I reckon that Leicester should be in there. They're pretty keen on encouraging cycling as well.

For further interesting comments on Bristol and cycling look here

Naked old ladies of the world, unite!

I bought a copy of the Big Issue this morning. It advertises today’s
Naked Bike Ride ‘to protest against car culture and oil dependency.’

I have no problem with that …, but then it adds
‘herds of naked cyclists will be scaring old ladies around Britain’.

My hackles rose – hang on folks, I bet some of those ‘old ladies’ will be joining in the ride! Less of the sexism and ageism in your 'humour', please.

(Copied from my post on our women's blog... )

At any event the thought of it got me out, fully clothed, and on a borrowed bike, to hone my urban cycling skills for forty minutes this afternoon.

I couldn't persuade Tilly the dog to take up naked cycling.

Two wheels good

First time out on the bike for a while ( for me, not Harry). Perfect weather, sunny, warm, a slight breeze. The scent of pollen - cow parsley along the roadsides, wallflowers, lilac blossom - some lilac seems to have escaped to live among the wild hawthorns too.

across the hillside
splashes yellow paint
oilseed rape

Wisteria hangs theatrical fringes
Round the cottage window
Ready for the summer show.

I lick salt sweat from my lips,
Mixed with the taste of fresh brewed tea.

On yer bike!

The swimming pool was taken up with a schools gala, so we took to the road again this afternoon. Red kites are becoming a common sight, and the two we saw today were close enough for their markings to be clear. Of course, by the time I had extricated my camera from my bum bag, and found the right buttons, the birds had flown off.

Then I saw what I thought were two large woolly sheep, until they lifted their heads. No, sheep don't have necks that long. Alpacas, or llamas? I'm not sure. And by the time I had the camera out, they had their heads down grazing again. Besides which, my zoom is nowhere near good enough for detail at that distance.

It was hard work today - a longer ride than Monday, and quite a struggle against the wind.

Cabin fever and a breath of spring

This morning, sunny, still cold, even windy. And yet, I felt I needed to use my bike for the first time since around November.

So off I went on the standard seven mile ride around the Welland Valley. The floods have gone completely now, and the river is at its lowest for several weeks.

Nothing of note, no red kites, no kingfishers, just me in my bright yellow wind and rain proof top.

On the way back I stopped to take a couple of snaps of this 'welly wall' - the work of the local 'beaver scout' group.

Cycling mini-rant

We went out for a quiet cycle ride today, along the country roads.

I stopped to take a couple of photos, and just then, a car rushed by at high speed, its horn blaring. No one else in sight, and I was well off to the other side of the road. I'm afraid my immediate response was the traditional two fingers in the air. Then I started worrying about them coming back full of rage. They didn't. Of course it could just have been someone letting off steam after a family row....

About fifteen minutes later, another speed merchant came along a different road, and somehow I found my arm making rude signs again (you know the fist to forehead one). Maybe I should have waggled my pinky, as these Australian campaigners do.

Luckily I got away with it again. Maybe motorists really don't see cyclists?

Memo to self - remember you're the little guy when you're on a bike.

Happy New Day

It's foggy, and I don't think it's post-firework smog. Onward into the fog of the future...

Resolutions? There are only two I remember making and keeping. One was to drink more wine after a sober couple of years.

The other wasn't even a New Year's resolution. I knocked myself out falling off my bike, and, when I recovered, I resolved to grab life by the scruff of the neck and stop postponing stuff. No, I'm not perfect at this even now, but I'm better at it than I was.

Happy New Day!

Lottery Win for Connect 2 - but why is it a lottery?

It's great for Connect2 to have the lottery funding for expanding the cycle and walking network, but it seems wrong that this project, and the three which lost, should have to be funded like this.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we paid our petrol taxes in order to subsidise other means of transport? The system in this country really isn't logical - it's so much cheaper to travel by car, with all the extra carbon emissions, and the heavy traffic on the roads. So I have no objection to paying for the privilege of using my car. I don't consider that I have a god-given right to drive.

Trains are generally more expensive than flying, unless you can find your way through the maze of money-saving fares - something other people are always telling me about, but that I haven't got organised enough to do. Why is it an obstacle race?

Basically, we are discouraged from travelling in any other way than by road for short distances, or air for longer ones.