Taper time!

This week has been a little easier with me only completing about 80 miles and no long weekend ride.  Zoe and I spent the majority of the weekend introducing Georgia to the world of caravanning.  We only took the van a few miles away to Grafham Water but the weather was kind and she seems to have enjoyed herself, I know we are both knackered from trying to keep her entertained.

The plan was to use the weekend to test out the TDC camping gear, but I wasn’t able to put up the tent next to the caravan; I had to make do with sleeping in the pup tent and a quick practice putting the tent up in another part of the site. It certainly brought home how small my home is going to be for the 70 odd days of the trip and how important it will be to plan which kit I need and when I’ll  need it.

The self inflating thermal mattress was a success and much more comfortable than I had feared, the only issue is that it’s a little narrow and if I’m not careful I’ll roll off it as I turn over at night. My sleeping bag and liner worked well, it was about 8 degrees C overnight which is at its limit, but I reckon that with a set of leggings on it will be fine during the cooler nights.  I’m sure the smaller tent will be warmer than the pup tent anyway so all in all things went well, but I know I’ll miss my bed!

On Sunday afternoon I stripped the bike down to practice packing it into the bike box, everything was fine until I was unable to get the pedals off. I tried quite hard but was worried about putting too much effort in just in case I broke something. I will whip it down to the local bike shop tomorrow and they will soon get them off.

The positive thing is even with the pedals on I was able to strip it down and get it almost packed without too many problems.  It took longer than I thought it would and it’s a filthy operation; I think choosing a mainly white colour scheme bike may have been a mistake as getting it clean is a nightmare!

Looking ahead I intend to pack the bike as soon as I can, making sure I can get as many of the spares etc into the box as I can. (Lois has bought me a weighing hook so I know I won’t be over weight).  I’ve got a few bits and pieces to sort out during the week, the caravan needs taking back to Nuneaton and we’ve got to tart up the garden furniture ready for a BBQ next Saturday, so time is going to be limited for cycling. I will set up the mountain bike so I can keep the legs moving but it’s going to be maintenance rather than anything too strenuous, if I haven’t done enough now there is little I can do about it anyway.

The other major job this week is to sort out and pack my clothes, all the experts tell me the best thing to do is lay out what you intend to take and then get rid of  half of it.  I’ve used other tourists packing lists as guidance, but when you add in mess kits, camping gear and laptop etc it soon mounts up and space on the support truck is very limited. I think the mantra has to be “take little and wash often”!

 Hopefully all will be ready before next weekend arrives and I can enjoy my last weekend at home.


Only 11 sleeps till departure....Onwards and Upwards!!