Tag Archives: expedition

Ready to roll

Final day of work done and dusted for 3 months, I walked out of the office with a big grin on my face after lots of well wishes from colleagues. Think I just about got everything done and handed-over (thanks Dan). Big thank you to everyone at work who have been so supportive in the run up to this, with offers of help, fund-raising and sponsorship, and ‘carb loading’.

My parents drove up today, and we were joined by Lu’s parents for a glass of fizzy stuff prior to me knuckling down to the packing. Also being joined by my brother, his wife and my nephew tomorrow. It’ll be great to see everyone for the off.

I laid everything that I want to take out on my kitchen floor, minus a few items I’ve since remembered post consulting my lists, to try and finalise what’s going in which panniers. There was quite a lot of stuff…Somehow it all managed to fit, with a bit of room to spare for the items I’ve since remembered…

So I had beer to celebrate, well just half, courtesy of Chris B’s brewing talents. Dad had the other half and we both agreed it was especially fine Chris – worthy of an appearance in the Fat Cat I reckon.

So everything done and packed, with just a few things to do such as load routes onto my Garmin, find my passport (just in case I need to change lands masses due to adverse weather conditions), and probably repack everything a few times before I set off in the morning.

I’m aiming for a 10.30 start, whereupon I’ll wend my way through Norwich, past work, then on to Lowestoft, before turning left and heading North up the coast of Norfolk. Weather forecast looks good with plenty of sunshine, although a little on the cold side, and an Easterly breeze which should swing around to come from the South West a bit later in the week.

First stop is Happisburgh, which although gradually falling into the sea still has a good camp-site and pub. Looking forward to my first night under canvas! From Happisburgh I’ll continue around past Cromer and Sheringham to Sandringham, then on to just North of Skegness, before crossing the Humber into Yorshire and beyond.

Here’s to a great adventure, raising lots of money for the Big C, and honouring Lu’s memory; she always said I should do something like this so here we go 🙂

Further updates from the road, assuming technology does not fail me.

Puncture repair cake

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Had a going away party on Saturday hosted by Chris and Jen (thanks guys). The cake, courtesy of Liz, is all edible and totally amazing. Still got a bit left but it’s going fast. Was great to see a lot of my wonderful friends before leaving – if you couldn’t make it will see you when I get back!

In other news, had to cook a lot of sausages due to defrosting the freezer!

Last day at work before I leave tomorrow and lots to do, both in terms of work and final prep. Will try and fit a blog in later , by which time I should be ready to go, touch wood.

All roads lead to Bungay

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Quite a frantic weekend but managed to get some cycle training in, with a trip down to Bungay and back via several intriguing country roads that didn’t necessarily go where the map said they did, or rather where my Garmin thought they did. In fact I didn’t really end up going the planned route at all on the way back, but it still worked.

Route here.

Bungay was confusing. I went around a few roundabouts several times, and took a few wrong turns, plus got caught in a one way loop exacerbated by road closures due to a running event. It didn’t seem to matter which way I went, even after I was miles from Bungay on the way home my sat nav kept trying to direct me back there; think there must be something insidious residing in the town, or maybe underneath it, perhaps Lovecraftian in nature, that screws with your navigation devices. Knew I shouldn’t have ventured into Suffolk 😉

Still, Bungay was pretty:

There used to be a roundabout just outside the town that was home to chickens, just roaming free on their island oasis. Sadly they seem to have all disappeared now but would like to know what became of them. I hope it wasn’t a health and safety issue, and hopefully they didn’t all end up as take-away dinners.

My bike was fully loaded today, including tent on the back rack, and felt heavy especially when cycling into a strong headwind. You really have to adjust your cycling style with a heavier bike, it doesn’t stop as quickly, in fact the brakes take a lot longer to work when travelling downhill at any speed as I did a few times today (Norfolk really isn’t that flat despite rumours to the contrary). The bike also doesn’t corner quite as well and I had to give myself more time to change direction, which resulted in a few close calls with hedges and curbs.

I recorded a video during a downhill stretch that got a little ‘exciting’ due to the one-handed nature of my descent, and lack of efficient breaking. Had quite an ‘interesting’ encounter with a speed bump at the bottom of the hill. If I can work out how to compress the video a bit I’ll stick it up. It ends quite abruptly due to aforesaid speed bump.

Spring definitely sprang today with temperatures soaring to around 17 degrees C, lovely to see lots of daffodils out along the roadside, although not sure what this chap was doing loitering next to them.

Also managed to squeeze in a quick pint at the pub in Woods End, which has re-opened under new management and is pretty swanky now, will have to go there for a meal at some point.

Made it back to Norwich after a circa 50 miles round trip. Will be doing longer on a day-to-day basis once I start the tour, but today was more about testing the bike fully loaded, and making sure my knee held up. Thankfully both worked.

Other news from the weekend; lost at poker but nothing new there (can’t seem to play anymore), back fence fixed, again, but hopefully will stay upright for another few years now. Feisty Kendo session which resulted in a few bruises after some excellent fencing (not the same as the garden fence I had to fix), curry and a few pints in the Fat Cat was a good recovery session. Also had an interview and photos taken by the local newspaper, so should be in the Norwich Evening News tomorrow, and perhaps the EDP later in the week, which will help with publicity and sponsorship.

All in all great weekend. Think I’ll go an chill with my guitar for a bit now before another hectic work week starts. Roll on 01 May!

Beside the seaside

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Whilst traditionally it is appropriate to sing ‘oh I do like to be beside the seaside‘, when going to the seaside, it’s a little hard to build up enthusiasm when it’s only 2 or 3 degrees, with a brisk North Easterly making it feel like it -2. Still, I loaded up the bike with pretty much everything I’m going to take on my tour, bar my tent, and set out to Sea Palling on the Norfolk coast at about 8.30am.

Had to wheel my bike through a manual level crossing at one point, haven’t encountered one of these for a few years:

Nice ride out through the countryside with lots of other cyclists out on the road (greetings duly exchanged); must be the bank holiday, and despite the cold a hint of spring in the air, that motivated everyone to get out.

Record of route here.

Made it to Sea Palling in good time and enjoyed a second breakfast hobbit style at the local cafe. Great bacon roll and hot chocolate consumed with vigour.

The sun finally came out properly during this stop, but unfortunately didn’t do much to increase the temperature. I did however change my lenses from ‘happy’ yellow, to shades, a step in the right direction.

Few more pictures from Sea Palling…

People out for Easter Walk: Slightly doctored photo but looks cool – high tide:

Ramp down to beach through dunes:

Travelling lobster close to ‘natural’ environment with Easter Egg:

The route back from Sea Palling took me along the coast before heading inland back towards Norwich, via several picturesque villages. Somehow my GPS decided it would be advantageous to send me along a dirt track at one point. The below definitely isn’t a road but I managed to navigate through the ruts and horse manure successfully, with no bike damage.

Went through Horning and had a brief stop down by the broad.

There were several old looking Wherry type boats, or reproductions thereof out sailing today, but didn’t manage to get a photo of them.

All in all good day out cycling, covering about 56 miles. Slightly worried about knee injury – it seems to be getting better but is still a bit achy and stiff, so might see a physio next week. Raising my saddle has definitely helped though.

Pedalling and Packing

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I was pretty determined to get out this weekend despite the snow, freezing temperatures, and Easterly winds gusting up to 40 mph making it feel colder. Still, at least it was sunny for the majority of the ride, and I had a good run out to North Walsham even if I had to lean into the wind at times. It was a little precarious on some of the open stretches lacking in hedgerows. I’ve come to love a good solid hedge when it’s windy, there need to be more of them for many reasons; wind break, commuting channel/habitat for wildlife, stops soil erosion, reduces noise pollution from traffic etc.

Record of ride here.

Aside from the odd commuter wending their way back from the shops, in a buffeted fashion, I didn’t see any other cyclists out today. All the ‘Mamils’ must have decided discretion was the better part of valour and stayed in, can’t say I blame them. Did see many pigs on my way through the countryside, happily wallowing in the mud and turning my thoughts to bacon (only felt slightly guilty). Good to see the pig farming trade must still be going well in Norfolk though.

On the way back my knee flared up again which is irritating, and something I’m going to have to keep an eye on with only just over a month to go before I set off. I’m applying Ibuprofen gel, Emu oil, and might try some Glucosamine supplements to sort it. It’s not an uncommon problem for cyclists and should be fixable. I’ll work on a physio routine for it too, but if anyone has any tips for frontal knee pain let me know.

I think I’ve acquired everything I need for the tour now after picking up a new stove (Whisperlite), and charging device (PowerMonkey eXtreme); Cotswold’s have done fairly well out of me in the last few months but at least I get a discount, and they’re generally pretty knowledgeable and helpful. I was in a quandary over the PowerMonkey however after reading several reviews, and cogitating for a bit, I think it was the right way to go. I can recharge it from the mains or via the solar panels that come with it, which I can set up on my back rack when I’m cycling along, and it’ll definitely charge all my devices including iPad.

The alternative was a dynamo which I’m still not sure wasn’t the better idea, however this won’t charge things when I’m not on the move (day off), and I won’t always be at a campsite where I can plug stuff in. The PowerMonkey also doesn’t need full sunshine which is a blessing given British weather.

Also bought a dry bag to put my tent and sleeping bag in; I’ll attach this via bungee cords to my back rack. Having laid out the majority of my kit on the kitchen floor earlier I’m not entirely sure how it’s all going to fit on my bike – see below.

I’ll need to add more food, a few more clothes, a foraging guide book and puri-tabs (in case I run out of water, although I’ll still boil it) and perhaps a bottle of something medicinal to the above. Next weekend I’ll have a practice run with everything on the bike – might venture down to Cambridge again depending on knee status. It’ll be interesting to see if I can still move under a full load, and how much I need to rationalise my kit list.

A few other random musings to wrap up:

Wondering if I should give ‘Fregansim‘ a go on the tour, which will basically involve checking out supermarket skips for any recently past it’s sell by date food. It is after all stupid how much food is wasted and would save on cash. Will have to look into the legality of it. Be great if I could take a fishing rod but there isn’t really room.
Like the idea of sub-quests, such as stopping to complete any pirate crazy golf courses I pass, or seeking out local speciality food stuffs in different counties. Extra challenges could mean raising extra money for charity, and add another dimension/fun to the tour. I have a number of objectives I want to complete but feel free to suggest further quests and I’ll duly consider them; realise this is a but risky knowing some of my friends.
Next week I’ll be planning out my route and stops more. Whilst this will remain flexible and dates will likely shift about it should make it easier to meet up with people en-route, whether it be for a pint, meal, or to join me for a leg or two.

A few photos on me on my bike, courtesy of my brother from last weekend:

There and back again

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It has to be said that when I woke up this morning, to the dulcet tones of my one and a half year old nephew (Seb) as he announced he was definitely ready to get up, my legs and particularly knees were a little sore. Undeterred I staggered to the shower and then downstairs for breakfast, where I was ably assisted by aforesaid nephew who seems to have developed a liking for throwing things on the floor. He helped, sort of, and bacon plus eggs were duly consumed in preparation for the return leg to Norwich, something I was a little concerned about given the forecast for heavy rain. Many thanks to Will, Louisa and Seb for putting me up for the night.

Here’s a record of my route back, with stats – faster average speed than yesterday (probably down to less of a headwind), and slightly longer distance:

Great Cambourne to Norwich 17/03

Setting off at 09.30, a slightly later start than yesterday, I cycled from Great Cambourne to Cambridge, a picturesque route through some expensive looking villages, passing quite a few ‘mamils’ on equally expensive looking road bikes out for a Sunday ride, going in the other direction; nods and greetings were duly exchanged as we crossed paths – cycling appears to be quite civilised in that regard.

After running the gauntlet slightly through Cambridge, but avoiding any incidents, I moved North through Swaffham Bulbeck, then up to Mildenhall, and eventually Watton avoiding the A11 today; my Garmin decided it wasn’t going to re-jig my route and throw me on a busy road.

My route took me through farmland and forest, a lot more forest than yesterday which was a peaceful and relaxing. At times it felt like a Lord of the Rings set and I was expecting Elves or Hobbits to appear. I’d have preferred Hobbits as that could have meant second breakfast, something which would have been greatly appreciated given it felt a lot colder today, but alas they were obviously hiding, thinking I was some kind of dark rider.

After munching on a few cereal bars en-route my first real stop was in Watton after around 60 miles pedalling, although some of that was at quite slow speeds given hills, the dropping temperature, and wind gusting at times. I was still pleasantly surprised not to have had to stop sooner. From Watton to Norwich was a ‘casual’ 20 miles through more countryside, before getting home.

All in all a great weekends training, on a pretty much fully loaded bike (minus tent and sleeping bag). Roll on May and kicking off on my Round the Coast tour.

A couple of photo’s:

Travelling lobster – he’ll be accompanying me and trying to steal the limelight in photo’s no doubt.

Back at home, bike intact, even if I’m not.

On yer bike

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Do you ever get the urge to do something but never get around to it?

In 2012 I had an idea for an adventure, and I wasn’t even in the pub at the time. Could I cycle around the coast of Britain? Seemed like a good idea. A few months later and after looking into it a bit more, it still seemed like a good idea.

So now I have the kit, the route is planned (roughly), and I’ll be setting off from Norwich on 01 May 2013. Initially I’ll be cycling out to the Eastern most point of Britain (Lowestoft) and from there making my way in an anticlockwise direction around the coast, before ending up back in Norwich towards the end of July (or thereabouts).

It’s a distance of between 4000 and 4500 miles and I intend to average around 65 miles a day, carrying all my equipment with me. I’ll be camping for the most part, with the occasional B&B or hotel, and dropping in to see friends as I go.

I’ll be raising money for the Big C, a Norfolk Charity offering support to cancer patients, providing equipment for hospitals and funding cancer research. The Big C provided immense support for Lu Harvey who sadly passed away in Feb 2012 after a very brave battle with cancer. We all miss her very much, but even though Lu isn’t around in person she provides inspiration whenever I think of her.

You can sponsor me here: www.virginmoneygiving.com/james

You can keep track of progress via my blog, which I intend to keep up-to-date with stories and photos from my adventure. There will no doubt be brilliant days, and days with calamities, but that’s all part of the challenge and should provide you with entertainment!

Bike Around Britain

Blog on cycling around the coast of Britain

Tag Archives: expedition

Ready to roll

Puncture repair cake

All roads lead to Bungay

Beside the seaside

Pedalling and Packing

There and back again

On yer bike