Memories

On November 3, 2023November 4, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn Calais to the Mediterranean, Europe, London to Venice20 Comments

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember
The time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again

We have booked a “big” trip for 2024, flying in and out of Milan, arriving early May 2024. I am researching and mapping in my spare time and lots of excitement as to the route that is unfolding.

So far it includes the Italian lakes Maggiore, Como, Iseo and Garda, the Dolomites (Corvara through to Sappada), a finishing stage of the Giro d’Italia (catching up with some of the Italy Bike Tour crew), then into Slovenia (Triglav National Park, Julian Alps) then Croatia (Istrian Peninsula).

Lake Garda is a firm favourite – that will be my third time there, and I cannot believe that I have to climb a shite hill for a third time to get out of there – first time I said “never again”, second time I said “you have to be * kidding me”), and I have mapped it to leave Torbole, shaking my head in disbelief that we will climb it with a loaded bike.

What makes it awful? You climb 100 metres in the very first km, with cold legs, with 14% pinches – no warm up, just straight up – but the view from the top is beautiful (see the video below London to Venice), plus photo taken in 2016.

The most affordable accommodation was at the top of that hill too – and that would mean multiple more climbs (as planning two nights) and I just laughed and said “that is not happening”.

Dolomites and Slovenia we have done before, but not around Corvara (maybe Sella Ronda too) and not Triglav or the Julian Alps.

Lake Bohinj (Slovenia) should be a highlight – and then the ride across to the Soca Valley. The Soca valley is super nice.

The Istrian Peninsula – rode through there in 2019 but from Trieste (Italy, on the coast) so looking to differ the route as we head to whichever port.

I need to stop mapping now as I impatiently await ferry schedules to be announced for next year to cross the Adriatic and back into Italy (hence do not know re Pula, Rovinj or Piran, and whether we will transfer to Pescara or Venice).

Leading towards Pescara as we’ve been to Venice at it is illegal to even push your bike on Venice island. We’d need to immediately ferry to Lido and ride from there….anyway all will fall into place.

Once back in Italy I am thinking Tuscany (again, but some different places and routes), the microstate of San Marino and then unsure which way we will head back up to Milan – but definitely not the Venetian plains.

We are starting near Milan airport and have secured an anchor point accomodation where they will keep our bike bags used on the trip from Tasmania. we will return there for our final night to disassemble and pack the bikes.

This process is not without frustration. I had a place identified but the owner contacted me privately requesting funds above and beyond the stated rate in Hotel.com. It was a non refundable booking, so a bit of a bind really.

It was resolved by Hotel.com in my favour, and they gave me a $250 aud voucher as a bonus!

Research continues and in that process I stumbled across two pieces of our cycle touring history:

London to Venice – 2016 (England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Lichenstein, Italy) 2200 km
Calais to the Med – 2015 (England, France) 1500 km

I used to do a video montage to music of our trips – put a huge amount of time in doing it and stopped in 2017 (Bordeaux to Barcelona) as I had some music copyright issues (but did not know which song!).

We did these predominantly for our memories, but for those that like cycling, like Europe, like music (well my kind of music that is), maybe these maybe of interest to you.

Warning – you do need some time, but you can stop and start the videos.

Both of these trips were before we did self-supporting trips. We used Bike Adventures, an English based company, who provided the route notes (yellow sheets in those days with a series of turn by turn instructions), transferred luggage, provided back up support and pre arranged accommodation.

We made many lifelong friends on these trips – and enjoy staying in touch, and catching up with some of them as we can including Graeme (recently in England), David and John (in Sydney and Tasmania), Graham (in Sydney), Geoff (Italy, Tasmania), Tony (Canberra), Brian (England, Tasmania) and of course, our wonderful friends John with whom we recently stayed with in England (and his gorgeous wife Val)and Alan and his lovely wife Sue in Wales(who have also visited us here in Tasmania….and I’ve likely forgotten someone with my post pumphead brain.

Facebook enables us to stay in touch with others including Helen, Neil, Phil, Jerry….great memories that we treasure and enjoy more and more as we get older, and have felt, firsthand, life vulnerabilities.

The links:

PS. I have not told my Director yet about the next BIG holiday – I am sure she wont mind ha ha ha. We can keep it secret can’t we?

The final curtain

On August 31, 2023August 31, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn England, Europe11 Comments

The curtain has closed, we made it. 2750 km, 22, 550 vertical metres (2.5 times the height of Everest), four countries later we have returned to Benson, England.

The last 45 km or so we were joined by our friend John, who guided us home. His wife Val was waiting, camera in hand, champagne on offer.

I was teary. Happy, sad, thankful blurring together. To achieve this just 12 months after open heart surgery is truly incredible. Only Tony and my cardiac team really know and understand how hard that journey has been.

Big thanks to that team. Tony for having faith and patience with me as I recovered, supporting that process so that we could continue doing what we love doing.

To Val and John for hosting us and being our daily check in that we had arrived okay each destination. The love and hugs from Val and John are appreciated beyond words, love you guys!❣️

To Alan and Sue for hosting our two nights in Wales and seeing your local area, it was great renewing our friendship and sharing the way we did.

To Alison, Catherine, Graeme, Chris and Marion for taking time to catch up with us, thereby enriching our holiday. Kind thanks.

To family including Hannah and Kay for the regular updates and words of support and encouragement.

To the over 3,000 viewers of my blog, those that commented on Facebook or WordPress, thank you.

We have a full day today and do not leave London until later tomorrow. It will be a long few days, about 54 hours from waking up tomorrow to bed on Sunday night at home.

So, we did ride yesterday, about 85 km. Here are some photos.

We left our hosts in Thames Ditton after a great two nights staying on the island.

We rode maybe 20 plus kmh on the Thames pathway, predominantly dirt/gravel, sealed around the locks. We rode past many locks,

Think this is Molesey, water birds on the dam spillway

Some incredible house boats on the Thames River

Our first port of call was Windsor Farm Shop, adjacent to the castle, owned and operated by the Royal Estate at Windsor.

To get there we took the road to Old Windsor, passing by Runnymede, the site being where King John ( brother of Richard the Lionheart, son of Eleanor of Aquitaine) was compelled to sign the Magna Carta.

Runnymede, the memories, is under the trees. We visited there in 2016 en route from Benson to London the day before we started London to Venice.

In 2001 the the Duke of Edinburgh conceived the idea of selling produce from the Royal Estates and the shop opened later that year.

The Royal Farm at Windsor operates as a mixed farm including 200 jersey cows, Sussex beef herd, 149 breeding cows, 1500 hens, 1,000 acres of arable land, 2,000 acres of grassland mainly used to feed the livestock.

I noticed plants for sale that had been propagated by the estate, with a sign saying, from our garden to yours (ours is just over the wall).

The farm shop. I noted Balmoral grouse for 12.95 (sterling). Not a cheap feed as there is not a lot of meat on a grouse.

As we left, this is one of the rear entrances to the castle grounds. I have always liked the gatekeeper cottage here.

Roundabout award for the day goes to the triple crowns, with Windsor Castle just behind.

The Long Walk to Windsor.

On the outskirts of Windsor along the Thames is this old plane.

We knew we would find John in the next 10 km as we had passed messages when we left the farm shop. Here he is, having just turned to join us.

As a trio we moved onto the town of Twyford, where John knew of a cycle cafe. Velolife is a great cafe with bike shop at the rear.

The bike shop at the rear. Glad we did not need a third spoke replacing! Spent a few $ on spokes.

I was checking out the local ladies club cycle clothing. Very tempted, but I need to carry it, plus we are on our flight maximum weight limits.

We followed John from here, and went home his preferred way through the Chilterns (1,700 sq km area of outstanding natural beauty).

In Stoke Row (a village) is the Maharajahs Well. In the mid 1800’s a little boy was beaten by his mother for drinking the last of the water in their house during a drought. The story was shared with the Maharajah of Benares who decided to fund the sinking of a well in the village of Stoke Row.

At last we were nearing Benson and our epic journey was coming to a close as we followed our dear friend John home.

We have started thinking about what is next. We like goals and having something to look forward to and keep our fitness levels up. After 28 days riding we are quite fit and strong and it does goes backwards a bit when you return and not keeping up the same level of activity.

We have been riding 6-8 hours a day for 28 days. Head home and it’s back to our desk based jobs, but I still manage 3 hours a day fitness activity as I prioritise it!

Thanks for joining us in this journey. Over 3,000 views so far. Kind thanks 😊❣️

Tour of London

On August 30, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn England, Europe4 Comments

Today we did a 95 km tour of London, but not before joining Tony (English Tony from our accomodation) who offered to take us around the island in his boat.

One side of the island is the original Thames river, and this side was dug out during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Hampton Court Palace is upstream by maybe 500 plus metres. The river near the palace was described as more of a broad and twisting stream, subject to the tidal influence still. The main channel was dug out and made straighter providing a grander entrance and providing some flood relief to the local village.

The island is great. Private access, brilliant views, and a lifestyle unknown to many city dwellers.

Tony and Karen’s home, we spent two nights here in a seperate room.

A broad outline of our cycle ride today. We covered a lot of ground. At times we were on busier roads, particularly in inner London. Often there were cycle lanes.

We mixed it with the famous London black cabs, red double decker buses and some super crazy food delivery people on bicycles.

We followed the Thames path on sealed and non sealed sections.

We rode through wonderful open spaces such as Richmond Park and Bushy Park.

Some photos of our day.

We arrived at Kensington Palace gardens. There are specific routes you can ride. Very popular spot.

We then scouted through Hyde Park and on towards Buckingham Palace and the Mall.

Queen Victoria, outside Kensington Palace, sculpted by her daughter.

Riding down the Mall was great, quite traffic free, smooth. This road is so often seen in Royal ceremonies including the more recent coronation of King Charles, and funeral of Queen Elizabeth.

It is also a road on Zwift’s London course, with a reverse sprint section here, but I did not sprint 🤣

Then we arrive at Trafalgar Square, and it is fairly busy from here around to the Tower of London, predominantly on roads and cycle lanes. We walk at roundabouts crossing at lights where possible for safety.

At the Tower of London we cross Tower Bridge. It is super busy here on the bridge between vehicles and tourists crossing.

We then headed north to cross the Thames again and head to Westminster.

Richard the Lionheart statue, Houses Parliament

We then headed up through more parks, gardens including Battersea.

Past the Trek shop, popped in, popped out.

Onto Wimbledon, and we thought about having lunch in the cafe there, but the security guard insisted the bikes not be within our visual sight and out of sight around the corner. We moved on.

In the neighbouring Wimbledon village, up a hill, we found a nice pub with outdoor seating, next to our bikes, and had a lovely lunch. As I ate, this is the sign I could see that made me smile.

This one is for you Rodney V, they needed you!

Through Wimbledon common area and heading to Richmond Park.

Richmond Park is one of eight Royal Parks in London. It is around 2,500 acres in size with over 600 free roaming deer. It is an extraordinary oasis in a big city where you can walk and ride.

Popular with cyclists doing very large blocks, there is a speed limit of 20 mph, but many capable cyclists ignore that using it as a training, racing circuit. I was climbing one hill and had a guy straight line the bend towards me and he was moving more like 70 kmh plus.

The park will be closed this Sunday for a duathlon. Great location and many thousands are competing including our friend Chris.

Some view of the park.

Hampton Court Palace was next, famous as a residence of King Henry VIII having ‘acquired’ it it in his usual style from Cardinal Wolsey.

Back onto the Thames River beside the palace grounds.

Onto Bushy Park another Royal park in London. About half the size of Richmond it is still extensive and provides amazing walking and cycling for locals, and also the deer that breed well. Signs were up re the annual cull.

Dinner with Chris and Marion completed another wonderful day.

I’ve know Chris through cycling (Zwift), when we were both with the same club and would do the same events.

We enjoyed our dinner together, lots of laughs and grateful for the opportunity to meet friends face to face.

Some closer up maps of our route.

One more day left riding.

Thanks for reading 😊❣️

Day 21: Dinan to Mont St Michel

On August 23, 2023August 23, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe, France18 Comments

Today was an interesting day that did not go quite according to plan. It started off fine. We enjoyed our breakfast and catch up with Christophe who insisted on taking our photo in front of Patricia’s house (his multi-talented Tasmanian friend).

We also both like the song Caberet (Liza Minnelli) and enjoyed remembering the words…..I used to gave this girlfriend known as Elsie, with whom I shared a flat in Chelsea….that song was to play in my mind a lot of the ride 😊. We both said we’d felt like we’d known each other for year, so a lovely holiday memory.

Tony at breakfast, some of Christophe’s eclectic collection behind him

Tony and Christophe in front of Patricia’s house

Hugs and goodbyes and we went around the corner to grab these photos of the chateau. Check out how thick the walls are.

We descended down the hill and crossed the river, climbing up and down. About 15 km in, I heard a loud noise on one climb like a gear drilling back and missing cleanly. Thought it might be a cyclist behind me, but no.

A little further on I noticed Tony’s rear wheel seemed a bit off. He was discovering the same thing and stopped knowing what it was. A rear spoke had broken.

Not an easy fix being the rear wheel with the cassette. What to do. We googled bike shops and the nearest was 15 km away in Dol de Bretagne. There were more at St Malo. Could maybe grab a taxi there?

We rode a bit slower and carefully, then I took Tony’s rear panniers, and he took mine so that we could minimise what weight was being borne by the rear wheel.

It was worrying for sure. Stressful thinking of the ‘if, then, but’ options. The downside to touring alone but we would figure it out.

The first two bike shops both advertised as electric bikes but we thought worth a shot. The first involved a hairy goat track so we gave up on that as it was the last surface we wanted a weakened wheel on and headed for the second.

The internet said the second one was open now, but there was a FERME sign (meaning closed) on the house gate. However I did find out that there was a third bike shop in centreville named Cycles Rome. We dashed around there and certainly the front was more promising.

We walked in the door and there was a guy with a wheel on the wheel truing frame. He had been fixing a broken spike on another bike.

We knew we had found our man. He spoke no English, but with my minimal French and some charades we got by.

He finished the wheel he was working on and then got cracking with ours. He is over the back in the picture. Obviously a cyclist as he had the smoothest looking calf muscles ever!

He was fastidious making some adjustments to the brake caliper when the tyre went back in. He was able to close the shop door at 12 noon for lunch and off we went, very thankful and happy and relieved.

We decided to grab some lunch. A fresh baguette from the boulangerie, bananas from a small fruit store and we sat down at the Tabac ordering coffee.

A peculiar rule is Tony could not consume the drink from the takeaway cabinet in the tabac at the table as I drank my coffee, but it is ok to eat food purchased elsewhere. We’ve often availed ourselves of the latter.

Dol de Bretagne was founded in the 6th century and like many other villages, long occupied by the Vikings! Some lovely old buildings.

The town is also the reputed origins of the royal House of Stewart, who became monarchs of Scotland, England and Ireland.

If we had to have the problem we did, it was the right day. We had a shorter day planned on the bike as we wanted to be at our accomodation right on check in.

We cruised through multiple small villages. Some putting effort into their quirky welcomes.

That’s me sitting on the beach chair as we enter this village

The last 10 km or so into Mont St Michel was on a shared pathway. Gravel for the most, then sealed. There was a super strong headwind, and the closer we got, the more people there were.

The Mont was clearly in view.

Passing by buildings with nice artwork.

We got to our hotel at 2.40 pm. Check in was 3 pm and not a minute earlier per the man at reception so we sat and waited. Right on 3 pm the man at reception nodded and he gave us the key. 🤣

A quick shower and we walked to the Mont, 3 km along the boardwalks. There are free buses continually ferrying people back and forwards and they were packed.

Mont St Michel “Merveille de l’Occident” (Wonder of the West) is an important pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages, and now a famous UNESCO World Heritage site.

Dedicated to Saint-Michel in 708, it is one of France’s most visited sites with around 2.5 million visitors and pilgrims. Think they were all there today!

It rises in the middle of a beautiful bay, with the abbey perched on top of a rocky island, the medieval town by ramparts.

As you get closer you can see the hordes on the walkway.

We headed straight to the abbey which costs 11 euro each. There is lots of climbing. Lots of steps! There were lots of people ahead of us and behind us. Conga line. One seagull.

Looking down across the buildings to the empty bay, low tide.

Looking up at a transport means for goods up to the chapel

The view from the top across the bay was astounding. Right to the cape the tide is out. There are multiple groups walking across the sand including one nearer the little island. It would be interesting to watch the tide coming in.

This view is looking back along the boardwalks. Our accomodation is down in the darker green area adjacent to the river. It is 6 km return trip plus walking around the Mont.

The Mont is interesting. The abbey is super old and nice to visit. Incredible structures inside but we did not take photos as quoted ark plus the constant human surge.

Mt biggest takeaway from the visit was the view of the bay at low tide.

The rest of the visit? Totally over commercialised. Tourists like I’ve never witnessed before maybe bar Venice. To be honest, that part was horrid.

It was like trying to get out of an Escape Room experience, or maybe the IKEA stores where you are trapped in a vortex and need to go with the flow to find the exit that seems to never appear.

There are shops as you descend down the very narrow, cobbled alleyway, and I am super thankful I did not end up booking accomodation on the island like I initially planned. it would have been a nightmare pushing our bikes up through the mass of people( many having brought their dogs).

Nice to look at from a distance, but not for me. The people part was overwhelming.

So I’m going to chill in the sun. Rain and thunderstorms forecast in a few days so soaking it up.

No map today as could not upload our data using the hotel wifi.

Thanks for reading 😊❣️

Day 13: Bantry to Kenmare

On August 16, 2023August 16, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe, Ireland2 Comments

Another lovely breakfast, and a new day. The weather forecast looked ok. Fingers crossed as we headed off to ride 110 km and around 1000 metres climbing.

The route today was Beara Peninsula. It contains two mountain ranges, the Caha and Slieve Miskish. The northern part of the peninsula is County Kerry (Kenmare side) and the rest is County Cork.

Human activity dates back to around 3000 BC. The Vikings invaded and in the 17th century the English army used the peninsula defensively to ward off a French invasion.

Before the Famine, there were around 39,000 residents.Now there are around 6,000 residents.

We followed the coastline of Bantry Bay going through the larger villages of Ballylickey, Glengariff, Adrigole and Castletownbere.

Photo overload today. I cannot pick so have left plenty here to scroll through.

Whiddy Island had a USA Naval Air Station constructed during World War I to counteract German U boats in the region. Day trips and cycling on the island are popular now.

Tour de Beara is a one day cycle event, 160 km, 2600 metres climbing is the tougher if the three events on offer. Two shorter options available.

Stopping in Adrigole for a coffee, the machine was broken (disaster!). The mountain behind had a waterfall.

There is a well known walking path known as the Beara Way and now cycle route based upon the lady great chieftain of West Cork and South Kerry, Donal Cam O’Sullivan.

In 1602 the Munster region was savaged by war. Elizabeth 1 forces had defeated the Irish and Spanish at the Battle of Kinsale and were advancing on O’Sullivan’s lands.

After the loss of his stronghold at Dunboy (south of Castletownbere), O’Sullivan withdrew his troops and fled. 1000 people marched north. 35 made it to Leitrim castle.

The trail follows O’Sullivans route.

Very brightly coloured house, with determined yapping dog.

The views continued unabated as we headed to Castletownbere,

Castletownbere is the principle town on the Beara peninsula. The largest whitefish port in Ireland, with the second largest natural harbour in the world.

We stopped for lunch, parking our bikes on a railing overlooking the ferry. The ferry is about to leave for a nearby island. That van 🙈🤣

Views from our lunch spot. Lunch was obtained at an excellent supermarket over the road. Fresh rolls with banana, and a quark surprise. We both enjoyed it.

After lunch we climbed inland to cross the peninsula Eula to reach the Kenmare River side.

Once back on the coast, we deviated to visit the ancient Ogham Stone at Ballycrovane. It is the tallest known Ogham stone carved in the 4-6th centuries. It is the tallest of its kind in Europe at over 5 metres in height.

Ogham stones were used between the 4-6th centuries in Ireland. they are the oldest surviving written form of Gaelic. Short marks were made kin groups of between one and five notches, strokes or diagonal lines, usually on the edge of the stone.

We reached this one by going up what looked like someone’s driveway, through a gate then trudging through a muddy paddock to a knoll.

You can see some notches on the side, most having eroded.

We then continued our detour around the small bay.

Up the hill….

To see the Hag of Beara. At the top of the climb, Tony had a few other names for the hag, unimpressed with the climb to see a hag.

Hag of Beara, also known as the White Nun of Beara, or the Old Woman of Dingle, is a mythic Irish Goddess – or divine hag. I will go with hag!

She is best known as the narrator of the medieval Irish poem “The Lament of the Hag of Bara” in which she bitterly laments the passing of her youth and her decrepit old age.

According to legend, the rock represents her fossilized remains, staring out at the ocean awaiting her husband to return to her.

You need to use your imagination here. Apparently her head faces the water.

The rock is covered in small denomination coins and other ‘gifts’.

Back to the road, and down the hill we rolled. I’ve just left a series of photos here, as there were too many good ones to not include. The scenery was superb.

This pub was in the middle of now where, and packed out.

Kenmare, our home for the night. Slow crawl down the Main Street. We wandered back into town for dinner via this old bridge.

Another great day on the bike. 110 km, 1000 metres climbing. No rain, wind was ok, scenery was brilliant as you can see from Tony’s photos.

Thanks for reading. 😊❣️

In the footsteps of Owain and King Arthur

On August 8, 2023August 8, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe, Wales3 Comments

Today was a rest day. Our first and last for this cycle tour.

We headed off with Alan and Sue for a tour of their area. First stop was the town area of Corwen and a bit of history.

Owain Glynwr was the leader of a national revolt against English rule in Wales beginning in 1400 with an attack on Ruthin, a town full of English, from his stronghold near Corwen.

Proclaimed Prince of Wales by a Welsh Parliament, the only one ever to receive such an honour, he gained control over much of the country, winning battles and capturing castles. He summoned several parliaments, held an alliance with France, Ireland and Scotland, and proposed an independent church and two universities for Wales.

Owain sustained the hopes of his nation for over fifteen years and his myth lived on even though he died in obscurity, never having accepted the pardon offered to him.

In succeeding centuries he became a potent symbol of the Welsh spirit and the father of modern Wales.

The river Dee flows through the region. Beautiful views.

Trevor Basin is the junction point of the Llangollen canals. This then feeds into an incredible aqueduct. Originally constructed to move cargo around the country, today it is a tourist attraction and used for holidays on barges.

The Pontcysyllte aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford. There are 18 piers made from local stone. The canal runs through an iron trough that is 11 foot wide and 5 foot deep. It was the largest in Britain and cost 47,000 pounds constructed between 1795-1805.

The view from the aqueduct looking towards the Chirk aqueduct

We then headed to Horshoe Falls, that provides the water for the aqueduct.

Next part of our tour today we headed up Horshoe Pass, where we had lunch and there were lovely views across the hills and mountains.

The vegetation has been clipped back to encourage the native heather to flourish

Finally we visited Ruthin, a historic market town. The castle was commenced in 1277 by Dafydd, the brother of Prince Llewelyn at Gruffud. He forfeited the castle to King Edward 1.

In 1400, Owain, from earlier Corwen fame, burned it to the ground in a show of Welsh patriotism.

As we walked up to the castle, there were many interesting old buildings from the 1400’s onwards.

This rock is interesting. It is believed that King Arthur beheaded his rival Huail in this rock.

The entrance to the castle.

Part of the castle. King Charles III spend the night before his investiture as Prince of Wales in this castle.

So a lovely day with our friends. It has been a wonderful opportunity to catch up with them again reminiscing about our adventures riding LeJog, and their trip to Tasmania, and things that have happened un between.

Here are Sue and Alan chilling after a day with us 😊❣️

In their garage is this map of memories from our 2013 LeJog ride. I like the string concept and might look at what I can do with our rides.

Tony and I are I are in the bottom left photo and the two group photos. This is the route taken in 2013 LeJog ride.

Tomorrow we head to Holyhead, preparing our crossing to Ireland the following day. A long day ahead.

Thankyou for reading. ❣️😊

Day 1: Benson to Thames Head

On August 8, 2023August 8, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn England, Europe10 Comments

Benson is on the north and east banks of the Thames River, with evidence of human presence found dating back to the Mesolthic period, some 10,000 BCE. Our friends John and Val are much much younger and far more vibrant! We have had a wonderful few days with them, and rue the fact that we live so far apart.

We bid them farewell, or rather, see you in four weeks.

We left Benson heading up Henley Road. It was super busy and we stayed on the narrow footpath. Our raincoats went on here, 800 metres after we began. Fortunately the rain was short lived….for the time being anyhow. The forecast was ominous.

Dorchester on Thames was the first major village en route. The abbey was previously a Norman abbey built on the site of a Saxon cathedral. The current church was founded in 1140.

Hard to know how old the headstones are as most are quite eroded.

Lovely thatched cottage adjacent to the cemetery

Next town as we peddled onwards was Abingdon on Thames, a historic market town on the Thames River.

After stopping for coffee and a toilet stop, we headed back on route, following the Thames out of town.

Nice cycle path called The Hanson Way

I had to stop at Goosey, great name. It has a history dating back to the 11th century starting off as Gosi.

We routed todays ride in the hope of seeing a horse! Vale of the White Horse named after the huge chalk horse, 100m from nose to tail, carved into the hillside above Uffington. It has been dated to around 1000 BC.

Hard to get the photo from this particular angle. Here is an aerial view I have borrowed.

For the first 50 km or so today it was quite windy, with a SW blowing. We were heading NW with more W than N, so we copped it.

Rain was coming and we were feeling a bit peckish, having been keen to push along to try and beat the rain.

We took the opportunity to sit at this closed pub and eat the goodies Val had given us. Just after this photo was taken, we donned our rain jackets as it started to rain and did not let up for the rest of the ride.

A number of the villages had these all encompassing signs.

Riding around lots of waterways that were part of the Cotswolds Water park, we did not stop. The camera tends not to be produced in the rain. However, under this tree canopy we did get one of this lovely track we followed,

We arrived at our overnight stay at Thames Head hotel. It was 1 pm, earlier than check in, but as our room was ready, they allowed us to check in.

Our bikes have been cleaned and dried and stored, in our bedroom cupboard 🤣

We grabbed some lunch in the pub, baked potatoes. Tony is waiting patiently.

Thames Head is a group of seasonal springs and generally recognised as the source of the Thames River. I visited here in 2007 and it was dry.

After it stopped raining we walked to the Source. Maybe a 3 km round trip walk.

The hard to read headstone states this is the source.

Here it is, the source! Impressive? Still dry.

We walked back along the road we had ridden a few hours earlier, and I think cycling this section is safer than walking it. There is no verge.

I waited until all oncoming traffic had gone through the rail tunnel then walked briskly through.

Tonight we got to meet another cycling friend for the first time, in person!

Ali and I have an unusual friendship connection, having been seriously stalked by the same wacky Canadian many years ago. We bonded through our shared experiences.

Ali no longer Zwifts, having taken up photography with a passion. Her work is seriously good and has featured in many publications.

Here is a recent example from her photography page: AlisonJane Visual Perception.

Day one done and dusted, 93 km, 444 m ascent. A good route overall, with some challenging winds, but that’s what you sign up for when doing cycle touring. 😊❣️

Thanks for reading. I need some sleep now.

Benson

On August 2, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe5 Comments

Waking up in England, the first view from the conservatory whilst the rest of the household sleeps.

After a fairly non eventful 22 hours flying, plus 10 hours transit interspersed, we arrived in London, to rain.

Whilst parts of Europe have been sweltering, this has not been the case for the UK or Ireland.

An Irish cycling friend Jono posted this meme yesterday stating it was the wettest July he remembers. Let’s hope August is better, although there is a reason I purchased a new rain jacket 🤣😊

I had booked return transfers for a mini van to transport us to Benson. In theory, the driver waits for you with a clearly named sign in the arrivals hall.

Tired and titchy we could not find him. We rang the company and he eventually turned up.

So we are now comfortable in the home of John and Val whom we met in 2013. John was a leader for the cycle company we did five trips with pre doing our self supporting cycle touring.

John used to work for Queen Elizabeth II as her chief flight engineer. He has flown with all members of the family globally until the flight program ceased. He has many wonderful stories from those days.

Recently at an honours service at Windsor, John remet the now King with whom he has flown with many time. The King, noted that the current charter services are always running late and wished that the Royal flights still existed.

Val is a beautiful lady with whom I met an immediate connection when we first met. Very funny, kind and caring and a great cook who loves her garden and crafts, it was great to cuddle her. She had tracked our flight from Dubai.

John walks a neighbours dog, so we walked a few km around Benson.

We met a cycling friend Deb today who popped around for afternoon tea.

Tomorrow our cycle trip starts. The bikes have been reassembled and our bags are packed. The weather forecast is not great.

What will be, will be 😊❣️💪🚴

Day 17: Limerick to Cork

On July 30, 2023August 19, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe, IrelandLeave a comment

Storm Betty was not looking pretty for us. We had hoped overnight it might blow away into other directions, but it was not to be.

Our goal was to ride to Limerick Junction, then reassess. Limerick Junction is in County Tipperary, not county Limerick, go figure. Reminds me of Burnie Airport being in Wynyard Waratah Council area.

The camera did not come out much. We were on a very busy road, did have a reasonable verge for most, with a super shite headwind to contend with. It is hard work as the wind can buffer you suddenly.

However, we did stop to look at this structure, still standing…just!

It is Kilduff House, constructed in 1550 on the outskirts of New Pallasgreen.

Lots of wars and fighting in the area including ownership fighting led to it’s demise as no one looked after it. I imagine it’s life left is limited as it is now fenced off, seemingly waiting for the walls to come tumbling down.

We did like this sign in an adjacent paddock.

We had crossed into County Tipperary.

“It’s a long way to Tipperary” was a popular British military marching song and we really only deviated to this area today so I could say that – it is a long way to Tipperary, and still we were 4 km short of the town.

Tony’s great great grandfather William Atkinson was born in county Tipperary in 1844. In 1850 the family were about to emigrate to Australia when grandfather James Atkinson was murdered. Emigration was postponed until 1854.

William married Eliza, who is Tony’s great great grandmother. William had an affair with his house maid Fanny and she became pregnant and William had two children born at around the same time (Eliza’s 5th and Fanny’s 1st). Sadly Eliza died shortly after her 5th child was born with a puerperal infection.

William later remarried Amelia and together they had 11 children.

We made it to Limerick Junction which is a village and hosts the region railway station.

We knew that the bikes could be an issue on the train as generally there is room for only two. The train travels from Dublin to Cork so likely fairly full.

The lady in the station office rang the train Inspector David, and I could hear her say they needed to get the train due to the weather, and he said he would see what he could do.

So the train arrived, it was super crazy with people having emerged from the Limerick train all rushing aboard. The bike carriage was full, but at the last moment David turned up and ushered us in to here, a spot between two carriages.

Here we stood, with only one stop being Mallow.

Mallow was where we had accomodation for the night, paid for, non refundable. It was just out of town and not available until 5 pm. We would have got soaked hanging around waiting then getting there. Plus we do like to eat dinner each night.

We made the call to travel instead to Cork, a big city, and only 20 km from the ferry terminal we needed to be at the following day. That way if the weather continued to be detrimental to riding, we had options ( ie maxi taxi).

The weather warnings were clear. 130 kmh winds is indoor material. Anything above 30 kmh is tough enough, and we had 30-50 kmh in the morning ride.

The train ride was surprisingly smooth given we stood the whole way. We needed to juggle the bikes only for the lady with a food cart who came through to the last carriage then returned.

We arrived in Cork to rain. We had nowhere to stay, and I had spent much of the time on the train searching. Most accomodation was fully booked. Plus we have the issue of the bikes. I do not like to book non refundable accomodation without knowing they can store bikes ok.

Getting off the train we headed into the city area, and the rain started to pour down. We stopped at the first hotel but no go. The second hotel, yes! But they wanted 30 euro more than I could get on Hotel.com

Using my iPad I booked the same hotel for less, however it was still $390 aud! That was cheap for Cork this wet Friday, and it did not include breakfast. Normal hotel room.

However, they let us in 90 minutes early and stored our bikes in their locked conference room.

The view from reception as I booked and looked outside.

We hoped to go for a walk at some point but the weather did not let up. Updated weather warning at 6 pm.

We had dinner in the hotel, although not particularly relaxing as the couple nearby were having a ding dong argument. We felt like we were imposing and did not know where to look.

We watched some Irish tv. Guess what was on?

The rain eased as we hopped into bed…..

Thanks for reading 😊❣️

The ride, then train from near Tipperary to Mallow, then to Cork

Day 26: Lewes to Hampton Court

On July 27, 2023August 29, 2023 By Sharron YaxleyIn England, Europe2 Comments

We were heading to London today, outer London near Hampton Court, but first had a far more important engagement with a man of Sussex fame!

It was maybe 45 minute cycle ride to Ditchling to meet Graeme of Sussex. Far more relevant Sussex than those ‘other two’. He also does not whinge and has a far greater sense of humour.

Few photos on route to Ditchling.

Ditchling is famous for a few reasons. It is where Graeme of Sussex’s favourite tea room is. It is where Queen Camilla went to primary school as she grew up nearby. Dame Vera Lynn lived here for many years until her passing a few years ago at the age of 103.

Her public funeral procession started in Ditchling and included an airforce flyover. The town was decorated with poppies and her famous war time song “We’ll meet again” was played across the English Channel.

The church over the road, St Margaret’s was founded in the 11th century, with the current exterior 13th century.

View towards the local hills, and a tougher cycle climb used annually in a Brighton racing event.

It was lovely to catch up with Graeme. We first met him in 2015 when we rode from Calais to Narbonne and up to Carcassonne. I remember we him in the ferry crossing from Dover when we were introducing ourselves, and he stated his Graeme was spelt the posh way.

A favourite photo of Graeme and I on a warm day in France 2015, no panniers as this was a supported ride (ie our luggage in a van)

Graeme lives about an hour cycle ride from this cafe and we were treated to coffee and tea cake here during our catch up.

We had caught up with him in 2016 and had dinner together, so it was quite a few years, but we just picked up where we had left off.

Graeme lives in Henfield, on our route today so we cycled together for an hour to reach his house, going through his favourite areas and laneways. It was great to ride his favourite routes, as the local cyclists always have a better idea of where to go.

At his lovely 17th century home we sat outside in the garden, chatted, shared soup and got to meet Sandra his partner. Long heard of, but never met, it was delightful to meet her.

Graeme has done many cycle tours with their daughter Matilda, and we enjoyed looking over the photographic memories. Wonderful memories for both.

Sadly we needed to bid the nicer Sussex chap farewell and continue on our merry way.

Some busier roads initially, but we did turn onto quieter lanes for much of the ride towards London. Many forests and commons, a few lakes and quirky churches.

The roundabout of the day award goes to this one.

There was a road closure on our route with no quick and easy way around ( this was near the top of a hill climb, and I do hate descending and climbing another hill to detour).

So around we go, and we were able to get through but tight squeeze at the other end.

Down the road a car stopped and asked us if we had come through. yes we said. He then said ‘what do you think will happen tomorrow when the workers are back.’ I replied ‘no idea, but we will be long gone’ 🤣

Not sure if he was an annoyed local, or just enquiring as he wanted to get through too.

Thames Ditton Island was to be our home for two nights. You access it via a footbridge and code at the locked gate.

The island is 320 metres in length and has 48 homes with gardens and moorings.

We are in an Air BNB cottage here and love the area.

We went for dinner at the pub Ye Olde Swan just across the footbridge. It was a former 13th century hunting lodge that King Henry VIII stayed at (close proximity to Hampton Court Palace). Great food and location.