Forum menu
Yes ads i am. Nice campsite but not really what i need
In other moans my arse is sore. Plooks (spots) appearing. In the immortal words of Mike Wozniak "its a right casserole down there"🙄🤣
Yeah, I wouldn't choose a site like that doing what you're doing!
This morning it feels like I am reaching the endgame. 150 miles cycle to meet my pals and 12 days to do it in so i need to kill some time. Then a similar distance to get the ferry fron Santander back to the UK. I doubt I'll ride back up the UK to home but I'll decide how I'll do that later. The mountains of the pyrenees feel rather intimidating right now. Im deeply tired.
I'm going to walk a few days on the Compostella with those pals which will be a nice change.
Looking at the maps its hard to comprehend the distances. I feel a very long way from home but I also feel ready to go home. I should be home by the end of the month.
Im getting fed up of packing up every morning so i am looking at spending a few days in one place this week. Maybe even in a hotel.
Social media has been a huge boon. Its relieved the loneliness that has got me now and then.
I should have done some refreshing of my schoolboy french but over the weeks i have remembered more.
Im generally happy with the kit I have taken but plastic boxes for food storage would have been useful. My 30 euro a day budget has been more an aspiration than reality but i have still done this pretty cheaply.
The bike has been fabulous thank goodness. Comfy and reliable. I wouldn't change anything of the spec and i am glad i took the trailer not panniers.
Suggestions for somewhere to spend a few days anyone?
Ta for your interest and support. Its been surprisingly helpfull.
Love reading your updates. Like many others, we wish we were there too.
Maybe even in a hotel.
Also all my kit stinks🙄🤣🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
One near a launderette?
One thing i would change is have a better way of charging the phone and backup batteries. I have had two batteries pinched leaving them in the lo block to charge and that has nade me paranoid. I think the stuff to do the electric hookup on campsites would be the way.
I can see the pyrenees! I haven't enough bandwidth to post a pic. Later
I think the stuff to do the electric hookup on campsites would be the way.
That would weigh loads. You would be much better off with a solar panel or dynamo hub. But a solar panel of course would work when not riding.
I can see the pyrenees!
Are they looming into view above a flat plain like something from a fantasy film?
Been a great thread TJ, am going to miss it when you finally get back on home turf. Glad to hear you're enjoying it as well, hope the last wee stretch goes well for you
Are they looming into view above a flat plain like something from a
fantasyhorror film?
FTFTJ 😀
That would weigh loads. You would be much better off with a solar panel or dynamo hub.
Wot a plug and a short lead to a socket?
Ttouble with a solsr panel is i use the top of the trailer for drying stuff a d a dynamo is non repairable. Hence for what i have done a hookup would be better
You would be much better off with a solar panel or dynamo hub. But a solar panel of course would work when not riding.
Dyno hub was my immediate thought. You don't get a lot of power from them AFAIK, but you're pedalling enough hours to overcome a slow charge rate.
I've also really enjoyed these threads. If TJ doesn't want to ride back up the UK, maybe there's an STW relay transportation solution from the south coast to Edinburgh. There's got to be a sufficient distribution of vans on here to manage that, as the bike and trailer combo would probably be tricky/impossible on the train.
They tend to be something like this TJ so pretty bulky (unless french campsites are different)
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15988666/eurohike-mobile-mains-kit-15m-15988666
Enjoy the rest of your journey
Lolz
Same plug but all you need is the 3pin outdoor plug a foot of flex and one 2pin euro socket. Couple of hundred grammes
Anyway thats me camped up on a camping municipale near labenne. They have an area for bikes with a covered kitchen setup. Charging for phones etc and 7 euro
Pyrenees looming ominously
The other kit mistake is not having a proper bar mount for my phone. I picked up a cheap rainproof one but the plastic over the screen made the phone impossible to see in sunlight so i ended up hacking it about with my penknife.
Not needed this in the past but this trip it would have been good. Im not wearing my softshell so no pockets to put the phone in.
Oh well. Live and learn
And yes moley you were right about the phone mount🙄😎🤣
I decided against a dynamo hub because they are not repaiable if the bearongs go wheras the hope hub i have uses stock bearings eady to get.
[url= https://i.ibb.co/w68KKGK/Screenshot-20220905-154037.pn g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/w68KKGK/Screenshot-20220905-154037.pn g"/> [/img][/url]
Although not all french sites have those plugs.
I decided against a dynamo hub because they are not repaiable if the bearongs go wheras the hope hub i have uses stock bearings eady to get.
Well I didn't know that! I'll have to investigate further as I've got one on my commuter bike.
And I'd be less worried about the Pyrenees than the massive jump you're going to have to attempt to reach them. 😁
Shimano can be at least partially dismantled and repaired i think but its difficult to do iirc. Others are basically sealed for life
I have a sps dynamo on my commuter. I had to have it teplaced under warrenty when the bearings seized. Not much hassle on a commuter but the idea of having to source a new wheel hundreds of miles from home worries me hence not going for one
Shimano's what I have. They're cheap enough to buy, (I assume the OEM one on my bike is a £30 one, not £130) and I can build wheels so that's no problem but it does seem a bit wasteful that they are essentially disposable.
Fair point about the hub.
And yes moley you were right about the phone mount
I don't even remember what I said now 🙂
Re the hookup cable - I think it depends on whether or not you can pitch up next to the electricity pole. There's a chance that not all sites have an emplacement with its own plug. In Germany, we had a bit of a surprise as there was one big set of plugs in the middle of a field and everyone needed about 20m of cable.
You told me to buy one in halfords.
As im only wanting to phone charge I would be happy with having it sit by the leccy box.
No solution is perfect
I stayed in a little village on the border. St Jean de Luz. It was lovely, about 12 years ago, why not find a coastal hotel and book a few nights.
Fimd a launderette and an Italian restaurant. Get some carbs on board, a few patisserie offerings taste lovely, but lets be honest, butter iscnt great fuel for long distances.
You could do a wee tour of the Pyrenees after meeting your pals.
September is usually perfect temps for cycling. Dump the trailer and climb some cols. Visit Gavanie, Pau, etc
Loving the daily updates, brightens my day.
Whats the rush to get back anyway. Nothing will have changed here
A few nights in an etap chain Hotel will sort you out.
lets be honest, butter iscnt great fuel for long distances
Well if he's doing 50 miles a day at a pottering speed of let's say 14mph average that's 3-4hrs of rising every day, at maybe 500 calories per hour. That's 2,000 calories on top of your normal dietary needs so 4,000 a day. Nearly every day that's a lot of extra calories and it can't all come from carbs. If you tried it'd be 2.5 whole baguettes on top of your normal say half a baguette for lunch. Three baguettes a day on your own? And breakfast and dinner as well?
This is why long term tourers or expedition doers eat plenty of fat - it's just not possible to get enough calories otherwise.
9mph average
Fats are 9 calories per gramme. Carbs 4. Transpolar walkers etc eat butter by the pound because its calorie dense
Im attempting to eat 4000 calories a day but failing. No appetite in the heat ive lost around 10 kilos
Usual day would be 3 pastries if croissants then with jam on. One baguette 200 g cheese 100g ham 4 pieces of fruit a pack of biscuits and a large pasta or rice based dinner with plenty of veg and a couple of hunded grammes of sweets and / or ceral bars
FWIW, bearings in the SP/Alpkit/Exposure dynos can be replaced but it's not something you'd be wanting to do on a tour.
There's also another design that runs off the rim and can be disengaged. I can't recall the brand but I'll try to find it.
Edit:
How much butter is in a croissant anyway? 20gms \ish I reckon , so hardly polar explorer volumes
Plus they probably walk really slowly for 12hrs , as opposed to riding for 6hrs. So probaly 1800cal burnt plus say 1000cals sitting eating tarte au tan.
Sps dynamo needs to be retuned to factory for new bearings i was told when mine failed
Im attempting to eat 4000 calories a day but failing. No appetite in the heat ive lost around 10 kilos
That's the same issue i've had on multiday tours and events. Usually trying to put away a fair chunk more than that though, after about a week it was pretty much forcing something like 4 bottles of energy drink down your neck (500 calories per bottle) and a HUGE plate of pasta, with creamy, cheesey sauce, maybe 2500 calories, then flapjacks and baguettes etc during the day, plus my normal drink intake.
Still hungry all the time, or massively over full immediately after eating and borderline dehydrated at the end of every day.
Also got to watch nutrient and protein intake etc or that'll end up screwing you up long term.
Unfortunately, i usually started events/tours with pretty much zero weight to spare!
Aye im a bit concerned about trace elements. Protien im not. I eat far more than needed
I am.lighter than i have been fir 30 years
Are you taking vitamin pills?
Only vit d and only when i remember
Probably worth some more supplements.
Usual day would be 3 pastries if croissants then with jam on. One baguette 200 g cheese 100g ham 4 pieces of fruit a pack of biscuits and a large pasta or rice based dinner with plenty of veg and a couple of hunded grammes of sweets and / or ceral bars
Sounds like a typical day for me too. I sit at a desk all day 🙁
Update time
I've decided to stay another night here and then as per Matts suggestion I have contacted Doug at Basque mtb and looks like I'll stay a couple of days with them. He is a daya ride along the coast. Very helpful and kind chap from the email conversation.
That then gets me well rested before I tackle the mountains to meet my pals.
Gonna have a chilled day today
I have a family of blackbirds scrounging croissant crumbs around my tent this morning
Well i have ended up in Hondarribia staying in the guest house run by Doug from basque mtb. Lovely chap who bought me beer.
Long days ride today. The eurovelo goes over the place. Maybe 60 miles.
Im ganna stay here 3 nights probably. Do some exploring of thevarea and maybe even a little mtbing
Kindness of strangers once again
Some lovely towns and architecture today
https://i.postimg.cc/L5pm2yxd/20220907-130928.jp g" alt="" />
Bloody nora
Looks perfect and I'm sure a proper bed will go down well for a few days
