Tjs recovery ride 5. The low countries and France

Breakfast

of champions and our favourite bike packer thread.

The randomiser failedme today. I went to a small 1 star campsite that looked really nice. No longer taking tents🙄😥

Ended up on a huge 4 star campsite instead. Oh well. I can get beer.

Near Leon beside the lake

Hot hot hot today. My goats cheese is rather runny

Bon Maman TJ. I was down near where your heading a few weeks back (Edukator – Pau is one of the loveliest cities I have been to).

Loving these updates, and on behalf of the silent 000’s, thank you for letting us share the journey with you and Julie.

Errrmmm

With julie? I do have some ashes in my bag…….
….😀😎

Surfs up

Random lighthouse

Lac du Leon

Effing stupid software

Oh ffs. Why do pics not show randomly

I am getting rather tired. I do have a week in hand tho as its nearly 2 weeks untill i meet folk and its only 4 or so days riding left to where i am meeting them.

I think i might take a day or two off in the next couple of days. The pals I am meeting are too far apart to do by bicycle given the time constraints so what ill probably do is go to Estella where i am meeting one pal and hire a scooter to get to aguilla whete i am meeting another pal.

Not really looking forward to crossing the pyrenees. Oh well. 150 miles to Estella so not far to go

Also all my kit stinks🙄🤣🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️

Nice downhill stretches of road after every difficult uphill struggle 🤔⛰️.

With julie? I do have some ashes in my bag……

Forgive my clumsiness. I was thinking of ‘her spirit rides on’. I read your updates like she’s turning the pedals with you.

Apologies.

No problem at all. I was being a bit snarky. I am not sensitive about it.

I should be careful about making folk feel awkward tho really

TJ, are you on the camping sandaya le col vert campsite?

I stayed there a few years ago, it’s massive but I loved it. We had 2 kids though and made good use of the pools and bars!! Got the kids to cycle out to the beach a couple of times, but that’s all the cycling I’ve done out there.

Keep up the good work.

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 fantasy horror 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.

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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.