clairedavieswriter

What are you up to this time? I hear you say…

The inspiration for this tour was somewhat simpler than for Land’s End to John O’Groats. In a nutshell, I loved the Lejog experience and wanted more of it, so decided to embark on a pedal-powered meander around France to visit friends.

The eagle-eyed amongst those of you who followed my Lejog journey may notice a few changes in my set up. Trixie the trusty Trek, who gamely carried me to Paris and back, around Denmark, and the length of the British Isles, has been put out to pasture, like the great steed she is. Sadly, I fear she was not quite ready for retirement (or the indignity of being stripped of her saddle) and has not entirely forgiven me, or accepted her enigmatic successor, but I’m hoping she’ll come round.

The truth was that, while I had very few complaints about her, over the course of Lejog I decided that I could use a bit of assistance in two key areas, namely, going up and going down. Hence my new bike comes with a slightly better gear ratio for climbing (don’t ask me for the details, I just ride the thing), and disc brakes which are easier on the hands when descending. Cycling nerds may also have spotted that, while the Trek was aluminium, this one is made of titanium, which was incidental to my choice, but – along with wider tyres – I’m told it makes for a more comfortable ride.

Other changes are in the luggage: not content with the inherent masochism of cycle touring, I’ve decided to try camping as well – though not all the time, I’m not a maniac. To indulge this admittedly odd whim, I’ve added racks to my front forks to carry a sleeping bag and inflatable mat. A one person tent is on the rear rack. Those three items weigh 2kg so I’ve had to trim my packing list to ensure I can still actually get the bike moving. So I’ll either be too hot, too cold, or very smelly. Most likely all three at different times. All in all, I reckon I’m carrying about 10kg – about the same as Lejog.