(Strong language may be used in our blogs) Italy – Courmayeur – Milano – Bergamo and Lake Iseo

WOW what a difference  45 min’s makes on a bus under the alps (We were not allowed to cycle the tunnel as it was too dangerous, probably because of the lack of air in there)

We got off the bus dressed in shorts and T-shirts, pulled the bikes out of the trailer and loaded up our gear, then looked round and saw Mont Blonc from the Italian side “Nice” and very white with the sun blazing down on it. I went into the tourist office and asked if there was a map of Italy we could buy from them, the woman said that they didn’t have one of Italy but they did have one of the Courmayeur valley for free, once she said free I couldn’t pass up on anything free so said thanks very much then turned round and asked her how do you say thanks in italian as we didn’t know anything apart from “Ciao bella” and “justa one’a more’a corneto” So we set off and then stopped again pretty quick as we remembered that we needed to do bit of a photo shoot and a video blog with the mountains in the background.

When we planned the route back in Ireland we decided to go along the euro velo 8 across Italy because someone mentioned in a blog that it was all downhill and they hardly had to peddle at all the whole width of Italy, Well by going under the alps we kinda missed the beginning of the euro velo 8 that starts down south of the alps along the coast of France/Italy and started at one of the highest points possible and the first day was downhill all the way and the only time we needed to peddle was when the wind that came up the valley was right in our faces… peddling down hill, what a pain in the arse!

At five in the evening(Two hours earlier than any other day due to the heat, but still had 100km under our belt) we found a nice picnic area to camp with toilets and also benches to cook and eat dinner on. We set up the camp and put up the projector screen and lay back and watched “Game of thrones”

Sam the tech man setting up his solar charge system

In the morning we woke and set up the bikes, Sam had drained most of the battery in his power gorilla from using the projector and mini rig speaker the night before so had his solar charger set up on the front of his bike to charge it all again. The ride today wasn’t so down hill, more flat and the mountains around us started to turn into hills but the sun was still relentlessly beating down on us. It was funny because in France we were complaining about the rain and saying how scorching hot sun would be nice, then we realized we would still be moaning even if we had hot weather…. and here we were saying “Aaghh it’s too hot”  with squinty eyes pink noses and burnt arms… now that we had the big straight roads for miles and miles through the northern italian countryside, all farm land with nothing much to see we decided to try out the cycle train technique where you all cycle as close to each other in a line and one of you blasts through the wind while the other two slip stream you and hardly peddle at all(this was a good way of letting Will’s knee heal while cycling) at the back you don’t really see any of your surroundings because you are constantly checking your distance from the bike in front but it didn’t matter as our surroundings were pretty bare.

Cycle train, at some points we were 4 or 5 inches away from each others wheels

One thing that we hadn’t taken into consideration was how much water each of us would go through when the weather was hot, before back in France we were getting through 2-3.5Ltr a day(thats how much each of us carried) but here in Italy with really nice weather and mid day heat we were doubling that so stopping for water was becoming a lot more regular.

water stop outside a church – continuos water from a spring

Our lunch hasn’t changed much yet but maybe thats because we are still living off french food supplies, Cheese, Chorizo, Butter, Bread, and Wine.

Lunch time – Somewhere we don’t know where

Using the cycle train technique it didn’t take us long to get to get close to Milano, again we got to around five O’clock in the evening and we were physically drained and dehydrated, after a few stops and not everyone agreeing to set up camp we all felt like it was time to stop… thats when you can’t find anywhere to camp anymore because you passed all the good spots, I was at the front and spotted a side track going into some woods that had a river running through it so we back tracked along the duel carriage way and then went down the track and jumped in the river, I was happy to set up camp right there and then but Will wanted to check out just a bit further down this track so we all got on the bikes again and carried on along this old track that had more holes than road, at the end was a big house and turning circle with loads of benches outside, we sat down and Will went up and poked his nose in and found a person who said “Yes we have beer” and “Dinner is at seven” so we drank a few and waited for dinner. Only €10 for a three course meal and it was bloody lovely Gnocchi with a fantastic bolognese sauce to start then roast pork with a butter sauce and an apple sorbet to finish with an espresso.. BOOM and we were done… Only problem was that it was now dark and we hadn’t found a place to camp yet… We went down the track a bit further and found a field with about 30 bee hives on it, so we went a good bit further again and found another field that smelled great as we walked through it, Camp went up a little wobbly because of the beers and because we put it up in the dark, Will and I went off back to the river where there was a mini sluice gate, we stripped off and had a very cold wash in the river, that was doubly cold because of the sun burn and dehydration, but felt great afterwards.

We woke up a little late the next day but it didn’t really matter because we were only about 35km away from Milano, when we got out of the tents we realized why the field smelt so good last night as we walked through it… it was a meadow full of flowers, probably planted that way for the bee’s to gather all their nectar from, I say probably but I am pretty sure that was the case as we had Bee’s all around us as we packed up. We blazed on towards Milano and got there in good time not even having lunch before we got there. What a chaotic place to try and get into, everyone was driving like nutters and the scooters didn’t bother to stop for red lights… Just scooting past saying Ciaooooooo, just like the Eddie Izzard sketch about Italians.

As we were going along everyone was beeping their horns at us and whooping with thumbs up (Better than in France where we got people beeping their horns and shouting with the middle finger up) we were cycling along the bumpy cobble stone streets of Milano when I spotted a cycle route and decided to take a little short cut over a grassy knoll, not a bother all loaded up with about 50-60kg’s of gear and my own body weight until my front wheel went into a hidden pot hole up to the front hub, I went right over the handlebars and the bike stayed right where it was I rolled off down the hill and the lads looked at me in shock, once they realized I was ok they both doubled over in laughter and asked if I had the GoPro turned on, alas I didn’t as that would have been a good bit of footage, the people in the traffic loved it and shouted at us beeping their horns (they love cyclists over here)

Bugger

when I got up and checked the bike I couldn’t turn the handlebars from side to side because the front forks had bent backwards about two inches and the tire was now hitting the drink bottle cage on the underside of the frame, I got Sam and Will to hold the bike up and pull back while I sat on the floor and grabbed the forks in my hands while bracing myself off the peddle crank with my feet. We managed to bend it back enough to be able to ride and the turning is a little sharper than before but its grand and it didn’t cost me a small fortune buying new forks (This is why you get a steel frame bike when cycle touring)

Piazza del Duomo

We got to the centro finally and saw the Duomo (Piazza del Duomo) We sat down and had lunch and then tried to find accommodation, not so easy as that so it seemed, we went to the tourist info office and they printed us off a list of directions to a campsite… all in italian, so they did it again this time in english and we left in search of a campsite… the streets don’t seem to have any name plates so we soon threw the directions away and got Will’s new sat-nav out that one of the Tom’s gave us in Chmonix, it worked really well once we knew what the name of the place we were going to was called. 

We got there and it seemed like it was an adventure park holiday camp kinda place… it had a petting zoo and had peacocks screeching all day and night plus lambs bleating, what a place. It cost €11 to camp plus €11 each to be there, €44 all together to stay in our own tents and have the luxury of hot water… great stuff. we got out of there pretty quick in the  morning even though it was raining all night and all morning (we did manage to fit in a pizza breakfast though) blast me it was wet, warm and wet, almost tropical.

We made our way through Milano again, this time trying to find the circular ring road… Wicked we found it… Bugger roadworks and its all blocked off, we worked our way through the back streets of Milano and found our way to the Bergamo road, stopping and starting at traffic light after traffic light all in rain so hard that we were soaked before we had even got out of the campsite. We arrived in Bergamo again with a warm welcome from the locals all waving and asking us where we came from and where we were going to after Bergamo, this made cycling through traffic pretty hard while chatting through windows using sign language as we were still limited to about three words in italian. We saw a McD’s again and headed for it to use the internet, then we saw a sign saying hostel and went that way rather than going into a McD again… Eeargh, no thanks.  We whizzed through the streets and people flying all over the place and found the hostel, as we pulled up outside a bloke started talking to us in english, he turned out to be american and said he was staying in the hostel, we asked him if it was affordable and he said it was to him but we should go inside and check it out. Will came back out and said its €25 a head and we get our own room… we were all so wet and tired of traffic that it was a unanimous yes. We unloaded the bikes and put our stuff upstairs in the room two stories up, I jumped in the shower right away and washed all his clothes and unknowingly flooded the whole shower room and bed room with water that merged with the run off water from all our bags and proceeded to flood the corridor in the hostel. We went out for  a look round Bergamo and it was pretty much closed apart from a few clubs and pubs/classy wine and cheese bars, we wanted to get something to eat so went to find a pizza place, we found one and the staff were dressed smarter than us so we gave it a miss, just next door was a Palestinian kebab shop that was full of people sitting down to eat, we went in and got one of the best kebabs any of us had ever eaten, we finished then ordered another one and left to go home, on the way back we stopped off for a quick pint in a trendy bar and only just managed to get past the bouncers as they looked us up and down, Will went up to the bar and the bar tender looked at us and said “three beers, big ones right” everyone else was drinking wine. He served us up three pints of a nice blonde beer, nice one mate.

1000km’s since Ireland

We got back to the hostel and started checking out the maps so we knew where to go the next day. We got up and had an early breakfast in the hostel, not like an english or irish breakfast of bacon and sausages but more european like yogurt and fruit juice with toast and jam or Nutella, we then got out of the hostel and ventured into Bergamo, it wash’t raining, we got lost and went the wrong way round and eventually ended up at the tourist info where a very helpful woman gave us a regional map and told us the about the campsites around lake Iseo (Where Sam and Will had decided would be a good place to stay the night before) she then phoned up a couple of the campsites and booked us into one that was right next to the lake, only €9 a night per person. We set off again this time with an idea of where we were going and stopped off in a Decathlon store to get chain cleaning products and gear oil so we could do a service on the bikes as we had just hit 1000km’s since Ireland

The rain was still raining but it wasn’t a new sensation anymore so we just got on with the cycling and got to Lake Iseo with loads of daylight left in the day, We pulled up to a campsite (We weren’t sure which one as we had lost the piece of paper the woman from the tourist info gave us with the name and phone number on it) and a woman came out and started talking to us, we asked if she was expecting us and she said yes, as it turned out she was english and from Manchester but had been living in Italy for nearly 35 years, she showed us to the area where we could set up our tents and left us to it.

Camp at lake Iseo

So far we have been here two days and it hasn’t stopped raining yet… we are sure once the clouds have gone the view will be amazing.

Lyon part-dieu

Cycling around Lyon at night looking for a bar that was open after closing time was a little hard especially as we were dressed in stylish cycling gear and every bar/club we went up to that had flashy lights and bouncers standing outside, Me using my best french sign language asked if I could go in and get a pint, the bouncer look is universal… I wasn’t getting in that was for sure. Back to the lads who were looking after the bikes, I told them the news and we stood around a bit lost not knowing what to do… we couldn’t blend in at all so stood out like a sore thumb wearing garish cycling jerseys, a few people came up to us and had a chat, most of them saying that it was rubbish in the clubs anyway (we got the impression that they got kicked out ) in fact most of the people outside the clubs were drinking wine…. out of a bag, Classy.

I went over and asked a few lads where we could get a drink and they pointed off in the other direction and shouted after me “Good luck English man”

We found a small bar that was half full and had an empty table outside that we could sit at and not take our eyes away from the bikes and all the gear, we had over eight hours to wait before the train to Geneva so we bought ourselves some beers. I went in and asked the bar keep for three pints of beer and he looked at me strange then came back and said sorry but we only have one pint glass…. bloody french.. so I got the pint and then got two half pints in girly glasses for the lads outside, that didn’t bother Sam and Will at all and we soon finished them off (at the same time in fact even though I had a real pint)

This happened a few times and then we got told to turn the music down because of the bar being in a residential area, but then Jimi Hendrix came on and no one gave a fuck about the people living upstairs. A few locals dropped into the bar and started talking to us about the bikes and the trip and it wasn’t too long before they were buying us drinks and closing time came…. and went.. we went inside the bar for a few drinks “A lock-in in Lyon” the bar man lined up a few saucers and poured this green liquid onto the saucers then put shot glasses out and filled them up with the same stuff, he then pulled out a blow torch and set fire to the shots, he waited until the flames were pretty hight then placed tumblers over the shot glasses and the saucers, the liquid on the plates made a seal and created a vacuum, he passed us straws and lifted the glass so we could drink all the green liquid then he got us to breathe the fumes from the tumblers through the straw… at this point we all coughed and spluttered, it made our heads spin and Sam nearly threw up. We checked the time and realized that we had two hours till our train got in…. we had been drinking for six hours in that place, it was time to leave, so we stumbled out of the bar and tried to get our bikes to work but they didn’t and I think that kinda span Sam out a bit because he then proceeded to spew green stuff (Chartreuse) all over the street, the bar man said it was okay because he wasn’t making any noise so the neighbors wouldn’t complain.

We left the ban and made our way back along the streets towards the train station (Lyon part-dieu) its strange how there is so many people awake at the train station in the early hours of the morning, we were there with all our bikes and gear waiting for the train and bought ourselves coffee’s and croissants sitting down next to the bikes and then the gendarme came over and told us to move, I think because we looked terrible and were showing the place us a bit.

It wasn’t too long before our train started to arrive so we took our bikes up the escalators to the platform and waited for the train,

We were all pretty drunk still and just getting the bike on the escalators was damn hard and all we wanted to do was sleep, what a bloody bright idea that was to stay up for the ten hours until our train got in… and Chartreuse is now another drink that is on my list of drinks not to be allowed to drink again

The train arrived and all of a sudden loads of people turned up to get on when just moments before it was an empty platform, so we had to get on the ball a bit with finding a carriage that took bikes, we lifted the bikes onto the train, Not an easy thing to do as the bikes probably weigh about 60kgs each and they don’t just stay still like a 60kg set of weights, the handle bars spin round and hit you in the head or the back wheel turns and you smash you knuckles off the rear end of the frame… anyway we got them on and considering our state we did a pretty good job. We then unloaded all the baggage

and it was at this point that Sam realized he had lost the bag to his mini rig speaker and the charging cable, he wasn’t too impressed and with his current state got even more unimpressed with everything. As fun as a train ride might be we all passed out with our heads splatted on the table to be woken up by customs with sniffer dogs sniffing at our food bags and getting really excited, thankfully they just left us alone and we didn’t have to go through the whole emptying of our bags (It is hard enough packing them when your sober let alone when hung over on weird green stuff ) we  soon passed out again this time to be woken up by everyone getting off the train (they were all blonde, like it was all the kids from the movie “village of the damned” )

A quick look out of the window and all we could see was hills and then mountains covered in snow, we got all our gear together and jumped off the train.

Geneva –

first things first, we needed the toilet so all went down and tried to find one, the only place was in a cafe and you had to pay but it didn’t take the euro so we went to the cafe and got some swiss money by buying a carton of orange juice, not a big carton but just 250ml maybe… €4.80… bloody expensive orange juice in switzerland. |We decided to get out of Geneva as quick as possible.

We got to a small part of Lake geneva and tried to work out how to get back into France but in the right direction, we wanted to head towards a place called Bonneville where our friend Tom from Ireland was going to pick us up in his truck and then take us to Chamonix, so we asked for directions and soon realized that no one we spoke to spoke french… but they did speak english so that was a load better than us trying to point towards Bonneville and ask where it was at the same time

We soon got out of Geneva after cycling what seemed to be only uphill for about half an hour, our faces told it all to anyone who looked our way, sweating and red faced, hungover like hell without any sleep… we felt like crap but the sun was shining and the skies were blue and that was the reason why we got on a train in the first place… we were fed up with rain and damp clothes.  It was so hot here in Geneva and we didn’t think about it much, maybe because we were hungover but what ever the reason we got seriously sun burnt, we had T-shirts and sunglasses on and it was great, we made it to Bonneville in no time and gave Tom a call, he said he would be about 40 minutes so we said we would just wait in the square, it was close to mid day and nothing was open so we just waited and ended up laying on the floor in the square, I thought I was in the shade, well I was when i went to sleep but when i woke up the sun was beating down on my body and face, I was burnt like a beetroot, feck it!

Tom arrived and we said our hello’s and introduced him to Sam and then slung the bikes in the back, unfortunately the truck only had three seats in the front so one of us had to get in the back… I volunteered… bugger me it was hot in the back there, I must have lost about a liter of sweat in the back of that truck while we drove to Chamonix and nearly all the croissants I had eaten at the train station that morning too. We arrived at chamonix and as i got out the back I was amazed at how beautiful it all was, okay so we were in a car park behind a block of flats and surounded by french crusties with their giant crustie dogs but the snow covered mountains all around us were amazing. So Tom took us to the place he said we could stay at, a nice apartment on the edge of the center of town with a massive veranda/porch upstairs garden and a view of Mont Blanc that was breath fantastic. we brought all our stuff to the apartment and then met the owner, a lady called Dawn who has been living in Chamonix over the last eight or so years on and off for the season. We went out and saw a bit of the town and went to a sports shop to get Sam a down jacket as he had nothing that good at keeping him warm, also he really wanted something down because both Will and I had down clothing that double up as a pillow when camping.

Tom and his friend Tom who had invited us to stay told us that they had a tradition on the sunday night that they always went to this bar called “Jekyll and Hyde” because on sunday they did a special…. RIB’S NIGHT… as soon as we heard we were signed up for it… unfortunately Sam was so whacked from the night before and not getting any sleep that he just passed out on the sofa and wouldn’t come out… So Will and I went out with Tom and got there just in time before they stopped serving food.. Tom had told us they do half plates at €6 and full plates at €10, he also said that the full plate was more than enough and he only goes for a half plate these days… Will and I were having none of it, there was two flavors and we wanted to try both, Will ordered a large spicy set of ribs and then a small BBQ set of ribs… I just went for two large, one of each flavor.. 

I was so hungry and they tasted so good, my original plan was to get two plates because Sam didn’t come out I could try both sets of ribs and bring him back some (especially as it was only on sundays and we were not going to be here for another sunday ) but after I tired them both there was no chance that Sam was going to get any brought back for him, they tasted so good and the greed took over… so we then ordered hot chocolate fudge cake for after… Jesus that was good…  I know I’m starting to go on a food rant here but we had been cycling for a couple of days and getting food cooked for you and at such quantities was just heaven.

The next day I told Sam my plan that went terribly wrong and he said he would rather me not tell him… but I did anyway and he was jealous so it was worth it.

We decided that we really should go up on the ski lifts and touch some snow so we got the cheapest lift (€15) to the top, all of us wearing shorts and T-shirts because it was so hot down in the town, we got in this little pod that started off slow then shot up and wobbled and shook all over the place, Will being used to doing stupid things wasn’t too bothered about it but Sam and I were plastered to the seats shitting ourselves with looks of terror, the doors didn’t even lock shut and the thing really did swing about a bit, especially when Will got up and started rocking it. 

We got to the top and took some photos with us and the hope banner, had a cup of coffee and then realized that if you don’t have ski’s or a snow board then there is nothing for you to do at the top of a ski slop so we went down again and re-soiled our pants.We started trying to find a way over to Italy via a pass, we had heard of a pass called little St bernard’s pass but got told that funnily enough it was quite steep and because Will’s knee was bad we decided against it so then tried to blag our mate tom into taking us in the truck,

When will went into the pharmacy saying his leg hurt from all the riding he was doing I think they got the wrong idea when they gave him a tube of gel and a tub of blue diamond shaped pills.

see we being on bicycle were not allowed to go through the Mont Blanc tunnel so needed a lift… but Tom was busy with work every day for the next month or so, so we found out about a bus that left from Chamonix and then went to Milan, we didn’t want to go as far as Milan but would get off on the first stop at a place called Courmeyeur just on the Italian side of the alps. So on our last night will cooked Dawn and the lads roadted duck with roast potatoes and veg, the duck was out of a tin (Don’t knock it till you have tried it) and the potatoes were roasted in the duck fat… bloody lovely so it was. Also there was so much fat left over that the other Tom put it into a squeezy bottle for us to take with us, K2K gourmet cooking on the go. The next morning we set off to catch our bus that left at half eight in the morning, 

When we got to the bus station and asked the woman where the bus was she looked at our tickets and then told us that we were not booked on the bus… we shoed her the tickets again and she then phoned up the bus driver to make sure he brought the trailer so we could load the bikes. As it turned out it was fine and we got on the bus and fell asleep right away, 45 mins later we were coming out the other side into Italy, we got off the bus and straight away it was warmer than Chamonix, things were looking good.

Cycling in the rain

Gouarec – Pontivy

As before we made good distance along the canal until we came to a large lake that we had to go off route to get around and after the really easy going cycle route (The euro velo 1) we had to go up hill for about two kilometers and it was steep up hill that almost made us stop, when we got to the top we did stop but only because there were no signs to carry on the euro velo 1, we were pretty lost and did the typical lost tourist things like pointing into the distance and scratching heads while shouting at each other until this guy whio was working on his house came over and said “bonjour” us only being in France for four days started spluttering really bad french then ya man says to us “Oh, your english” in a northern english accent and told us to just follow the yellow brick road and it will take us all the way to Pontivy, where we could get to the Decathlon sports shop to buy sporty outdoorsy kind of supplies that were essential…. Bungees and chocolate

By the time we had finished our little bit of retail therapy it was getting dark and cold so we tried to find our way out and back to the canal, needless to say we got it wrong and didn’t notice till we were on the wrong side of Pontivy going along the wrong river, so back again through the town and along the canal (This time the right one ) we managed to go about another 15 kilometers from Pontivy making the days total at just over 60km and we found a nice flat area to camp next to a pair of canal sluice gates, we set up camp pretty fast and even flew the DARE2B flag up in the center, our thoughts were that if we looked more like we were professionals then the less likely we were to get moved on by the gate keepers.

Another early morning start with ice on the insides of the tents, Joe was the first up and went for a wee wander around, where we camped was surrounded by small lakes with lots of wild life living in and around them, while Joe was looking around he noticed a family of otters swimming around in the lake just next to the camp and tired to get down closer to the otters to take a video of them and managed to get himself an early morning dip in the freezing cold water. Sam and Will soon woke up with all the shouting  and got the hot coffee and porridge with chocolate raisins going to warm up before we set off again.

After about a week of cycling we had finally managed to get our heads round the empty villages and ghost towns because of the french lunch breaks… you can always count on the boulangerie/pâtisserie’s being open so thats where we would always end up…. every day along the canal to Nantes

We noticed the closer we got to Nantes that all the canal sluice gate houses got more and more neglected, unlike the ones near Gouarec which were more like postcard cottages. The castles that we passed on the other hand were amazing and a good place to stop and have lunch

The weather had started to get on our nerves by this point, cold is fine…. even really cold is fine, we have the clothing to cope with that but what started to happen was it just rained and the general mood between us was getting pretty bad, it didn’t have to rain much to make us completely soaked because we had jackets that were breathable but not 100% waterproof but as soon as they got wet the breathability stopped and then you just over heat and soak yourself from the inside out and with it still raining as you set up camp, all the way through the night and when you woke up in the morning nothing had dried, yes we really did smell bad. So the next day we started to make our way on the last leg of the Brest a Nantes canal, with a plan to get there by evening time…. that didn’t happen. It rained and it rained and just to make it a bit better the euro velo 1 along the canal started to become more of a mud bath rather than a nice cycle track. The mood of all three of us had become “CRAP” and we were bitching at each other every time we stopped so we decided to take a detour away from the canal and go into the next town we passed and find a super market buffet that we could sit down and eat in a warm dry environment.

Blaine –

We rocked up to a E.Leclerc and it didn’t have a buffet so we just went in and bought loads of cheese, chorizo, crisps, bread, chocolate, wine, armagnac then filled our bags and took the bikes to a car wash and cleaned them down from all the sand and shite that had piled up in the chain and gears. the mood had lifted a bit but we were still in need of a good eating session so we stopped at a picnicking spot just out of town and near the canal, we managed to eat half of the food we had bought for the next week in one sitting but with the cakes and alcohol the mood had become a lot better and we were all talking again. we blazed on for another thirty or so kilometers but it was getting dark and there was no chance of us getting to Nantes that night so we made camp at another picnicking spot and got a call from the hope foundation letting us know that they had got us a possible place to stay in Nantes via couch surfer.com. Will made a impromptu shower hung in a tree with boiled water and a tarp to save us all from seeing his white, white flesh. As w cooked up dinner we drank the wine and finished off the armagnac and went to bed as we were eager to get to Nantes in the morning.

We arrived in Nantes smelling foul and really hungry, we stopped at the first place where the trams crossed the road and tried to get in contact with our couch surfer sponsor Gabriella, it turns out she didn’t speak much english and we spoke bugger all french so the first phone call didn’t really go very well. so while we waited to get back in contact with her again sam had his music playing from his mini rig playing hip hop and we were getting lots of interest from the locals and got talking to a waitress from the cafe/bar next to where we stopped, she soon invited us into the cafe for a coffee as she needed to get back to work, the coffee ended up being lunch and a couple of beers finished off with a cognac. As we sat there at the front of the cafe we were chatting to all the occupants and passers by, one person in particular was a guy called Ronan who said as we turned up “It’s a long way to tipperary”  we asked how he knew we were from Ireland and he said because of the smell, we didn’t argue. He had an art gallery just across from the cafe, a barge on the canal and he invited us over for a coffee if we fancied it later on after our lunch.

When we had finished our food and drinks we were still waiting to hear back from Gabriella about staying at her place for the night so we were just hanging out outside the cafe and Joe said lets go and have a look round and a coffee at Ronan’s place. We parked our bikes outside where we could see them and then were shown round the gallery by Ronan after he had introduced us to his secretary’s who made us the coffee. after having a look round and a good chat we got back in touch with gabriella about staying at her place, as it turned out she could only offer us a floor and no food and it was 20km out of the city, so we turned down the offer and started thinking about a hotel, Ronan over heard us and said that he just had to check and make sure with his wife first but he thought that it would be okay for us to stay at his house if we needed too.

After a couple of beers on the deck of the B’Atelier 10 with a few of the lads from the bar we set off to Ronan’s house to get showered ( We really did stink, we had to open the windows in the room upstairs to move the air ) and drop our stuff off before heading out with Nicolas (a friend we made in the bar ) who was going to take us out to a Irish bar.

Murphy’s on tap and would you believe it… cheaper than in Ireland, so we were well at home. Ronan and his wife Valerie came into the bar and bought us a few drinks then said that we should come with them to a really nice wine bar ( http://le-vin-vivant.fr )and try some real french cuisine, bangers and mash. we were amazed at all the wines on offer and went for a couple of bottles of a nice organic wine and ordered a plate of cheese and meats just to start, then the bangers and mash came…. so simple yet so good, we had really landed on our feet in Nantes with meeting such lovely people who just welcomed us into their home and were showing us a side of Nantes that we would never have seen.

That night we went on to have a wee night cap before home and ended up in the same bar that we first went into, met up with Nicolas and the lads and met a lots more people, one of the guys who was playing the guitar and singing came over and introduced himself to us, his name was Silva was originally from Madagascar and lived here in Nantes working as a dentist, after talking with us over the night he said that he would really like us to come and take some wine from his wine seller and drink it tomorrow on the deck of the B’Atelier 10 (Ronan’s barge) over dinner it came out in conversation that Sam was a chef and I a cook so Ronan said we should have a BBQ the next day and we could all drink Silva’s wine, being drunk Sam and I were really up for the idea.

The next day we all woke up and had rather foggy heads, I reminded Sam about the BBQ that would be happening later this morning, we both cringed and made a start at making ourselves decent then Ronan shouted up the stairs that he would be going to the market in a few minutes. Sam and I ran down and got a quick bit of toast and then got in the car with Ronan and drove to the market.

We were totally amazed at the market, it had everything from dried meats, cheese and honey to clothes and book stalls all under one roof, it reminded me of the english market in cork, only bigger and sorry to say it but better, Sam and I walked around with noses pressed agains the glass counters like small boys in a sweet shop.

We went for monkfish and some really nice sausages, the monkfish was going to be soaked in coconut milk with lime zest and ginger and the sausages were going to be slow cooked in a pan with lots of onions, none of it was too fancy but we both had heads like a hallway with too many creaky doors, we then went and queued up for the  boulangerie to get some bread to go with the sausages and monkfish kebabs, the queue was really long nearly going out of the market but the people behind the counter were fast so it took no time to get our bread, just as we were about to leave the counter the guy behind gave us two of these pastry things that were like pancake mixture deep fried and they were like little pockets of air with crushed candy on top, bloody lovely and we almost queued up again for more.

We met up with Ronan just outside the market at a small cafe/bar place, in France on a sunday pretty much everything is closed apart from the market and corner bars that serve coffee, beer and wine, so we had a half pint as it would be rude not too, it’s customary to do so, so we did and it was lovely, sun shining and everyone out on the street drinking at small tables, what a lovely way to spend a sunday morning.

Ronan drove us back to the barge and we got the BBQ going and everyone started to turn up, we cracked open some beers and started to air the wine while the charcoals were turning white, it wasn’t warm but it was still a nice day, everyone else was complaining at how this time last year they were out in shorts and T-shirts. The cook from the cafe over the road came over and brought a bowl of chips and a big bowl of  ratatouille to go with the sausages and monkfish, a totally surreal day.

On the island of Nantes we found this giant mechanical elephant, it was huge, the picture doesn’t really do it justice.

We left Nantes the next morning and made our way towards Angers, leaving Nantes the sun was shining, not hot because of the wind but still shining bright all the same  so we made quite good distance that day, very uneventful day but the cycling was good, we did get one car swerve towards us blowing its horn and sticking the finger up at me, he didn’t stop so he got away quite lightly.  We set up camp at a place that we didn’t know its name, it had a nice picnic spot and was right next to the loire river with a beautiful view of the town on the other side.

We woke up to high winds and torrential rain… so we didn’t get up for a good while because we didn’t want to take the tents down and pack it all away wet… but after a while we realized it wasn’t going to stop so Sam and I went to the hotel up above and got coffee then we put down the tents and headed over the bridge into the town, the winds were so strong that we were getting blown all over the place and nearly got hit by cars as they went past us. It was windy all day and then started to rain again so we stopped for a quick pint, it may sound like we have been drinking lots but you have to understand that the drinks over in France are all small like hobbit drinks, also we wanted to get rid of all the spare change in our pockets as it was weighing us down. We did leave the bar in the end as the rain had stopped and we ran out of change.

We made it to Angers that evening, well we thought it was Angers but it was a small town on the river side and Angers was about seven kilometers away, we did something that we wouldn’t normally do, we set up camp in a park next to a sports field, and surrounded by houses but it was dry ground and there was also a water supply near by so here was good for tonight and it had a table for cooking dinner on

I cycled into Angers to do some internet in a McD’s but the internet was really poor and the only thing in there i wanted was the coffee so I skyped Katie-jo and then went home (Got back around midnight)

The next morning we set off and it was dry but soon started to rain, we were getting really miffed at all the rain  we were getting especially when everyone said that we would have great weather cycling through France… PAH!

Along the way we came across some pretty good graffiti on the walls of a local youth club so stopped to check it out and look for some more water.

we were pretty determined to get to Saumur so we could camp up for a couple of days for Sam’s birthday but when we got there it was pissing it down with rain and was blowing us all over the place when we crossed the bridge. We went to a McD’s and used the internet but got hungry so got some food… what a mistake that was, the food in there was crap, made us feel ill and cost a fortune, it was still torrential rain outside so we decided that we would take a train to Tours where we would meet his Mum and his brother.

We arrived in Tours and it was getting late, we rolled out of the train station and the place looked like it had been bombed, all the roads were dug up and the tram lines were not working, we managed to book ourselves a hotel room in a hotel called “Mister Bed” ……. ……. ……. …… …. .. . if you ever come across this hotel chain then don’t be tempted by the cheap price, they are pretty rubbish, but they did have free wifi that was crap. It was 7km from the train station and we were soaked through by the time we got there and with all our wet clothes and shoes we stunk the room out pretty quick.

We had bit of a lay in for Sam’s birthday and decided to stay another day so we could go out and goto Decathlon and KFC, we ate so much chicken and free drink that we made ourselves sick then went and got a few beers and a bottle of whiskey for the night while we watched movies in the room on the projector – (along with Sam’s mini rig speaker the mini laser projector was a great idea to bring with us)

We had arranged with Sam’s mum to meet them at a camp site just outside of Tours where they had booked a cabin for us all to stay. We found the place quite easy, it was in a village called something like “village of the damned” but the camp site was nice and we got started straight away on cleaning and drying our clothes, eating food and having a few drinks while chatting about where we were going next and why we wanted to go by train. Meanwhile Sam’s little but not so little brother Geren cooked us all up some great grub. We all talked way into the night and eventually got to sleep (Something that we have been getting less and less these days)

The next day we said our good byes and headed for Tours again, this time to catch the train to Lyon where we would then get another train to Geneva so we could meet up with some friends of ours in Chamonix, all very long winded and a lot of trains but we were fed up with the rain where we were and this was a good way to escape it. \

We managed to book a train ticket to Geneva and then get on the shuttle train to St Pierre and then waited for the train to Lyon, when it arrived it was a double decker train and had no room for bikes…. we said fuck it and pushed our way on and managed to get the bikes on to then be pulled off again by an angry ticket collector shouting french at us…

Down to the ticket office and try and get our money back for the other tickets and then book the same train again but this time one that would take our bikes, it did take a while to do it but we got there in the end, its just we had a ten hour wait between trains from Lyon to Geneva. We finally got our train and even had a very helpful ticket lady to make sure we got on the right one. All long the train tracks the Loire river had burst its banks and the cycle path was about two feet under water so that made us glad we took the train, as we went along we were checking out all the houses next to the train tracks, they were all half house half cave dug out of the rock, so it looked like half a house stuck on the cliff diagonally and then you would just get a window cut into the rock with double glazed glass windows.  Six hours later we arrive in Lyon… It looked just like birmingham… the architecture and the people, a little strange for Sam who wouldn’t let go of his bike or take his eyes off of it.

I treated Sam and Will to a steak dinner and a couple of pints in the mega grill bar place but we soon left as they were closing for the night so we decided to go and find a bar and drink all night until the train to Geneva got here in about eight hours time

Three Surly long haul truckers for sale

We had a mad few days before we left Ireland, getting all our gear sorted for the bikes, packing up our lives into cardboard box’s and trying to spend as much time with our family and loved ones as possible. On the morning of our leaving day all three of us were still doing last minute packing and adjustments to the bikes, so last minute in fact that we were late to our own send off at the Blue haven in Kinsale, we got on the bikes and and rode then for the first time fully loaded with all our gear, the look on each others faces was classic,a look of realization that we had far too much stuff and we couldn’t even pick the bikes up to get them out from Katie-jo’s back yard, thankfully the first leg of our trip was down hill and we all wobbled down the road and we cycled into Kinsale town and up to the Blue haven where family and friends were all waiting as well as the Mayor of Kinsale. As we were already late and it soon became time to leave so we could get to the ferry in time, we made a good start getting out of Kinsale but we wanted to go and see Robbie and his family at the bike shop in Carrigaline and get some photos for the K2K page, there wasn’t enough time to do it if we cycled so we shoved our bikes in to the back of Will’s parents pick up and all got in to Katie-jo’s car and drove to Robbie’s, we made more last minute adjustments and bought some food in the Polish shop next door as all the shops were likely to be closed in France due to it being easter sunday when we made port.   The guys at the Polskie shop came out and gave us a crate of oranges for the trip so we stuffed oranges into every spare bit of space in the panniers and then got on the bikes and cycled to the ferry port where we said our last last good byes and got in the que for the ferry where they staff came over to us and asked if we were the three mad lads setting off on bike to India, we told them that we were they and that gave them a good laugh. We got up onto the top deck of the ferry and went straight to the info desk and tried to blag a cabin for free but the woman behind the desk said that of course we could have a cabin but she would have to charge us for it, so after that nice refusal we went to the next best place and went to the bar and started with three pints of Murphy’s, it was going quite well until the boat entertainment started up and some guy who seriously though a lot more of himself than was due started to sing and tried to pull people out of their seats to dance, we got up and left after we had about nine pints between us and went to the cinema to watch Jack Reacher where we laughed so much at how Tom Cruise made himself look like a tall person, the hysterical laughter might also have been down to the bottle of Jameson’s we drank as we watched the movie, we didn’t have a cabin so the only way we could make bed time seem ok was to not remember when bed time came. We went back to the bar and two guys who were also on a cycle trip came over and started talking to us because they had seen us in the Irish Examiner paper the day before and wanted to ask us if we really hadn’t much love for cycling bikes, we told them that  the title of the article was a little over exaggerated but no we weren’t really that keen on the idea of cycling ten thousand kilometers. We did find a place to sleep in the end, it was a small crawl space on the flaw behind the bill boards and it had a plug socket to charge up the laptop and our phones, we woke up after what seemed to be no time at all to a far too load alarm and got up and found a free shower and stole a load of toilet roll then made our way down to the bikes  and bumped into a French guy who asked us about our trip and why we had all matching clothing, we told him where we were going and he said that if we ran out of money while in France that we should still go into cafe’s and order food but when it came to paying just tell the staff that we had no money but would be prepared to work for our food that we had just eaten, we thought that we would probably pass on that bit of advice and went on down to the bikes and waited until everyone was gone before we set off out of the ferry. When we got out it was still very dark but with a slight hint of blue showing on the horizon and as we cycled out of the ferry port we met up with the two other cyclists who were doing a two week trip around France, they soon overtook us and we didn’t see them again. We were completely buzzing from the idea that we had made it and were finally on the road and doing what we had been planning over the last year and driving our friends and family mad with the constant talk of K2K We made it to Morlaix in good time and were pleased to find that there was a market going on and a bakery open even though it was easter sunday, we stocked up on bread and bought lots of fresh cooked sausages, it was bloody cold and our hands were shaking like mad as we ate our first breakfast in France. After the bite to eat we made our way down into Morlaix and got completely lost because even though we had been planning this trip for over a year we hadn’t really looked at a map of France and didn’t have a clue as to where we were meant to be going, it was uphill and really took it out of us as we were still sweating the Jameson’s out of our system from the not too long ago night before.   after about an hour of going back up hills and winding our way through back streets we found our way the road we were after that would take us though a kind of national park. We did over ten hours of cycling on our first day and only made 47.5km and we were wreaked, we managed to set up a camp hidden behind some trees from the road, I literally put my tent up and blew up my bed then passed out was snoring in my tent, Sam and Will couldn’t believe it but soon followed suit and we all slept and forgot to lock the bikes or even bring our stuff in to the tents. we woke up as it got really cold with the tent doors open and cooked dinner , Pasta and chorizo with cheese (that was going to be the same dinner for the next two weeks) The next day we got up pretty early and took down camp and there was ice all over the place,

we made pretty good milage that day because we camped at the top of a hill and for the first real time we got to freewheel for about twenty minutes, we were trying to get to the Brest a Nantes grand canal because it would be an easy ride along the canal, it being flat with hardly any hills. We made it to the canal and managed to do nearly eighty kilometers in a day, we set up camp at a picnic spot alongside the canal and had a great sleep despite the cold, today we only had to cycle about twenty five kilometers down the canal to a place called Gouarec where we were to meet a guy Called Graham who said we could stay at his place for a night, clean our clothes, shower and he even cooked us dinner. We got to Gouarec at the wrong time because France closes at twelve for two and a half hours, we can’t get used to it and keep having to wait outside supermarkets until they open. The only shop open was “The UK food shop” so wee went in and got some Guinness and malt cake and got talking to the local english population of Gouarec, asking them if they knew of a Graham and one of the women in the shop knew who we were talking about and because he lived up near her, she gave us directions to Grahams place and we left the village of Gouarec and went over the bridge and round the corner to find a bloody great big long monster of a hill that completely trounced us because we had been getting soft from the easy cycling along the canal. We got to Grahams and were totally welcomed into his house by him and his dog Jess, we had a little bit of a chat then he showed us the barn where we could leave the bikes then he took us into his house where he continued to show us round and show us the spare room we could use for the night then he left us to go to the shops so he could get us our dinner for the night, we all got cleaned up and put on some smart clothes and then all sat down for dinner where Graham told us tales from his travels before he moved to France and gave us great advice about always making sure you have a beer with your dinner to make sure you don’t get ill and not to eat salads when you are out in the far east because quite often they are washed with unclean water, we took this advice to heart and made it the K2K motto – Drink a beer at every meal and don’t eat salads. Graham was and is a great bloke and a total gentleman with fantastic stories and tales to tell, we are all very grateful for our stay at his house 

A little bit of rain never hurt anybody.

Theres 3 weeks to go before we start our journey and we have been testing out the bikes and gear, loading the bikes up, adjusting bits and pieces and wearing in our saddles. so far we have completed 1% of the distance it will take to get to Kolkata in our trail runs, its gonna be a long old trip.

So far the weather has been constant rain and fog so it has been a very good test of our waterproof gear which all seems to be working well. the bikes are working great, our top speed so far is 50kph, which was fun 🙂

Surly Long Haul Truckers fully loaded

Sam making cycling sexy 😉

We will be testing our tents and sleeping equipment next, maybe with a trial camp, and soon a test cycle run to Ringaskiddy port in preparation for our departure from Kinsale on the 30th of this month.

A late night arrival

After eagerly waiting over a week our camping equipment has finally arrived.

We have tents, bed mats, multi fuel cook stoves, super light weight cookware, water purification kits, a camp shower and a special little bag to keep the wine light weight and fresh.

We just need to do some trial packing and then we’re all set with just thirty days to go before we head off!!

A glimpse of Bollywood in Cork

Here is a glimpse at the great write up in Cork’s Evening Echo about our Bollywood Fundraiser for The Hope Foundation in The Crane Lane last October..better late than never! Thanks again to everyone who came on the night and supported us!

We’re in the paper…again!

From Kinsale to Kolkata By Leo McMahon ( Article in The Southern Star)

Outside Robbie’s bike shop

THREE brave men are busy getting ready and fundraising for an epic 10,000 kilometres bike ride from Kinsale to Kolkata (Calcutta), India in aid of Cork-based Hope Foundation.

Joe Claydon, Sam Edstrom and Will Gander will be setting off on Saturday, March 30th and aim to raise at least €1 per kilometre.

Following the relatively short ride to Ringaskiddy, they will sail to Roscoff. After that the plan is to take the EuroVelo 1 to Nantes, then follow the EuroVelo 6  across France and branch off to go over the Alps and join the EuroVelo 8 near Turin in Italy. The cyclists will then cross Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Greece, leave the EuroVelo 8 and proceed to Turkey and the Asian states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, across the Caspian Sea to either Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan and on to Kyrgyzstan, China and Nepal before finally arriving in India. The route, of course, is subject to change.

At Kolkata, the trio will volunteer for a few months with Hope Foundation in its education centres and homes for some of the city’s 250,000 street children.

Aged 28, Joe Claydon was born in Norfolk, England, is currently working at Diva’s Boutique Bakery, Ballinspittle and resides in Ballinadee. He has been visiting India since the age of seven and previously travelled all over India on the back of his father’s Enfield, which was the start of his love of India and motorbikes.

Born in Skibbereen in September 1984, Will Gander went to college in Kinsale, where he trained as an outdoor pursuits instructor. He is senior instructor at Ardmore Adventures, Co Waterford. ‘I spent my 20th birthday in India and have always intended to go back’, he said.

Sam Edstrom was born in April 1986 at Handsworth, Birmingham and moved to Norfolk when he was 12. He resides in Norwich, where he works as a chef. ‘I have always cycled everywhere since I was a kid so I was really excited about the idea of going to India with two of my very good friends, Joe and Will’.

The trio, who are busy training and getting prepared for their expedition, said they were very lucky to get their bikes from Robbie’s Bike Shop, located off Crosshaven Road, Carrigline, who gave them a great deal as well as lots of advice and support.

‘If there are any businesses or individuals out there who can offer help or sponsorship we would be very grateful,’ said Will. ‘We have a mycharity.ie link on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/k2kcycle and all the money donated through that goes directly to Hope.

K2K featured in the The Cork Independent

We have been in the paper again today and everything seems to be coming along nicely.

More posts to follow shortly…only 2 months to go!

 

2013 with three months to go

So we have started the new year and already its a good one. We have just got our Ortlieb panniers sent over from the UK and they seem like they will be good enough for the job.
We also got our Brooks saddles too, Sam has his already attached to his bicycle that he uses to commute to work. Apparently you have to give  them about a thousand miles before they settle into the riders shape, that means Sam will be sorted half way across France while Will and i are still getting used to them.

Just heard back from Robbies bike shop in carigaline that the bikes should be turning up some time next week. I don’t think Will and I have ridden a bike properly in years, its going to be a shock.

Happy new year to you all – k2k