go on a cycling tour

70 miles in a day but my body hates me for it. I have two sore knees and will have to invest in some hardcore knee supports for future rides. Could not have done another long distance ride the next day (4 miles was far enough).

Friends of mine are talking about cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats (one end of Great Britain to the other – about 900 – 1100 miles depending on route). I’d have to put some serious work into training before thinking about that. By the way the record is apparently 41 hours! We reckon on three weeks.

Pretty impressed with myself. Did a 50 mile round trip down the coast and felt no ill effects. Found some smallish roads to cycle on and saw some great countryside and wildlife. All the horses have their foals with them at the moment and they constantly walk out in front of your bike.

Next step is to go further, camp somewhere overnight and pursuade my other half to come along.

Well, I got the New Forest, which is just outside my city. It was a pretty nice ride once I’d got there. Lots of country lanes, pubs, and New Forest Ponies. It’s the furthest I’ve cycled for a while and I felt pretty exhausted but also good about having made the time to do it. Will go further next time and eventually I plan to camp overnight which means loading my bike pretty heavily, although I have some inspiration – http://www.fullyloadedtouring.com

Yes folks, there is a website for everything!

I have a national park not too far from my house. I live in the city and to get there now I drive past some pretty grotty industrial areas. I’m trying to find a nice way to cycle there at the moment.

The plan is to take stuff on my bike for a weekend camping trip. At the moment, we camp with a car full of life’s comforts so this is a bit of a challenge. Getting to the campsite by bike feels a much better way to get closer to nature, the reason why I go camping in the first place.