Day 1 - 15

Hi everyone

So this whole weblog thing isn't as easy to update as we thought. Rural France doesn't have many Cybercafes you see... Anyhow, here's what we've been up to:

Day 1 - St. Malo -> Dinan (38km)
Very cute walled town. Had first stubbling conversation with old French lady eating water melon. Scarey ride over Barrage at Dinard. Sunny!!!

Day 2 - Dinan -> Forét de Montfort (68km)
Old river port town (also walled). Lots of Tudor-like timber framed buildings. Lunch stop by beautiful lake (etang de neal). Met fellow cycle tourers - Sarah and Sophie, Brits - at a supermarché. They gave us brioche! First night wild camping in the forest!

Day 3 - Forét de Montfort -> Grand Fougeray (66km)
Lunch stop in Messac where we saw moustachioed artists painting canal. Only people on campground in Grand Fougeray. We went out for dinner and had savoury pancakes, coffee and crepe.

Day 4 - Grand Fougeray -> Ancenis (71km)
Aiming for the Loire we got going early and covered the distance by 4:30! Busy campground conplete with gangs of kids on bikes and tough looking guy listening to Dire Straights. Wandered around on the riverbank at sunset. Saw first grapevine, cacti and terracotta tiles!

Day 5 - Ancenis -> Clisson (53km)
Very hot day! Lots of grapevines and hills. Jody found a tic in her leg and we saw first hornet - hmm. Clisson turned out to be a really nice town.

Day 6 - Clisson -> Piquet (99km)
Wow, 60kms before lunch! Clouds of minute flies which sqaushed when you brushed them off were an unwelcome addition to the day. Passed through Chateau Fromage (no cheese though) before heading to Piquet. Campsite no longer exists there so we wild camped on the banks of the river Yon. Really nice spot!

Day 7 - Piquet -> Esnandes (58km)
Thuderstorm in the night. Started seeing fields of sunflowers today and lots of buildings with shutters and whitewashed walls. Had been looking forward to mill-pond flat marais north of La Rochelle but mean crosswinf spoiled it! Called it a day in Esnandes and met Misha and Alice - newly wed english couple who invited us to dinner of shellfish and frites. Yum!

Day 8 - Esnandes -> Les Grenettes, Ile de Ré (38km)
Lots of strange, ramshackle private piers on the coast. Crossed to Ile de Ré over 3km long bridge! Jody was worried but bikes have their own lane so all good. Ile de Ré is known as the Paris of the west coast. Loads of bikes as its mainly flat.

Day 9 - Les Grenettes, Ile de Ré -> Rivedoux-Plage, Ile de Ré (8km)
Very sunny so we stayed in the island for another day. Spent most of the day relaxing on the beach. Charlie got quite sunburnt. Bummer.

Day 10 - Rivedoux-Plage, Ile de Ré -> Marennes-Plage (108km)
Crossed bqck to mqinlqnd to pass through La Rochelle. Met Robèrt, a 65 year old french roadie with a dodgy knee. He led us to the city, avoid hills, pointing out dangerous bumps in the path and stopping traffic for us. La Rochelle was beautiful. Struggled to find campground in the evening so kept pushing south. Passed through Brouage, an old fort town, still completely within the original walls. Charlie left his water bottle on one of them.

Day 11 - Marennes-Plage -> Royan (53km)
Late start but lovely day going through the foret de la coubre. The forest has a beautiful western coastal edge. 1000s of tourists on bikes ranging from 1yrs to 100yrs old! Out of the forest in Royan was not so nice but got out to a semi-rural camp ground.

Day 12 - Royan -> Jonzac (70km)
Left Royan quickly and found ourselves in Talmont - coqstql town with 12C church. Very windy! Also looked at Roman villa remains at le Fé. Jonzac is an odd town but cheap camping and disney-esque chateau saved it. Broke 50kmph according to bike computer!!!

Day 13 - Jonzac -> Vacher, River Palais (75km)
Lots of sunflowers today. Gorgeous perfiterole treat from patisserie followed by lunch in supermaché car park - can't have it all aye. Charlie got bitten by something which brought up a baby-sized lump on his forearm.

Day 14 - Vacher, River Palais -> Flaujagues (36km)
Sooooooo many vineyards today! Unfortunately no grapes ready to eat yet. Shame. Stopped in Castillon and had our first glimpse of the Dordogne. Cycled along it for 8km before stopping.

Day 15 - Flaujagues -> Flaujagues (0km)
Restday, hooryay! Camped 20ft from Dordogne so why move?


So, we're currently in Sainte Foy sur Dordogne and continuing south. Not sure, as usual, when we'll next see an internet cafe but we will update again when we do. Heading to Courdes next if you want to try and guess our route (good luck with that, we barely know!) and hoping to tuck into a few bottles of Bordeaux wine and continue the cheese-binge.

Lots of love
Jody and Charlie.

Fritterly - Day 1-4

Greetings from France! The keyboard on this computer is very strangley arranged so this will be a brief post to let everyone know that we are alive. Also we havent had breakfast yet!

So far we have covered 250km and are currently in Ancenis - a town in the Loire valley, 30kms east of Nantes. In the past 4 days we passed through St. Malo, Dinan, Forét de Montfort (where we camped in the wild!), Grand Fougeray and Ancenis. I think that we have eaten our body weight in cheese and croissants but havent felt our appetite for them wane yet. The weather has been mixed but has been good enough to give me pink knees! Jody just soakes it all up as usual...

We aim to be in La Rochelle by Friday evening where the plan is to not really do any cycling for a couple of days. This should hopefully give us the chance to do some proper blog posts but until then this is all you are getting! We have croissants to eat after all...

Love
J and C

The Cornish Way - Day 6

Day 6 - Treyarnon Bay - Trevarion Bay (7 miles)

We woke up to weather which was true to forecast - really horrible. The camp ground wasn't the nicest though so we decided to pack up and move on, conscious that we had a train to catch in Truro the following day. We rode down to Trennance, and by then, the weather had properly kicked off. The wind was howling, and rain was following suit. We got some supplies from the shop, and then decided to try and sit out the storm in a little cafe on the beach front. About 2 hours later, and the weather had not lifted at all, and we learnt from the cafe that the Jack Johnson concert was going to be just a couple of miles away at Watergate Bay the following night, and that camp grounds might be quite busy. With this in mind, and being quite keen to get into our tent and out of the weather, we hit the road, and stopped at the first camp ground we found at Trevarnan Bay.

We spent quite a bit of time pitching the tent, and making sure it would hold strong. We were quite pleased, because we watched another couple trying for an hour or so to pitch their tent, and ended up giving up and driving away. Woohoo - our tent wins!!

Sorry to say, but thats about all we've got say about day 6. No photos either due to horrible horrible weather.

The Cornish Way - Day 5

Day 5 - Treveor - Treyarnon Bay (35 miles)

Our fuel ran out, and we missed the porridge cauldron that usually gets us going in the mornings. Fortunately we had stocked up on 'emergency bars' so we chomped them down and got moving to the nearest biggish town, Mevagissey, to buy some fuel and other necessities. After delays due to 'Kath's Kabin' (the local shop which has all things useful) not opening until 10:30, we had a look around, and partook in some baked goods. Mevagissey was once a fairly busy little fishing town, but now from the looks of it, most of its business comes from tourism.

From here where treked up to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, an amazing property which was 'lost' when the gardening staff went off to war - many never returning. The amazing property was rediscovered, and over time has been re-established to resemble what it once was. A highlight for me was seeing the perfectly manicured vegetable and flower patches, and also the pineapple pit. The equipment for the friendly horticultural rivalry which was pineapple growing in Victorian times was rediscovered. The method uses manure to heat a warm pineapple pit suitable for growing pineapples in the english climate. Apparantly the aim was to grow a pineapple for christmas.

The current staff are trying to redevelop the skills of pineapple growing through trial and error, as the tricks of it were sadly lost with the earlier staff. This is thought to be the only surviving pineapple pit in the UK.

New Zealand plants featured quite strongly in the gardens, and there is even a photo of the head gardener outside a whare in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand in the early 1900s. What he was doing there, I have no idea!

From Heligan we headed for St Austell, where we tried out our skills at catching trains with bicycles. All went off without a hitch, and a quick two stop journey meant we had time to ride out the beautiful Camel Trail (along the River Camel) a blissful 12 flat miles out to the coast.


We sadly rode past Rick Stein's (one of our food heroes) posh seafood restaurant in Padstow and went for fish and chips on the docks. After 30 odd miles and 3 hours walking around the gardens, our legs told us to stop and have a beer, but night was closing in, so we headed off for a campground on the coast. We finally arrived and pitched up in a bit of a bleak spot at Treyarnon at about 9:30pm, after riding past a number of caravan only parks. But, it was perfect for putting our feet up after a long day.

The Cornish Way - Day 4

Day 4 - Chacewater to Treveor (26 Miles)

So it turns out that 42 miles really takes it out of novice cycle tourers...

But we were up and at 'em fairly early and relieved to find that it wasn't bucketing down again. After navigating some pretty challenging signage issues, we made it through Carnon Downs, Playing Place, and eventually to the King Harry Ferry, a small vehicle ferry operating by a chain pulling mechanism across what we found out later is one of the deepest inlets in the world. This was a nice chance to take a breather before tackling some more brutal hills.

All I can really remember about this stretch of road was ridiculous hills!

We stopped briefly at Portloe, a picturesque little fishing village where people were buying fish straight from the tiny fishing boats, and ladies were making lovely watercolours of the scenery.

We stopped later for the most expensive icecream in the world at Portholland, which we found out later is home to a grand garden of the county Caerhays Castle Gardens. However, we had no time to visit - more rain clouds were a-brewing, and we realised we needed to set up camp and fast if we were going to get out of the rain in time.

Treveor farm was our camping ground of choice. Friendly people and nice farmy smells! At £7 a night it was a bargain.

The Cornish Way - Day 3

Day 3 - Treen to Chacewater (42 miles)

Apologies for the lack of photos today. It always seemed to be raining when something nice was happening! Here is a picutre of Treen to keep you going:

This was the first day our mileage was recorded by our odometer which, in true McCaig fashion, was fitted two days late. In what seemed to be becoming a recurring theme, day 3 kicked off at about 10am with a very steep hill. Cold legs and stomachs heavily laden with porridge aren't the best things to get you up such slopes but we managed. It was on this day we started to feel like we were getting stronger which was a great morale booster. Having taken the alternative route the previous day we decided to tackle the coastal road this time (mainly due to the knowledge that the steep bit would be downhill). Following this route we passed through the very cute Mousehole where a friendly postie told us the best Cornish Pasties to be had were in Marazion. This was, conveniently, just the other side of the bay, past Penzance. Anticipating hunger, we made straight for the promised pasty shop, arriving there at about midday. The postie was not wrong! We bought two 'small' pasties, each as big as your face. This left us wondering what the hell 'large' looked like! After gobbling them down whilst watching the tide come in around St Michaels Mount we hit the road in the direction of Truro.

After passing through Hayle, the heavens opened. We took refuge in the porch of Gwinear church waiting for it to pass. Jody said "bastard" whilst we were sat there which clearly angered the Lord. He saw fit to keep the rain pouring for the rest of the day! Realising this, we donned our ponchos and headed off once again. We passed through Camborne and Redruth where the landscape was peppered with relics of an industrial past. Chimneys could be seen all around attached to small, derelict buildings. These were engine houses which were used to pump water (either in or out, we're not sure) of tin mines. Despite the rain, we found the riding to be very enjoyable, apart from getting completely lost near St. Day and managing to come around in a 4 mile circle, oops!

Back on track, it was mind over matter (or 'robot legs' as Jody called them) that got us up the last long hill to Chacewater campsite. As we arrived, just before 6pm, the skies cleared and, our penance served, the sun came streaming through. To celebrate we headed into the village and had dinner in a pub before hitting the hay. The odometer read just over 70km! This is the furthest we had ever riden and, given the landscape and weather, felt like a huge accomplishment. We rule Cornwall.

The Cornish Way - Day 2

Day 2 - Gwithian to Treen (32 miles)

Our beds were really comfortable and we woke up rearing to go for a bike ride (luckily). Set off after a huge trangia cauldren of porridge, and headed through to Hayle, and suddenly popped out at the south coast - looking right at Mount St Michael. A quick stop at Penzance, and we carried on - heading for lands end. We decided to take the National Cycle Network alternative route "avoiding steep coastal road" and pushed our bikes up a hill for half an hour or so, but from then on, it was plan riding, and we got all the way to the beautiful Sennen Cove.

We didn't go to the town, but set up on the cliff top overlooking the Whitsand Bay. Whipped out the trangia for a quick cuppa, and then fell asleep in the sun!! Lands End was just a few miles away, so we went and checked it out, and were astounded to find that there is a shopping centre - like a weird mall of souvineers right at the end of the country.

After the delights of Lands End we headed for Treen, where we found a lovely little campground on the cliffs of the sickeningly cute little village. A coastal path follows the tops of the cliffs, and provides views down to the imposing Logan Rock and into beautiful secluded golden beaches. We had a lovely evening chat with some Dutch cycle tourers who scoped us out as we entered the campground. We were very proud when they told us how impressed they were by how little gear we were travelling with. Got a few handy hints from those guys too - and have since been off and bought some nice new fleeces like theirs, which we were eyeing enviously in the cool Cornish evening. We were sorry to leave Treen, but our plans (and advance fare train tickets) required we set off straight after porridge in the morning. Looking forward to some more flexibility in Fritterly.

The Cornish Way - Day 1

We've been very busy of late, mainly due to how busy we are finalising plans etc, but somehow managed to fit in 7 days of cycling in Cornwall. This was our dry-run for Fritterly and was our first ever cycling / camping holiday. Cornwall would either make us or break us. Here's how we got on...

Day 1 - (Bristol to) Truro to Gwithian (18 miles)

Our train left Bristol at 8:30 so it was an early start - and it was raining. It's a 4 hour journey from Bristol to Truro but its a pretty route so it passed fairly quickly. The rain had stopped by the time we arrived but it was still overcast and cold as we ventured out of the station and looked for the national cycle network signs. Cornwall threw it's first test at us straight away. The hill out of Truro would be a pain at the best of times but with heavily loaded panniers and cold legs it was a killer. As it happens it set the tone for the rest of the Cornish roads quite nicely! Once we got going things were easier though and the beautiful views easily make up for the effort.

Our first stop was the small seaside town of Portreath. By the time we got there the sun was blazing (although the wind was howling) so we parked up next to the beach and enjoyed an icecream. After making the ascent back to the cliff top from sea-level we continued south west to the St. Ives bay and called it a day at the Churchtown campsite in Gwithian.

This campsite is really good and we'd recommend it to anyone passing through the area. A five minute stroll through the sand dunes leads you to a lovely beach with a fantastic view of the sunset. We broke out the Trangia and cooked our first meal and cup of tea before sliding into a welcome slumber.

Cotswold capers: The Tetbury challenge!

So, its another long overdue post! And this time I'm doing the typing rather than just sitting and watching Jody do it. Anyway...

On 10th May we took our bikes, newly fitted with tear-jerkingly uncomfortable brooks saddles, on their, and our, longest journeys so far to visit Tom, Lou, Lucy and Jemma (my brother, his partner and their children for those who don't know). We took single lane tracks through some lovely Cotswold countryside, hardly ever coming across other vehicles. The weather was great although this did mean we got through our water fairly quickly. Luckily we were able to make a couple of pit stops at pubs along the way where we refilled our bottles with water and our stomachs with crisps and shandy.

After a lovely evening and following morning with the Berrington-Fagons (which included a 'full tetbury breakfast') we departed. Returning on a slightly different route (allowing us to visit different pubs) we cycled past field after field of flowering oil seed rape. Very picturesque! As a final bonus we got to ride back to Bristol straight into a BBQ with Chris & Sarah (another brother and his partner). Just what you need after a long ride!

This time www.mapmyride.co.uk didn't disappoint. All in, we did just over 60 miles over the weekend. Good stuff.

Humble abode

Been a while - but we've finally got around to putting another post on the blog. It finally stopped raining long enough for us to pitch our new tent. Went down to the local park (note the lovely houses in the background - we live in quite a posh area) and pitched it on Sunday. Some local kids were quite excited by the prospect of us possibly camping in the park, but it was simply a trial run.

Despite appearances the tent is quite roomy and we're confident that we'll be able to spend 3 months in it without driving each other mental (probably).

In other news:

• Charlie now has a new (well new to him) bike. Pictures to follow.
• Last weekend (08/04) we cycled to Yate and back (with a brief 5 hour lunch stop with friends). Our optimistic estimates of distance (initially 40 miles) were cruelly crushed by the tediously accurate people of www.mapmyride.co.uk. Turns out we only did 30 miles return. Oh well. 30 miles is still good in our books.

Coming soon: The Tetbury Challenge!!!