Thursday July 31, 2014

We had a good nights sleep in our tent, unfortunately the condensation problem has not been fixed and we are still getting dripped on in the mornings.  Next rest day we will get some Nik Wax waterproofing and soak the inside of the tent.

We left the campsite early at 8:15, the earliest we have been on the road for a while, the sun was out and it felt good to be on the bikes.  Todays route was rolling hills, although it felt very much downhill.  The uphills were followed by great swooping downhills.  The first road we took was a fairly quiet B Road but we had to join the A338 which was horrendous.  The car drivers in England do not give us much room and are very impatient.  We found a C road to follow for a while and in Fordinbridge we found the B3078 to Wimborne Minster which was a lovely ride, and then back on the A349  to Poole.

We headed straight for the ferry port which was really well signed, although a very convoluted way of getting to it.  We bought our tickets for tomorrow’s crossing and headed back into Poole to the Tourist Information to find accommodation for tonight.

We were told about a campsite 3 miles (5kms) outside of Poole it was advertised from 7.50.  Please note the “from”.  When we got to the campsite which was 7.5 kms outside of Poole we were told the fee was 25.00 pounds.  That is 7.50 each and 10.00 for the pitch if we wanted power that would be an extra 6.00.  $50.00 to park our little tent, crazy.  Last nights campsite with kitchen and all of its facilities was only 14.oo pound – does not make any sense to me at all.

I was so mad at the “false” advertising I said no we wouldn’t pay it.  We cycled back into the Tourist Information office – which then made our total mileage for the day to 92.5 kms.  We booked into a hotel that charged 25 pound per person.  I know that sounds as if I was cutting my nose of to spite my face, but at least we are only 15 minutes from the ferry, we have a good hot shower and a bed.

A Registry Office in England is used for weddings.  This old building was the registry office in Poole, the stairs make a great photo opportunity for the wedding party.

We have to get back on budget in France which may mean we will be wild camping in some areas.

Wednesday July 30, 2014

Not such an early start this morning although we were up early. John was working today so we got up to say our goodbyes to him. We had a good breakfast and loaded the bikes.  We then got around to saying goodbye to Joy.  It was tough, we had such a good day together yesterday, I didn’t want to leave her.  But, we gave each other big hugs and said our farewells. (Check back on Sherston\’s page to see the photo of the fringe).

We had a great cycling day to day.  The weather was hot (25 degrees) and sunny.   We stopped in Devizes to take photos of the locks – the ‘rise’ from the bottom of the lock to the top of the 29 locks  is 237 feet in 2 miles (72 m in 3.2 km) or a 1 in 44 gradient. Renting steel narrow boats for a vacation is another great way of seeing England.  Very slow and relaxing, apart from when you have to go through locks. You also tend to go from pub to pub, mooring up at lunchtime and then again in the evening next to a pub.

We were going to stop in Devizes for lunch, but I missed the supermarket turn and before I knew it we were heading out of Town.  We carried on to the next Town that had a convenience store.  As we were heading through the village, military aircraft were flying noisily across the sky.  Ralf looked at the map and mentioned that we were close to Salisbury Plain.  My military historian couldn’t recall why he knew of Salisbury Plain.  I told him that it was used for military manouvres.  Probably why the aircraft were flying around.

Shortly after we noticed our first road sign warning us of tanks crossing, I pointed to Ralf the red flags the ranges were being used.  We didn’t hear any tank fire or see any tanks.

This road side sign told us about the four highwaymen who attacked and robbed Mr. Dean.  They were transported (to Australia) for their crimes, I wonder if their families are still there and enjoying life.

We then headed to Stonehenge, I remembered there was a road north of Stonehenge, that we would be able to see the monument without having to pay to go through the visitor centre.  Unfortunately English Heritage, knew about this road as well and have used it for their new visitors centre.

Instead of a free view, you pay 15 pounds per person.  We cycled along the road and then took a dirt lane and still saw the monument.  We talked to a family from India who were very interested in our trip.  They wanted to take our photos, we asked them to take photos for us as we don\’t often get photos of the two of us together.

We then took a very busy road, to our campsite.  The campsite is lovely – a fully equipped camp kitchen (first one since NZ/Australia), good showers, clean toilets and very friendly staff and fellow campers.  We met a fella who has also sold everything and wants to start a new life in Europe.  Although they bought a camper van and plan to buy a gite in France.

We decided to walk to the pub for dinner.  Ralf had forgotten to bring his camera but took these photos on his phone instead.

Mia Farrow look?

Tuesday July 29, 2014

Lessons to live by:

• Do not allow your sister to cut your fringe (bangs).
• Do not allow your sister to encourage you to cut your own fringe.
• Do not allow your sister to encourage your husband to cut your fringe.
• Do not use kitchen scissor to cut your fringe.
• Regardless of how bad your hair looks or how badly your fringe is driving you crazy, do not cut it yourself.

Thank goodness I wear a helmet all day, and my hair grows quickly.

Joy came home from the hospital yesterday after her last session of chemotherapy.  The next plan is for her to build up her strength and they will operate mid-September.  Things are finally looking up for her.  We spent a couple of hours chatting to her last night. We decided to ask if we could spend another day here, so that I could spend some time with Joy today.

Joy is feeling good today after her chemo, but I asked her to go to bed for a mid-afternoon nap.  We had a good chat this morning and we will have a good chat tonight before we all have an early night.  It is good to see her looking well and she has even put on some weight, not a lot, but some.

Joy supervised Ralf and I making a paella today.  I assisted in the prep and Ralf did the cooking.  It tasted lovely and we had a lovely meal together.  Good times spent together.

We will set off early tomorrow morning.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday July 26  – 28, 2014

Three rest days at Joy and John’s.  A busy time but rather boring to read about.  Cleaning the tent, fly and panniers.  Resealing the seams on the tent and waterproofing everything we can.

Ralf had cracked a filling so was able to get it fixed while we were here as well.

Joy came home from the hospital late Monday afternoon.  I made dinner for everyone and we had an early night.

Repacked and ready to carry on.

Friday July 24, 2014

Bridgwater to Bath (Driving)

After a quick breakfast and coffee we headed to the bike shop.  SJS Cycles build touring bikes and are well renowned in England.  It took them about an hour to switch Ralf’s wheels and put new tires etc on them.  He now has sealed bearings and wheels that are exactly the same as mine, but bigger 700cc’s.

We drove to Bath following the A362 it was a direct route, rather than following the M5 and down into Bath.  It was a typical scenic route, narrow roads and through a lot of small villages, it took us about an hour longer to get to Bath than if we had followed the SatNav directions.  Although the SatNav gave us some very funny directions for example “Stay on this road …. for a long time”.

We drove into Bath to get some Techwash and tent waterproofing.  While we are staying at Joy and John’s we will clean everything and reproof it all ready for the next leg of the Grand Adventure – Europe.

After we handed the vehicle back we cycled up to the hospital to see Joy.  Bath is a beautiful City in a valley, which means that have every road is uphill.  The hill to the hospital was brutal, turned a corner and kicked up to 12%.  We visited with Joy for about half an hour then headed out to their house in Sherston a small village in Wiltshire.

Joy was waiting to have the stent replaced, she had not eaten since 6:00 the previous evening and was hungry and thirsty.  She told us we have hill to climb to get to their house.  We had two more big hills 18% and 14%, (walked them) and then rolling hills.  About 10 kms away from their house the clouds rolled in and it started to rain, a heavy shower but by the time we got to the village we were dry.  John informed us that there was a rail trail we could have taken which would have only had us negotiating one hill.

John made us pasta for dinner and we had an early night.

Thursday July 24, 2014

A short bike ride down the hill to the ferry and a short wait and we were on the ferry heading for Wales.

A really smooth ferry crossing, Ralf took photos while I prepared the photos for the blog.

We could have walked to Wales.

When the ferry docked, we were ready to follow the motor bikes of the ship, when one of the dock-workers called us over.  He directed us to a side door, and we joined the foot passengers of the ship.  Much quicker and safer than driving of the ship with the cars and motorbikes.

Arriving in England we needed some English pounds, but there was no ATM.  We couldn’t buy train tickets and we were hoping that we could take the bikes on the train without any problems.  Both of us were horrified when a family of four showed up with their touring bikes loaded and a BOB trailer.  Fortunately for us they were going on the ferry to Ireland.  When the train arrived we were the only two bikes and we removed the panniers and secured them in the bike area.

We had arranged to pick up a van in Cardiff at 4:00 pm, the train had to be rerouted and was going to be late, only by half an hour which actually turned out to be 45 minutes.  We quickly found the car hire place and were on our way to Bridgwater without incident.

We had stayed in Bridgwater when we cycled LeJog.  We knew where there was a place where we could park the van and sleep in the van it was a quiet and secluded place.  We set up our sleeping mats in the van and slept soundly (or at least I did).  Ralf slept with one eye open.