Reassurance

Now that departure is just a few days away, I am full of self-doubt. By amazing chance, a friend of mine, Tony Powell, another touring cyclist, came to visit us today. He told me that he had never set off on a trip without some doubts and worries...so...what can possibly go wrong?

Thanks, Tony.

PS - I've just done a SORN for my car, so I can't stay in the UK anyway!!!

Warm Showers

An unfortunate name, if you have a mind like mine.  Warm Showers (www.warmshowers.org) is a site aimed at cyclists offering and seeking accommodation,no money involved. Tonight, we had our first guests, a delightful young couple travelling up from Penzance.

It's good to give something back.

Absolutely nothing to do with cycling

Needing a new battery for my car and unwilling to pay the eye-watering £230 suggested by the Jaguar dealer, I bought online for £83. Should be a doddle to change, I thought.

3 days later, I still hadn't managed to undo the battery clamp bolts, but at least the head of one was now elegantly rounded. Suddenly, I remembered PlusGas. Used to use it all the time when I maintained my own cars, but had forgotten all about it.  Believe me, it's the doggie's danglies. All sorted in half an hour. Works on bicycles too. Recommended.

Perfect day

And feet are warming up again. I have two weeks before I go. If half the days are like today, I will be absolutely delighted.

I've given up on the mudguard front and am hoping that the improvised 'guard' I've made for the framework that attaches the carrier to the seat post will keep some of the crud off me...but it's not going to rain, not every day...

Cold, well, cool feet

Now that we are only just over two weeks from the 1st of June, some of that gung-ho attitude is beginning to evaporate. Maybe, just maybe, something will go wrong. My planning, as in everything I do, has been minimal. I've booked a couple of B&Bs and a Warm Showers, other than that, it's all up to the gods.

I think the fact that it has been chucking it down pretty solidly, one way or another, for the last couple of weeks has reminded me that it might not be blue skies all the way, and I hate getting wet. On top of the fear of bad weather, my front mudguard, which never fitted well in the first place, has now split because it was under too much tension - because it didn't fit properly. For the first and, hopefully, only time, a pox on you, Evans for suggesting it in the first place. The official mudguard set, introduced since I bought the bike, is an eye-watering £140. Yeah, right...

Result!

How's that for customer service? Only two weeks after requesting support from Mio, they have got back to me. Fortunately, I fixed the problem myself.

The Mio Cyclo is a nice GPS and its Surprise Me feature has taken me on some rides around here that have, well, surprised me, but the customer service is not their strong point. Shame really.

But the big result is that I have got someone to take me + bike to the dock at Plymouth when I set out. I don't mind cycling from Roscoff to Munich, but the idea of cycling along the A38 to Plymouth is not one that pleases.

Oh, woe!

I just know that I haven't the space to take my trusty Nikon with me. Cars are useful sometimes, I suppose.

I've been brushing up on my German and can thoroughly recommend Memrise www.memrise.com - they do a really good learning/revising app for Android, and doubtless for iPad as well - as if I cared!

I'm looking out of the window at the grey sky and rain - I do so hope it doesn't rain much while I'm away, don't mind the cold but can't bear getting wet.

I've been talking to a very nice chap called Stephen Loveridge at Evan Cycles www.evanscycles.com who was kind enough to advise me on the most appropriate tyres for my trip - Continental Touring Plus, in his opinion, so that's what I've gone for.