Wow! What a scorcher the Easter weekend was! Easter in the UK normally signifies the start of the holiday season down here in Devon. It usually kicks in on a Friday evening literally hours after the school bell has rung. The main link road down to the south-west of England soon becomes a slow-moving mass of vehicles conveying umpteen thousand wired children, tripping sky-high on Haribo whilst Dad sits at the wheel silently kicking himself regretting not electing to stay at home and re-tile the bathroom! What usually happens here in Devon is that the weather is fine up until the day after the tourists arrive. Then the heavens open and stay that way for the duration. This then leaves relationships strained as the parents are now under every obligation to keep their little one’s amused and out of the rain. Of course, this also then comes at great cost to the wallet and severely dents the holiday budget! However, this weekend was to be an exception to the rule. The weather was glorious. The tabloids had been banging on about an Easter heatwave but then they always like that sort of thing – snow at Christmas, sea-levels rising for lent, potato shortages on St.Patrick’s day etc etc. Anyway, turns out they were right. It has been the best! This meant for the first time this year, the cycling shorts have seen the light of day! No base layers, no overshoes, no thermal socks and not a glove to be seen! That was on Saturday and three and a bit hours into the ride with 40 miles down, I was feeling wretched and all I wanted to do was get home. The diagnosis? Too much sun! It must have been a shock to the system after months of damp and cold weather. Nevermind, a nap and a trip to the local Indian (restaurant that is, and not a local sort of faith-healer!) certainly did the trick.
Yesterday was better…….much cooler and some cloud cover with a gentle south-easterly breeze. It was to be the last chance to get some good miles in before my little jaunt across France which starts next Monday. Anyone that has read this blog will know that I attempted this ride from London to the Mediterranean back in September but had to call it a day on day 4 due to a knee injury. Since then however, the knee has recovered and I’ve built up the mileage slowly over the ensuing months. Yesterday’s ride was a good 68 miles and carrying the kit I’ll be taking to France with me. (all in all, it’s about 6 – 7kg ) when packed). Everything felt good, felt strong and the bike appears to be doing everything it should be doing.
Those interested in following me in my quest to pedal to the Med, can view the route details here.
There’s also a tracker that can be found here but I’ll be posting each day for that.
There’s a few other bits on the site as well – Blogs for LeJog in 2014 and France 2015.
Also, if there’s any cyclists that fancy joining me for a mile or two, please look at the route and let me know. I know there’s a good few cyclists in France (2 of which are joining me at some point). Would be great to have some company.
Finally, the reason I’m doing this is for the Brain Tumour Charity so if anyone wants to throw a few pounds/euros/dollars into the pot you can do so by clicking here.
Thanks for reading.
SteveCycles 
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