France Coast to Coast 2007
( Or North to South bac to bac – The Wet Way Down!)
In the early summer of 2005 I rode my bike on a solo trip from Le Havre to Montpellier, largely following in the wheeltracks of Edward Enfield. * see… www.francecoast2coast.co.uk *(This is perhaps best read before this story to understand the references to Savlon and other obscure stuff)
I had to do it again. Perhaps it was to prove I hadn’t dreamed it
all the first time around?
I don’t know. I wanted to do it again taking a different route.
The winter of 2006/7 was spent in much the same manner as the winter of
2004/5.
I pored over maps trying to find a route with as few hills as possible,
eventually finding a route heading south from St Malo in Brittany roughly
shadowing the Atlantic coastline, and then following the line of the Garonne
canal and the Canal du Midi across to Narbonne and the Mediterranean. I
planned to average about 50 to 55 miles a day with overnight stops in small
hotels.
Whether by luck or good planning my last trip went more or less perfectly,
so this year I took exactly the same bike and kit but with the addition
of a Garmin Quest GPS. I bought the Quest a couple of years ago for use
on my motorbike; it’s completely waterproof and has a ten hour-plus
battery life so it’s ideal for use on a pushbike too. My physical
preparations were conducted in much the same haphazard way as last time
and my starting weight was 12st 8lbs. Once again Cancer Research was my
charity of choice.
I hope you enjoy reading my story.
