Steve's Technical Talk

Without too much thought because of budget, and what we already had, decent hard tail mountain bikes seem almost perfect. Although there are plenty of smooth tarmac trails there are enough rougher tracks to warrant fat tyres and a bit of suspension. The stability is also good with the extra weight being carried.

Julia's bike is running 3×9 gearing, whilst mine has 1×10, which is proving fine, rarely needing more gears for uphills, as there aren't many (yet) or for going faster as you never seem to hit fast stuff either.

Although we've already replaced a tyre from a split, (I think it could have been there before we left), amazingly no punctures yet!!

Regular maintenance has been spoke tension, chain lube and checking free play in wheel bearings, bottom bracket and headstock.

To try to charge the phone I fitted an old fashioned dynamo with a handlebar mounted USB charge adaptor, theory being to charge whilst cycling. After fitting a second dynamo because the first one seized up, I'm still not getting a charge. Tried everything so far so rather frustrating.

It's going to be interesting what sort of tyre wear we get, along with disc pads and chains. We've done about 500kms so far so too early to say. We're averaging about 50kms a day, which doesn't sound too much, but by the time you de-camp in the morning, fire up the old girl, cycle, lunch, cycle and start looking for a good place to camp, the day is done. With some better weather we may improve. I'll keep you posted...

The Route

The pilgrim father's left our shores
In search of pastures green,
How the hell did they arrive
Without looking at a screen?

So, yesterday we went for a test ride and ended up on the Mayflower Steps, where the Pilgrim Fathers departed from hundreds of years ago on their quest to discover the New World. (I wonder what they'd think of it now...)
It seemed rather fitting that they sailed off on their big adventure from Plymouth, as will we tomorrow night if we manage to jump on the ferry.

The bikes, and our bodies, all seemed to be working nicely, and the few miles we managed to cycle was enough for one day. We didn't want to wear ourselves out before we start!
Below is the basic route that the EuroVelo 6 takes.
Check out their website for all the EuroVelo trails across Europe.
http://www.eurovelo.com/en 

Countries Visited:

France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria.

Official Distance:

3653km. 
This, however, seems debatable. The EuroVelo maps show the route splitting often, traversing both sides of the rivers it follows, and the eastern section seems to have a couple of different options going through either Bulgaria and/or Romania.

 
We downloaded the free app - La Loire a Velo - which gives you stage maps and kilometres, but doesn't give information on campsites, it is more designed for day trips. Hard copies (which we would prefer) are expensive to buy, not often found in English and bulky to carry, as there are 6-8 separated maps for different parts of the route.
The information I can gleam from the net about others who have done this trip is that up until about Hungary it's pretty easy to follow the signs...
As France is the cycling capital of the world, I'm reckoning that the 1300km or so to get across it will be good training for the trickier sections to come. 
We bought the EuroVelo 6 guidebook, volume 1, which comes as a download and appears to be quite useful so far, but we have little faith in our technical apparatus, ie one android phone, so the back-up plan is to follow rivers flowing eastward...
As you know, phones today need constant charging, so we have fitted an old fashioned type of dynamo to Steve's bike that runs on the tyre and is wired up to a handlebar mounted USB outlet, which will hopefully charge the phone up as we pedal along.
It would be nice to see on a map where campsites, or areas for possible free camping are so we could plan our daily distances, but we are assuming through France it will be pretty well set up. 

Kit - Clothing:

 Julia                                                                                Steve

3x shorts (2 padded)                                                        3x shorts (1 padded)
3x breathable T-shirts                                                      3x breathable T-shirts
1x top 1x vest top                                                            1x normal T-shirt
1x trousers with zippable shorts                                      1x trousers with zippable shorts
1x cycle leggings                                                             1x hoodie
1x fleece                                                                          3x boxer shorts
2x long tops (I feel the cold)                                           3x pairs socks
1x bikini and goggles (I like swimming)                        1x lightweight waterproof jacket 
4x pairs knickers                                                             1x pair trainers, 1x pair flip flops
3x pairs socks                                                                  1x helmet, cap, sunglasses
2x sports bras 
1x waterproof jacket
1x pair trainers, 1x pair flip flops 
1x helmet, cap, sunglasses

Camping gear:

Quickhiker, ultralight 3 man hiking tent 
2x sleeping bags
2x self-inflating roll mats
2x travel pillows
1x single burner camping stove
Camping pots/2x plates/2x cups
Swiss army knife
String for washing line, and pegs

Tool Kit:

Leatherman
Bike multi-tool
Chain splitting tool
2x tyre levers
Spare gear cables
Spare inner tube
Puncture repair outfit
Selection of cable ties
Small selection of nuts and bolts
Roll of duct tape
15mm spanner for pedals
Chain oil

Medical Kit:

Salt (I'm a GREAT believer in salt water!)
Calendula cream
Antiseptic cream
Various plasters/dressings
Ibuprofen

Toiletries:

Toilet paper
Flannel (for washing in the river)
Biodegradable soap
Razor (for Steve's face and my underarms)
Hairbrush (I'm attempting to see if my hair will self-clean. Never got past the 2 week mark without shampoo!) 
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Deodorant
Face moisturiser
Suntan cream


We are taking some porridge oats, nuts and dates, and a bag of pasta and sauce for an emergency dinner, but are planning to buy food as we need it.
Providing the tent arrives tomorrow (yes, I know, it's a bit last minute but was a lot lighter and more compact than the one we've got) we'll be on the night ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff tomorrow evening. We plan to cycle 30kms to Morlaix then catch a train down to Nantes, where the journey begins...
Didn't really fancy the 200 mile warm-up ride to get to the start, think of all that extra food we'd have to take...