Preparations
By the time I returned home I'd decided I was going to have to have a go at Edward Enfield's French coast to coast trip. Once I'd convinced Sue that I was serious and that I actually may stand a chance of succeeding and possibly returning alive I began to make plans in detail. I spent most of the winter evenings with my head buried in maps, hotel guidebooks and cycling kit catalogues. I found the internet to be a fantastic resource for a staggering amount of information about cycle touring the world over, France being a particularly popular destination. I surfed my way through hundreds of pages of varied advice about what kit to take, getting there, getting back, where to stay, which route to take etc.
I armed myself with a mind-numbing amount of information, considered the different possibilities and began to make my plans.
I eventually decided to travel at the end of May and the beginning of June, I reckoned that the weather should be fine enough at that time of year without it being too hot, and I'd be early enough to avoid the main holiday season rush with the chance of finding overnight hotels to be full. My choice of bike would be an important matter. The advice was to buy a proper purpose-built touring bike but as my planned route would involve a fair amount of off-road sections I thought a tourer's wheels might prove to be a bit fragile. I already owned a more than decent 'Specialized Rockhopper' mountain bike shod with road slicks and my budget wasn't unlimited, so against all the advice I decided to use the bike I had.
I bought a load of kit in the January sales; panniers, bar and rack bags, expensive padded shorts, a new trip computer which would prove to be invaluable on the road ,spd pedals and cleated shoes (The shoes have a small metal cleat recessed in the stiff sole which mechanically locks into the pedal and allows one to pull on the upward stroke of the pedal and generally transmit more power) Practice is needed to use these, as you have to twist your foot sideways to release the shoe from the pedal - not a movement that comes naturally in a panic situation.
I decided to travel from Chester to Portsmouth by train with my dismantled bike in a lightweight flight-bag, then take the P & O overnight ferry to Le Havre where I would re-assemble the bike, roll up the flight bag (which at just over a kilo is about the same size and weight as a bag of sugar) and head for the Mediterranean and Montpellier from where I'd fly back via Gatwick to Manchester. All the airlines now insist on bikes being transported in protective packaging or flight-bags so I'll use the lightweight one I'm carrying and buy some foam or bubble wrap when I get to Montpellier for extra protection.
Briefly, my route (based on Enfield's) was planned to be as flat as practicable using ' Voie Verte ' (purpose built cycle routes on disused railway tracks or canals) where possible; the most minor of roads following alongside the rivers' Risle, then the Eure inland, East across-country to the river Yonne, then along the Burgundy Canal towpath to the rivers' S âone and the R hône and on to the sea. I discounted the idea of camping en-route very early in my plans because though it would undoubtedly be much cheaper than staying in small hotels I couldn't afford to carry the extra weight of the tent and kit. I'd only just managed to keep the total weight of the bike and baggage to just below 30kg which is British Airways' limit for my flight home. After a full day in the saddle the last thing I'd want to do would be to lie on the floor in a field anyway!
I had considered trying to get sponsorship to do the trip for charity, but the furthest I had ever ridden on a bike to date was 37 miles in one day - and then I spent the following week limping and choosing suitable seating with caution. I didn't want the humiliation of public failure should the trip prove too much for a novice hoping to ride 750 miles in less than a fortnight.
I think perhaps for selfish reasons too, I didn't want my 'adventure' taken over or compromised by external or corporate pressures.
No publicity equals no pressure. As far as daily distances was concerned, I reckoned about 45 to 50 miles per day would be a reasonable amount.
This was chiefly because I only had just over a fortnight's holiday available from work and couldn't afford to take any longer.
Several people expressed surprise that I was intent on travelling alone but I think that was part of the attraction. I could start, and stop, as and when I liked and ride as fast or slow as my schedule would allow. Other riders would be either faster or (less likely) slower than me and without any experience of a cycling group dynamic I wasn't going to risk any problems. Although I was travelling alone, I'd made tentative plans to meet some friends en-route; Bernie an old work colleague of mine now works in Geneva and could meet me around the Lyon area, and a couple of motorcycling mates Rick and John were planning a holiday touring the Vercours in June.
I'd try to arrange a meeting somewhere with them if our schedules allow.
Somewhere around the middle of January I began to realise that I had the best part of a stone of Christmas lard to shift and I'd got to make a start on getting myself at least reasonably fit. I'm not, and never have been a proper cyclist; I just like to explore places on a bike in nice weather. The idea of riding around local country lanes in the cold and rain with the sole purpose of getting fit made me shudder. Until the weather improved considerably my preparations would have to be 2 or 3 times a week on the gym cardio-vascular equipment - with an mp3 player to drown out the mandatory MTV hip-hop dross. Apart from a few road rides as spring 'sprung' and a visit to the doctor for a check up on my 47 year old ticker, that was it. I'd elevated physical under-preparation to a near art form. I knew all along that it would be a wasted opportunity not to raise some money for my favourite charity.
I left it until the last minute before I finished work on the day before my trip and then asked my workmate Eddie if he'd mind putting together a sponsor form for Cancer Research and passing it around a few people for me while I was away.