Day 13 - Rest day Kettlewell

Yes I know what you're thinking - only 2 days riding and another bloody rest day, what's up with us!

To be truthful it was preplanned with aim to cycle without panniers around the dales but after 2 arduous days the consensus was stuff it !

It was a little hard to find much to do on this beautiful but small town with only 2 shops. We settled instead for some bike maintenance with Henley suggesting his relinquish of the yellow jersey was caused by bike not rider

The most rivetting moment for the day when kev made a huge comeback to tie our marathon scattergories match!

It was an ideal chance to dry out/ chill after the last 2 days of heavy rain and arduous riding!

Kettelwell in the Yorkshire Dales

Day 98 - Paris

Our final day and while we could have done something culturally significant we thought why the he'll start know and headed for Disneyland instead !

Kev at Disneyland !

The visit was almost over before it started as KH who'd indicated he was well versed in roller coasters having ridden the big dipper at Luna Park some 30 years ago, decided to tackle Space Mtn 2 first up. This coaster corkscrews, loops and generally hurtles around a track at breakneck speed in the dark! KH survived just, going within 5 seconds of losing his breakfast and decided that 1 ride on the aptly named "Vomitron" was 1 ride too many !

A gentler effort on Buzz Light Year, a ride where players are armed with laser guns and shoot at creatures with targets scored KH 3000 pts impressive sounding until compared with self 95,000 the 3 year old girl in front of us 4,500 and her Dad 250,000. KH has promised to get his eyes chceked when back in OZ !

It was certainly a fun way to finish up over 4 months away from home a journey that has had so many amazing moments and an abundance of incredible scenery !

Despite it's moments cycle touring is definitely thereaputic for the soul and highly recommended - roll on the next adventure !

To Kev thx mate for being great company and a great friend - this guy loves his cycling and his effort to ride over 5000 kms with a few near death experiences ( not counting tge ones where i threatened him) was amazing !

To Viv and Linton our dear friends thx guys we love you !

To sis who added to her OS resume by joining us in France love to you also!

To everyone who has communicated by blog and by email thx so much for making us feel close to home !

We head back a little wiser and certainly humble at having had this remarkable life opportunity !

Ps -

You'll know when were back in Melbourne as you'll hear 2 old dudes
singing Disney's It's a Small World After all - can't get the damned song out of our heads!!!

Best wishes to all Mike & Kev

Day 97 - Paris

This was never going to be an easy day finding boxes in Paris armed with only minimal info!

Our first effort at a shopping centre one station down the line, proved to be a time waster as we struggled to find a bike shop despite being told there was one there somewhere !

Our 2nd effort included walking almost the entire length of the Champs Élysée and despite finding numerous motorcycle shops could not find a single bicycle shop despite ageing being told there was one there

Our last contact was a place called La Republique where we finally found a small bike shop and one bike box. We spent another hour before we finally found a 2nd and then had to negotiate the Paris underground back to our hotel not an easy job with a long box numerous turnstiles, narrow train entries and heaps if steps !

With most if the day gone we had little time to explore Paris but did at least cover the brilliantly atmospheric Notre Dame and of course the Eiffel Tower where Kev put his cycling muscles to good use by walking the 600 plus steps up to the 2nd level for great views of Paris

With the lights coming in to illuminate the Tower it was a fitting time to farewell Paris and journey back to our hotel for one of our famed Supermarket dinners - dam I will miss them !

Day 96 - Paris

2 months of sun finally came to an end when a widespread Europe weather pattern brought rain and cold conditions to Paris on a pretty miserable Sunday.

Notre Dame Cathedral

With not too much to do we took advantage of the generous Buffett breakfast before cheering on the Aussies their world cup rugby game against Sth Africa - the game result almost us nerve wrecking as having KH in bed with me (claiming his bed did not allow for good TV viewing) watching it !

We journeyed out towards Disneyland and the amazing shopping pricing at Val de Europe which we found with our finely tuned directional skills walking 2kms around the block in the rain when the entrance was only 200 metres from the train station.

The shopping area was set up like a village with every designer label you could think of having their own outlet - I thanked god that I was without female company knowing that this would have been nirvana for them and costly for me !

Shopping done there was little else to do other than eat and our choice of a local Chinese buffet meal was inspired ! Where else in Paris could you eat partially warm lunch left overs and get a scolding at the same time for not following due etiquette, for me it was using the wrong spoon and for Kev it was attempting to start with a desert thinking the fried item was an entree!

A lazy Sunday in Paris with the big stress test of trying to find bike boxes due tommorrow !

The Epic Awards !

With this epic coming to an end it is opportune to acknowledge outstanding achievements over the course of the last 3 months - a sort of poor mans Academy Awards - The Epics !

.........

The best impersonation of a cycling mannequin - a lifeless KH slumped over his handlebars unable to respond to a YHA staff members questions having just arrived at Makinholes UK in the dark after a horrendous days riding!

Best dismount of a moving bike - Mega in rain near the Bodindsee having cut a 50 metre swathe through a pasture before ploughing the ground with his bike after taking on a steep downhill with hairpin and without brakes !

Honourable mention also to Mega for his on the move dismount in the Peak District UK after suffering sudden exploding diarrhoea !

Best accommodation most resembling Guantanamo Bay - The shoebox Hotel in Halbech near Germany that required sideways entry to get in the door, contained 2 beds end to end, a window that opened only 2 inches and a toilet that smelt like an open septic pit !

Best wildlife conservation award - Goes to KH for his attempt to train bats at 2 am in the morning to fly out of a hotel room - ours !

Best effort to impersonate Stevie Wonder - KH in his €3 Aldi sunglasses successfully missing important turns when in the lead !

Nb - to confirm his award KH today in Paris walked straight past the bike shop he was looking for despite the shop having 10 or more bikes on the footpath - KH indicated he did not notice them as he was looking for shop signs !

Best impersonation of a Mafia getaway driver - Linton Harris for his spectacular driving in Spain murdering freeway witches hats, driving 2 wheeled down narrow one way lanes and taking left and right turns simultaneously in Barcelona during peak hour traffic !

Best effort by a redhead to impersonate a blonde ! - Viv Sandler for arriving a day late in Paris despite having booked car and accommodation for the day prior - we love you Viv

Best attempt to not manage stress - Mega about to self implode into sub atomic particles when navigating on bike through the middle of Paris attempting to make a train deadline !

Best impersonation of a touring bike - Mega's Avanti - covered in grease and dirt and barely held together by cable ties, electrical duct tape and occy straps after 6700+ kms !

Most useless item carried for 5000 kms - KH's GPS which succeeded in one correct directional aid before failing to recognise Island and then "drowning" in a downpour in the Scottish Highlands !

Best response to a Bob Leedham quote " England's pretty flat" - KH " that is 'j£@&?€€%#}!!

Mike on the border !

Kevs World !

After close on 3 1/2 months and over 5,000kms (4 1/2 months & 6,700+ for Litchie) the epic is winding down.

The only place we haven't seen is Vladivostok, maybe next time !

Europe has been an absolute cracker starting with Germany which I thought would not be topped for scenery, that is until seeing Switzerland which had it all soaring mountains, meandeing rives, wide open lush green fields, quaint villages, roads through the Mtns and a world class railway system one line we experienced going through an amazing 20km tunnel!

The whole trip has been made so much more enjoyable with our amazing run of sunny days. In just on 2 months we've only had 4 wet days and 2 of those were when we were driving.

This is s trip I thought would never happen for me but thx to Litchi's planning and organising skills it has been the trip of a lifetime and I owe him a huge thankyou.

I cannot wait for the DVD production it will be massive!

Thanks also to Vib & Linton for the France & Spain legs cramming heaps into the short 3 weeks. Mike's sister Kim deserves a bug thankyou for her important contribution and I hope she enjoyed her extra trip to Santorini.

On such s long trip certain things can get up your nose while other things you find humorous -

- The feeling of exhilaration daily just being on the bike with magical scenery

- The view from the "top of Europe" on the Yungfrau at 3454 metres - outstanding

- The 6am version of stairway to heaven by European bell rollers - 10 mins every morning !

- Will miss the crunchy ling bread roles they call baguettes filled with yummy meats and salads

- Our accommodation always seemingly on the main street of Le Mans race track

- Mega's off road detours through farmer Fritz's paddock using the excuse he had no brakes!

- Riding 10kms out of Tubbingen and ending right back where we started - amazing !

- Perfecting hand gestures to overcome our ttl lack of understanding of the local lingo!

- The French cycling couple who guided us to our accommodation at Amboise in France and then invited us back to their cave house to share a bottle of wine!

- Surfing through 100 tv channels trying to find 1 not in Germsn, Swiss or French !

- Budting my pfoofer valve to cycle up a 20% gradient hill only to find that I'd missed the turn 300 metres earlier - don't you hate that!

- Climbing 36kms up the Swiss Alps at 7-10% grades on cobblestones - hard yakka !

- Won't miss the doonas that every hotel has supplied

- Driving on the wrong side of the road and on roads made only for cars less than a metre!

We have just arrived in Paris after catching the overnight train nut quite as big an ordeal as the first time but still bum numbing. Three days and were on our way home and none too soon as the temps have nosedived!

Thx to all at home who took an interest in our trip and sent emails and Bligh comments especially 2Bob, Jonesy, Winton and Marysia.

See you after the 14th cheers and best wishes KH

Day 95 - Paris

You'd have thought we would have learnt first time about not training or transiting through Paris with push bikes!

We arrived with little sleep but thankfully having experienced a much milder cabin temperature after the oppressive heat of our last journey!

Any Paris main railway station can be a nightmare at times, trying to find an info area, trying to find someone who speaks English and trying in our case to work out yet again how to get from one side of Paris to the other this timevby way of the Bastille!

We tried initially for a taxi but it was impossible to get anyone even willing to take our pushbikes. After a frustrating hour we rode through Paris to reach Gare de Lyon and with panniers then navigate the steep steps that took us to RER line A

30 mins later we were wandering in the cold lost just like the old days trying to find our hotel which ended up being only 50 metres away.

We slmost made the hotel before a drooling KH spotted a patissiere full of baquettes! With the French reknowned for their 4 hour lunches we decided to get in quick before the doors shut.

Relieved to finally make our hotel we can sit back and plan a few days of sightseeing providing of course that we can find some bike boxes and then work out how to get them back and to the airport !

Day 94 - Freidrichshafen to Paris

What a difference a day made. After great weather for almost our entire time in Europe the change finally blew in with White caps on the Bodindsee signalling a bitterly cold Nthly wind that dropped temperatures by half throughout Europe!

Glad we weren't riding we instead took on the frustrating task of trying to get out of Freidrichshafen ! Walking with a gout inflamed toe to the railway station we found that not only was the stations booking station closed (Friday !) but also the tourist information office.

Even attempting to communicate with locals became frustrating with different answers to the question of how we were able to transport our bikes to Stuttgart for tonight's train to Paris,

After initially planning on taking it easy in Friedrichshafen we instead opted for an early train to allow for connection problems and the rain conditions!

Everything went too well with our high speed train dropping us in Stuttgart at 6.00pm leaving us 7 and 1/2 hours to wait on a freezing cold railway station till our Paris train departed at 1.30am in the morning !

Kev rugged up at Stuttgart railway station !

This was hard work with Kev and self taking it in turns to guard the bikes / walk around the area. With the Octoberfest in full swing the later the night the noisier the station area became although well patrolled by local police who checked identity papers and moved vagrants on

It seemed amazing to both of us that Germany allows alcohol consumption on trains and many of the young were already in fine voice before thir nights had begun!

KH despite sleeping on trip with window open regardless found the conditions too cold and was soon wrapped up in many layers of clothing

Finally after a big day on the move and with my tie in poor condition we bordered our Paris train in the early hours with yet another segment of our trip now completed !

Day 93 - Widnau to Romanschorn -55kms

Well this was it after 3 months on the bike today was to be our last full day of riding!

We departed Widnau under beautiful skies although we knew the long overdue change wasnt far away!

The cycling along canals and open fields was flat with great paths so hardly an excuse to miss a turn which KH did claiming his focus on the upcoming gravel (the wrong way) had caused him to miss the route sign.

There was no damage done as Kevs way soon came to a dead end allowing me to catch up and KH to realise his error.

Cycling closer to the Bodinsee provided for some unique country hopping as Austria, Germany and Switzerland all share borders along Lake Constanx. A sign indicating we'd crossed into Austria was followed by a similar sign 20 mins later telling us we were leaving !

Finally the massive Bodinsee came into sight with the fine weather providing for dead calm conditions very different to the choppy waters we'd seen when completing our German leg.

We undertook the cycling tradition of riding down to the shoreline and dipping our wheels into the water to signal the completion of our journey from Italy over the Alps through Switzerland to the Bodinsee.

Adding this to our end to end rides, our Bavarian adventure and some lovely riding in France Kev had cracked the 5000km mark while I'd recorded over 6700 kms over 4 months of fabulous cycling not too bad for a couple of old blokes!

Some Swiss scenery !

We cycled on to Rorscach and Romanshirn closely following the lake / sea thar at times resembled a large Port Philip bay on a fine Spring day. Romanshorn allowed us to board a ferry to Friedrichshaven in Germany leaving Switzerland after some incredible scenery and allowing our bank balances to recover !

The 45 min trip provided for good lake and coastal views although Friedrichshaven lacked a little in character having been heavily bombed during WW2

Hotel found, dinner options a plenty and costs somewhat back to normal it was time to celebrate the end to am amazing journey with some incredible rides

A special thx to those that have provided comments and motivation during our time on the bike !

The Joys of Cycle Touring

With our endurance epic fast coming to a close I thought I'd pen some of the highlights of our trip in terms of things I'm looking forward to , will and wont miss when back in OZ !

- Having a normal meal that doesn't require a translation, provides for plentiful portions and vegetables and isn't off the shelf at a Supermarket!

- Not having to go through the daily routine of packing, telling Henley to take his asthma puffer, checking the bike (usually by counting that i had two tyres still in place )!

- Missing the incredible scenery we've experienced and the "soul addiction" that cycling brings in this part of the world !

- Watching a polite KH ask for directions off someone in Europe smile, nod knowledgeably and then turn around to me and say "I've got no bloody idea what they were saying"!

- Watching KH miss a turn on a steep hill and knowing that I'd have to cycle after him at speed !

- Watching myself implode with a combination of bad weather (not in Europe) a soggy map and being lost !

- Not to be woken up by speeding traffic (KHs preference to sleep with all the windows open despite him not liking the cold) non stop church bells or Henleys rendition of Mozarts first symphony coming from his rear end!

- Missing the times had with great friends particularly in France and catching up with people we'd met in Tibet

- Not missing trying to interpret a cycle route sign that points aimlessly in the direction of 3 possible roads or the case most recently in Switzerland where 3 signs for the one route were posted 1 to the left 1 to the right and 1 straight ahead!!!

- Missing the satisfaction of completing a good days cycle and actually arriving at our planned destination with the bike still working !

- Missing the countless people that helped us along the way, the international cycling fraternity and the looks of countless people simply because i had a camera on my head!

- Not missing KH meticulously writing his travel notes at 11pm at night with the lights on I'm trying to get to sleep!

- Missing the companionship of a great bloke who despite all said and done KH has been great company and will arrive back in OZ hopefully a little more civilised than when he left (about 0.01%)!

What a trip !!!!

Day 92 - Vaduz to Widnau - 58kms

We waited till the sun rose above the peaks before heading back across the border (a simple sign on a bridge) into Switzerland.

Great paths provided for effortless cycling alongside the Rhine before we headed through small Swiss villages for our last view of theses majestic mountains. Spying a cable car in the distance we cycled up to the station to realise it was an automatic time based operation with no staff present.

Jumping on board Kev and self were treated ti an incredible 2000 metre ride to the nearby Mtn tops with the car only spanning 4-5 towers in the whole distance and at times having a 3-400 feet drop!

Stunning views from the top !

At the top a restaurant sat perched against a Mtn peak and whole families and school children were hiking in the area with significant drops off some of the paths!

With our little diversion done we cycled onwards on again fairly flattish terrain passing through the old town of Allstadt and after unsuccessfully searching for accommodation going on another 10kms to Widnau where we called it a dag with a weather change appearing imminent.

After 3 months on the go we were now only 50kms from reaching our destination at Romanshorn on the Bodinsee!

Some images of Switzerland !

- Valley after valley with picturesque villages hanging precariously from steep hill sides!

- Me realizing that what I thought was KH yodeling every time we descended was in fact him screaming in terror based on what little was left on his recently replaced brake pads!

- The best vanilla slices !

- Hotels that require a mortgage to stay the night!

- The incessant ringing of cow bells!

- The incessant ringing of church bells - usually one dong every 15mins, a number per hour and then at 6-00am all he'll breaks loose to signal the new working day!

- Swiss hot chocolate

- The number of Swiss people who go hiking in the hills - it seems like the entire population.

- KH's new word for the Swiss currency "Swittish" after trying to say it was harder than UK currency !

- Swiss cycle signs - the best almost Henley proof !

Mike in Grindelwald !

Day 91 - Pfaffikon to Vaduz (Lichtenstein) - 90kms

Another day another country or should I say principality!

Our day started with a big descent into Pfaffikon with great views of the Zurichsee the same route we'd taken the night before in search of food. The route then took us around the Obersee to the much quieter rural town of Smerikov before some beaut open cycling put us on the Wallensee a magnificently scenic body of water surrounded by Mtn peaks.

What a great cycle this section was running right beside but above the lake. The 15 or so Kms provided for stunning views of Swiss villages and mountain tops. The route even had it's own cycle tunnels - long & winding, barely enough room for 2 bikes and looking like it was roughly cut to give it a natural finish

Past the Wallensee we entered a valley surrounded by saw toothed peaks on either side. With pleasant cycle paths (seemed to be heaps of them including Mtn bike trails) we made our way through Sargans to Vaduz the capital of the tiny principality of Liectenstein a country that virtually exists on the side of a Mtn!

KH teed up the accommodation and then demonstrated his masterful understanding of Swiss by wheeling his bike through the restaurant thinking this was the bike storage area when it turned out the employee was in fact telling him that the place had no bike storage and the
bikes had to be left outside!

We wandered into to the towns main area lined with tourist shops and restaurants overlooked over by Vaduz's prominent 12th C castle

Vaduz

Dinner was courtesy of yet another visit to the local supermarket although we did have enough to buy a couple of beers back at our hotel sitting out in the beer garden reliving the last 3 months cycling!

Day 90 - Zug to Pfaffikon - 77kms

Was this a sign the weather was changing - Zug in a pea souper ? I thought so and dressed accordingly only to pay the price when the sun finally came out.

We'd been blessed with magnificent unseasonal European weather for some 5 weeks now - maybe Henley's methane emissions had accelerated global warming but whatever the reason we were enjoying it after bleak weather in the UK

A beautiful climbing forest ride took us out of Zug towards Untageri with Autumn Colours evident everywhere. Back on the road we cycled to Einseldeln for lunch where I enquired of KH what he thought of the giant downhill ski ramp we'd just cycled past - "what ramp" was his not surprising reply !

After am ample lunch we made our way through the old town on foot because of the local market. Exiting Einseldeln we took in some steep climbs 10-15% before one beauty at 20% that had KH head down bum up while I filmed - or should I say while I filmed him miss the turn off marker that even I could see from 50 meters away!

Yelling at him to stop I cycled after him reaching the turn off pt deciding that this time I was not going to chase him up the hill!

Expecting him to realize his mistake I waited and waited and waited - while Kev did exactly the same at the top of the hill not wanting to come back down!

After a good 45 mins a sheepish KH finally returned mumbling something about how can he look for signs when he's cycling so hard. Anyway after a barrel of abuse we set off this time in the right direction to immediately climb another 20% hill with KH soon pretty spent by his efforts

The downhill on the other side was spectacular with views of the Zurichsee and it's many towns. After our days effort we stopped at a guesthaus 1/2 way down the hill for it's views of the lake. After checking the menu prices though we decided to brave the 4km very steep descent to head into town to the supermarket and then painstakingly do the same journey back all just to save a few dollars

Magnificent lake view Switzerland

While the night lights of the lake provided for great viewing the main evenings entertainment was watching KH take on the local fly population as he ruthlessly set upon all insects that had entered our room courtesy of the open windows and our room lights acting as beacons!

The evening was I thought going to be a very long one !

View of the Zurichsee from our Hotel

Day 89 - Giswill to Zug - 86kms

I woke with icicles hanging off my nose courtesy of the Henley policy of sleeping with all windows open!

After thawing out We took advantage of a good continental breakfast giving us some satisfaction after our high priced accommodation. So full as googs we cycled out of Giswill on a cool morning with the sun still yet to clear the surrounding Mtn tops.

The first 10kms were pretty easy as this was the same 10kms we'd cycled the night before looking for food.

Our mornings route took us along the lake to Luzern passing the Pilatus rack railway that I remembered doing some 30 years ago. We timed Luzern for a festival of some sort which gave us the opportunity to suss out some food which on a Sunday in Europe is next to impossible to ontain. With the food problem solved we sat back and enjoyed the views of this beaut city on the lake with it's many bridges including a traditionally roofed wooden one.

Panorama Luzern

Getting out of Luzern like any big place was not easy but soon we were cycling through forest and eventually back on to another lake this time around to the more modern looking Zug.

We attempted to leave Zug to head further to Untageri but were soon lost in this metropolis having to retrace our steps to work out where we'd gone wrong.

Getting the message we settled for budget accommodation of $180 a double for the night and then raided the local train station supermarket (the only thing open) for our dinner.

Forward planning has now become not what we'd like to see in Switzerland but how long we can afford to stay in the Country!

Day 88 - Interlaken to Giswill - 60kms

Left our home from home at Interlaken and began cycling along the beautiful Brienzsee. So much for a flat profile as the path soon had some pretty intense climbs as it climbed over, under and around the freeway heading out of town.

Interlaken

With that over the riding through green pastures to Merrigen was a delight with the Eiger's profile within view.

I knew we were in trouble when the route took us out of the valley and begun climbing at one he'll of an angle with a sign reading "
the "Brunig Pass"!

On and on the climb went mainly on off road conditions initially through forest and then through open fields with the Mtn tops seemingly miles away! After 5kms of relentless climbing we made the pass and I vowed to go back and check the bloody route profile !




After lunch we began a beautiful descent that went through 2 valleys both complete with lakes (called seas over here)and stunning Swiss scenery. Even with fully working brakes you would have sore wrists by the end of the descent as heavily loaded panniers can cause the bike to very quickly accelerate unless hard brake is applied.

Kev scored accommodation at the Krone Hotel where a mortgage was required for a nights stay. We went in search if food at the nearby supermarket not wishing to further enhance the hotels profits and learned they'd closed as was after 4pm on a Sat !

I rightfully exploded saying something like what sort of backward country is this - or words to that effect and then with Kev rode another 10kms one way trying to find anything open!

Despite populous towns we found nothing but restaurants and being the stingebuckets we were we weren't going in one of them - well not in Switzerland anyway!

Finally we had dinner (chinese) on a railway station platform - hey it could have been worse - and then had to cycle the 10kms back to our hotel!

How do people afford to live here - surely they are not all retired millionaires!

Interlaken - Day 87 - 46kms

It was a day of superlatives and amazing events!

Kev took on the Yungfrau challenge by taking the cog railway through the middle of the Eiger Mtn to Europe's highest railway station at 3454 metres. This amazing railway line was built over 100 years ago and apart from one small mistake when 30 tons of dynamite were accidentally set off during it's building has been running pretty well since!

According to Kev the views up and on top were stunning with clear but cold conditions making a snow footing quite slippery. The most amazing story for my mind was that KH in journeying by himself was able to undertake 4 train changes without ending up in another country - well done Kev!

Still suffering from the "Henley" virus I took the bike out after lunch for one of the most stunning short rides (50km return) I am ever likely to do. The ride from Interlaken took me up a steeply sided valley ( the sum still hadn't risen above the peaks by 12.30pm!) in cool conditions to the beautifully picturesque Grindelwald set against a trio of 3-4000 metre Mtns including the Nth face of the Eiger.

Beautiful Grindelwald

The ride was an absolute delight going through small story book villages, forest with fast running rivers and up paths both on and off road of upwards of 10-12%. The views on this lovely day made the hard work worth it as did 2 of the most amazing vanilla slices I've ever had!

The ride back wad a blast hurtling downhill this time on the main road where I caught up with Kev still buzzing from his own experience.

With bangers and mash on the menu we had plenty of time to review the days highlights and say farewell to Interlaken.