Whilst I travel back to the UK on board the ferry it’s been a good time to reflect on the highs and lows of fulfilling a dream trip and knowing that what started as a conversation over two years ago has become a reality.

I can still recall the look of incredulity on the face of my bosses at work when I asked for a sabbatical in order to take on this trip. Let’s be honest most bank managers are simply not that adventurous. Just this one is …..

Highs & Lows and the Weather

Undoubtedly the highlights of the tour were the first and last ten days both helped by great weather.

 Equally the poor weather in Belgium and France made cycling unpleasant and at times difficult.

 The teamwork with Nigel & Monica operating out of the camper,  was a great success, whether just as a solo or when Nick & Chris joined us in Spain.

The ability to stop and wild camp too, when we had done enough, was essential. The wild camping experience was also special,  whether in the depths of Scandanavia or in an Olive grove in Spain.

 Scary Moments

Top scary moment was definitely getting stuck on a dual carriageway in Sweden, with cars passing at 80mph and then finding I had to cycle through a tunnel with no hard shoulder. It makes me shudder even now to think about it.

Second, was that thunderstorm in France whilst crossing open fields, it certainly made your heart beat faster and legs turn more quickly.

Best Country for Cycling

On the evidence of this trip I would say Spain. Great roads, mostly, and also, surprisingly, very accommodating drivers,  both car and truck. We always saw other Lycra clad cyclists and the impression I get is that it is a respected pastime in Spain.

 Holland, Germany and Denmark are good too for more casual and safe cycling, as they have a fantastic network of cycle routes. However as with most things Germanic, you are expected to stay on your path and not get in the way of traffic.

All Scandanavian countries had great cycle paths in just about every town and bikes were seen everyday transport, so all types of person used their bikes to get from A to B safely – something that should be adopted everywhere to reduce short car journies.

 Worst country would have to be Belgium, which is sort of surprising for a cycling nation. However the state of the roads and paths, together with the built up nature made it less enjoyable than anywhere else. A bit unfair as I did not go into the more attractive Ardennes, merited nonetheless.

 Politest Nation

Again a surprise and may have been due to the switch from the Germanic countries, but it was very evident that as soon as I hit the French speaking part of Belgium and then France everyone started to say hello or nod whereas previously I always initiated the greeting and only got a response fifty percent of the time. So one up to our French neighbours here.

I also would have to give a plus to the Dutch they seem to be a nation of fun loving people who want to enjoy life rather than just do.

Best cycling segments

Difficult to choose. Top five.

1. Morning segment on gravel in the middle of nowhere in Sweden
2. Last segment on gravel in torrential rain on way to Ramsele 
3. The start at Nordkapp 
4. The end of day one in Spain with the guys, going up a gorge and through a rock tunnel 
5. The 42km of the A375 on the last day to Alcala de Los Gazules.

Hardest day(s)

1. Crossing the French plains in the face of a fierce headwind, just horrible, and then following that with two super long days of over 115 miles
2. The Belgian paves in the rain
3. The unmade road on the last segment. It was really meant to test my mettle.

Proudest Achievements 

1. Completing the challenge after one of the hardest days of the whole tour. Whilst many people will have done this before, we are only talking about hundreds and few will have taken such adventurous routes.
2. Finishing the 131 mile day in Sweden still with a smile on my face having enjoyed it!
3. Climbing the Col de la Pierre St Martin nonstop and sprinting over the top to admire the fantastic views.  

 Signs

There were some great road signs, but the winner had to be this one in Sweden

 This one in Spain. I must have seen thousands as there appeared to be one every 100 yards or so.   It effectively means private hunting grounds.

Nature & Agriculture

One of the things I love about cycling is that it takes you out of doors and gives you the ability to see a lot of the world around you close to.

Despite it being early autumn I saw thousands of beautiful roadside flowers and butterflies, giving colour to the journey.

The bird life was great and diverse too from Vultures  and Eagles, through Storks, Cranes and Egrets to huge flocks of Sparrows chattering in the hedgerows.

The wild mammal that I saw the most of was deer,  at least four different species during the trip from Reindeer in the Artic, the magnificent Red Deer Stag in France to Fallow Deer in Spain.

Agriculture and landscape was of course much different going from trees,  trees and more trees in the north through plains of maize and other cereal crops on the flat and vines on the hills, finally to more olives trees than you can count in Andalusia.

Foraging and Scrumping

During the trip we picked and ate the following herbs and fruits collected at the roadside

• Wild plums
• Apples
• Grapes
• Sweet corn
• Quince
• Blackberries
• Pomegranates
• Figs
• Prickly Pears
• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Rosemary
• Thyme

Equipment

Would it have been better if I had done this any differently

Bike

– many people I met were surprised that I was tackling the trip on a Giant Defy sportive type road bike with disc brakes. Despite the very varied terrain and at times supposedly completely unsuitable for the bike, it coped well with every  one

  I had five punctures , three pinch flats on Swedish road stone in 250 yards and two thorns on the rest of the whole trip. Even a mountain bike would have had trouble on that road stone and the advantage of the road bike is that it is so much quicker on the majority of other surfaces. So I feel that this was correct, the spare bike, wheels, chains and cables,  all remained in their boxes,  though I did need to change my tyres as they were worn out after 3000 miles.

Support

The camper and tents were spot on for this type of trip giving full flexibility on overnight stops whether at campsites or in the wild. Although it did help to have Nigel and Monica who knew what they were doing.

In addition the ability to stop for a refuel after 30miles for a cup of tea or coffee with toast or cake in any weather was unbeatable.

 On the wet days too,  I was able to change out of cold wet gear into dry clothes at the end of a session, so not staying cold and damp.

Daily Distance

Some days were too long and if I had had the opportunity would probably want to have done the trip slightly more leisurely to take in more of the local culture. However I did not have that luxury. but would recommend 80/85 mile days if you had the time.

For me it was important that I had built rest days into the schedule that we were able to use to amend the route after poor weather or several tough days to allow the body to recover.

Food

I was told it is difficult to eat enough, but our format was spot on and I did not have to resort to energy bars often, ( as a treat when reaching milestones I consumed around 20 packs of Jelly Babies though ). We had around two hour stints and then break for toast ( or French stick) and jam ( with a local pastry if available) and coffee in the morning, a sandwich at lunchtime and then on longer days a shorter tea stop before beer (& salty snacks in Spain) and dinner in the evening. Occasionally adding treats like frankfurters or scrambled eggs during daytime stops.

This was quite sufficient and not too  much and although I have not weighed myself yet, think I am around the same as when i left.

Body

I had a sore backside after three weeks,  which got used to its treatment afterwards, as long as it was properly creamed. Even the classic shoulder ache went after a week and I did not suffer from that either.

I am pleased to say the pre event training was enough and my legs propelled me up every single hill, although walking and especially walking uphill is now very laboured!

Navigation

A properly planned route is essential, although the pre route Garmins were really hopeless and it stopped them working properly, so we resorted to the emergency photocopied printed maps and the I programmed Garmin together with Google maps on the phone. Nigel and I always ran through the route in the morning so we knew where to meet up en route.

It is important to add that I had 3G almost everywhere. Incredible.

I took over 1000 photos on the good old iPhone and still have storage left.

Santa

Had to get a mention as to meet the real guy was such a privilege. A true gent too.

 The End

This was a very special trip that I will not repeat and I am glad that I have been able to share parts of it with so many people.

More adventures will follow but not as long and as intense as this………..