Bicycles are computers for the legs.
Says Steve Jobs….or something similar.
Anyway.
I’ve been following the /r/bicycletouring subreddit for a few years now. I’ve always dreamt of getting on a bike and going to far away places, seeing new cultures and learning new languages. I want to experiment with new foods, with getting lost on purpose and with being in the middle of nowhere with zero chance of a merge conflict.
But I can’t do that, because I have a ridiculously ace job and I still have a house to pay for. Plus, I’ve got to stay in and notch the thermostat down every few hours so t’other half doesn’t personally destroy Earth’s gas reserves.
So I’m going to take a couple of weeks off and instead of my usual short adventure of miserable weather and agonising foot pain (see: Hadrian’s Wall) I’m taking the bike instead.
I did something similar in 2016 where I did a coast to coast unsupported and I’m not exactly sure how I managed it. Now it’s a bit different though, my fitness is worse, my gearing isn’t as generous and I’m older and creakier so naturally didn’t want to push the boat out too much.
So here’s a really rough route I drew in snipping tool. Each colour’s a new day. It’s roughly 450 miles and 9000m of climbing. I have no idea why I’m doing this.
Sorry Anglesey, no time for you this trip, maybe next time. Accomodation there is a scandalous price.
With some luck (and lots of AA batteries) I’ll get a GPX trace of the whole route split into days so I can see how slow I am on Strava but if you’re in or around wales in the next week or so, give me a shout and we’ll meet up for cake.