Hey all,
This is just a quick note to say that I aim to cycle around 2000km from Ljubljana to Calais, (map does not show 100+ km in Slovenia) starting on the 3rd of May and ending around the 27th. To spur me on I'm gathering sponsorship money for Cerebra, the charity for brain injured infants.
I chose Cerebra for a couple of reasons, along with it being the Rotatives Engineering designated charity, my dad has worked with brain injured kids. Remember, just sponsoring me 1p per km can make a significant difference!
If you want to sponsor me now, GREAT! If you want to make a pledge now and pay when you know how many miles I've done, email me at abracegirdle@gmail.com or adam.bracegirdle@rolls-royce.com with your pledge and I'll add you to my sponsorship form. I will use the odometer on my bike to record the distance, but in the event that it breaks down, I will plot the final route on google maps.
I'd like to express my thanks to Miles for lending me the bike that has made this trip possible. I would also like to thank everyone who has donated so far, and all your kind messages.
2008-05-27: I'm back! In Brussels, I stayed with Neil and Marcus, and got a clip of me on the bike. I struck out towards Gent and Brugge. Along the way I discovered I had left my water behind, but made it to Brugge OK. On my final leg, I headed for the coast, where I celebrated with an ice cream before heading to calais, at points along a beach to meet my brother. My leg was continually hurting and I had to stop occasionally, at one point someone even stopped their car to offer assistance. I stayed the night in a hotel, and boarded the ferry the following morning, completing my trip of 2480km! What an amazing journey. Thanks everyone for keeping me going with kind words and donations. I will make one more post when I work out my final total.
2008-05-25: From Cologne, where I have a short video describing what I have with me, I travelled over the border and spent the night in Holland. There is a great bar called Hel in Valkonburg that I recommend. From there, I headed into Belgium, however, my knee has started hurting again and for the last 20km or so I was mainly using my right leg, not health. However, I made it to Bruxelle where I am now staying with Neil S. Marcus has come down to join us as well. I got back to the house at 5 yesterday morning, so rest has not been optimal. I have decided to hit the road a bit late today to compensate. From here, it's just a short 100 km to Brugge, then down the coast to Calais! I'll get Neil to take a photo of me on the bike, finally! Just two more days!
2008-05-21: Right, fixed the error in the date of the post below! Greetings from Cologne! Cheers for the continued support Kev and James, it keeps me going! Also, I'll be back at work next Wednesday, never fear!
I decided to use up my contingency day to recover, although the new gloves have fixed my numb hand problems, my thumbs are having trouble gripping things, my knees are sore and clicking, the muscles on the tops of my knees are also sore, and my back is giving me gyp. Just to explain, the German concept of a cycle path is a little different from that of the Austrian. Hence, they use a series of concrete blocks that are about one pedal stroke long. The step between them (up or down) delivers a small shock to the back every second or so, for km after km. Some kind of strange torture I feel.
I also misunderestimated the distances for the first two legs of the last stint, hence I ended up doing over 305km in 2 days (almost 200 miles) with the wind against me. Also, at one cashpoint it would not let me withdraw money, hence I assumed I had none left, and have been living off about 15€ per day including lodgings. Having got onto the net, I found it was a cashpoint error, so I'm OK now. I also realise I could have dropped in on another mate of mine in Stuttgart, but there was a misunderstanding about dates. Suffice to say, I was more than a little down.
The "Romantic Rhein" is great and I dropped by the sports hall where Breakpoint happens every year, a ppilgrimage you might say. I'll have a photo of that. Also, I'll have a photo of me on the bike finally!
Batteries in phone and camera now low, so I'm using them sparingly, but expect another video update.
My next access to the net will be on the 24th from Brussels where I meet my old edinburgh flatmates Neil and Marcus, so expect to see photos etc. then. I also hope to meet up with another gaming team member on the way!
UPDATED: I now have a movie of my camping set up, and me going through 1000 miles.
2008-05-17: First off, damn this website, I just lost about 20 minutes of writing because it logs you out after about 10 minutes! Deep breath and relax... Greetings from Stuttgart! I am now relaxing in a mates house, so I have updated a lot of the articles below with newly uploaded videos and stuff, so check out the updated comments below.
It's been four days travelling since my last post and a lot has happened. I am now at 1416km! having broken the 1000km mark, google maps says I have another 800km to go, but I stopped believing that ages ago. So, to step back a second and recap. I took the morning off in Salzburg, then headed for Prien am Chiemsee, where a friend of a friend, Dominik (of Katha), lives. The trip was beautiful, and the Chiemsee is an amazing lake. I went from a swim in it at Seebruck, a local biker hang out, much to the amusement of the locals as it was freezing. I then followed the banks round to Prien. You can see some of the pics from flickr. Dominik was a thoroughly sound bloke and we went out for pizza and beer and got back near midnight. The following days legs was to München. I was a bit tired after the night before, and but having got into the Euro Youth Hotel, which is apparently the place to be cool and get laid, I went out to meet a classmate of mine from school. Nick, who is good friends with Katy A, but whom I did not know well, turns out to be someone I have a lot in common with. We had some Maß beers, chatted about all sorts and I got back to the hotel at after midnight. Cheers for the chat Nick!
So, after all that I have to get up and cycle about 150 km. I was knackered, having been on the road for five days. I don't really remember much of the trip, except it hurt, it was tiring, it was boring and flat, and I had to sleep at lunch time just to keep going. I found a hostel OK, but yesterday did not feel refreshed after a nights sleep. However, thanks for the encouraging words folks, it got me through.
So, yesterdays trip to Stuttgart was also hard going. This is day seven we are talking about now and I have done 900km without a break. This was also the day I climbed over the hills from where the water goes to the black see, to where it goes to the north sea. I saw an eagle up there, but I also encountered thunder storms, not good. I was getting hot for the last several days, because I had to wear two pairs of gloves to prevent my hands going numb. I bought some new gel gloves, cut the sleeves from my top, and all the rest, onlty to find the day was cold, with rain, and the wind was against me cooling me. Sods law!
I arrived at about 9pm, the latest so far, and felt absolutely wretched. However, I was able to have a beer wIth Reinhold, a friend who was an intern at Roll-Royce. It was good to see him, and you can see him in the flickr pics. Thanks for letting me stay two nights Reinhold!
As the above would suggest, today was my first rest day for over a week where on average my distances have been about 130km (81 miles). I enjoyed today, and got the headset repaired for the bike. I'm now about to refill my water, pack, and book accomodation ready for tomorrow, another big day.
Some people have asked what I eat, where I sleep, what I have with me etc. So I will post that another time.
2008-05-12: OK, now I have more time. First, thanks to Tom, Zara, Carol, Olga and Ross! I've now broken through the target! It really helps motivate me (and stops me hopping on a bus ;). I've got some more photos online, but uploading videos takes ages. Everything that is underlined and italic will eventually be a video. Currently, I've updated one from my first Alps trip.
I'm now in Salzburg, where the weather is fine, and life is good. I came up the Danube to Linz, then headed by the amazing attersee over some more (little) alpine passes, with handlebar video, to here. Update: I've updated the videos, but I have some more stories to tell. I set out from Linz, knowing I had a long day ahead of me, and got lost fairly quickly. However, I had a supreme bit of luck and found an engineer, Wolgang, and his son, Tommi, out for a cycle ride. They were going the same first 50 km as me, and they showed me a nice, quiet route. It was a real pleasure talking to them along the way and time flew past. I then decided to follow the valleys and the sees, where I had a swim, to Salzburg, but it turns out the valleys were actually mountain passes! I did have an amazing day, and ended up doing a total of 160km or 100 odd miles!
2008-05-10: Just a real quicky as I have three minutes left on the timer. I am now in Linz having left Vienna, and preparing for the hardest leg of my trip, 150km to Salzburg. Wish me luck. I have more videos etc. and will post when I have time. Update: Between Wien and Linz, which is a beautiful bit of the Danube, I stayed at a campsite in Schönbühel. You can see a picture of the castle in the sunset. It was the most amazing evening, and as I was sat by the river watching the tug boats brave the rapids and scraping peanut butter out of a jar with lumps of bread, it was the time of my life.
2008-05-08: Finally, a day off! Welcome to Vienna. First, thanks for the donations Dino and Val! I have now entered Austria, so that last post was from Graz. From there, I made the foolish (but worthwhile) descision to head north into the Alps. the first day was pure pain as I climbed up to Murzzushlag, and then had to backtrack to a campsite. However, first time camping was cold, but good. The following day I had more climbing to do, but when I reached the top it was amazing. There is a ski resort there which I forget the name of. After that there was some wicked downhill, for which I have some video, and a charge across to Vienna. The clock says 130km, because it took me ages to find my way into Vienna, and to a hostel. This means I have broken 500km (509)! I've managed to upload some pics which you can see below. I've also uploaded a video, which I will edit this post with.
2008-05-05: My stay in Celje with Gregor from couchsurfing was good. His dog Buda(pest) was nice, although a little to affectionate at times. I also met his girlfriend and his mates. We hung out and got drunk in their art studio. He was a sound bloke, so drop him a line if you are passing buy. OK, so I started the ride this morning with a hangover, it was raining, I only got going at about 10:30, and I had 130km ahead of me. However, at lunch I met up with MaD SrsH (Dino) from Ptuj who I know from the computer gaming community I idle in. I was rather late for lunch, and changed venue at the last minute becasse I couldn't find it, but he was cool with it and it was great to meet him. He wasn't half as mad as his internet alter ego appears :) Even bought me lunch, very good of him. Both the folk I have met so far have been great hosts and it's been for far too short a time, but that's the problem with having to keep to a schedule. Photos and a movie or two to follow when I get a terminal with a USB port.
2008-05-04: Would have posted sooner but could´not access internet in the hostel. I´m now in Celje, having put about 120km on the clock from the airport via ljubljana. Not bad I guess. Tomorrow is another 120km, then a slightly more relaxing time after that. Saddle sores are not to bad, but there is a stabbing pain in my back. Time for a couple of beers to sort that. Got some random images uploading now.
2008-05-03: Greetings from Cambridge! I'm now tracking pledges as just one number in the offline sponsorship page. Cheers to the guys who gave me the send-off.
2008-05-02: Total offline pledges: £72 + 5.1p / km
Thanks again for all the donations! If I make the distance, so far I've made enough to get £354! (now added to offline money raised) For those who are interested, I fly out from Stansted on Saturday and hit the road on Sunday morning.
2008-05-01: Total offline pledges: £42 + 3.1p / km
I'm really impressed with what you guys have given in just 24 hours! You are all stars. Also for those who asked, no, I'm not doing it on a mountain bike, that's my old charger that was nicked :(. I have been asked by a few of you to provide video and image evidence of the pain I go through, bastards! The images and movies are just placeholders until I have some good pics.
Cheers,
Adam
