Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

With the Summer now a distant memory and Winter looming just around the corner, I'm trying to make the most of the settled Autumnal weather by getting on my bike and heading East.  The plan is to make it to Vienna from London in 12 days (unsupported), with the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe the only non-cycling part of the journey.  The route should take me via Paris, the Alps, Geneva, more Alps, Milan and the Dolomites (picture above), with roughly 96 hours spent in the saddle.

Although the plan was to attempt it anyway, I thought I might as well try and make a difference and raise some money for Charity at the same time.  Bearing in mind the impending Winter months, I have chosen a charity for the homeless called 'Crisis' (www.crisis.org.uk).

As this is not an organised event, there is no minimum for me to try and raise here, but anything you feel you can spare would be very welcome.  If a suggested donation would help, a penny per mile should work out to about £15.

If giving money away is not your thing, I will be recording as much as I can of the trip on a small video camera and will be attempting to flog DVDs of the entire 96 hours, with special 'limited edition' copies condensed into only the top 24 hours of 'highlights'.  For fans of driving on the wrong side of the road and slow moving scenery, it's a must have.

All proceeds direct to Crisis obviously. (Availability subject to the camera actually working and me being bothered to do anything at all ever again once I'm back).

 

11th  Oct - First setback I'm afraid, in testing whether I can fit everything into my backpack for the trip, I was left with a choice between a fleece and the video camera.  After a quick glance at the weather report on the Passo dello Stelvio (-1 max, -10 min) I went with the fleece as opposed to having the option of filming my own death.  Apologies to anyone who was looking forward to spending 4 days in front of the TV watching the video, I have a copy of my ride to East Grinstead instead if that will soften the blow...

 

16th Oct - Je suis en Paris, about to head out and enjoy the town so will write more later.  So far so good though and haven't had to use and of the 'Happy Shopper' brand Ibuprofen I picked up in Brighton.  Cycling up the Champs Elysee was an unexpected thrill, given my GPS shouldn't have taken me anywhere near it.  A toute a l'heure...

24th Oct - I doubt anyone is actually looking at this now as it's been so long between updates, however as I have finally found the internet in deepest darkest Süd Tirol, I might as well put something here.  Today I think was the last day of serious mountains that I have to worry about between now and Vienna (I hope).  Since my last post here, I have cycled from Paris, South East to Geneva through the Bourgogne region in France which was relatively flat and temperate.  Auxerre and Beaune are both very nice towns, as was Fontaine Bleue which I passed along the way.  Crossing between France and Switzerland three times I didn´t have my passport checked and in fact, I haven´t needed it since rolling off the ferry in Dieppe which I´ve found a little curious.  After Geneva (which I didn´t think too much of), I had a very relaxing day riding through (not over) some of the best scenery Switzerland has to offer, basically cutting through a valley that splits the Alps until I arrived in a town called Sierre.   A local town for local people, getting hammered on a  Tuesday night...

Getting from Switzerland into Italia required a bit more effort in the vertical sense, climbing the passo Sempione (Simplon Pass) was very scenic and very difficult (13 miles, climbing from ~2000 to 6500 feet).  To make it a little more interesting the wind at the top was blowing between 50 and 100 kilometres per hour and fog had whited the entire place out.  According to the staff in the cafe at the top, if I waited it was only going to get worse.  The descent was cold, wet and scary (and beautiful).  Arriving at Stresa on Lago Maggiore I was tempted by the 5 star hotels overlooking the lake, but in the end settled for a cosy (and cheap) little B&B.  Having looked forward to Italian food for the past 2 days I was not disappointed.  Terrible weather again the following day, although improving slightly in the afternoon, was absolutely drenched again by the time I got to Milano for a rather late lunch.  As my chain decided to snap on the motorway heading out of Milano, by the time I´d arrived in Credaro it was pitch black and so were my hands and legs (covered in dirt and oil if that needs explaining). Was looked after very well in Credaro and set out on the Friday morning along the Lago d´Iseo with a nice tail wind and the sun breaking through the clouds for the first time in days.  Things were looking up, quite literally by the time I got to the Passo Tonale which looked a lot easier on paper. 7 miles of the climb officially, but about 15 miles of steady (4 - 5%) climbing leading up to it.  That was yesterday, initially I had planned to go over the Passo Stelvio this morning, but the pass was closed which in the end I think was probably a good thing.  Tonale being 1000 metres lower still had quite a nice covering of snow on the top.

Descending through one abandoned ski resort after another, I finally found somewhere soft and warm to sleep for the night about 10 miles further on than I´d planned initially.  Good thing too, as today was amazing in both a difficulty sense and in terms of the scenery.  Ending the day climbing to ~7000 feet up the Passo Giovo was as torturous as it was stunning.  I only managed a couple of photos at the top as my hands became to cold for the touch screen on my camera phone to work.  I didn´t take any on the way up as I was convinced stopping would mean not starting again.  A camera wouldn´t do it justice anyway.

That´s about it to this point, I´m sure I had a lot more to say on each given day but it has all sort of blended in to one at the moment.  My legs and back are both hurting on the steep climbs, but I´m fairly sure the worst is behind me and Vienna actually seems quite attainable now.  Next stop Deutschland...

25th Oct - Into Austria finally, and after about 85 miles back out again and into Germany.  The internet is apparantly more abundant the further East you get.  Typing on an ergonomic keyboard for the first and hopefully the last time.  There were hills today, not mountains but enough to make my knees want to explode after the previous day.  I guess the scenery was fairly special, but I think I am building up a bit of an immunity to mountain landscapes with lakes in the foreground, instead being amused by funny foreign town names and dreaming of eating and sleeping for the most part.  I think I realised how tired (and emotional) I was getting this morning, when I shed a tear listening to Bon Jovi on the radio while eating my breakfast.  3 more days and 270 more miles to Vienna, I have never eaten this well in my life...