(This is a short post as i only have 25% battery on my laptop)

“Wear Sunscreen. If i could offer you one piece of advice for the future, Sunscreen would be it!” Those words ran through my head repeatedly as i try to fall asleep, ignoring the impulse to vomit as the Bow of Jenever bounced of the waves. I’d stupidly fallen asleep earlier in the day in the Cockpit of the 43 foot yacht as we made our way across the English Channel. I had nodded off in the warmth of the sun without donning any sun block. The result was a Lobster – esque tone to my skin and a minor case of sunstroke, which, accompanied with the motion of the yacht, caused me to feel quite ill. We arrived in Cherbourg mid morning and i remained there until the next day. After a quick photo with Mark and Hugh,the gentlemen who very kindly helped me cross the channel, i helped slip the lines on Jenever. I was left standing on the pontoon watching the boat fade into the distance. I pushed the bike tentatively down the pontoon and up on to french soil. I sat for a half an hour rearranging my panniers and off i went. The first day, i covered about 50 km’s due to a couple of wrong turns. I stopped early in the small village of St-Sauveur-Le-Vicomte and found a small campsite in the shadow of a large Chateau – The perfect way to spend my first night on the road in France.

Over the next few days i found myself travelling through small remote villages and passing by huge fields of Maize and Sunflowers. I would stop at small cottages in the countryside to ask for water from old ladies watering their well maintained vegatable patches. After a few moments of gesturing (my french is a little on the weak side) the lady would disappear into the house and return moments later with my water bottles not only filled but also of cubes of ice. Ocassionally i’d find a small shop where i grab a can of Coke and for the next hour i would pedal my backside off on a sugar high.

I passed through a few of the countries cities such as Tour and Le Man but would only stay for a few of hours due to my low budget not allowing for Hostels or Campsites which are more expensive the close to large ‘touristy’ areas.

I’ve been sleeping wherever i find a space. One night i slept in a car park in a small village surrounded by campervans, i awoke to find a small dog sniffing around my kit. As i moved to stroke the mutt it grabbed my toothbrush out of the front of my handlebar bag and ran off with it. Another night i slept in a park underneath a huge elephant statue with fireworks illuminating the night sky. Most campsites in fact were farmers field. I’d sneak into the field under the cover of darkness, inflate my sleeping mat, unroll my bivvy bag and sleeping bag and fall into a deep sleep. I wake, eat a nectarine and pedal off leaving nothing behind but a patch of crumpled grass.

Getting back on the bike has been tough. The leg which was injured feels stiff and sore some days and for the first week i would i wince every time a car passed a little too close. It seems the accident made me slightly nervous in busy traffic but i seem to have got my nerve back.

I’m currently enjoying a few days off the bike in a small village on the outskirts of Clermont so will hopefully update the site once more before i head off again.

An issue that has arose due to the delay in the expedition mean i may need a change in the route. My initial route took me through Russia and down into Mongolia but unfortunately i will now be crossing Russia 3 months later than expected – in the middle of winter. Although i’m not overly worried about the -40 temperatures (i’ve done my research), i still think it’s an unnecessary risk and an alternative route might be the better option. I’m thinking about heading in a more southerly route across Iran, a couple of Stans and into China or perhaps from Russia, to Kazhakstan and into China. This will be a decision i have to make closer to the time and it’s something i’ll be thinking about quite alot as i pedal across Europe.

The time spent off the bike has afforded me the opportunity to hunt for sponsorship as i still do not have enough money to complete the journey. I am waiting to hear back from a few companies so my fingers are tightly crossed. Remember, if you’d like to become an individual sponsor you can make a donation here.

I’ve also managed to get the communcation company Telestial on board to help me to keep you all updated whilst i’m on the road. The equipment they are supplying is helping me to communicate via twitter and also a mapping software which gives you the location of each tweet. You can also sign up to receive each tweet via email (send me you email address to sign up – you’ll also be added to the newsletter mailing list).

The time off the bike is, however, affording me the opportunity to continue my hunt for sponsorship to help finance the project as the expedition kitty is running low. Luckily, my parents letting me stay at home and feeding me means that I’m not eating (no pun intended) into any of the funds that I have been very kindly donated. If anyone is interested in making a donation and becoming an individual sponsor head here to find out more.

I’ve also managed to secure a couple of new equipment sponsors. I’ll talk a little more about this in future post.

I’m now focusing my attention on reorganising my boat across the channel and will hopefully have something ready very soon. Also, to fill my time off the bike and to keep myself fighting fit I have a couple of micro adventures up my sleeve so watch this space!

Thank you for you continued support

To try and help fight my restlessness i decided I needed to get out of the house and have a little ‘micro adventure’. I called up my friend Pye who, as always, was more than keen to head out overnight with just a few essentials.

I threw my kit into my old 35ltr rucksack, the same rucksack I’ve had throughout my childhood, which is still going strong today jumped in the car and headed off. We found a large wood and after 30 mins of walking through dense woodland we found the perfect area to pitch the tarp. We sat and chatted, gathered wood and lit a fire. We baked some damper bread in the embers of the fire and ate it with baked feta with chilli. I fell asleep to the sound of trees creaking in the wind and every now and again I’d hear a loud crack in the distance as a branch snapped in the strong wind.

And that was it. Morning came and we trekked back to the car and headed home. It wasn’t much but it was a break.

******

3 days in Torquay was enough for me. There were only so many times I could sit by the Marina seeing boats come and go, twiddling my thumbs waiting to hear about possible crewing positions so I decided to take off and head to Dartmoor for a few days wild camping. So I loaded the bike once more and set off.  I weaved my way along the coast for a few miles and then double backed on myself to take an ‘A’ road to Dartmoor.

This is when it all wrong. One moment I was freewheeling down the road and the next I was face down in a patch of stinging nettles. It took me a couple of seconds to realize quite what had happened but as I lifted my head and looked back up the road I saw my bike and panniers scattered across the road, blocking traffic. I started to climb to my feet when a couple of men ran over and helped to pick my equipment up. We managed to gather all my belongings quite quickly and it was then I started to feel the pain in my left leg.

“What happened?” asked one of the guys, straightening out my handlebars.

“I’m not sure, I just came of my bike. I must have hit a pothole or something”

“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure that car hit you” said the other man now joined by his wife.

He went onto explain that he saw a small white car hit the trailer, which I gather threw me off balance and ended in a tumble. The driver drove off and nobody was able to get a good description or a number plate, so that was that. As we were stood there the pain in my leg grew worse and as I started to hobble around trying to piece together my bike I realized that the derailleur had bent and snapped, and that the front wheel was slightly buckled and the rear wheel had several broken spokes and was severely buckled. I wasn’t able to ride the bike anyway.

Luckily the gentleman and his wife who had stopped offered to go and fetch their pickup, put my stuff in the back and drive me to a campsite. In those few minutes I had to wait for them to return with the pickup the pain in my leg was growing worse and (rather comically) I realized I was covered head to toe in nettle stings from being unfortunate enough to land in the only patch nettles for 100 yards.

After spending an evening in the campsite I took my bike to be repaired at a local bike shop that replaced all the broken bits a pieces and made sure the bike was structurally OK. This unfortunately cost me £300 which had caused a huge deficit in my funds (and makes the search for sponsors even more important).

The bent derailleur

For the next week I stayed at my grandparents friends house as I rested what I thought was just a pulled muscle or some bruising. After the swelling went down and I was still in a lot of pain I went A&E to get my leg checked out. Apparently I have strained a ligament in my knee and have been advised to rest for ‘2-3 weeks at least’ and then ease back in to gentle cycling. The nurse confirmed that gentle cycling doesn’t involve a fully laden bike.

So I made the (extremely) hard decision to come home until my leg is healed and I can resume my journey from where I stopped. This is quite a blow as I was just getting into the swing of things and was really enjoying my time on the road.

So hopefully in just a couple of weeks from now I’ll be on my bike once more and pedaling east.

A huge thank you to Carol and Owen for putting me up (and putting up with me) during that first week. Another huge thank you to the very kind couple who helped me at the side of the road.

Sunday came around fast and after a hurried send off i set off with 20 riders of the Outdoors 100, a 100 mile ride in aid of Action Medical Research, who very quickly shot off at speed and left me struggling with my fully laden bike up a hill. I was passed by approximatley 150 riders, most of whom very kindly slowed for a few minuted to have a quick chat with me and to wish me luck. Soon i was on my own again. I headed for Straftford upon Avon where i  planned to camp just outside of the town but after an hour or so of searching i just couldn’t find anywhere to pitch a tent or roll out my bivvy bag. As the sun was setting i stumbled on a campsite so decided to sleep their for the night. After paying £10 (twice my daily alloted amount of cash) i started pitching my tent, when, as i was feeding the second pole into the tent i heard a huge crack. I glanced over at the the first pole that i’d already fed into the pole sleeve; it was now hanging limp inside the sleeve. I pulled it out and found that the pole had snapped clean in half. Anybody who’s followed the expedition while i was training will recall a similar incident when i was walking in the Scottish Highlands. The same pole snapped in a storm where the winds reached 80/90mph. The original pole section was repaired but i think this pole section was weakened by the winds back in Scotland and was just waiting to snap. So i had to make a quick call to Expedition HQ (Home) where my parents very kindly drove down the next evening and dropped of my spare tent while Vango organised a replacement pole.

After a day or so mooching around Stratford i set off again into the crap weather for another wet ride. The rain was constant but every now and again would become so heavy it was impossible to ride so i’d take cover in bus stops in little villages where i’d take the time to grab a snack and read my book (and get a good staring at by the locals). On the road i met an elderley man who stopped me and starting telling me about the amount of touring he had done around the world, mainly in Europe. He then asked where i was heading, i told him, and he pointed me in the ‘right’ direction. This ‘right’ direction was indeed the wrong direction and took my back through the village i cycled through and hour or so beforehand. After checking a map in a bus shelter (mine had been blown away) i realised i had done a 15 mile loop which took me back to where i first met the elderley gentleman.

After so many miles i neared Bristol. I was warned by a few people that navigating Bristol’s city centre, especially when you don’t know the area, is extremely difficult so i decided to make camp before Bristol in a little campsite just north of the city. It was here that after grabbing a shower i headed back over to my tent where i found a local cat curled up on my sleeping bag. After evicting the cat i got my head down.

People were not joking about Bristol. It took my a 2.5 hours to navigate the city streets where i had drunks and cyclists alike cheering as i rode past. After Bristol i followed the road toward Weston Super Mare. I had to hold up for a couple of nights to rest my leg which is in considerable pain with a strained/pulled muscle. I was very kindly donated a pitch at Dulhorn Farm Camping Site which allowed me to rest my leg over the Easter weekend.

After resting my leg i headed south. I’m headed for Devon and then possibly Cornwall but really, where i go is dependent on where i can catch a lift on a yacht to the continent from. That itself will be a task but it’s all part of the expedition. I’m currently writing this blog in a bar adjacent to a campsite where once again the owner has let me camp for free. I thought i’d spend part of the money i saved on the pitch and buy my first pint of local cider (very nice it is too).

So that’s where i’ve been and where i’m headed but my riding isn’t all i need to concentrate on. The expedition is still seeking funding through corporate sponsors. If you know someone or a company who may be interested in checking out a sponsorship proposal please feel free to drop me an email with their details. As it stands i have enough funding to get a little of the way into Russia but no further (and i can’t afford a flight back) so the rush is on to find a sponsor!

I took the slow route out of my village so i could take in the surroundings one final time for the last time in 3 years. My destination was the Birmingham NEC for the Outdoors Show Extra where i was exhibiting and chatting about my expedition to anyone who was interested (or would listen).

I had to make the dash to the NEC in a day and half which, at the time i thought was fairly easy as i had been training by doing 70 miles a day with a loaded bike however there was, of course, the inevitable hiccups.

The first major issue was with the trailer i’m pulling which holds to of my panniers. Amongst the mixed emotion of leaving i had to pack my panniers (twice) but, for some reason, i was more concerned about organizing each bit of equipment into panniers by size as opposed to weight (i’m not sure why) so that as i was riding the weight on the trailer was on way side more than the other. Due to the trailer being attached to the rear axle the weight on one side managed to twist the trailer hard enough to pull the wheel out off place. It was just a case of putting the wheel back on the bike and rearranging the panniers but it was pitch black and i wasn’t in a very nice part of town. A friendly policeman did turn up to help me and upon learning more about the expedition gave me two jam doughnuts which definitely helped.

Another issue i had was that i was cycling the fastest route to Birmingham which involved pedaling down a duel carriage way which made it extremely difficult to find a spot for my first night’s camp. I eventually found a small field in the dark and as i started putting up the tent heavy rain started i got a thorough soaking so my first nights camp was a damp one.

The next day a scrambled into my damp clothes for my first full days riding. Within a few hours i had my first puncture. Obviously not a big issue but taking off all the panniers to fix a puncture gets a little tedious. I quickly identified the problem and set about extracting a shard of glass from my tyre and was about to fix the puncture when i realized my pump didn’t work properly. 50+ miles into a 50,000 mile ride and my bicycle pump doesn’t work – great! I eventually got the tire sorted with the help of a nice hot cup of tea from the man whose house i was sat in front of.

This delayed me by a couple of hours so when i finally got into Birmingham it was dark which made the navigation to the NEC extremely difficult. Coupled with the fact that the UK map i bought didn’t include and roads other than major roads i got rather lost in the city (or at least the outskirts). I did eventually arrive at the hotel but rather later than intended.

Anyway, enough of the moaning. I did enjoy most of the ride down (except for the above points) and the feeling to actually be on the expedition is great.

I’ll be writing another, more positive, blog post very shortly, possibly regarding new sponsors.

p.s. Thanks to all the message you guys sent me, it was very much appreciated

p.p.s. I understand the site looks a little jumbled up if your viewing it in Safari. I trying to get the problem sorted.