It doesn’t matter that this is a day off the bikes and we have nothing to do, other than amble around a beautiful city… Our body clocks seem to be thinking differently! I know we’re larks and are always happier being up and active before the sun, but after the last 9 days of cycling, … More Saddlebag of Memories Madrid to Sète. Day 13 Rest Day in Girona.
Today was one of those days that is best split into 3 parts Before coffee … Glorious Before lunch … Hideous After lunch … Longer and steeper than planned. Let’s start with before coffee. We left the hotel as it opened, just after 8, wheeling our bikes out of the wonderfully secure room they have … More Saddlebag of Memories Madrid to Sète Day 11 . Igualada to Vic
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, today was a truly spectacular day on the bike. As usual, we set off at 8 and quickly cycled out of Lleida, enjoying the quiet roads of an early Saturday morning. Having spent the last 2 days cycling on some busy roads, I’d managed to find … More Saddlebag of Memories Madrid to Sète Day 10 . Lleida to Igualada
We really did have the most perfect day off in Zaragoza, a beautiful city and a great place to explore the sites, sit at cafes and generally just relax a little after the first 4 days of riding. Yesterday afternoon, the weather closed in and we spent the evening watching sheets of water fall from … More Saddlebag of Memories Madrid to Sète. Day 8 Zaragoza to Caspe
I can hardly believe it, but after months of planning and a lot of fears that something would happen to throw a spoke through our wheels, we are actually on our way to Madrid. We will have a day to find our feet tomorrow. Then on Saturday, we’ll cycle out of the city, beginning the … More Saddlebag of Memories Madrid to Sète … Day 1 Aix to Madrid
This year, it has felt as if we’ve been living our life on permanent ‘fast-forward’. How on earth are we already in mid-September? It really is quite ridiculous. Yet here we are, and in a week’s time we’ll be on a train, heading to Madrid, before starting our ride back through Spain, to Sete, covering … More Cycling across Spain – 1 week to go
All being well, four weeks from today, we’ll be finding our feet in Madrid, spending a day exploring the city, before starting our cycle ride back, across Spain to Sète.Espagne à Velo We will (if everything goes as planned) arrive by train from Aix, with our bikes dismantled and packed into bags for the trip. … More Spain à vélo, 4 weeks today
I know we’re only in mid-August, so it’s still the height of summer and it feels as if we should be throwing ourselves into all the events and activities that are planned in the surrounding area, over the next few days. But after a busy last 6 weeks back in Devon, all I want to … More It’s good to be home
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this year has been far from what we imagined. As the night sky above the Arc de Triomphe was filled with the colour and sparkle of New Year’s Eve Fireworks, we were asleep, dreaming of a settled 2024, with a late spring cycle ride from Amsterdam, … More Espagne à Velo
It may sound strange, but both Andy and I are at our most relaxed when we’re active. Neither of us is any good at just sitting, or even driving from A to B, just to go and visit a site. We quickly get ants in our pants, and wish we were doing something else. So, … More The simple joy of a walk.
Postcards from Provence and beyond 