Day 1 – Marshside to Nieuwpoort
Thanks to everyone who saw us off this morning at 530am. It was lovely – left with a cheery mindset.
Simone, Chris, James, Tony, Jim and Kate (on their tandem) accompanied Simon and myself (Karl) on bikes to Dover port where we took the ferry to Calais with our backup car drivers Russel and Audrey.
We set of 11:45am in Calais with temperatures reaching 26 degrees. One mile in and Simon fell of a curb whilst walking with bike (bless him) but after a small amount of Calpol he was back on his bike.
Later whilst tackling a footpath barrier Simon managed to get his bike through the pushchair entrance safely (clearly still under influence of Calpol) whereas I used the bike entrance and broke my mudguard which required removal – the rest of the day went well.
Riding through the fields of Flanders was stunning – the cycle paths beside the rivers of France and Belgium were excellent, such a change from the dangerous UK potholes, the UK has a lot to learn on cycle path provisioning.
This is us arriving 5pm in Nieuwpoort in Belgium – long day!
Well done guys and I hope the weather holds up for you. I’m full of admiration
Sorry for late reply Paul – needed recovery time, the weather held out so cheers!
Great first day guys. I hope the cycle path theme continues! Sleep well.
Well after two weeks I realised Europe is looking forward in cycle path provisioning whereas the UK pretends. On my return I cycled on a local cycle path, less than 2 feet wide and overgrown….. I poor effort by our leaders.