Long Way Down 2020 The Next Chapter

16/11/2022

Saturday December 3rd The Gerrard Arms, Colyton Devon

17/10/2022

Please share this post;

Due to many circumstances, (let’s just blame Brexit) our fund raising evening has been moved to a joint evening at The Gerrard Arms, Colyton Devon with The Chantry Buoys. SATURDAY DECEMBER 3rd 7:30pm.
You will not need a ticket. Those who purchased tickets will be offered a refund on the night, or you can of course donate it to the cause.
The second best shanty band in the world will entertain you followed by a raffle and an auction. Apologies to those who expected greater things, but we are bunch of middle aged blokes, so frankly what do you expect??..
ALL PROCEEDS will go to Biff's Battle.

09/06/2022

Day eleventy eleven

Well kids, save for a, I hope you’ll agree, a well deserved night out in St. Malo, a 9 hour ferry ride Friday and a 4 hour cycle back to Musbury Saturday morning; we’re all but done here.

A year in the making then a 2 year delay later we’ve completed our last charity ride. Difficult to believe it’s been 7 years since David Selley suggested he and I cycle from John o Groats to Lands End and required a couple of equally deluded chums to join us!?…

In between we’ve scooped up some incredible people who over two separate tours helped us to date raise over £50,000.00 to our chosen charities. I don’t know what possessed me to agree to any of this, but it’s certainly been interesting…

Promise of a meal last night was soon dashed as the only restaurant in the village could only provide takeaway pizza as Mrs Restaurant was poorly. Some bright spark thought the purchase of vino rouge would be a good idea and so we ordered said pizzas and ate them alfresco on the ‘caravan’ ‘deck’ which wasn’t really a deck and wasn’t really a caravan, but cyclists can’t be choosy!

More card game japes were had before the realisation of another 50ish miles drew the night to a close. Gareth had been protesting that comrade Selley had been snoring all week so I thought I’d give him a break and offer the bed adjacent to me; I can’t tell you what he called me this morning but safe to say Dave was his go to roomy this evening!!… poor Gareth…..

Today started with one of us feeling very despondent (or drunk as it’s also know) but the promise of a downhill ride all the way to St. Malo was enough to get Pipes going and all was well until mile 20 when the tarmac ran out and the old adversary ‘le bumpy road’ came back, some of it so bumpy it was a field and not even a road!

A couple of coffee stops were required and promise of lunch in destination was too good to be true. It was difficult in places today and we are unanimously exhausted so an early finish was incredibly welcome.

Thank you to everyone who has continued to follow us and share in our adventure which we hope has provided some very welcome fund raising for this years worthy charity Biff's Battle. We intend to keep our JustGiving page open until we have our auction night in Colyton Town Hall, so please continue to share this cause amongst your friends.

Second to last word goes as a huge thanks to Gareth Jex who has provided the essential support for this tour, as all before him; none of this is possible without some poor soul to drive, fetch, carry, cook, pour, wipe, rub and generally be bored for 2 weeks as we go about being ridiculous on bikes. 🙏

I’m not sure I’ll have the energy to report back Saturday lunchtime, but if anything noteworthy happens between then and now I’ll let you know 🤷‍♂️…..

LWD 2022 very nearly done ✅🇪🇸🇫🇷🇬🇧⛴🚴🏻🚴🏻

09/06/2022

Avec et arrive a la mage-tout St. Malo Rodney…

Speak later… 🇫🇷🚴🏻🎉😎

08/06/2022

Day 10 hundred

BBQ in the rain at Home 9.0 was the best we could do after last night followed by a cursory game of ‘le blob’ which will have to be concluded for the big prize on Friday onboard le ferry ⛴

Today started well, if a little chilly straight into a typical French village up and down a few hills then onto some glorious tarmac that the French seem to do very well dispute all there other faults…

What followed was possibly the greatest section of the tour in the form of 20 miles of converted train track, gently up and gently down eating up the miles in fantastic countryside; almost too good to be true. The only spoiler was a brief spell of rain which we sheltered from within an under pass.

A couple of coffee stops were obviously required and only a short deviation from said trail was required. Eventually it had to end, for us at least and a sharp left led to a hill, which we haven’t seen much of this week. Lunch a’la Bustard was in someone’s driveway and a brief exchange with a native was really the only human contact we had with ‘other’ cyclists.

What followed lunch was a relative short run in the now warm afternoon sun, but the old adversary ‘le wind’ was back and it has to be said some seriously deep digging was required!!..

The standard off road nonsense had to be endured as without it it wouldn’t feel the same, although this time a straw field is a little strong even to our standards!..

Some seriously childish conversation and exchanges mostly in the form of terrible French accents have been the only entertainment today with Boardie leading the way in the 8 year old mentality stakes. Much of what goes on can’t repeated, mostly for the fear of being sectioned, but I can report despite the pain and significant buttock discomfort spirts are still high.

Eventually cycling gave way to a refreshing Lager on a warm and comfortable raised deck affront a local bar… sitting on something wider than a soup spoon is such a relief!…

Home 10.0 was today, much to our excitement literally 500yds from the last watering hole and it’s a truly salubrious car-a-van, 32 sq metres with 6 blokes, 9 bags of luggage and many garments blowing in the wind hoping to be dry for the morning… close enough this evening for a walk to town for a healthy Italian meal and home to bed for leg 11 of cycling before the big boat from St. Malo on Friday.

Nearly there; we hope you’ve enjoyed the crap narration as much as we’ve enjoyed hurting ourselves for a fabulous cause.

Biff's Battle, please look it up, buy one of Kathryn’s excellent journals if you can and please give generously as you see fit.

Report back tomorrow. LWD 2022 🇪🇸🇫🇷🇬🇧⛴🚴🏻🚴🏻

08/06/2022

Lunch and stretch stop.

07/06/2022

Day 09

Can’t lie, we’re all hurting; ranging from hurt 700 to hurt 9million!!…

9 days of cycling has taken its toll on what are (except for Fred) let’s be honest, less than perfect bodies for, well 12 days of cycling really…

Anyway, last nights Home 8.0 was cramped to say the least. The ‘bungalow’ which had a bedroom which had been divided with some tongue and groove thrown in from 11 yards, a couple of beds squeezed in and a sofa bed and some other nonsense and billed as accommodation for 6….. it isn’t, not that I’m ungrateful for 57€ all in?!?……

Anyway lesson learnt, tonight we have 2 ‘bungalows’ at Home 9.0 and to be fair they are epically better in every way, shape and form.

The first few miles today there was absolutely no love at all for cycling, it was cold and drizzly and difficult to get into a rhythm and more off roading led to proper cross country stuff eventually putting us onto a rush hour busy, busy main road which made me squeak it has to be said.

A ferry across The Loire was required so we stopped in a village for coffee and waited for captain support to meet us. Friendly locals here and good coffee and excellent ‘tarts’ were welcome sustenance after a Cement breakfast.

The bus ride was extended slightly to where we could safely rejoin a main cycle route to final destination and the opportunity for Plate du Jour arose and we took it. An excellent French tradition and todays locale had many local trades in for lunch, although I’m not convinced I could go back to work after Pastis followed by 1/2 carafe of red wine and 3 courses, anyway looking in from the outside it seems very civilised?!…. 🤷‍♂️

The afternoon would consist of what was in the end around 27 miles, bring cycling miles today to 49ish; believe me after 9 days, 49 is quite enough!!

Navigation has again had its issues, particularly at what we thought was the end, when it actually wasn’t!!… possibly the longest 3.2 miles in the history of the world..

Anyway, enough whining already; we are all in one piece and no significant accidents or incidents to report.

Fierce BBQ for dinner this evening and I hear rumours of an ice cream dessert which will be an enormous treat!!

2 more French legs before a 9 hour ferry ride to Pompey, the light 💡 at the end of the tunnel burns brightly… which brings me to Biff's Battle and our JustGiving page linked at top of the Home 🏠 page.

Grateful to all our commercial sponsors for helping with expenses, amongst others they are:

Just Hair Seaton
Coast Cafe & Bar Seaton
The Ship Inn, Axmouth.
The Hind Musbury
Colyton Garage Ltd.
Lyme Bay Seafood Colyton
Eziflow Plumbing & Heating
Lord Kane of Colytonshire

See you SaTuRdAy ⛴🎉🇬🇧🚴🏻🇪🇸🇫🇷😎

07/06/2022

Missed church on Sunday (and Monday) sadly this one was closed also. Cafe open so all good.

06/06/2022

06/06/2022

Day 7 - 56 miles *Edit Day 8*

La Rochelle to Sallertaine

A motel was last nights head resting establishment, clean and tidy and although next to a major road, quiet.

A Steak House for evening meal where the young lady employee was the front of house, waitress, suez chef, main chef, bbq chef, pastry chef and bar person….. and we couldn’t fault any of it.

Early night all round and a 7am roll out. Rain was forecast and rain coats seemed a good idea, but it never really rained and the next few miles were coat roulette, even when it did rain it still wasn’t cold and you easily overheat which isn’t great when you’re already carrying ‘some’ condition as all real middle aged men do……..

Navigation has had its issues not to anyones detriment, just signal issues and to be fair, you can’t expect a perfect route everywhere you go, some allowances have to be made.

The surroundings were back to typical rural France with a few trails and an ex-railway line route which was good. Much of France seemed to be closed today and it turns out it’s Pentecost Monday here, a bank holiday which it would appear makes you stay indoors, or certainly out of the towns anyway. Apparently white attire is traditional and as luck would have it most of us had a clean white cycling top today, so Mange Tout Rodney…

Predominately flat terrain as expected in this region but hunting for an open coffee shop came with its frustrations - a new world problem. Lunch would again be Gareth’s mobile cuisine, typically French baguettes and all the trimmings.

Post lunch would see a short run to tonight’s destination, not disappointing in the ‘bizarre’ stakes… pictures on the album!..

The reality of just 3 more days to St Malo comes with mixed emotions, mostly relief!!

On that note a huge pot of Spag Bog is stewing on the stove de ranch so report back tomorrow.

Biff's Battle

06/06/2022

Fresh legs this morning after coffee and cake!