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Special Features : Exploring Slovenia ·

Enjoying Brittany ·Enduring the North Sea Coast ·

Exuberant in Brittany ·Excited on the I O W ·

is affiliated to:CTC, British Cycling, CTT, Southern Counties Cycling Union,

Sussex Cyclists’ Association & East Sussex Cycling Association2 Chain Line

CHAIN LINE CONTACT DETAILSStewart Forbes, 21 Fenby Close, Horsham, RH13 6RP

Tel: (01403) 756271Email: stewart.forbes@horshamcycling.co.uk

Visit the website and members’ forum at:www.horshamcycling.co.uk

for the latest news, photo galleries and details of up-coming club events.

EDITORIALDecember 2012

With another yeardrawing rapidly to aclose, we have plentypacked in this issue ofChain Line; some frommembers’ ridesoverseas and Club tripsas well.

Read about Barry Harwood’s cycling holiday inSlovenia, while Dave Scott and Alan Boycereport on their cycling trip closer to home acrossthe Channel in Brittany.

Find out all about the Club’s weekend inSeptember on the Isle of Wight. If you have notbeen on this trip before, you may be tempted in2013. Also we have an in depth report by SteveStrickland about nine members’ weekend inBelgium enjoying the Cyclo Club Mouscronautumn randonee.

There are all the usual features of course andalso dates for your diary for 2013.

The next edition of Chain Line is due out inMarch and articles should be submitted to meby early February.

Finally, have a very merry Christmas and asuccessful New Year on and off the bike.See you on a ride soon.

ChainLine Editor and Club President

COMMITTEE MATTERS

The committee has met a couple of times since I lastreported via Chainline.

In September we went through a few of the outstandingissues raised earlier in the year at the general meetingand then, not unusually (!), spent a long time discussingride speeds and distances. This time it was SG2 whichwas particularly under the microscope and somechanges were agreed, with new ride leaders to bebrought on board.

We also reviewed progress on the organisation of awhole host of social events, trips and practical sessions.

Then, at last month’s meeting, after examiningprogress on the previous meeting’s work and a carefullook at the accounts, the rides, racing plans, the Clubrules, e.news and the regulations which might affectsome of our activities, we approved the first step inwhat we hope will be an exciting development for theClub’s website and the way members join the Club andmaintain their membership. We will tell you moreabout this in the coming months as the plans progress.Watch this space.

Club Secretary

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Membership Matters

Once again the Club benefits from the popularity ofcycling and membership has now grown to 168. Since lastApril, 28 new members have joined and, if the usualpattern in the early part of next year is sustained, we canexpect the Club to grow to the same size as it was tenmonths ago. We are still attracting members from outsideHorsham.

Following the successful introduction of PayPal forsubscription renewals, an on-line procedure for newapplicants is being worked on and I’ll let you all knowwhen this is ready to use.

Membership Secretary

Welcome Aboard

Ten new members have joined since the lastissue of Chain Line.

They are: James Talbot, Nick Brewer, ParmjitSingh Bahra, Nick Child, Alex Moon, Ben Hill,Richard Davies, Linda Goldsmith, Mark Robertsand Greg Collins who has returned after anabsence of 17 months.

A warm welcome to you all and we wish youmany happy hours’ cycling with us.

Membership Secretary

Club Pub NightTuesday 22 January 2013Again at the Black Jug, North Street,Horsham from 8.30pm.

Meet up with your Club mates anddiscuss your cycling plans for theyear ahead.

It is also the ideal opportunity tomeet others from the Club.

Stop Press!!Record Numbers on November Reliability TrialWe have again broken a record, with 72 riders on the three rides, ourprevious best being 66 in November 2010. There were 48 HCmembers, 18 Crawley Wheelers and 6 guests (2 Redhill CC, 2 EastGrinstead Tri Club, 1 ADC and 1 Festival RC).

It got a bit busy at times while riders were registering at the HQ for thestart, however all the rides departed not far off their scheduled times.

The Newhaven Challenge attracted 31 riders, while the ShorehamQuest attracted 34 and the remaining 7 opted for the shorter ride toWiston.

Everyone met up back at the (busy) HQ for refreshments after theirrides.

Our Next Reliability Trial is on Sunday 20 January 2013. There willbe a choice of two rides: Hindhead and Washington.

Spring Reliability Trial – Sunday 17 March 2013

Front cover picture -The socials at Freshwater on the

IOW weekend

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CTC Cycling Trip toSlovenia - Sept 2012by Barry HarwoodLast year Jim Evans and I enjoyeda wonderful CTC cycling trip toMontenegro and, when looking fora trip this year, decided to visitSlovenia, another of the formerYugoslavian countries.

Slovenia is roughly the same sizeas Wales and was the first part ofYugoslavia to break away. Therewere thirteen of us in the groupand, as seven of us had met on theprevious year’s Montenegro trip,the initial getting to know people bitwas soon over with and we hadsome good laughs together rightfrom the start.

Starting at Preddvor just to thewest of Ljubliana, we headedsouth to Kranj and then over themountains to Bohinj. I had no realthoughts as to the scenery but thiswas so like Austria. All the housesmust have had a compulsory orderto display everlasting geraniumsfrom window boxes andeverywhere was so clean. The flatride to Kranj was replaced by avery steep climb and a descent toZelezniki. Bohinj was next, butanother long hard climb awaited usvia the ski station that was full ofwalkers and coffee. It was herethat I realised that the 25” gearingthat had been recommended wasreally necessary and my standardtriple caused me to be out of thesaddle much more than I like. Thiscaused a few unnecessary photostops to allow the blood to stoppounding in my ears. The major

passes in Slovenia that we climbedall had signs at the bottomindicating 12% or more, which issteeper than the longer climbs Ihad experienced in othercountries.

Bohinj was beautiful, sited by thelake and the busy outgoing trafficlate on Sunday, showed thatSlovenians liked this place too.

Lake Bled beckoned the next day.We went over another pass, whilstthe other half of the group took thevalley route. Lake Bled is famousfor the 15th century church on theisland. The horse carriage ridesand tourists everywhere confirmeda very attractive place. Over a hilland into Triglavski National parkfor a gravelled road, through anarea where partisans roamed inWW2. A fabulous tarmac cycletrack took us to the outskirts ofKransjka Gora where we stayedovernight in a large modern skihotel with loads of facilities.

The big climb awaited, over theVrsic pass, 24 switchbacks, allnumbered - how helpful. Just tomake it slightly more difficult theswitchbacks were cobbled whichwould make a descent in the wetsomething to avoid. The flat bitswere steeper than theswitchbacks, but the reward wasapple strudel in the sunshine at thetop. The descent took us down,down and down again to runalongside the clear blue Soca river.A poignant reminder of just howmuch this country has been foughtover was made at Soca where 800Italians were buried during WW1.

Next day was rest day in Kobaridand, as it was raining, 11of us decided to gowhite-water rafting onthe Soca river. Wesplashed and jumpedabout in the colddrinkable (?) water asour guide, who trainedthe Olympic K2champions, or so wewere told, issuedinstructions. A weathercheck showed that the

temperature in Kransjka Gora,which we had left the previous dayin warm sunny conditions, wasnow 1 degree and the Vrsic Passwas closed due to snow. Areminder of the dangers of themountains.

The following day started wet, sowe chose the valley road via NovaGorica rather than over the top viaCepovan. We were now in thewine growing areas and there wasa distinct Italian feel.

The Bora winds can occur at anytime, but especially November toMarch, so we were unlucky to findthem blowing the next day. By thetime we got to Ajdovscina the windwas so strong we were gettingblown about quite badly.Someone had the bright idea ofgoing to the local police station forinformation and a very helpfulofficer confirmed that with the windnow blowing at 120 kph, cyclingwas not recommended. He thenfound us a local guy who had botha people carrier and a van and hetransported us and our bikes to thehotel. When he arrived with thebikes we paid him what seemed avery fair price and he tried torefuse our tip then gave us a bottleof his home made wine (prettyawful, but what a nice gesture).

That evening and the next westayed at Rakov Skocjan, a hotel inthe forest reached by about 6km ofgravel road. A wonderfullypeaceful spot and the owner toldus that the week previously theyhad seen one of the local brownbears raiding their dustbin.

A rest day and the caves inPostojna at 27 euros weren'tcheap, but they are worth the visit.About 400 coach parties and uswere crammed onto two trains anda Disney-like ride sped into itsinterior. There, divided into Italian,English, German and Slovakspeakers, we were ushered alongto the sounds of chatter and 'nophotography' at a fast pace whilstadmiring the 15,000 year work ofnature.

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North to Cerkno. It was Sunday,and even the main roads werequiet. We bought lunch in a localsupermarket and, after a sunnypicnic in the valley, climbed a longnicely graded pass. The descentwas a 7km gravelled section. Mywimpy side set in and I was lastdown but thought I’d done the rightthing when meeting our quickestdescender, Rick , who wassuffering some nasty gravel rashafter a fall.

Last cycling day to Preddvor andnature takes revenge. The routegoes up via the ski station but thedescent on the back road hasbeen washed away and repairshave been in progress for threeyears now. The road was officiallyclosed, but there was no way we

were going back up the climb andafter some arm waving we wereeventually let through and walkedour bikes for several kilometresaround various types of earthmoving machinery. The final climbover the top after Zeleznikiprovided yet more views,geraniums and pineforests.

The holiday finishedwith a trip to Ljubliana.A funicular ride to thecastle and a river tripset the scene amidstcafe culture in the oldtown.

Slovenia is a regular forCTC Holidays and Iwould recommend it.

Good quality hotels are used andthe food was good, our luggagewas transported between hotelseach day by a local tour company.For me it was perhaps a little tooperfect and I would favour the CTCMontenegro trip slightly, but bothcountries are great for cycle trips.

Nine Go Mad inMouscronBy Steve StricklandSaturday morning, 6th October2012, and nine happy members ofHC are heading off to the ChannelTunnel for the annual trip toBelgium for the Mouscron 100kmRandonee. Not long before themerriment has worn a little thinnerwith the announcement that a trainis stuck in the tunnel. A couple ofhours and several breakfast bapslater we are on our way and arrivein Lille a little behind schedule.

The plan was to do a two hour ride,however the rain and beckoningLeffes mean that only an hour’s

ride is possible. Ian Hhas plotted a ‘scenic’, orterrifying (depending onyour perspective), tour ofthe flatlands and cobblesto the South of Roubaix.Five classics specialists(Ian, Peter G, Peter D,Stuart S and me) set outin the drizzle to tacklepart of the infamousParis-Roubaix raceroute.

The main section ofcobbles encountered at ‘HennieKuiper corner’ is enough to destroy

momentum and morale and the notso brave five return to Lille via aroad cleverly disguised as a field.This proves no problem as thefriendly hotel staff are happy toprovide spare towels to clean ourbikes – they love their cycling.

A quick shower etc. and aregrouping of the team and we areoff into the centre of Lille for proteinrecovery and carbs loading. Theevening proves to be a stunningmix of Red Leffe, Steak, HouseMusic, Spooky Giant Masks andFireworks as the Lille 3000 Festivalputs on a show for 1000s ofrevelers in Lille for the night. Theonly disappoint is Stew F failing tofind the (in)famous Tudor Bar fromprevious trips. After a couple ofconsolatory Leffes, the remnantsof the party head home.

Suitably refreshed we depart Lilleat 7am on Sunday to make theshort trip across the border toMouscron. It is dark, cold, a littlefoggy, but DRY! The start is busierthan last year and a supergroup ofBritish and Belgian cyclists sets offat a gentle trot. The sun starts toreveal gently rolling countrysidewith a light shell of mist ready to becracked by the dawn of a gloriousday.

Hennie Kuiper en route tovictory 1983

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Mutterings amongst the Horshamsquad suggest that a surge in paceby the Belgians is expected afterthe first few kms and we brace forejection. Indeed the surge doescome, but Team Horsham hold onand then gradually impose theirwill on the peloton in a Team GB-esque style. There are Englishspeakers at the vanguard all theway to the halfway refreshmentsstop as the wheelsucking Belgiansare towed to their cake andmouthwash.

Dental cleanliness restored, thepack heads off for the remaining50kms back to Mouscron, Belgiansstill in tow. They take their turn atthe front though, including amountain bike rider pushing on, hisknobbly tyres seemingly notproviding any hindrance. By nowthe scenery has flattened out toplains of farmland, some still to beharvested while others are freshlyploughed. The group swells asearly starters are picked up alongthe way. Some riders start to do‘through and off’ as the pack startsto pick up the pace much to BrianF’s delight (he did his ‘bit’). We aresoon at the second stop in a smalltown and take on cake and moremouthwash. You realise just how

popular cycling is in Belgian asroad race sized bunches of clubriders pass by.

Onto the last, decisive, segmentand thoughts turning to sprints -legs start to be tested. A puncture,the first of the day, hits one of theBelgians, some of his pals wait

while others don’t…..Horshamwaits. Respect is forged andbonds made, but it costs Horshamdear. Jon F, ably led out by Ian H,just misses out on the railwaybridge prime having been worked

over by a massing of Belgians atthe front in the final 400m.

Back to Mouscron and the ride HQ.A quick sandwich, drink , changeand then we are on our way backto Calais. No trouble with trainsthis time and we are back inHorsham by teatime.

A massive thanks from all on thetrip to Stew F and Peter G fororganizing and driving theweekend, no mean feat at the endof a 100k bike ride. Thanks!!

Southwater Cycles9 Lintot Square, Fairbank Road, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex. RH13 9LA

Tel: 01403 732561 Fax: 01403 730141 Buy online at www.southwatercycles.comWe do a wide range of top brand cycles and equipment, accessories

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Two Go to Brittanyby Alan Boyce &David ScottNow we sit shivering in the depthsof winter, thinking wistfully back tothe delights of pedalling in shortsand without even one base-layer,we thought it would be a good timeto share our experiences of doingjust that in Brittany this summer.

We took advantage of a week’sholiday in August to head to Alanand Chloe’s French hideaway, arustic cottage in the tiny village ofSt Hernin, right in the middle of theBrittany peninsula. The originalplan was to cycle from St-Malo,about 90 miles, but after thinkingthrough the complications ofadding panniers to Alan’s road bikewe opted for the more traditionalferry + car combination, with thebikes in the boot; for their sake,naturally.

We decided to have two full days’cycling, separated by a day-trip bycar to Quimper to rest ourgroupsets.

Tuesday: South to ConcarneauOne thing about route planning inFrance is that even the best mapsaren’t as detailed as our trusty OSeditions. So, some of the time it’spot luck when it comes to workingout whether a road is likely to becyclable or not. Another point forthe unwary Brit to note is thatFrench maps have the arrows onhills pointing upwards: what wehad thought would be valleysturned out to be hill-crests and viceversa. Fortunately Alan alreadyknew some of the roads from hisprevious excursions by car, so weopted for a reasonably safe-looking route over a couple of hillranges down to the south coast,with a loop back up to add variety.

The terrain of western Brittany is alittle like the area around Horsham:gently rolling hills and a good mixof woods, fields and villages. Themain differences are to do withscale: the hills are longer, and the

villages more spread out. So, wesoon discovered we were doing alot of pushing up what had lookedon the map like quite innocuousslopes, followed by several milesof free-wheeling. We worked outafterwards that the longest climbtook us above the height of LeithHill (1200’), albeit without having todrop onto the granny-ring.

We managed the 35 miles to thecoast in two and half hours,including a coffee stop. The townof Concarneau is split into twohalves: the modern part on themainland, and the old quarter on awalled island accessible by bridge.Although the old town lookedinteresting, getting across withbikes would have proved tricky, sowe opted for lunch at a smallrestaurant by the harbour instead.As is normally the case away fromBrit-tourist hotspots, we managedto get a very palatable meal withdrinks and cheerful (if leisurely)service for around a tenner apiece.

The return to St Herninunderstandably felt rather harderthan the outward leg. Cycling on afull stomach, in the heat, from sealevel to 1000-odd feet, was nevergoing to be pure unadulterated fun.So we added in a couple of stopsalong the way to admire thescenery, take on coffee and studythe map. No standing in a queue atCosta for us: plonk yourself at asunny table, wait for the waitress toarrive with her welcoming smile,and relax while it comes. Wefound the combination of coffeeand menthe-à-l’eau (mint squash)(preferably taken sequentially, notsimultaneously) ideal forreinvigorating the legs after a fewhot miles.

Alan and I also agreed on someother key selling-points for this partof France: pot-holes are almostextinct; traffic is light (at least awayfrom the trunk roads); car-driverstreat cyclists with respect; andevery little hamlet has at least onecafé serving cheap but goodrefreshments with a smile.

Stats:78 miles15.8 mph averageNo punctures or mechanicals (atleast not on the bikes)

DavidWednesday: Rest DayThe superb weather of day onestayed with us for our rest day inQuimper, an hour’s drive from thehouse and a city that is thepréfecture for the Finistèredepartement, complete with aperfect blend of history and culture.The city is often overlooked bymere tourists, but for travellerssuch as David and me it revealedall its secrets and charms,particularly the amazing bridgesthat cross the river adjacent to thetwin spires of the cathedral.

AlanThursday: North toMorlaix/CarantecWell rested, the seemingly easierride out to Morlaix followed, themap again hiding the barriers thatstood in our way!Setting off after breakfast and aswift puncture repair, we sped offdown the hill leading out of thevillage towards the canal and overthe bridge. One thing that willalways stick in my mind is thesudden realisation that a downhillblast will always be followed by aslog uphill and the first 10 minutesproved the point.

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One long hill followed by a bendand then a longer hill going rounda distant bend set the tone for theday, much hillier than day one, orso it seemed at the time. Theweather, which I now cannotbelieve I am complaining about,was even warmer than before andafter a space of 45 minutes andlong stretches of long, slow hills,we had a short break to take onfluid. From there, we really got intothe swing and motored on at agreat rate of knots, pacing eachother up and up and up to the ridgeof the Monts d'Arrée (part of theArmorique national park), throughthe shade of the trees that are pureBrittany and then down into thebustle of Morlaix itself, a town ofbusy, cobbled streets, a river andtwo splendid viaducts and wherewe took photographic memories ofour achievement. The ride,although hard, was not thatarduous so we agreed we might aswell ride on to Carantec on thenorth coast, just west of the port ofRoscoff, so that we could proudlytell our tale of riding across Francefrom coast to coast! The road toCarantec ran alongside the riverand it wasn’t until we were five kmsfrom the town that the road rose upagain over fields of artichokes, afamiliar sight of the region.We had a little disagreement aboutwhere to eat, me declining a sharpdescent down to the port, with theinevitable crawl up again on a fullstomach, so we plumped for areally nice eaterie, where our bikesand achievements were admiredby the locals who, because Ihappened to be wearing a yellowtop, mistook me for Wiggo!

Another lesson I shall remember isto allow adequate time for

digestion and not to go all outstraight after eating. I set off at agreat gallop, swishing round thebends back to Morlaix andthoroughly enjoying myself and itwasn’t until I came to a junctionthat I realised I was on my own -David was savinghimself for the grindback home.

Choosing a slightlydifferent route out ofMorlaix, one thatlooked to me lesshilly, I was grosslymistaken again, as Ifound out when I lostall momentum up aparticularly long, hothill and gracefully fellonto the side of theroad, narrowlymissing a couple of parked cars. Itwas then that I started to think thatI was not enjoying this as much asI should but kept that thought tomyself.

We had our last break at adelightful café in a typical Bretonvillage, no one else was about,everything was quiet and peacefulwith absolutely nothing going on.

More menthe à l’eauand a coffee, not tomention the kindadministering of firstaid by our hostess,and we were off again,more uphills but not somany downward ones!

I have to admit, Ineeded all the cajolingthat David gave me tomake the last 10miles, I knew fromprevious experiencethat the hill back into

St Hernin was a killer, but wemade it back in time to have ashower and a trip to a restaurantthat I had wanted to visit for a longtime. I didn’t have the energy toenjoy that vast meal that wasplaced in front of us…

Stats:92 miles15.6mph averagePunctures: 2 (1 tyre + 1 skin).

AlanPhotos:Two recover in CarentecDunpedallin, St Hernin

REMEMBER,HORSHAM CYCLING

STRONGLYRECOMMENDS

WEARING AHELMET

ON ALL RIDES

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Horsham CyclingIsle of WightWeekend 21st to 23rd

September 2012For the first time ever, the weathergot the better of us on the Isle ofWight weekend this year. Althoughthose riding on the Friday, and allof us on the Saturday, had brilliantweather, the forecast of verystrong winds and pouring rainproved to be absolutely right on theSunday, bringing the weekend toan early close.

So what happened this year?Claire Naylor for the Socials andCarl Flinn for the Intermediateshave produced their thoughts onthe weekend for us below:

The Social RideSaturday 22nd SeptemberPhil and I set off at stupid o’clockfrom Horsham on the Saturdaymorning and it wasn’t long beforethe sun was shining and we couldsee the reassuring shadow of ourbikes still attached to the car roof!During our journey to Portsmouth,Phil learnt that “having gerbils” isnot a disease which became arecurring joke for the rest of theweekend. We arrived at the ferryterminal to find fellow Horshamcyclists tucking into some CostaCoffee delights before it was allaboard for the Isle of Wight.

We all set off together for theCowes chain ferry, after which thegroup split into two, the first, a setof speedy intermediates and thesecond, some cake-munchingsocials which consisted of Philip,Fiona, Morag, Sabina, Colin andmyself. With the anticipation of our

first stop at Gossips Café, we setoff towards Yarmouth. Onequestionable right turn and muchpedalling later, the socials (likemoths to a flame) found their cake!After our first refuel we were readyfor the big climb. Not sure whetherthe cake was a help or ahindrance, but we all made it to thetop of Freshwater hill.

A quick ˜tummies in chest out” tipfrom Fiona and we were ready forour group photo before the “whatgoes up must come down”descent. As thoughts turned backto food, we headed for the SevenBistro in Brightstone for lunchwhere we regrouped with theintermediates. Peter joined us forour leisurely afternoon cycle overto Godshill and earned himselfsome brownie points with an on themove chain fix for Fiona and agreat wee shortcut to our ice creamstop. The clouds started to gatherand the temperature dropped, butin true social style the cafe had toclose to get rid of us. It was then aquick but chilly cycle over toShanklin for a much needed hot

shower.

After an excellent eveningof drinks and dinner wewere greeted with a dampand windy Sunday morningwhich meant a slow startand yet more eating as wetucked into a cookedbreakfast. Morag and Fionadecided to get the train toRyde which just left me,

Phil and Colin to brave theweather. With a shower cap fromthe hotel over our helmets webattled the elements safe in theknowledge that at least our hairwas dry! If only I’d had my camera.Navigated by Colin, we timed our

arrival into Fishbourne for the ferryperfectly so on we hopped with ourwaterlogged cycle shorts for somemuch-needed warmth and a hotdrink. Despite the weather we stillclocked up over 50 miles and thesunshine on the Saturday morethan made up for it! Great foodand great company, thanks!Claire Naylor

The Intermediate RidesFriday September 21stAn advance party of five metshortly after 9.00 am, (because Iwas late), at the Needles on Fridaymorning to begin our trip toPortsmouth. John Chaplin joinedus at Bucks Barn and our numberswere complete when we met Barryat Midhurst for our first of manyrefreshment stops – it’s not allabout the bike!

Until now the roads had beenquiet, scenic and flat but the roadout of Midhurst inevitably meantthat we had to climb over the SouthDowns, and our progress wastemporarily slowed. The descentwas enthusiastically attacked by allof us before the roads to Havantand Portsmouth became busierand finally gave way to a maze ofcycle paths adjacent to the M27. Atthis point we were temporarilydistracted as we raced a solitarymountain biker before some furtherrefreshments at the SpinnakerCafé – the ‘all day’ breakfast wasparticularly good.

We met Sabina on the ferry andtook on more fuel in anticipation ofthe remaining 12 miles to Shanklin.The traffic was quite busy and theterrain undulating but we all kepttogether to arrive safely at theClifton Hotel where we met PeterDelve and the rest of the road partysampling the local ales in the newlyrefurbished and much improvedhotel. We retired to our rooms fora while before meeting later in thehotel for our evening meal. Mindfulof the arduous hills that awaited usthe next day our alcoholconsumption was kept to modestamounts, and we were all in bedbefore 11.00 pm.

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Saturday 22nd SeptemberWe awoke to glorious sunshine onSaturday morning. After atremendous breakfast and theusual dithering about what to wear,we set off for Fishbourne somethree minutes behind Peter’sschedule. The ride to the port wastherefore brisk, but we arrived inplenty of time to meet the newarrivals from Horsham.

A gentle ride saw 21 members ofHorsham Cycling arrive at theCowes chain ferry where weadvanced to the front of the queuemuch to the concern of the waitingmotorists. They need not haveworried as we all squeezed on forthe short crossing to Cowes.

Upon arrival, the rides split intoIntermediate and Social groups butnot before use of the local facilitiesand much chatting. Mindful of thetimetable, Peter quickly re-established order and we set offseparately to explore the island.

Eventually we managed tonavigate our way through theCowes one-way system; the first-timers amongst the new arrivalsanxious about the number of hillsto be climbed – the road out ofCowes was just a taster. The trafficwas light with mostly gentleundulations as we made good timeon our journey which followedlarge sections of the sign-postedcycle route before our first stop ofthe day at the café next to theUnderwater Archaeology Centre.Most of us ate some of thedelightful cakes washed down withtea or coffee, while John Coxmixed up all sorts of chemicals inan effort to help him conquer theanticipated hills.

Soon after our re-start, the firstserious climb of the day beckoned– Freshwater Bay. With Peterleading the charge, we selectedour smaller chain rings and ‘raced’up to the top. Dave and Jasonreally did race, with Jason justtaking the honours and almostdisappearing down the other sideof the hill before the rest of us wereable to catch up. The view at the

top of the cliffs was certainly worththe hard work as we basked in thewarm sunshine for a well-deservedrest.

Peter reminded us that therestaurant was expecting us forlunch and so we got back on ourmachines for some seriously fastdescending down the long openroad, the sea to our right and thesun on our backs. After everydescent there is another hill andthis was no exception and we hadto climb back to Brightstone for ourlunch.

The social group met up with usand lunch was taken outside in thesunshine. We were very welllooked after by the restaurantowners who decided to take agroup photograph so that we canfeature in their soon to be releasedon-line brochure – fame at last.

The ride after lunch started fairlygently as we nursed our bloatedstomachs and the terrain was alsofavourable, largely along quietfarm roads. Before long this wasshattered as the road veered uptowards Blackgang Chale. Theview to the right was fantastic, butthe road kept going up and theroad signs were deceiving – why isthere a ‘view point’ only half wayup? Dave was able to turn thetables on Jason this time and therest of us had our own battlesbefore we re-grouped in the villageat the top.

We were now on the road back toShanklin although we still had topass through Ventnor. The pacewas picked up again as the roadwas undulating but never seriously

challenging. When we reachedVentnor the group split as some ofus preferred the opportunity of abeer at the hotel rather than an icecream on the beach.

The ride out of Ventnor is hard onany day but even more so after 50miles in the saddle. It begins withan incredibly tight hairpin bend anda gradient that screams out for thelowest granny ring and then theroad climbs up and up to severalfalse summits. As one climb isconquered, another appears;some with long sweeping bendssurrounded by trees on all sides,and all relatively free of traffic.

The reward for all this climbing isthe exhilarating descent back intoShanklin. This is along a windingroad where there is a warning signat the top of the hill stating that theroad is hazardous to cyclists –most of us were already going toofast to notice it!

Back at the hotel the Garmin toldme that 61 miles had beencompleted at an average of 14.7mph with 1,350m of climbing – thebeer tasted good.

As the weather forecast forSunday was not good it seemedunlikely that we would be able tohave a decent ride in the morning.So we threw ourselves into theevening entertainment startingwith drinks at the hotel bar, a visitto the Crab before the eveningmeal at Pavarotti’s. Peter had pre-

ordered our meals, andconsequently we enjoyed anevening with excellent food,wine and beer.

We had one last visit to theCrab where several membersshowed off their latest movesbefore we retired for thenight.Carl Flinn

Well, as usual, a goodweekend was had by one and alland next year has beenprovisionally booked for the 21st

and 22nd September.

Peter Delve

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Rider Profile –Richard LaveryWhere were you born?Norwich

Do you remember your firstbike?Raleigh Racer of some kind with 5speeds, which was probably one ofmy top Christmas presents ever,apart from my first home computer.The Raleigh lasted until my firstterm at university and then gotreplaced with my Aunt’s old 3speed ladies’ shopper - not muchstreet cred there, but at least itwasn’t going to get nicked.

What do you ride now?Specialized Roubaix, Allez andTricross. The Roubaix is the bestbike, while the Allez is now a fewyears old and was my first properbike after deciding mountain bikesdidn’t allow you to go far enoughand fast enough. The Allez is still agood bike and comes out for somelonger trips when I don’t mindlocking it up and leaving it. TheTricross was via the cycle to workscheme and as a cross bike it getsknobbly tyres fitted for the winterand is good for old railway pathsand the like, useful as the WorthWay is at the back of the garden. Italso gets used for the shortcommute to work. I also have ahybrid from the cycle to workscheme.

What do you enjoy most aboutHorsham Cycling?The variety of different standardgroups that you can choose from,so you never feel you are holdinganyone up from being too slow.Being from Crawley I tried theWheelers, but they only have one(fast) group, which must make itreally difficult for anyone new. It’salso good being led on ridesoutside my usual area.

.....And least?The ride back to Crawleyafterwards.

Which group do you usually ridewith?Intermediates 1 or 2

Any previous clubs?Crawley and Horsham CTC. Areally good way to start, and I amnot the only one who hasgraduated from them in the club.However, most of their rides tendto be all day affairs with sometimesa bit too much of a break for lunch.A morning ride with a reliable finishtime is so much more well receivedby the ‘domestic authorities’.

What’s your favourite ride?The coast, especially on asummer’s day, not so sure aboutthe struggle back. Quite like a tripto Brighton taking in DitchlingBeacon and the AMEX stadiumand then an ice-cream on the front.

Toughest event you’vecompeted in?I did a 100 mile charity sportive acouple of years ago in Essex as Ithought Essex was flat. OK it’s notthat hilly, but it certainly had plentyof rolling roads and the last 20miles seemed to go on forever.

And your best result?Getting round that Essex sportivein seven and a half hours.

What’s your greatest ambition incycling?Do the Lands End to JohnO’Groats ride before I reach 50. SoI have a few years left to train theold body to get used to whole dayson a bike for two weeks.

How many miles do you rideeach week?I usually target at least 100 miles aweek, made up of 30 miles a weekcommuting, a Friday afternoon rideand a Sunday ride.

What has been your mostexciting time on a bike?Doing a big sportive with a lot ofriders together on the roads doesget a bit interesting; sometimeswith a variety of riding styles androad sense. Starting one with 500+cyclists doing a lap of Brand Hatchwas pretty special.

What other interests do youhave?Brighton and Hove Albion,endured having a season ticket atthe Withdean athletic track with noroof for years, so the AMEXstadium is just a dream come true.

What’s your favourite book /film/ music?Book – never read the same bookmore than onceFilm – Pulp FictionMusic – Pink Floyd, FleetwoodMac

What quality do you mostadmire in others?Being genuinely interested in otherpeople

And what do you most dislike?Arrogance and lack of respect forothers.

What is your most treasuredpossession?My Roubaix of course!

What would be your dreamholiday?Cycle touring in France.

Any suggestions to improve theclub?Just keep doing what you aredoing so well.

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This is the third and final part of thediary of Keith Shuttlewood’s epicjourney down the North Sea coaststarting in Norway and ending backin Blighty. Keith has found his wayacross the border betweenDenmark and Germany ……..

GermanyDay 30 Tues July 5th Tonning –Dornbusch Dist: 130Km

The day started grey and cold as Icycled across the dam wall abovethe Eider with an incrediblenumber of gulls flying about me,the smell was interesting andcertainly woke me up. The day ingeneral was one of marshlandindustrial sites and power stations.I met a German guy cycling besidethe Elbe on my way to the ferry atGluckstadt, he was called Joe andwas a record shop owner fromDortmund who was touring his wayto Switzerland. As it turned out wewere heading for the samecampsite, so we cycled togetherfor the remainder of the day.

The ferry was quite a majorcrossing as there were longqueues of cars and lorries waiting.One advantage of bikes is that wecan jump to the front of queues!The road to the campsite atDornbusch had a stretch of unevencobbles and Joe on his veryheavily laden mountain bike justrode away from me while I carefullybumped my way along. When theroad smoothed out I sped by Joelike a slow motion bike race! Thecampsite owners didn’t speakmuch English so Joe kindlytranslated for me andrecommended Flensburger Pislnerbeer, in his opinion the best inGermany. So in the interests ofmarket research I had two beers soI could compare, then some moreto make sure. The site was OK buta lot of kids turned up after we hadpitched our tents as the schoolshad broken up. The site had asmall restaurant nearby so I took

the opportunity to get ameal there. I had a chatin the evening to Joeand another German

guy about life in Germany andcycling in general. There seems tobe an issue in German cyclingcircles as to whether the use ofelectric bike is considered to bereal cycling or not.

Day 31 Wed July 6th Dornbusch– Wremen Dist: 103KmAfter my usual stop at a bakery Iencountered my first aggressivedriver who deliberately drove alongside me to push me onto the path.Although in towns you aresupposed to cycle on a path ifthere is one, some of them are in adreadful state and his actionsseemed unnecessary as I wasn’tholding anyone up. A little later Ihad another driver in a Mercedesdeliberately drive straight at me toforce me off the road. In general Ifound the people to be verypleasant and likeable, but notthose in cars. My route fromOttendorf to Cuxhaven was a bitslow as the cycle path was closed.I found my way back to the routeeventually, which is where my GPSmaps would have come in handy.Something I would say quite a fewtimes during the rest of the tour.

Ottendorf to Wremen was verymuch seaside holiday resortterritory and I had to cycle rightthrough the middle of one of themto get myself back on route. Therewas a fair bit of riding on gravelroads from Cuxhaven. I hadplanned to camp at the holidayresort of Cuxhaven but decided tocarry onto the small fishing port ofWremen which turned out to be agood move.

The campsite had a small pleasantarea for tents; there was a veryheavy shower just as I was puttingmy tent up so I hid under the flysheet munching biscuits beforeputting up the inner.

I cycled into town to find asupermarket which took a whileas it was tucked right away downa side street. The campsite owner

mentioned that there was a publicconcert and beer in the town thatevening, but there was heavy rainright up to just before sunset and Ididn’t fancy getting wet again.

After the rain had stopped I wentfor a walk up and over the dykeand was surprised to find a nicefishing harbour that you could notsee from the road. I had a goodview of an excellent sunset by thelighthouse, everything was verystill and I could hear the musicplaying from the town a couple ofkilometres away. It was asurprisingly pleasant end to whatwas a bit of a fraught day.

A pause for a rant: in a number ofcountries like Germany andHolland it is the custom to banbikes on roads that have a cyclepath beside them. Is that really aproblem you might think? Well theproblem is that it works OK forcommuting and just riding to theshops.

For the long distance touring riderand cycling enthusiast who wantsto travel a decent distance, it’s adisaster. The problem in Germanyis that you share this path witheverybody so you have tonegotiate pedestrians and dogwalkers etc on narrow paths thatare rough and bumpy with damageby tree roots. This is why they ridebikes with big underinflated tyresand heavy wheels. To make cyclelanes continuous, planners changethe lane from one side of the roadto the other. You have to be alert atevery T junction, gate anddriveway. This makes yourprogress much slower than justriding on the road, to ride longdistances it’s mentally andphysically much harder. If we evertake this on in Britain its good byeto club rides. After today’sexperience I decided reduce mytime in Germany by taking

shortcuts in theroute. Sorry, but Ididn’t find cycling inGermany muchfun and won’t beback.

North Sea Coast Tour 2011Part 3

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Day 32 Thurs July 7th Wremen –Schillig Dist: 128KmAfter leaving Wremen, the largecontainer port of Bremerhavenloomed into view. The NSCR goesright through the container port. Ipassed some enormous containerships in dry dock, everything therewas on a large scale. There weregigantic earth moving vehicleswaiting to be loaded andthousands of Audi and BMW carsin car parking areas and on freighttrains.

Several times my route took mepast security points that I justsailed past hoping that I was notexpected to stop. The centre ofBremerhaven looked quite nicewith a pleasant yacht marina. Theroute out to the ferry from thecentre of Bremerhaven was ratherconvoluted. The 30 minute ferrytrip over the Weser to Blexen waspleasant in the sunshine, withgood views of Bremerhaven.Getting through Wilhelmshavenwas a bit of a problem as I wasmeant to go over a swing bridge inthe docks area, but it was closedand looked like it been for quitesome time. To my right there wasnot a bridge in sight so I consulteda nearby map which seemed toindicate a crossing further up theroad. Unfortunately there was asecurity gate as it was an entranceto a naval dockyard. Doh! I had toretrace back to where I started andfurther back to find a bridge. OnceI got to Hooksiel it was back toseaside holiday resorts. I pushedonto Schillig and my ratherexpensive campsite for the nightwhich was enormous requiring abike just to get from the scrubbytent area to the shower block andonsite shop. Apart fromBremerhaven which wasinteresting, there were rather toomany industrial blots on thelandscape. The evening finishedoff with a downpour of rain that hadbeen brewing since late afternoon.

Day 33 Fri July 8th Schillig –Bingum Dist: 110KmI wasn’t very impressed with theroute through Germany so far,reasons being the bad surfaces oncycle paths, you don’t see muchwhen cycling at the foot of dykesand there are too many industrialplants or large holiday complexes.When you compare this withNorway, Sweden and Denmark,it’s a bit of a come down. So Idecided to go inland taking my ownmore direct route to Emden. It’sfunny that the German touristboard sent me some expensivebrochures about cycling inGermany, I’m afraid the reality fella long way short. I had a headwindall the way to Emden butfortunately my route avoided thetown centre and I was able to pickup the North Sea route signs againjust after crossing the A31. I got toPetkum just in time to see the ferryleave so had an hour to wait for thenext one. Soon after, a heavy rainsquall came through on the strongwind, so I ran for cover behind awall along with an elderly Germancouple. We got talking about mytour and they told me they were ona weekend trip around the area.They were on the Dutch-madeelectric motor assisted bikes thatJoe, whom I had met earlier, hadscorned so much. They were keento show me the bikes and howuseful they found them. Theyseemed to have a good knowledgeof the area and its modern shipbuilding capabilities. As the ferryleft Pektum the sun came out somade for a pleasant ferry tripacross the EMS to Ditzum. As Icycled beside yet another dyketowards the campsite at Bingummarina, I was followed by someangry clouds that were looking forsomebody to soak, but this time Imade it in time.

Day 34 Sat July 9th Bingum–Uithuizen (Holland) Dist: 87Km

I was up at 6am as usual and itwas nice and sunny, by 7am darkclouds were building. I crossed theborder at Nieuweschans and,suddenly I realised I was inHolland. The terrain was pan flatand quite depressing with darkheavy clouds overhead andfrequent rain showers. I came offmy bike riding down a dyke in longgrass and into a deep rut, but atleast I had a soft landing. Toocomplacent about the handling ofmy bike I thought at the time, I haddropped the bike a number oftimes during the trip as there wastoo much weight high up at therear. I didn’t go for front panniersdue to my limited baggageallowance on the flight to Bergen.As I sat down to have lunch on thebank of a dyke it tipped down withrain which it continued to do allafternoon. I was particularly pi***doff as it had not been forecast - asconfirmed when I spoke to theowner of the campsite in Uithuizen.When I arrived at Uithuizen therewas what is known as a ‘red carpetday’ going on. This consisted of aband playing and a red carpet laidall over selected shopping streetsin the town. CampingMaarlandhoeve was located justoutside of town and was a smallpleasant site by a large house andfarm. The owner told me they weregradually renovating the housewith the income from the farm andcampsite. It was a nice sunnyevening when I walked back intotown to the large Albert Heijnsupermarket and treated myself toa pricey fish salad and a couple ofLeffe beers. The bars andpavements where full of peopleenjoying a late afternoon drink.When I returned I seemed to havethe site to myself so I sat down ata picnic table and had my saladand watched all the ants run overmy tent as it was on a nest. Doh!As I had already downed a beer bythen though, it didn’t seem tomatter!

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HollandDay 35 Sun July 10th Uithuizen– Harlingen Dist: 125KmI had a pleasant morning cycling inthe warm sunshine though prettyvillages such as Pieterburen andcrop fields on small narrow tracksthat were tricky to see at times. Ipassed through a military trainingground near Marne Bos whichconsisted of a sandy tank assaultcourse that the route keptcrossing, so I had to keep gettingoff and pushing the bike throughthe soft sand. I also passed by asmall boarded up village setup withburned out cars for training thatlooked a bit spooky. I had lunch ona beach near Lauwersoog. As Isat down I had the only shower ofrain that day!

I was cycling into a brisk wind allday which became a bit tedious inthe afternoon. I developed a sort oftime trial position by crouchingdown and holding my bar bag withmy forearms, not that safe so I onlyused it when able to do so. Istopped at the pretty village ofZwart Haan for a brief rest and totake a look at the sea view.For cars it’s a dead end, but forbikes it’s on the way to otherplaces. Harlingen was a large

town, the outskirts were industrial,but the centre of town was quiteattractive with lots of boats andbarges moored up. Camping DeZeehoeve was a couple ofkilometres outside of the townbeside the North Sea dyke. I hadan evening meal at a cafe at thecampsite, then walked along thecoast back towards the town to abeach bar I had spotted on the wayin. It was sunny and warm enoughto sit outside with a beer and watchthe sun going down, a nice mellowend to the day.

Day 36 Mon July 11th Harlingen– Heemskerk Dist: 120KmThe Afsluitdijk was a joy to cycleon due to just about perfectconditions for cycling along suchan exposed 32km long causewayseparating the Zuiderzee from theNorth Sea. Once across andthrough Den Over I stopped in thenice town of Hippolytushoef for thebakery and supermarket. I satdown and watched daily life goingon which seemed to be morerelaxed than in the UK. To reachthe coast again I passed throughfarmland with some fields still fullof flowers. Just as I stopped for acall of nature, a German cycliststopped and started chatting awaywhile I crossed my legs. It seemedwe were doing the same tripexcept he was usingaccommodation from a sort ofsharing club.

I got some welcome shade fromthe forest area near SchoorlscheDuinen as the day was hotting up.I stopped at the supermarket at theholiday town of Bergan an Zee fora cold drink. As it was too early tostop and the weather was so goodI decided to push on to Heemskerkwhere my map showed a

campsite. It was a small basic sitein a nature reserve“Natuurkampeerterre in the BearMeadow”, "Little Hemelrijk”. It wasOK, but seemed quite expensivefor few facilities, but it was nice andquiet. As it had been a long hot dayI decided to treat myself to a goodmeal out, which I found just outsideof town. The pasta de la mer and abeer went down very well, and fora change it was nice to sit at atable and watch the world go by incomfort.

Day 37 Tues July 12th

Heemskerk – Brielle Dist:112KmThe day started when I had to waitfor the ferry for quite a while at thetown of Velsen Noord in a ratherindustrial area. After passingthrough the rather well to dosuburbs of Haarlem, the rest of themorning was spent cycling on easygravel, tree-lined paths through anational park.

After passing through Zandvoortthere was lots of undulating ridingon well surfaced paths through thedunes to the big holiday towns ofKatwijk ann de Rijn, Noordwijk annZee and Scheveningen. At theHook of Holland I managed to getlost trying to find the correct roadto take me to the ferry atMaassluis. The weather wasstarting to deteriorate as Idisembarked the ferry atRozenburg. The roads around theEuropoort area were big, busy andnoisy; all quite intimidating so I wasthankful that I was on a wellsignposted bike path going toBrielle.

Although not very far from theEuropoort, the area around Briellewas surprisingly green andpleasant. I quickly found mycampsite “Camping JachthavenDe Meeuw” and pitched my tentjust before the heavens opened upwith horizontal driving rain that didnot let up all night. The campsitewas good with nice clean facilities;it also had a bar that served foodby a very jovial barmaid/owner.

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It was raining and blowing so hardI was beginning to wonder if I wasgoing to have a tent to return to.

Day 38 Wed July 13th Brielle–Noordwelle Dist: 52KmThe weather was still awful, so Ichose to wait until 11am beforedeciding what I would do. Theweather forecast for the next twodays was very bad. I went into thecampsite reception and got themto call a B&B at Noordwelle andmake a booking for me. It washandy that I had scanned myNSCR accommodation guide andput it on my Kindle. The rainstopped as I left the campsite androde into Brielle to find asupermarket. Although it was cold,dull and grey, the town looked likea nice place. As I cycled across theBrouwersdam I could do 22kmh onthe flat just freewheeling, the windwas so strong. I stopped for a whilein Renesse which was a nicelooking touristy town in a holidayarea. Noordwelle was a shortdistance from Renesse, and asmall pretty village. The B&B wason a farm and I found my room tobe clean and comfortable. Mylandlady said the forecast for thenext day was for heavy rain andgale force winds.

Day 39 Thurs July 14th

Noordwelle – Vlissingen Dist:46KmThe weather was as forecast andat breakfast my landlady said Icould stay another night if I wished,but I decided to move on. It wasraining right from the start and thecrossing of the Oosterscheldt Damsea defence surge dam was onlyjust possible as the wind wascoming directly off the North Seafrom the west. It was scary stuff. Istopped at a small brick buildinghalf way across to compose myselfand make a quick video to remindmyself not to ride next to the coastin gale force winds in future!

I passed a couple trying to walkacross with their fully laden bikes;I hate to think how long it took themas the dam is about 9kms long.

After the dam there was a smallercauseway where the wind wasblowing rain and sand everywhere,which made visibility very difficult.After this I decided to forget thetouring bit and rode straight downthe main N57 to Vlissingen, buteven this was notstraightforward due toextensive road rebuilding. Onthe way I was getting chilledand ended up with five layersof clothing on and still I feltcold. I decided to stop atVlissingen and find the touristinformation centre to sort outa B&B for the night. I had toask three people beforefinding it. Riding in such strongwind and rain made it difficult tothink straight as the noise and windmade things chaotic. I stood in thetourist office dripping a largeamount of water over their nicewooden floor whilst they chargedme 7.50€ for looking on adatabase and making one phonecall. For that I was directed to aplace that resembled a councilrefuge above a petrol station. Mybike was stored in a garage aroundthe back and I had to carry all mybags up three steep flights of stairsto my attic room in the roof, but atleast it was a sheltered dry roof. Itdid have one redeeming featurethough in that it had a microwaveand fridge. It was a bed but nobreakfast which by the look of theplace was perhaps a good thing. Iwaited for a couple of hours to seeif the rain would stop, which itdidn’t, before going out andwalking back to the town to thesupermarket.

Day 40 Fri July 15th Vlissingen –Niewpoort (Belgium) Dist: 85KmI set out to a day of warmsunshine, light winds and blue sky,a complete contrast to the previousday. I had a pleasant 30 minuteferry trip to Breskens and followedthe LF1b route through nicecountryside dotted with campsitesand larger holiday camps. As Iapproached the border town ofSluis there were recreationalcyclists of all ages with route maps

on day rides enjoying thecountryside. The pretty town ofSluis was busy with all the barsand cafes full of customers. Ipicked up the tree-lined DamseVaart Noord & Zuid canals thatwere a delight to cycle beside and

that would take me into Bruges.Once in Bruges I was immediatelyheld up for quite a while by a raisedroad bridge letting a large canalboat through the lock. As the LF1broute finished at Bruges, I hadplanned my own route toNiewpoort which worked very well.After I crossed into Belgium Inoticed many more cyclists out ontraining rides on expensive racingbikes mixed with recreationalriders. I quickly found EvergreenCamping at Lombardsijde whichwas quiet but the showers and looswere typically Belgian. This wasmy last night camping, so I took anempty pannier and cycled aroundtown to find a rather elusivesupermarket avoiding all the tramtracks that could ruin my day. Onthe way I found a bakery andtreated myself to a nice Belgiancake and beer.

Belgium & FranceDay 41 Sat July 16th Niewpoort– Dunkirk – Dover Dist: 55KmI was up early and keen to get toDunkirk before the weather closedin as it was already cold andcloudy. I followed the canal toVeurne noting a nice looking B&Band tea room near Koksijde alongthe way and then took the Dunkirkcanal to the French border wherethe cycle lane stopped (it started totip down with rain here) then ontoDunkirk. I could see very little tolike about the town as I passedthrough.

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Traffic levels picked up getting tothe port passing through theindustrial sprawl to the ferryterminal. I purchased a ticketwhich was a whopping €20 morethan the online price and joined thecar queue for passport controlwhich was the first check sincelanding in Bergen. I was firstaboard and wandered aroundlooking where everything waswhen an officer took time to pointme in the right direction of the bar,I guess I had that “I need a beer”look!

I phoned Mandy to give her myETA and sat beside a window andwatched the wind getting strongeras we moved into the Channel.The boat was delayed as the high

winds were hampering the boatsdocking in Dover. As I rode downthe ramp off the boat it was tippingwith rain and blowing hard. I wasjust about to give a big effort tocatch the car in front when a portworker shouted not to follow thecars but follow the red line. This Idid which led to a large gate thathad a notice to press a button andwait for the gate to open. I thenrode past the traffic queuing for theCustoms check and around to thefront of the ticket hall and away intothe town. I met Mandy at a pre-arranged point more by luck thanjudgment, a very soggy cyclist inthat short distance. How ironic thatmy tour finished in exactly thesame way it started at Bergen - ina downpour!

Links to my pictures for eachcountry:-Norwayhttp://flic.kr/s/aHsjzB8TcGSwedenhttp://flic.kr/s/aHsjzB9YY5Denmarkhttp://flic.kr/s/aHsjzB1Ad5Germanyhttp://flic.kr/s/aHsjzB1SMbHollandhttp://flic.kr/s/aHsjzB3RwEStatistics6 weeks2400mls57mls average per day0 punctures23 ferries38 nights camping2 nights B&Bs

QUALITY ROAD, TOURING, MTB BIKES AT COMPETITIVE PRICES31 QUEEN STREET, HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX.Telephone: 01403 258391 www.ad-cycles.co.uk

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