Not the usual Australia Day

I had two choices today regarding today's schedule. I was planning to go for a ride, but there was a local rugby match with a few other Aussies playing at the local grounds. The weather was a bit cloudy in the morning, but I'm glad I went out on the bike. The weather cleared quickly, and it was the first time I'd seen the area in sunshine during the day for a long time.

I did about 50 miles around the Quantock area. To the west of Bridgwater the scenery is incredible, as you can see from some of these pics.


At the highest point in the hills, just before a big descent through heath and woodland on a difficult dry creek bed.


Typical view of the heathland.


Road heading up, up, up.



The dry creekbed I negotiated my heavy bike down and through.


Path along a ridge.


I joined these mountain bikers for an hour or so, and heard a child ask his father: "Why does that guy have to carry all the bags?" haha.


In the hills, scenery very much what I imagine Canada is like.


Autumnal colours on a (dead?) tree.


One of my sandals fell from my bike on a rough section of track. Backtracked a mile or so and thankfully found it.


Looking back along one of the many tracks heading up into the hills.



Looking out from Triscombe stone.



Tree on the way back to Bridgwater.

A great day was had by all (me). A couple of snags and a beer with mates on the beach back home would probably be the only thing topping it.

To see all the pics of the day, see here: Quantock Australia day pics

Canal Towpath - Typical Winter weather

I had originally planned to ride to Lyme Regis this weekend, but typically atrocious weather told me otherwise. Instead I went for a 40 mile day ride to keep up the training. Most of the ride was along a canal, quite nice despite the rain and wind. I also found out my 'waterproof' jacket isn't up to the task.



My new bike is in getting a respray at the moment,it's going to be white - ready for me to plaster stickers all over it. The old bike (in the pics), the Trek 520, is still going strong.


Near Taunton, about 12 miles south of where I work.

And one more thing...

Because it's a monumental time-waster, when I need to concentrate on more important things!

And more....

Been cycle-camping a bit more lately, including right in the middle of Cardiff as a precursor to my inevitable city-park camping later down the track!


Near Talybont court, Cardiff, if anyone's interested.


In the tent


Sunrise the next day

Back in Bridgwater - local park

The leadup.

The past few months have involved planning and training for the big event - ETA June. I have been optimising my gear to save weight, and having my bike resprayed white, ready for all the stickers to be put on.

Training in and around Somerset:


Near the Quatock Hills


At Work at Thorn Cycles



Training again


Typical Somerset winter landscape


In a muddy farmer's field (wrong turn)


Camping

A novel idea

Dominic is riding the lenght of the Americas, but he's doing it on Tandem. By himself. Usually, a bike designed for two, Dom hopes to find people he meets to join him on parts of his trip! An excellent idea!

http://www.blue-ant.tv/takeaseat/home.php

About time

Of course, I'm skeptical. But with these three promises made AFTER his election win, things are looking up for Oz.

1. Pledged to sign the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible.

2. Withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq.

3. Immediate change of I.R laws. (No more ridiculous 'Workchoices" scheme)

My New Bike

Since I am working at Thorn Cycles at the moment, I naturally got myself a new tourer. This thing is an Expedition-quality Rohloff and S+S equipped superbike! Will be good for my eventual return journey! Here's some pics of my bike in Thorn's white room. Sorry about the blurriness in some of the pics, I didn't know how to use their fancy camera properly...

Enjoy!

Cycling in Europe - Wrap up.

I suppose the first stage of my hopefully global cycle tour has reached a conclusion. In retrospect, It has been a fantastic journey through some simply amazing places, and most of my most vivid memories are ones that no guidebook guides you to. The tiny villages, amazing people, the freedom of having no permanent home and a truly open road only available when travelling by bicycle will be with me in my mind forever.

I can only imagine how hard it will get in the future stages as I sacrifice even more luxuries: running water! electricty! English language! but the the hardest part of the trip up until now have not been western luxuries or physical difficulty, but the mental aspect. The highs and lows of life on the road, even for a few months in such an easily accessible continent such as Europe a very strongly felt. Lots of lonliness, but also plenty of times where nothing could dampen my spirits. By far the good outweighed the bad. The summits of the hills and mountains were usually the summits of my mood and crawling into a wet sleeping bag in a leaking tent by myself for two weeks I have generally assumed as the low point.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to connect with locals when travelling, they are 3/4 of the experience itself! With some very minor exclusions, everyone I have met so far have been amazingly generous people, inviting a stranger, not to mention a hairy, grimy foriegner stranger riding a bicycle into their homes, feeding me, and giving me somewhere to stay and sending me on my way with a smile on their faces.

Now, with anticipation, I will wait until I have saved up enough money to continue, and do it all over again.

This Pikey Life

I've completed my first fortnight at Thorn, and it has been a harsh reality check sliding back into the world of the working. It's a good job, and I am being trained at what I want to do, 'Bike salesman', but work is still work!

I have been living a very gypsy life, out of a caravan, eating pot-noodles and cheese and ketchup sandwiches (See attached pic). I like my tent more. It's warmer and the rent is on par. I have spruced up the bike (Trek 520) with numerous bits and pieces, including fancy new handlebars. Time's up,

Back to work for me.



What's wrong with this Caravan? Nothing. It's tip-top.



Bristol Panorama



On the way to Bridgwater from Bristol



Park in Bristol



New Look Malik

Crazy News

Two really cool things have happened to me recently, one is I managed to land a job at the greatest touring bike store in the world, Thorn Cycles Ltd, in Bridgwater. Really cool.




Secondly, Alastair Humphreys has kindly donated the bicycle HE used to cycle around the world to me. I was looking for the exact same model as the one he used, and half-jokingly sent him a message asking if he'd sell it. He went one better and offered it to me! Maybe this bike will see two round-the-world trips?

London to Bath

I am going to be updating this site less frequently, but I won't abandon it completely. It takes up a lot of free time off the bike to be constantly updating this internet bizzo.

I left London after failing to find a job, so I kept riding west, this time with Gonz, a cyclist from Mexico. The English countryside has surpassed my expectations, from what I was hearing frok fellow travellers and locals it was a place of doom and gloom. Not so at all.



A beer before leaving



Cycling out of London (it went on forever)




View from our first camp (next to a highway!)



Second night's camp on a farm (with permission)



English Manor



(A) White Horse carved into the hillside



Cycling onto Bath