Day 1 and 2

Looking back on our Day 1 trek from Sevenoaks to Dover, I might have underestimated the topography of the Kent countryside. Of course, Ryan, my traveling partner, had known about this all along, but only mentioned his confusion about my route selection after we had stopped for the day. Even if we'd completely rerouted our intro day, I don't think the hills would have been any more avoidable or forgiving.

In the last 15 km, we faced a beast of a climb to the north of Folkstone. Two kilometres in length (roughly), with sections of over 15% grade. I hit my limit. With thighs and hip flexors cramping up on my granniest of gears, I had to resort to hopping off the bike, having a quick 30-second recovery, then walking up to the next flat section to grind out the rest of the ascent --my life flashing before my eyes.

Despite the difficulty of the day, the country lanes were a wonderful addition to the trip. Breathing in the fresh air, watching the rolling hills of Kent roll by. The peculiar houses and small manors. Even crossing over to some of the main highways wasn't too stressful, however navigating through the roundabouts --sometimes crossing two or three in immediate succession-- was a little hairy. Having put in a solid effort on Day 1, and after a very large Cesar salad with ample amounts of lardon, Monday night ended in a solid sleep.

 

    

 

We slept in the next day. Surprisingly, Ryan wasn't up with the rising sun --I was so stoked! Although my legs were a bit tired, they didn't feel crampy at all. Taking advantage of the breakfast buffet, we took off from Hôtel Metrpole at around 10:45. The open road over the first 40 km was panflat, and the quality was smooth. We made great time... until we crossed over to the canal trails.

If yesterday's bit of frustrating had to do with hills, today's major annoyance factor was way-finding. Although I had tried to scout out the canal track that we were supposed to take using Google Maps, sometimes each track would turn to gravel. Othertimes, business that used the canals for shipping would buy the trails themselves and lock them off to the public. Other times, the trails that were supposed to be there just weren't. When we did find a good track again, the pavement was awful. So bumpy, we might as well have been riding old 'bone shakers'. 

I'll probably be favouring a saddle sore for the next few days...

Trying to navigate the canals had added a solid two hours on our ride. With 40 km left in the day, we abandoned the canal trails completely, and booked it to Lens. Our average speed from there on shot up from less than 20 to about 30km/h. It was awesome!

Here in Lens, we've just devoured some Mexican food  gotten some more food for the morning, and are just chilling out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow is a recovery ride of about 30 km, through Vimy Ridge where we'll have ample time to stop and really take that site in. Our next afternoon/evening will be in Arras, where my bike trip actually started 10 years ago. Solo. As a 23 year old kid with virtually no money.

Sounds crazy to say that out loud.

 

   

Tour Prep

With only about four hours of sleep between Friday and Saturday, and having some fun --and a couple drinks-- at a small shin-dig last night, I was elated when I got back to Ryan's place to flop down and sleep the night away. Compared to ten years ago, I'm better handling the jet-lag of the transatlantic trip. For example, in my twenties I remember laying down shortly after arriving, thinking I was going to puke and pass out, thus creating a disgusting scene that would be surprisingly suitable as an intro clip of Law and Order.

This morning I was raring to get the bike assembled and get the general feel of how it would look and handle all loaded up. Although noticeably heavier with a set and a half of casual clothes, two extra sets of cycling kit, tools, toiletries, and treats, I can still accelerate well from standstill. Riding out of the saddle, even with weighted front panniers, was more comfortable than I thought it'd be. The Axiom front racks proved to be a bit of a problem with my front disk brake (clearance problems) but this was easily managed. And finally, after about a month-long wait, I was finally able to set up my ride with the Apidura saddle-pack, top tube pack and treat bag I ordered a month ago. 

 

Although there's some issues with the panniers (again, disk-break clearance problems), I'm overall happy with this setup. Moreso, I'm itching to start our ride tomorrow, despite what is slated to be a humid, and possibly rainy day.

What will be the first piece of equipment that I'll despise having taken? What will I forget to bring? What will be the first mechanical failure? Will the weather cooperate? All questions I hope I won't have to deal with.

Packing the essentials

Leading up to Friday, I'm starting to feel as though I may have left packing and planning a little bit to the last minute. But better late than never, right? 

Although I'm still a little undecided on some of my warm-kit, or if I should bring as many kits as I've laid out, I think overall this is what I'm packing during the ride. Take it all in!

I have problems with overheating during long rides, so I'm going with some of my whiter, blander kits. I also have my white sleeves in the top left there. I do find they help during that initial hour of a long ride, but as you warm up they switch from being sunlight deflectors to heat-trappers. I'm also hoping to take my Giant kit, as it's been a staple of many of my touring trips. 

Here's my warm-up and rain gear. I'm a little on the fence about bringing the vest, but the MEC Drench Jacket has been a solid addition to my commuter gear. After looking into the weather recently in the Southeast UK and Northern France, it looks like I may need it! In the top right are some shoe-covers (MEC Cloudburst covers) --also rain proof. We've got the Shimano SH-XC31 cycling shoes. We've also got some MEC Logic sunglasses with clear lenses and and MEC Lift glasses with dark lenses. 

Some additional deluxe items I'm bringing: a simple Giro helmet that I got from Cyclesmith, my super-cool bandana, a couple pairs of gloves, a notebook and some bike lights. I'll also be bringing my iPad (it's really getting old at this point), a portable charger and a crib set. I'm using a simple Specialized speedometer as well. A couple special items will be my Wahoo TICKR heart rate monitor and a silly amount of Gummiland Gummy Bears!

After listening to the Velonews podcast about post-ride binging, watching Peter Sagan devour a bag full of bears after a classics-series race this spring and giving it a try myself (albeit mid-ride), I'm really starting to take a shine to these guys!

No pictures is my iPhone 5S. Although I used to be into Map My Ride for a long time, I've made the conversion and switched to Strava. 

My bike is all packed up. I'm bringing my MEC Cote as a touring bike. It may be a bit hard to see, but I also have a couple front-racks by Axiom (Journey DLX-Lowrider) and a couple small MEC World Tour pannier bags. I'll also be bringing two Camelback 750ml bottles. 

As you can see, I'll be using the biknd Jetpack bike bag that I got from Cyclesmith. It looks good now, and I feel like it'll do well in the hands of some surley baggage handlers, but time will tell. I'll be sure to make a review post about both this bag and the MEC Cote after this trip is over. 

Just a little personal touch from my super-cute girlfriend, a little name tag for my bike bag! It has my contact deets on the back. This was a really cool Birthday present!

Will have another update closer to my departure date. Take care out there!!

Leading up to a new Frank Trek

Looks like it's been a couple years since I've posted to this blog. The past few years have been tumultuous at times. I dropped out of distance cycling for a couple years, only to realize that I was getting fat and depressed and decided to hop back in the saddle for daylong rides of 50, 100 or the rare 150km ride. I'm not going to make a pledge to you that I'm restarting the blog, or make a commitment to post once a week --because frankly, I'll end up breaking those commitments and promises. But at the moment, I'm gearing up for something that I think is special. 

Ten years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a little bit of money in the bank, and a little bit of time on my calendar to travel. After consulting with a couple friends from high school, I decided to visit Europe, and to tour France. Not having a tremendous amount of cash, my friends and I brainstormed cheap and immersive ways to see France. Hiking was always mentioned, but to be honest, I absolutely despise walking! Hitchhiking was the next idea. Again, however, too much walking for my likes. Trains, car rentals, or tour groups seemed really expensive for all of us. Eventually, we settled on cycling. It was certainly faster then walking, and after watching a couple Tour de France videos on YouTube, we figured the French countryside would have better attitudes than Canada or the UK for cycle-touring. 

So cycling it was! The experience was so immersive, so thrilling, that I still define this trip as a turning point in my life. I turned away from the idea that I needed a car when I 'grew up,' to embracing --whole hog-- the bicycle as my main mode of transportation. Although I ain't no supermodel now, I lost a lot of weight, but more importantly lost many inches around my waistline. When I got back to Canada, after having my touring bike nicked in Paris, I bought an ungodly looking commuter (a KHS Westwood with an ape-bar) and started biking to school, to the store, to friend's parties, for small day trips. You get the idea. In time, I salvaged a medium sized frame from the garbage at the apartment building I lived in. I had it looked-over for safety reasons, and was told it was probably hit or run over by a car, but the chain- and seat-stays were pried back into place. I breathed new life into it: a new paint job, new drivetrain and groupset, wheels, cables, seat, grips --all the bells and whistles. Despite being a plain old frame with a straight-bar, it was super responsive and fast! Years later, I would buy a road bike --a Giant OCR3-- and a new commuter --a Jamis Coda. I gave the Frankensteinian bike away to a friend in hopes that she would find that special excitement and freedom that I had discovered in France years before. 

I'm not sure if she ever did or not. 

I got into the cycling advocacy racket and learned a lot about municipal and city planning. I still lend a hand every now and then when I have the time energy. I've also been dabbling in bicycle racing, having completed a couple biathlons in the early 2010s and recently, my first criterium (Cat D). 

Great kit! Great crit! Mediocre performance...

It's been 10 years since my foray into cycling started --all from one trip. At the end of the month, having grown as a cyclist and an adult, I plan to revisit many of those same roads in Northern France with one of those high school friends in tow. With our route planned from Sevenoaks, UK to Paris, France, we'll be staying in many of the same towns and suffering over the same hills and trials from 2007. 

I can't wait. 

Will post again about the bike I'm taking, the gear I've settled on and what little tech I'll be bringing along with me.

This might be a flash in the pan for this blog. I might return to years of silence, but I hope you'll join me for this reunion ride, 10 years in the making!

Join me for France Trek +10!