12 August (Julia's reflections)

We’re home now and typically I’m enjoying a bit of jetlag, so thought I’d take this quiet opportunity to reflect on the trip.

Firstly I feel so lucky………lucky to have been able to do this trip in the first place, physically, financially and because of the support from home – from the kids looking after our gorgeous dog Rufus to our awesome staff.  Alex, Kim and Jessie, we can’t thank you enough!

Lucky because of the people we met along the way.  Long lost friends and relatives and complete strangers opening their homes to us.  Having fantastic ‘face to face’ conversations is just so much more satisfying than emails, texts or phone calls or their modern day equivalent like Snapchat and Instagram – although I’m not really qualified to comment on the latter as I haven’t used them yet.

And lucky to have Pete to experience all these things with.  I’m so glad he feels the same way I do about travel.  We both love to take the road less travelled (although Pete would like it tarsealed and bump-free all the way thank you!), taking things slowly so we can take it all in.  Cycling is just such a good way to do it as you don’t have to carry all your belongings on your back, it’s cheap, you have transport and accommodation sorted and you are accessible to the land, it’s people and the flora and fauna you pass along the way.  You can stop wherever you like for your photos and if the view changes, you can easily stop and just snap another photo.  Travelling in cars, buses and trains for a lot of our final week brought this home to me.  It is not quite so easy to pull a car over to the side of the road, right where you want to take your photo.  And you certainly can’t pull a bus or train over where you want to.

We finished our tour on a great note.  After bidding goodbye to all Pete’s old friends (and my new ones!) and his fantastic Merseyside relatives (it was great to see you all again and actually meet two I’d never met before!), we caught a train to Euston as we had given the bikes a thorough clean at Peg and Andy’s and didn’t want to get them dirty before the trip home.  We had booked a train to Heathrow but found you couldn’t take the train on the Underground, which I suspected even though I live in NZ but the booking agent seemed to think was possible!  Managed to get a refund on those tickets however when we got to Euston (that saved us 51 quid!), so we googled a route to get us the 35 km to Heathrow.  Good old Google Maps showed us a route which was 90% along the canal towpaths of London so we had very little traffic to negotiate which was a good thing as we’d decided not to bring Pete’s helmet home as it is well past it’s use by date.

So to finish our trip we had a lovely ride along the canals on a beautiful sunny London day with most of the surface sealed and even when it wasn’t sealed, at least it was still pretty smooth.  The canal paths were being quite well used by cyclists and walkers alike and our navigating was a bit tricky at one stage with one section of the towpath having been closed off, but we managed.  We thought how easy it would be to wind up in the canal and were actually following a couple of girls on their bikes when one of them did just that.  She was trying to move her bike from one track in the grass to a parallel one and just hit the ridge in the middle and went flying into the canal along with her bike!  Luckily she wasn’t hurt and I was able to give her one of my shirts at least.

Riding on a double decker bus through London with Steve

Gotta love the Old English pubs!

Syon Park Manor as viewed as we walked along the Thames

Thanks for a great day Steve.

It was a lovely ride and much more enjoyable than negotiating our way through busy, smelly train stations.  We had a lovely catch up with Steve while we were in London, walking along the Thames and sampling a brew or two in some of the beautiful pubs that England do so well.  He also came to Heathrow to have a drink with us before we got on the plane which is where we ran into Anne and Kim Bloxham from New Plymouth!  We go to yoga with Anne and our daughter Georgina went to school with their twin daughters.  Love those chance meetings and it brings home the fact that this world is a small place.  If there’s one thing this trip has shown us, it’s the world is full of beautiful people who all pretty much want the same things – respect and kindness to them and those things and people they love.  Travel helps to make this happen.   It opens our minds and lets us see things from a new perspective.  

Pete labels the boxes for the flight home.

Our good luck continued when we eventually arrived back in NZ.  Firstly we had our very dear friend Sharon take time out of her day to come and have a coffee with us while we were waiting for our flight to New Plymouth.  Then we had sensational weather for our flight home, got to see the three mountains covered in snow in the middle of the North Island as we flew down to Taranaki and saw our own majestic mountain, fully clad in snow and clear of clouds, standing proudly above the green fields of our home province. 

Even though our kids couldn’t make it to the airport (one was in Wellington, the other was skydiving in Taupo), we had our friend and manager Alex bring our car out to the airport and three of our four parents at the airport to meet us.  Life is short and you never know how long you have left with your parents so I am always very glad and grateful to have them here waiting for us when we return.

My 87 year old Dad then drove me to see my 83 year old Mum who is in a retirement home hospital suffering from the late stages of dementia.  She is a shadow of her former self, but she was still here for me and for that I am extremely grateful.  I am also incredibly glad that even though Mum and Dad divorced over thirty years ago, they still get on well together.

We took Mum for a short walk in her wheelchair and then helped her into bed as she needed a sleep and then home to see my beautiful skydiving daughter and our gorgeous big hairy dog.  A lovely walk on Fitzroy beach as the sun went down was the perfect way to be welcomed back to New Plymouth.

Man it’s good to be home!

5 August 2016 - the final week

Merseyside.....we made it!!  Liverpool looking very modern across the River Mersey.

It’s funny to be sitting in a house at a table typing this up. All except a few entries have been written sitting cross-legged in the tent, watching the sun disappear, or waiting for another clap of thunder or sheet of lightning to light up the sky. At times we’ve been peering through the mesh of the door at some wild animal which has been curious about a small house that has appeared overnight and has come to check us out. We’ve been as still as possible trying to capture the moment on film. 

An ever-changing work of art constructed by kids on the Wirral side of the Mersey and added to continually - LOVE IT!

Then of course there have been the moments that our freecamp has been discovered, as we sit drinking tea in the very early morning light, almost ready to pack up the tent and leave without anyone knowing we were ever there. This should be a happy time. We once again have taken ourselves away from the normal procedures of life and on a bike loaded with two panniers, a tent and some sleeping gear, have, under our own steam, covered over 5000km. It’s all done at a slow rate of knots to be able to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the countries we visit. 

Lighthouse at New Brighton on the Wirral

Cooking on a tiny gas stove, which we both agree, has been the best piece of equipment we purchased, before our previous tour to Finland.  Small things that make you smile, like packing up a nice dry tent in the morning, rather than a sodden one or knowing that the supermarket you’re about to enter has a certain brand of cereal that you both love and makes your breakfast just that much more enjoyable.

The little routines that you develop as you go. The order in which you take your gear out of the tent when packing it up, sweeping out the inside with our mini dustpan and brush, so that it’s clean when you set up again that night. As we rode throughout Europe we encountered cyclists with pannier bag covers to give added waterproofing….not us…a roll of ten 60 litre kitchen bags (and we only used six of them ) for about a Euro, which did the job perfectly. Making a pillow with just the right amount of clothes, placed in a dry sack and leaving the right amount of air inside to give you the best sleep. When we were riding in the rain…don the waterproof raincoats……really..?...is there such a thing, on with the waterproof pants….yes…these really were…!  But to keep our only pair of shoes dry….two plastic shopping bags, pulled over our feet and tied at the lower leg with Julia’s hair ties.  Windproof leggings from MacPac….brilliant and Ju’s polar fleece from The Warehouse…( where everyone gets a bargain ) was fantastic. Silk sleeping bag liners…can’t live without them…super lightweight and keeps sleeping bag clean. I didn’t take a towel to dry off with, but a flannel, small and you can wring it out.

We are always very proficient when it comes to putting our tent up, no matter what tent we have. Before a tour we will practise setting it up and once on the road the same format is undertaken each time. Each of us has certain tasks with putting it up or taking it down and these don’t vary, so it is up and down in a flash, which reduces stress when it’s blowing or pouring with rain.

Our tent did it’s job very well considering some of the heavy downpours we had. Most of the rain we had was at night, which meant that on a couple of occasions, we had to abandon tent, for cover under some other form of shelter. We were able, fortunately, to erect our dome under cover of the shelter and enjoyed a comfortable night’s sleep when we did so. On a couple of nights the rain was so torrential that we were ankle deep in water and had we not moved, we would surely have floated away on the current.  This dome was slightly smaller than our last one on the 2014 tour and we did notice the difference, so this one too, is to be given away for someone else to get some use from.  We are looking for one next time with three poles and a better vestibule so that when exiting or entering the tent in the rain, it does not get inside the living area.

Our sleeping mats were excellent when we first bought them a few years ago, but now they tend to lose air during the night, leaving the unfortunate recipient laying on the floor. They are a great design though and have kind of velour on the top, which means firstly that you don’t slide off them and secondly, when someone turns over in the night, the other person isn’t woken with the squeaky noise that most other mats give off. They too were from Mac Pac. 

Because I have very little hair on top, the sun comes through my cycling helmet air vents in the top of the helmet. By wearing a “buff “on my head and then the helmet, it stopped me getting sunburnt there, although on hot days I did need to keep soaking the “buff” as it became very hot. Sunscreen was always necessary and something we could improve upon wearing. Didn’t apply every day, but should have done, even on cloudy days. Lip balm, which I am always having Julia on for wearing, is a must, as lips dry out very quickly in any conditions when on the road.

Our pannier bags, which are now thirty and twenty seven years old respectively, finally have earned their retirement. Julia’s Karrimor bags are beginning to get a bit beaten up, although they still do a good job. My Tika bags, which are canvas, went out of production in 1993 and although they are still useable, a new set will be on the cards for next time. Ortleib is probably the most common brand around nowadays and everyone we’ve spoken to who has them, really rates them. However, because everyone has them, could see us look at some other brand, although only if they are as good. No use cutting off your nose……  Julia has moved away from wearing her cycling shorts on this tour, but I will continue to wear mine, made by Ground Effect, in New Zealand.

The gas stove would be one of the best buys we made before London to Helsinki and it continued to be a fantastic workhorse. As long as we fed it gas, it cooked up a storm. Getting gas didn’t seem as hard to find this time around, but you do sometimes have to search it out.  Head torches were used every night, but the most expensive one packed it in first….there’s a lesson there..!  All in all I think our clothing allocation was perfect. We only used our colder gloves on a couple of mornings and then, only for a short time, but we used everything else constantly.  Our only pair of shoes came through the journey intact, mine moreso than Julia’s, but hers were older anyway.  Because they were all we had, other than a pair of jandals, they were well cared for. Jandals were great once we reached camp for relaxing in, or first thing in the morning, packing up the tent in wet grass, saving our shoes from getting soaked.  Our snaplock ties on the carriers were much more efficient than bungy cords and can also be joined together to make a clothesline.

Luggage stripped down (no tent, no sleeping mats, no groundsheet) ready for our train journey to London.

Our mountainbikes were brilliant and although not designed for touring, did the job, once again in fine style. Because we are able to go off track with them, you do have more leeway than a conventional touring bike.  The adventure tyres we had, once again came through the tour without a single puncture, a marvellous effort and a great relief.  I had a whine/squeak on my bike, which did become annoying, but once Dave, the bike mechanic, got it sussed, I had no more problems.

Our last week was spent based near Neston.

Captain Andy, Uncle Terry, cousin Debbie, Pete and Saint Peggy!

The last week of our trip was based on the Wirral, in Little Neston, with my aunt and uncle, Peg and Andy. They have always been there for Julia and I over a thirty year period, making us feel at home and comfortable, as though it was our own house. We cannot say how much we love these two for that and we were able to catch up with relatives and friends, most of whom I hadn’t seen for at least thirty four years.  

Pete with cousin Phillip and Uncle Brian

Ju and Pete with cousin Debbie

Little Jane, Jane, Vicky and Pete with Joanne at the front (being held upright by the look of it!)

Alexis, Andy, Pete, Asha and Julia

Andy and Pete

Those friends were a huge part of my teenage years and the good times we shared were very special to me.  Julia was not on the scene in those days, so I was anxious introducing her to them, for her sake as well as mine. My worries were unfounded as they accepted her unreservedly which only confirmed to me, what a great bunch of people they are. They have good lives here and their personalities which was what brought us together many years ago, haven’t changed. They, like me in New Zealand, have watched their families grow and I know that we’ll remain in touch. 

Joanne, Little Jane, Pete and Jane

Barbecue at Jane and Gary's place

We met their partners and had a great time, albeit, too short, but I will be forever grateful to them for including Julia as though she had known them for years. It was as though we had been together for the last thirty years, rather than 12,000 miles apart. I will be extremely sad to leave them.

The Razzle Dazzle ferry across the Mersey, painted by Sir Peter Blake! (not the NZ one though).

This day it was a bit dreary, but the next day.....

St George's Hall

The Liver Building

Liverpool, my birthplace, is now an amazing city. It was great to see how much the city has changed over the years, all for the better. A lot of time and money has been pumped into it and it has a huge variety of shops to cater for everyone.  It was so enjoyable just to wander the streets listening to the “scouse” accent and feel at home, in a city that I haven’t been in for so long.

The Albert Dock - totally revitalised

Finally. What can I say about Julia. She is the most fantastic wife I could ever wish for. Firstly, she  puts up with me. Nothing ever phases her and along the way, we have some of the most amazing adventures.  To share those journeys with her over the years has been wonderful and I hope to spend many more years cycling the “road less travelled” and experiencing new cultures and countries and marvelling at this wondrous planet, which offers two cyclists so much.  Until next time, thank you to all the people we came in contact with. You made the trip for us and confirmed that this world has such a lot of good things going for it.

Pete……4^th August 2016

29 July 2016 (morning rain, afternoon cloudy with sunny patches, mild) 32 km

Today marks the end of our 5300km cycle ride. Over the past three months we have travelled from Munich to Merseyside, via Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Rep. Germany, Netherlands and across England. As I write this entry, we are sitting at the kitchen table of David Mann, in Chester, virtually a hop, skip and a jump from our final destination, in Little Neston on the Wirral.

The past week has been very much one of winding down, with our pace and distance showing as much. At David’s house over the last day and a half, we have been able to relax, contemplate on where and what we’ve seen and enjoy conversation with a fellow cyclist, who understands exactly what life on the road has to offer, both the good and bad.

The forecast today was for rain clearing, but as is so often the case, the elements are something that we have no control over, so we are not surprised that currently it is raining. Whatever it decides to do today, we will take the easy ride to Peg and Andy’s house where the cycling part of our travels will finish. To me, it’s a bit like Chris Froom cycling along the Champs-Elysées. The race has been won, there are just the final procedures to go through to achieve the desired goal.  There is much catching up to do with friends and relatives over the next week, which will be fun.

You know you're getting close to Liverpool when even the monuments are missing a wheel!

David was in the Crown Court today sitting with another magistrate and a judge. We said goodbye to him shortly after 9am as we prepared our gear for the ride. He said there was no need to rush off ourselves so when the rain started again we lingered and had some coffee and toast even though we’d shared breakfast with David earlier over more fascinating conversation.  Now that we were clean and dry, we were in no hurry to get cold and wet and the forecast said the day was supposed to clear up. Uploaded the blog and caught up with some other messages and info from home, before the skies cleared and we felt it was safe to head off.  

thanks David for welcoming us into your home.

We had found a traffic free cycle path on the Sustrans website that would take us to Neston and the easiest place to pick it up was Chester, so that was where we headed first.

Chester is a hugely historic town, so there are always tourists roaming the streets or walking the Roman walls. It was nice to be in a city that I used to come to as a teenager and it felt comfortable being there. The hustle and bustle, the chatter, in the distinct scouse-like way of talking. The weather was now fine with sunny spells. After buying a pub lunch, two steak and Guinness pies, mashed potato and peas, with gravy…delicious….we had a little wander around the shops before making the final ride to Little Neston. 

Conditions were now great for riding and we were able to take the traffic free cycleway at the river Dee, around the racecourse and out toward Queensferry. This was so relaxing with no traffic to contend with and a great way to finish our journey. I’m not sure when this route was established, but it’s a huge asset. There were plenty of walkers and cyclists on here even at 5pm on a Friday evening. Stopped near Deeside to munch on some wild blackberries growing at the side of the path, before travelling through an industrial area and then onto the marshland track…all sealed…heading past Burton and Ness, toward Little Neston.  It was the perfect way to end our trip – we even passed the sewage works in outer Chester and had a headwind all the way, just so we knew we were on the right track!

We even managed a brief stint in Wales!

As we approached The Harp pub, a lady walking her dog struck up conversation with us. She was amazed that we had travelled so far by bicycle and been on the road, living in a tent, for so long.  Up Marshlands Road, recognising now, the familiar streets from so long ago. In 1986, when we made our first cycle tour together, Peg and Andy’s house was our base where we could feel totally at home and relax. Julia had been sick on the first stages of that trip and I thought at the time that there was no way that she would resume the tour. But after a week of care by Peggy and a comfortable home in which to recover, she was keen and eager to go.  She has never looked back.

As we neared the house, there was Peg, standing outside. She had seen us coming. Soon Andy was with us and although we’ve seen them in New Zealand, this was our first time back at their house since 1989. It was much the same but the gardens have matured into a lovely area. The house was still as welcoming as it ever was and soon we were ensconced, enjoying the conversation that always flows freely when we get together, wherever that may be.

The finish line......and what an amazing ride it has been!  Thanks for enjoying it with us!!!

So, once again, our trip is at an end. The time has flown and now it’s back to resume our lives in NZ, with our families and Rufus, our dog. Really looking forward to seeing everyone again, but as with every tour we’ve done, we leave a piece of us, on the road. (In Julia’s case, the skin of her left knee and in mine, part of my chin and both knees!) For the next week, we’ll be enjoying time with these guys and meeting up with my old friends from teenage years. Relatives across the water are also on the list and I can imagine that time will pass quickly, before we journey to London, by train, to fly out of Heathrow, having caught up with friends in the capital.

I will be writing my reflections on the tour over the next week just to put the finishing touches on the blog. But for this journey….as that famous cartoon character Porky Pig would say…th th that’s all folks…!

28 July 2016 (cloudy with rain and patches of sun, mild) 10 km

What a great sleep….in a huge bed. Last time we slept in a bed that big was on our wedding night. I know most people are probably thinking….there wouldn’t have been much sleeping done on that night….but there was…we just crashed after a great, but exhausting wedding day.

Julia brought up a cup of tea initially, before we wandered downstairs to have breakfast with David. Once again the conversation flowed freely about an array of topics, but a lot about our business, Face to Face and how we began.  David and Jane also have a fitness business, but they used to own twenty one sandwich shops around the country and employed three hundred staff, so we pale into comparison and I felt a little silly discussing how we began, with someone obviously so experienced.

The plan today was to go into Chester and have a look around, both at the city itself and for some clothes….for Julia, I don’t require anything….perhaps my tailor would disagree…?  David left before we rode in, to go and help Jane’s mum, who was struggling with a problem. He is a very generous person, both with his home, in our case and with his time, as in hers and also as a Magistrate.

We spoke last night about putting out good vibes to people and good things coming back and Julia and I are firm believers in that respect. Today was a weird one weather-wise. One minute it was raining, next full sun, then cold, then mild…good old English summer.  Rode into Chester under overcast but dry conditions, until we reached the outskirts of the city centre, when it began to rain. 

Chester Cathedral

Had a wander to the Cathedral and was about to part with money….yes that’s right folks….pay to go in…(No set fee, just donation…so you can imagine how much……or little..?) when we were stopped in our tracks. An organ recital was about to take place, so no visitors until 2pm. I see it as a sign !!!  

After a walk around we decided to pop in for a pub lunch, so into The Red Lion for a nice meal and whilst Ju had a coffee, I had a Guinness.  The weather was still rubbish when we emerged, so into the shops to look for some gear for Julia. 

That took a couple of hours….the result being….nothing…not one item… but I must admit, some of the clothes were very average.  Apparently there are always more shops…? Not for someone who has spent his whole life in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Sometimes I feel like I must be related to Angus Young…out of AC/DC, except he plays guitar and is exceptionally talented, whereas I don’t…..and am not…

It was time to take ourselves back to the house. David, who is sixty-seven, plays bicycle polo. Tonight he is playing in Manchester, an hour away. Apparently it’s played in other countries, so perhaps NZ will get something going.  We used to play a similar version with bikes and a football when we were teenagers.  He left about 6pm for the hour long journey and we made ourselves an omelette seeing as we don’t get to consume many eggs on the road.  Then we checked directions for a cycle path to Neston, checked emails and loaded photos and wrote blogs. 

David returned from bike polo around 10.30pm and we sat in the kitchen relaying tales from our lives. He has led an amazing life and he had us captivated with some of the stories he had to tell. We have had a fantastic stay here and have met a person with a great outlook on life, a true gentleman and someone we hope to be able to remain in contact with. 

27 July 2016 (cloudy and mild) 57 km

After a night of gentle, but constant rain, we woke to a dry tent, at least on the inside. Our little dome had come through when it counted as there were no pergolas or overhangs to shelter under at this campsite. In fact, this was a pretty crappy site. Only one shower from three was working and costing a pound each, the smallest of toilets and still charging ten quid to pitch in a farmers field….oh and no bloody service on internet either.

Probably the last time we will use our tent.

After a cup of tea we got stuck into some cereal before packing up the tent. We didn’t have far to go to Chester, but without a map, we definitely dragged it out. I could remember the larger towns, but  little ones like Bickley, I had no idea where they were in relation to where we wanted to go. Hence, we followed the Cheshire Cycleway, which inevitably took us in a circle around Chester. However, the riding was easy, the scenery beautiful and the country lanes at least initially, free from traffic.

beautiful country cottages en route

Church at Malpas

Stopped for a coffee, pork pie and kit kat at Farndon Sports and Social Club. Eventually rode the old Chester Road into the town and as it was already 2pm and we didn’t have a place to stay, that was priority. Saw a Premier Inn, so went and checked it out. As the saying goes…”there was no room at the Inn “ and for eighty five pounds, even if there had been, I’d rather have slept in a manger…

Into the town centre to a Costa coffee place. We don’t realise just how lucky we are in NZ as I had to get a bridging loan to buy two cups of coffee and two of the smallest cakes you’ve ever seen. But, this wasn’t the issue, we still didn’t have anywhere to lay our hat, so onto Mr Google, after a load of hassle to get online and the hunt began. Didn’t take long to realise that all accommodation in Chester was full….but from people we asked, no one could think of anything special that was on. Julia sent off a couple of requests to stay on the Warm Showers site, but nothing at first came up. It was now late afternoon and we were looking at the only option being to cycle South, the opposite direction that we wanted to go, to get a campground outside the town about 10km away. However, a lot of camps in England are members only, so we had that to consider. At the final hour, Ju received a Warm Showers reply from a man called David, who very kindly offered to host us. Grabbed the bikes, which contrary for this North West regions reputation, were still there…tee hee including the wheels and rode out to his house.

Followed the canal system until a lady suggested we go another way and then a guy suggested we go another way still…..eventually we found our way to David Mann’s home.  

A lovely home with nice grounds in a pleasant setting.  He was on his own for a week as his partner Jane, who happens to be a fitness trainer, was staying at their daughter’s house in Spain. David was extremely welcoming and we spent the rest of the evening talking about our cycling adventures, over a drink and then he cooked a delicious meal, during which we carried on the conversation with a glass of wine. We had a beautiful bedroom with a king size bed and ensuite as well as a garage for our bikes.  Our luck on this tour has been astounding and the people we have met have been amazing.  It would have been really nice to have met Jane as well, but David was the perfect host and we spoke freely about a range of topics, before calling it a day around 11pm.