Belgium Classics

Great time to go to Belgium and watch the Classics: 

E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde, Tour of Flanders, La Flche Wallone, Liège - Bastogne - Liège, are all coming up over the next month.

Make a short break out of it: DFDS get you to Dunkerque and you can cycle through Ypres and Passendael to get to all those cobbles. 
Here is one I did earlier...

Ypres Cycle Tour

Some recommended mappage...

Stoves

There is, seemingly, not much to a camping stove. But, if you can be bothered and have nothing better to do, you can find plenty of variations upon a theme to pose a ponderous process of choosing.

We are cyclists. We have bikes. Or, perhaps, we are walkers with a pack on the back. Either way we, sadly, won't be going for this:

Compact stoves are much of a muchness; some are marginally faster at boiling than others while there are lighter and even more compact models. It is probably the fuel that is more of an issue. 

Liquid and solid fuel stoves are not the fastest but the fuel is easier to get hold of – ‘Fill her up please, mate!’ The compact, one-piece gas stoves are faster but the gas cartridges, what with their differing fittings, can be harder to come by and, without accessories, are not very stable. Camping Gaz are the most prevalent gas to be found though their stoves are not very compact or light. The screw-in stove needs Coleman or Primus gas.












The stoves below would be the best choice if it were not for the bulk and/or weight. They are much more stable on uneven ground and easier to use as the control is remote from the burner. This makes for safer cooking and reduces the chances of your slimy pasta ending up in an oozing, unmanageable soil-sprinkled pile just outside your tent door. Some stoves even come with their own pseudo-electric Piezo ignition (a spark generator).  Some stoves add to their weight by the addition of a brass pipe close to the lit burner. The heat vaporises the gas and makes for a more efficient stove.

New kit

Winter - time to shed a skin. Upgraded the drivetrain and new wheels: 36 hole Sputnik rims with LX670 hubs and double butted spokes - £180. I'll be recycling the old wheels/hubs for use on my town bike. Despite the Alex DH19 failing on the Panorama I have managed to locate a replacement in Germany for €15 plus €14 del. My LBS will happily swap the rims for £30.00.

Comfort and sleep are often neglected when camping.  After all, the mission is the ride and the bike and not the snug-as-a-bugness of your tenting gear. One of my cyclo-buddies doesn't get a wink of shut-eye in a tent and so after the three days of a dash, he is not a happy chappy and any kind of eye contact or attempt at communication is best avoided. However, I am striving to get my tent stuff to be comfy. I can't be doing with the claustrophobic confines of mummy bags. I'm not the only one. The worldwidewebbernet is collapsing under the weight of the confessions of anonymous, secular camper types who are rejecting mummy bags: they want freedom! They want to be able to hang a leg out if it gets a bit warm! They have had enough of unzipping!

And so I have gone for a quilt.

There are not a lot to choose from. There the Thermarest offerings: regulus, vela and auriga. These are either too heavy or not warm enough. Then there are the sleeping bags that unzip to become a quilt or blanket. I wanted something to come in at less than a kilo, less than 30cmx20cm compressed, and season 2/3 ish -12 to +3 to +9 (this temperature range should not be confused with your chainset teeth configuration). I checked out the North Face Aluetian range (too bulky), the Deuter treklites(not bad but a wee bit bulky), RAB explorer 300 - fantastic but discontinued. Exped - good but pricey. Then I came across this by accident - on sale. A bit pricey even with the sale price but otherwise it exactly fits the bill - except, being a quilt, it does not have a temperature rating. But, by going by the fill weight, it must be reasonably warm and it is advertised for use in spring/summer:

Mountain Equipment Helium Trekker Quilt.

I managed to find this at Hill and Dale and on sale very briefly for £141. It weighs 600g - less than one of my sandwiches - and the pack size is 14x18cm, again, less than one of my sandwiches.

Le Dash - Normandy

It is that time of year again. As we awaken from the gloom of a dark, dank winter, and while birds chirp and daffodils bloom then wither, we ponder our first big rides. We google ambitious destinations - Donetsk, Mosul, Swindon - to see what we can manage in a long weekend. 95 miles a day - a cinch! We forget the rubbishy weather this time last year and the puddles in the corner of the tent, the punctures, the snap happy spokes, the boil. But, we don't forget the sunrise, the spires wrapped in mist, the babbling brooks, the vin, the croissants, the bitter intoxicating whiff of freshly ground 'café'...

The ubiquitous blue line on google maps has been dragged hither and thither to avoid cycling down a French motorway and the route is set - my associate, Neil, and I are doing a quick tour of Normandy. The infamous overnight ferry to Dieppe then up and over to Rouen and the Seine; over to the Vire river and Saint Lo; up a velo route

(Voie Verte du Cotentin de Cambernon à Rocheville), across to Utah beach, back through Bayeux and along Sword and Juno beaches to Ouistreham for the overnight back Portsmouth. Lots of good views, photo ops, oohs and aahs and sobering relics. The hillage doesn't seem to be too demanding - on screen - but there are several rivers heading to Le Manche and so there will be the crossing of valleys to enjoy. The blue line is approx 250 miles long and shares some of the highways and byways of the Tour de Manche. 

Some travel blurb - the DFDS Newhaven Dieppe ferry leaves at 00.30 hundred O'clock hours am. This allows a late start from London - on a cheap fare as little as as a fiver if booked well ahead. The ferry is about £28 per person and includes the bike. The trip is a mere four hours so don't expect to arrive too bright-eyed and bushy tailed - what with a couple of medicinal beers and wriggling around in a reclining seat, it's more a case of arriving bright-tailed and bushy-eyed. The journey back is £135 for two sharing a two-bunk cabin on a Brittany Ferries' crossing that leaves at 23.45. Portsmouth arrives at the boat at 6.45 and there is a 9.16 train back to London for £8 (if bought well in advance) after a load of £35 trains.

The ferry options improve in May as the much shorter and speedier Cherbourg to Portsmouth route opens for summery business.