About three years ago a good friend of mine, Chris, and I began to hatch a plan to cycle from our homes in Hove, near Brighton, all the way to Paris. As with many ideas of this sort plans fizzle then re-ignite but finally we got off our back sides and put the trip together…
My pace is starting to pick up now and I’m well on my way down the Danube, it’s been an interesting week or so since I last posted on the ride from Luxembourg to Strasbourg. Firstly I spent a day off resting in Strasbourg and spent a couple of hours seeing the place, I don’t know if it’s because I had no real expectations of the place (mainly stopped there as it was a logical place on the route to the Danube) or because of the nature of cycling all the way their but I really enjoyed just walking about the town.
Strasbourg Cathedral
The Cycle path entrance to Luxembourg City
So the next little leg of the trip to Strasbourg is now complete and I’ve got myself another day of sightseeing tomorrow so I thought I’d do a quick write up whilst having a night off in the hostel. Last time I left you in Hollenfels, Luxembourg where I then did a short 18 mile cycle into Luxembourg city, the first 5 miles towards Mersh through winding forests being some of the nicest cycling scenery I’ve ever seen!
Well it has certainly been a long week! My first real taste of long distance bicycle touring and I am relieved to say I am really enjoying it, even with the cold and rain. I’ve learnt a lot about my equipment and bike, how it all performs and also how I perform in terms of how much food I need to cover the miles (way more than anticipated is the answer to that!).
Leaving Hove
After a day recovering in Hove saying goodbye to friends and playing a farewell gig with my band I had a short ride to Seaford where I’d be staying in holiday bungalow with my parents for a night before catching the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry the following morning. The ride down Cycle route 2 was much nicer then the one on Routes 21 & 22 from London to Brighton mostly running along the seafront and away from main roads. Crossed paths and said hello with another fully-loaded (four panniers) cyclist who’d come from Germany.
James Finnerty 