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Off yet again!

On Friday the 25th of May, intrepid traveler Kaye is off on her next adventure! This time cycling from Dublin to Denmark, on the TDA Global Cycling “Pub Ride”. I’ll be receiving, editing, and uploading her missives for your entertainment once again, so watch this space. This ride is the first of hers that I’ve actually been even slightly interested in doing myself! Heading off to the UK/Europe for their summer, cycling from pub to pub, visiting breweries, staying in hotels? Sounds great! Well, apart from the cycling part . . .

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The Experience

Over 5 weeks we’ll cycle from storied Dublin to the waterfront of Copenhagen. Through Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Denmark. To the great cities of Belfast, Edinburgh, York, London, Bruges, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hamburg. Each day’s journey through lush green countryside, villages and historic cities giving us an opportunity to discover a new land, a new brew, a new spirit!

We’ll leave our tents at home for this journey, with a bed greeting us each night and we’ll share our meals together in local eateries. For it is in the pubs where the community meets, where stories are told and retold and where local life unfolds.

After a night of sampling a couple pints of the ‘real’ Guinness and perhaps a few shots of Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey the riders will head out from the historic Temple Bar area of Dublin and head north through the green Irish countryside before catching a ferry to Scotland. After a day sipping some of Scotland’s finest single malt whiskies in Edinburgh’s legendary pubs the cyclists will spin south stopping each evening to sample some of the local brews. Another day off will allow the riders to explore some of England’s most fascinating medieval architecture – the walled city of York. The last stretch takes the cyclists through the fabled university city of Cambridge before cycling into London past Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Tower Bridge. This cosmopolitan city marks the mid-point of this amazing adventure.

Leaving the British capital after a couple of days of exploring the city’s numerous pubs, the riders will head south to the White Cliffs of Dover. There they will board a ferry to cross the English Channel to the European continent and Bruges, a picturesque town whose medieval old town is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. A rest day in Belgium’s capital, Brussels will give the participants a chance to sample some of the world’s finest beers, perfected over the years by Trappist monks, initially to aid in their fasting. A couple days later the tour spins into the home of Heineken, Amsterdam and its renown cafes, canals, bicycles and red light district.

The route now takes the cyclists across Northern Germany stopping for a rest day in Hamburg, the country’s largest port. Here riders can revel in the city’s maritime spirit and, over a litre mug of the local brew, remember how this city started the Beatles on their storied career. In another couple of days the cyclists will find themselves on a ferry heading for the shores of Denmark, the last country on this tour. Home to Tuborg and Carlsberg, two of the world’s most well-known breweries, the friendly and welcoming city of Copenhagen marks a fitting end to the Pub Ride.

 

Categories: Cycling trip, Information, The Pub Ride, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Up next: The Odyssey

My next trip is not far away now! This time in two weeks I will be on the plane 🙂  On my way to join The Odyssey for section 2 and 3 (I am missing section 1), cycling from Sarajevo to Amsterdam.

As always I am regretting my increased girth and lack of training, but looking forward to the trip. After the trip I am catching up with my daughter Shellbe who is currently living in London. Then I head home and back to reality, until the next trip! 🙂 I

I am doing 22 riding days and 2,150 kilometres, so keeping at the roughly 100kms a day riding rate from previous trips – but this time there is no tent, no sleeping bag, and no sleeping mat – it’s proper accommodation all the way, wahoo!

 

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Categories: Cycling trip, Information, Preparations, The Odyssey | 10 Comments

Another trip begins! (Friday 11 Nov)

I had a feeling of “too much to do” before I was due to head off on Friday. I went into work on Sunday (6th Nov) to try and get stuff sorted. When I left work on Sunday night I had 21 things on my “must do” work list. On Monday night went I left work I had 25!  Somehow I got every single one off my list by home time on Thursday, at least to the state of handing over where I was up to with it.

Unusually for me I left packing till the last minute, I hope I have everything. I have been using the trip bike for the past month and bought new shoes a month ago. The good thing with doing the trip in NZ is if I have forgotten anything I will easily be able to buy it.

We set off from Wellington at midday on Friday. We got a rental car to drive up rather than flying and having to box up the bikes. Plus then there was no pressure to be at the airport by a certain time. We drove to Taupo and stayed at a place called The Cove, it was very nice. Nicer I suspect than anywhere I will be staying the next month. We went to the supermarket and got some cheese and crackers, and picked up Indian take aways for dinner.

On Saturday morning we went to a cafe for breakfast. Crikey, the service was slow! I had read the whole Dominion Post by the time my food arrived. When it did arrive, it wasn’t worth the wait. I had a Spanish omelette, but it was hard and flat and had no olives or tomatoes and was pretty uninspiring, but by that stage I was hungry so I ate it.

Then we drove to Auckland and got stuck in the traffic coming into the city, from the Bombay Hills onwards it was crawling speed only and this was Saturday – I can’t even imagine what it must be like during the week.  It was a bit of a mission finding the place we are staying in Auckland with the one way traffic system, but we got there in the end. The place we stayed on Saturday night is less than 5 minutes from the start hotel.

We unpacked and then took the rental car back which was a couple of kilometres away. We then walked back along the waterfront and stopped at a bar called the “Y not” and had some lovely mussels in coconut cream and coriander, plus a couple of cold beers. Then we walked a bit further round and called in at bar and had a red wine. Then we headed back to the apartment. On the way we stopped to get tea bags and I bought a small bottle of calci-trim milk.

We had a great view from our apartment, and sat and watched the view change from day to night, munching on cheese and crackers.

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Auckland waterfront – woohoo, we are on holiday!

Categories: Information, Preparations, Trans-Oceania | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Trans-Oceania 2016

Only 10 days till Kaye is off on her next trip! This one isn’t an ‘Epic’ trip for Kaye – she is just doing the 2,095 kilometre leg of the trip in little old New Zealand – right in her back yard!

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Kaye will be joining a trip that started at the top of Australia in Darwin and travelled down to Sydney, before flying across the Pacific to begin the NZ leg in Auckland. They’ll then travel down the North Island before a brief stop in Kaye’s home town of Wellington, then continuing on down the South Island to Queenstown.

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South American Epic: Section 9

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South American Epic: Section 8

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South American Epic: Section 7

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South American Epic: Section 6

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South American Epic: Section 5

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South American Epic: Section 4

To give you an overview of the next section of the ride:
Stage4mapstage4picThe Experience 

Heading south of Lima with the Pacific Ocean as their companion, the South American Epic cyclists will spin into Paracas where they may get to see the local sea lions and seals, indulge in ceviche or take a dune buggy ride. A couple days later the riders will roll into Nazca for a rest day spent flying over the incredible Nazca Lines.

Hopefully Nazca will invigorate the riders whose endurance will now be tested as they pedal upwards for 7 straight days, climbing over 12,000m in total into the towering Andes mountains and spending about 200kms at over 4000m. The nights will be cool so be sure to purchase an alpaca sweater and hat if you have not brought enough warm clothes. Finally, the welcoming lights of Cusco will appear in the distance where the riders will have 3 rest days to enjoy the city’s charms and, of course, the world-famous icon of Inca civilization, Machu Picchu.

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