So it’s been a while since my first and last post.

Many things have happened and I’ve got a lot more bike fit that’s for sure.

With the exception of one horrific day battling a 35mph headwind it’s been a great success.

Since I left Lannion in France I’ve stopped at the following places: St Brieuc, St Malo, Dol de Bretagne, Le Mont Saint-Michel, Avranches, Saint-Lo, Bayeux, Gold Beach, Benouville (Pegasus Bridge), Dieppe, Herlin-le-Sec, Lille, Roubaix, Brussels, Antwerp, Breda, Rotterdam, The Hague, Zandvoort and Bloemendaal aan Zee.

I've met friends (old and new) and learn something new everyday.

Experiencing the world by bicycle gives you a different perspective you can take time to appreciate your surroundings and don’t have a barrier to the outside world. It gives you a sense of freedom that i can't really describe.

One particular day in France I rocked up at a friend of a friends house who I’d never met before, after having ridden 72 miles (turned out to be a top man), got taken off to his cousins 40th birthday party where I only I knew 2 people and nobody spoke a word of English! It was a real blast, took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to communicate to people using a mixture of terrible French and hand signals. I had to get up the next day feeling worse for wear and cycle 50 miles to Lille!

Since the trip started I’ve not experienced any anxiety at all. As someone who’s done this before said “the easy part is the cycling”. I concur the only stressful bit is trying to find a place to stay every night but you get used to it. 

My bike fitness has definitely got better and it’s certainly helped that Belgium and The Netherlands are exteremely flat. Didn’t think that I would be regularly putting in days of 60-70 miles. Rest days are important though, especially at the start. Adapting your kit to minimise weight and balancing that weight from front to back has helped.

Haven’t actually camped much since the start. Getting the tent up and down quickly and organising your kit is essential. The rain definitely doesn’t help but I can’t complain.

My next big stop is Hamburg for my birthday on 12th April, Copenhagen on 3rd May and Bordeaux on 13th May. 

If I spend more than 2 days off the bike i get impatient. Can’t wait to get going again in the morning. Here’s some pictures of my journey so far!