Most kit lists I see are either made at the beginning of the trip or seem to be what someone would carry ideally. This list is what was in my bags when I got home as I forgot to make a list before I left. There are some stupid things in there. For instance a…
I spent a nice couple of days in Luxembourg with my friends and their new baby. It was strange to meet their child, of whom there had been no evidence when I passed through at the start of my trip but was now the most important thing in my friends’s lives. Life had definitely moved…
In Geneva I ate and drank too much, like the last time I rode through, and generally enjoyed myself. It was good to be staying with friends again. Leaving felt different than the first time, then I was taking another step from home and the things I knew. This time I was heading closer to…
I left Beziers on a cold morning with my host from the night before: Jean Luc. He rode with me for a bit to make sure I took the right route. This meant I rode from Beziers along the canal du midi before eventually coming out at the Mediterranean. It was, as you’d expect in winter,…
After a nice night at Sylvain’s in Zaragoza I headed out to complete the next stage of my trip towards Geneva. I got out of the city far more comfortably than I got in as I’d been given a cycle map of the area. It wasn’t long and I was riding along on the N11…
At Fort Lauderdale airport I got my bag and bike checked in with no problems and I settled in to wait for my flight to Madrid. It was delayed about an hour but I wasn’t bothered as I had a long layover in Copenhagen, sitting in the departures lounge in Florida as opposed to Denmark…
In Vero Beach I was fortunate enough to be staying with the parents of an old friend who were kind enough to take me in for a couple of nights. Jackie and Pat were very welcoming and I felt very spoilt. The first night I arrived Jackie invited some friends over for a delicious dinner…
I originally only planned to stay one night in Gainesville but when my hosts Nicole and Jack said it was ok to stop longer I jumped at the chance. I’d done seven days straight from New Orleans and was happy to give my muscles a chance to rest. I spent a nice day in Gainesville,…
In Mobile I was very glad I’d been lucky enough to be hosted by Ken, not least because it was the coldest night I’d traveled through since last winter. The temperature got down to around minus 6 Celsius, which is no fun in the tent. Riding the next morning it felt even colder with the…
For my first night in Lafayette I was hosted by Becky and John, who were unfailingly kind. They and their son, who was also visiting with his own family, gave me a lot of good advice for the city. They also assured me I shouldn’t be worried about alligators as it was winter. This was…
Riding ROUND 