Warming up.

I rarely take notice of guide books but I have been dipping into this one already and have been getting excited.  Cicerone are a local company to us, they are based in Kendal and they do all sorts of walking and cycling guides of Britain and around the world - have a look at them online at https://www.cicerone.co.uk/

Today, we popped down to the market stalls in Kendal on our bikes.  For the first time I loaded Janice’s bike up with two panniers and made her bring all the fruit and veg back home.  She said she could feel the difference.....it didn’t take long for the ‘whining’ to start.  So now you know why I have titled the the blog as I have!

We have had a few practice rides.  Last week we were out with friends on the lanes of South Cumbria.  We had lunch at the Masons Arms, Strawberry Bank in the Winster Valley.  We had fabulous views of the southern Lake District and confirmed what we love about cycling and the area we live in.

We only have a couple of weeks before we start our journey.  We actually set off from home on Saturday 31st August and travel down south for a few days before crossing the Eurotunnel on Thursday 5th September in our motorhome.  I will start the blog proper at that time.  We travel down to a caravan site north of Basel on Wednesday 11th September where I have arranged a temporary storage of our motorhome for 4 weeks at (what seems like) a reasonable price of 10 euros per week.  We then ride to Basel, catch a train to Konstanz and begin the cycling tour properly the following day.  I usually book accommodation 2-3 days ahead so that our itinerary is flexible.  The first three nights are already booked...so lets hope it all goes smoothly.

At the end of the cycle ride we will probably extend our trip in our motorhome for a few more weeks (travelling back as close to the official Brexit date as we dare).  We don't have a plan about where we will go in that time...wherever the mood takes us.