OK so it wasn't the finish we'd envisaged crossing the 'Ness on bikes arms outstretched and a baring of bums to signify in true Aussie fashion a safe and succesful conclusion to our cycle epic !
Arriving in the relative luxury of a car did spoil that image but H did try his best by baring his bum anyway although I must admit not in celebration of the journey but in an ongoing attempt to dry out his painful and going by his constant groaning, most likely life threatening hip wound !
Never the less the achievement of 2 such oldies in cycling continuously through 8 countries over 3 months in the ice cold rain of Switzerland to the heatwave conditions of the UK (yes you read correctly !) on all sorts of hemorrhoid causing terrain is a worthy effort indeed !
Actually come to think of it 2 grown men spending 3 months together day in day out in close confines without applying for a same sex marriage licence is equally meritorious and also just a little bit weird !
3 months of togetherness has given us a new found appreciation of each other - I for one have been amazed by Kev's cycling determination and musical ability. I hope to shortly release a CD comprising a best of .... a likely hit medley of burping / farting / slurping / gnawing and nashing sound effects that I have come to truely love !
I'm sure Kev could also share a few of my idiosyncrasies including my ability to go from relatively normal to a raving swearing lunatic in the space of 2-3 seconds when things aren't going all that well !
Overall our journey has been with few incidents if you don't count flying through a farmers fence without brakes or skidding across a bitumen road using your lycra bike shorts for leathers as significant incidents.
In fact I've felt more endangered driving in the last week but that might have something to do with Henleys want to be an F1 driver resulting in narrow scrapes with stone walls and the occasional attempt to drive through towns the wrong way down one way roads !
Along the way we've seen some stunning places, the magic Moselle & Rhine, the wild Jura Region of Switzerland, the spectacular Vecors of France. The amazing spiritual solitude of the Camino, the wide open mestas of Spain, the timeless antiquity of England and the raw majesty of Wales and Scotland - what a ride !
Today though was a quiet drive as we left Grantown on Spey journeying through isolated moors to Nairn and then on Inverness.
With a couple of hours to kill before we could book in to our hotel we took a drive along nearby Loch Ness, well we think it was Loch Ness as it was too hard to see anything behind the trees and bushes.
The popular stopping point at Urquhart's castle was over run by tourists and with an 8 pound 50 entrance fee these two "jock" tightwads decided that it just wasn't worth it !
Booking info our hotel on the river back in Inverness Kev went searching for more pharmacy items to help turn his hip into something that resembles skin so we can attempt the 2 days of cycling planned in Bournemouth later in the week.
As for the cricket what can I say , with good weather in Scotland it rained most of the day in Manchester allowing the Cocky Enghlish to escape with a draw and once again maintain the ashes - roll on November !
Well done guys. I have enjoyed keeping tabs on your journey and will miss the regular updates. I am intrigued to know if all your posts were from your tablets, or did you have a laptop? The volume of writing seems to suggest you weren't using an on-screen keyboard. If you were then you must be patient!
ReplyDeleteI am interested as my wife and I are about to go off for 6 weeks with just tablets this time. She is an avid blogger and has always used a laptop, but while she is on that I never get a look in. We will be taking a tablet each ( apart from those that we ingest every morning) . I have a bluetooth keyboard for her ( using it for this ). I am hoping that will suffice.
Anyway, Mike you are amost enjoyable blogger. I hope Kev gets over his rash in time for a long flight home. Thanks. E2
PS If you used a tablet did you use the Blogger app on android?
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ReplyDeleteWell done boys. A fantastic journey of which I really enjoyed my daily read. You've seen some wonderful sights and met some great and some not so great people, all of which has made good reading. Not once did I read that the coffee was not hot enough, fair testament to a successful holiday.
ReplyDeleteKev's road rash is a good medal as a reminder of the holiday, but please Henley, we don't want to see it!
The New Forest should be a good place to end your cycling odyssey.
Cheers and thanks
WMc