endurance

Day 4: Haamstede Burgh to Katwijk

| tom@Childsi

Day four went very well for Julien. The weather picked up staying sunny at around 22 degrees all day and as a result he was able to get many more miles under his belt. Julien says that Holland is an amazing country to ride in, with excellent cycle paths through and alongside picturesque fields.

After a busy morning cycling along the Dutch coast Julien stopped in for lunch at a cafe in Stellendam where he reports he had a first class burger!

After lunch he continued on, making it to Rotterdam where he came across a special escalator for cyclists and pedestrians that leads underneath a large river and up the other side. Luckily he managed to utilise the escalator despite his very heavy bike!

After passing Rotterdam Julien found a great campsite surrounded by sand dunes at Katwijk aan Zee where he has decided to stay for the night. The good weather has given Julien a chance to dry his wet clothes from the last few days and begin to develop a rather patchy suntan!

Tomorrow Julien will touch the famous North Sea cycle route and continue on his way to Nordkapp.

For those of you following the route here is today’s Google Map. Please show you support by visiting the Child’s i Foundation and Julien’s Just Giving page.

Day 3: De Panne to Haamstede Burgh

| tom@Childsi

Day three and just a quick update today as Julien is having trouble getting a phone signal so our communications have been limited to text messages!

It sounds like Julien has done incredibly well today, covering 84 miles across the northcoast of Belgium and making it into Haamstede Burgh in Holland. This whilst contending with heavy thunderstorms and hail. Holland’s well known flat landsacape meant that he had no cover – ouch!

Julien has found that the roads in Holland are excellent for cycling and a real improvement over those in the UK. If the weather permits and Julien keeps up the fast pace tomorrow he hopes to get past Rotterdam and close in on Amsterdam. I’m sure he will make it!

Google Map of Today’s Route.

Please remember why Julien is undertaking this epic journey and visit his Just Giving page and the Child’s i Foundation website. Thank you!

Day 2: Faversham to De Panne

| tom@Childsi

Julien again faced bad weather and useless maps as he continued his cycle to the coast. Much like yesterday Julien had to make a 30 mile detour off the planned route to get back on track. This meant that he only just made the 2 o’clock ferry to Dunkirk. The rain died down as he crossed the channel but sadly picked up again as he set foot in Dunkirk.

Julien got off at Dunkirk along with a large number of trucks which he had to cycle alongside until he found an alternative route. Eventually he ended up getting a bit lost again and kept ending up back on the motorway leading out of Dunkirk. After a while, Julien decided to pull into a shop where he used his best French to communicate with the locals – one of whom cycled ahead of Julien for around 6 miles to the main road into De Panne!

After around 20km Julien made it to the town of De Panne. As the bad weather persisted he decided to spend the night in a local hotel. Julien is hoping for better weather and the chance to camp out in the open tommorrow. The good news is that Belgium has great cycle ways, so from here on in, progress should be a bit quicker!

Please click the buttons on the right to sponsor Julien and help out the Child’s i Foundation. Thank you.

Google Map Day Two

Day 1: London to Faversham

| tom@Childsi

Hello, my name is Tom Phillips. I will be updating Julien’s blog with news from the road as he travels from London to Nordkapp, the most northern point of mainland Europe. Julien is embarking upon this epic journey of around 2,500 miles, to raise money and support for the wonderful charity the Child’s i Foundation. So please do your bit by donating money on Julien’s Just Giving site and by visiting the Child’s i website. Thank you!

So on to the first day – unfortunately things haven’t gone exactly according to plan! This morning Julien discovered that his bike and gear was going to be a little too heavy for such a long trip. Once some excess baggage was removed Julien set out only to discover his speedometer had broken, this was then followed by a puncture on the rear tyre of his brand new bike!

To add to this Julein had to contend with some very inacurate ordinance survey maps which had him cycling down dead ends and alleyways. To catch up on his mile target Julien decided to veer off the planned route and head along the A226 for some quicker riding. So there weren’t too many exciting sights on the way today, but Julien did mention that he saw some great views whilst cycling through Erith in South London. As the weather turned nasty late this afternoon Julien decided to forgo camping and has instead settled down in a B&B just outside Faversham.

Overall he clocked up 70 miles today – not bad going considering the slow start. Let’s hope for a better day tomorrow as Julien catches the ferry to Dunkirk and begins his journey across Belgium.

A Google Map of the journey so far!

Day 11: Hasket Newmarket to Kendour YHA

| Zapfly

Total mileage: 88
Terrain: Hills – Very challenging and long day

We had not intended to make today such a long day but things conspired against us and we ended up cycling for 13 hours again.  We did pass a big landmark today, as the image shows below, we made it to Scotland.  I also set a new top speed record for the trip, beating Pete by hitting 45.5mph – bloody scary on a fully loaded bike!

Hasket Newmarket was lovely and the cycle ride up to Dalston for breakfast was very pleasant.  We had cereal and fruit for a change, leaving the full English aside.  From Dalston, we went via Carlisle, a super- grim town after the beauty of the Lakes.  Things got a little tricky thereafter, as we cycled on B roads that run parallel to the M6 motorway.  Our plans came undone when the road ran out, with only the motorway as an option.  There was a lot of construction going on, so we decided to cycle through the road works, along the M6.  Things went well until we were stopped by the Foreman.  He gave us an earful about the safety aspect and that we should go back and around (a 12 mile detour).  He fortunately relented and allowed us through, over the border and into Scotland.

As soon as we crossed the border, the weather turned foul and started to drizzle.  We had to join the A75, a dual carriageway from Gretna to Dumfries.  Fortunately, Mary had an alternative plan and we hopped onto a minor road, which was far more pleasant.  We were about 5 miles outside Dumfries when the skies opened and we were all completely soaked.  As we rolled into Dumfries, we were unsure whether to press on or stop and dry off.

Our decision was made for us by the fact that there was nowhere safe for us to leave the bikes, so we bought some food and headed to the tourist office.  Here, we bought a map of Scotland and talked to the guys there about where we should head to.  They recommended a place called St Johns.

Unfortunately, this meant getting back on the dual carriageway and cycling in the rain.  All of us were cold, tired and fed up of the busy roads.  All of this changed once we got off the A roads.  We were fortunate enough to cycle a wet but gorgeous road, another top 5 road for the trip for me.

The biggest blow of the day came when we got to St Johns.  All of the hostels, hotels and B&Bs were booked out, including some rancid Scottish woman who lied through her teeth saying one moment that she had room and suddenly changing her mind the next.  What really galled us was that she said there was a YHA hostel 10 miles up the road, in the middle of nowhere.  We were cold, tired and hungry and really not in the mood for this crap.

Our early impressions of Scotland were somewhat saved from complete damnation when we eventually arrived at the hostel.  We were greeted by some really friendly people, given great rooms with incredible views and then food by the other people present.  Overall, a very long day indeed that ended really rather well.