Well, panniers are packed, I've reduced clothing to a minimum, no room for a hairdryer, hopefully the hotels will have one. Bike is ready, route planning done. If you want to look at France from the air IGN Maps Geo-Portal. There are options which let you fade between maps and the aerial photos, or, you can select relief. That's pretty scary, photos don't show up the gradients very well, and it's all lovely sunny weather and unfortunately the forecast is for showers and a southerly wind. WE don't care, we're made of stout stuff. I've warned Wendy to expect two grubby, tired and thirsty middleaged women on her doorstep in 11 days time.
Here goes, Geronimooooooooooo!!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Lace charts anyone?
I was going crosseyed trying to keep my place while knitting Print O' the Wave recently, I'd read of lace knitters who transferred each line of lace to individual cards and just flipped them over. I thought I would give it a try - and it works, it's wonderful!
Here's how I did it.
First I re-create the chart in Excel - I do this anyway so that I can have a clearer chart on an individual piece of paper.
Here's how I did it.
First I re-create the chart in Excel - I do this anyway so that I can have a clearer chart on an individual piece of paper.
fan-of-cards
Cut along the dotted lines, punch a hole in the end and use something to link them together.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A cycle ride
Annette and I will be on our way in less than two weeks. I've planned our route to take 10 stages, some shorter ones in the middle in the Dordogne and Perigord where it's pretty hilly, and longer when the terrain is more forgiving. This going by maps you understand, the only area I've actually cycled before is between Toulouse and the mediterranean.
Yesterday I was pouring over my IGNs 1cm to 1k, and adding up the mileage accurately, I have been using Via Michelin route planner to get an idea but this doesn't account for all the twists and turns of a cross country road. The second day between La Roche-Posay and Annette's brother's is 58 miles, and the day after, 60! And the end of that day is getting quite hilly. The contingency plan is; cut the stage short and find somewhere else to stay, we have 2 nights spare which we would spend with Wendy in Beziers but if required, we can take and extra 4 days to get to Toulouse and then put the bikes on the train straight to Montpellier and catch our flight back!! So, I must stop worrying, we can do it!
I've been feeling pretty flaky the last few days and so it does make you doubt your own stamina. I know Annette felt tired and unfit after a hard ride with her young and fit son - but the reality is, we know we can do 50 miles no problem, we have all day, the trick is to break it down to easier stages. So I thought I'd better get another long ride under my belt. I set off at 11 am
70k from home to the bar Le Brasserie. It's only about 43 miles, but included one long hard climb and a lot of smaller hills. I've been carrying panniers loaded with about 12lbs of water in containers to increase the work and so that there's no shock to the system when we set off in 9 DAYS TIME.
Open countryside
The Lac in the local town.
Lunch stop in the Fôret du Perseigne
Yesterday I was pouring over my IGNs 1cm to 1k, and adding up the mileage accurately, I have been using Via Michelin route planner to get an idea but this doesn't account for all the twists and turns of a cross country road. The second day between La Roche-Posay and Annette's brother's is 58 miles, and the day after, 60! And the end of that day is getting quite hilly. The contingency plan is; cut the stage short and find somewhere else to stay, we have 2 nights spare which we would spend with Wendy in Beziers but if required, we can take and extra 4 days to get to Toulouse and then put the bikes on the train straight to Montpellier and catch our flight back!! So, I must stop worrying, we can do it!
I've been feeling pretty flaky the last few days and so it does make you doubt your own stamina. I know Annette felt tired and unfit after a hard ride with her young and fit son - but the reality is, we know we can do 50 miles no problem, we have all day, the trick is to break it down to easier stages. So I thought I'd better get another long ride under my belt. I set off at 11 am
70k from home to the bar Le Brasserie. It's only about 43 miles, but included one long hard climb and a lot of smaller hills. I've been carrying panniers loaded with about 12lbs of water in containers to increase the work and so that there's no shock to the system when we set off in 9 DAYS TIME.
Open countryside
The Lac in the local town.
Lunch stop in the Fôret du Perseigne
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Saturday, September 09, 2006
er, um, shuffle, shuffle, I'm back
Okay okay. Pictures might have worked better but waiting 20 seconds between each page.... enough already.
I've copied the few post's I made after I ran off with Wordpress, headings in the side bar.
Here's what I'm working on at the moment....
It's Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave shawl, in ownspun, Max, (seen here below, kushed down), 18 wpi, acid dyed magenta with a touch of blue. The colour is darker than it looks here, I've tried to tweak it but it's close enough.
I've copied the few post's I made after I ran off with Wordpress, headings in the side bar.
Here's what I'm working on at the moment....
It's Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave shawl, in ownspun, Max, (seen here below, kushed down), 18 wpi, acid dyed magenta with a touch of blue. The colour is darker than it looks here, I've tried to tweak it but it's close enough.
Just a couple of things from yesterday
1) It was late on a lovely balmy evening with a full moon, there was the most enormous hawk moth with a really really long proboscious dipping into the huge nicotianas beside the bit of concrete we eat al fresco on patio. It was 4 times the size of the humming bird hawk moths which we see loads of.
2) The goats broke into the patch of sunflowers outside of their house, just trampled the fence down.
I tied the fence up with string and E will repair it in the morning.
3) I was sitting indoors later when a baby toad hopped across the floor. It was very hoppy and took me a while to corner it, and when I did catch it, I couldn't hold onto it as it squeezed out between my fingers - I didn't want to squash it. Got it outside on the second attempt.
4) For the second night running, one of the cats had left the entrails of a rodent in the middle of the dining room floor, just where people walk first thing in the morning half awake. In bare feet.
2) The goats broke into the patch of sunflowers outside of their house, just trampled the fence down.
I tied the fence up with string and E will repair it in the morning.
3) I was sitting indoors later when a baby toad hopped across the floor. It was very hoppy and took me a while to corner it, and when I did catch it, I couldn't hold onto it as it squeezed out between my fingers - I didn't want to squash it. Got it outside on the second attempt.
4) For the second night running, one of the cats had left the entrails of a rodent in the middle of the dining room floor, just where people walk first thing in the morning half awake. In bare feet.
My bike is being révisioned
Took my bike into Alençon yesterday for a service and any work that might need doing. Monsieur Josselin did a brief check, hubs, no play; bottom bracket, ditto, chain, slack; cassette, worn. I really hope that the changing will be better, I had shorter cranks fitted 7 (can it really be 7?) years ago and they've been tricky since, but mainly on the smallest ring which I don't use much, smirk. No, I do use my stump puller for groveling up steeper hills or when I'm carrying stuff, there's no shame in twiddling. One of the benefits of being older, no-one bats an eyelid that you are slow, which translates into, I don't care anymore. I pick it up tomorrow late pm and then voilà! I'm in business again.
This August has been dreadful weatherwise, similar to the UK, and the mornings have felt Autumnal for weeks. Today there was mist with a clear blue sky above, it's now cleared and the air is very warm and still, wonderful cycling weather. What's the betting by Friday it will be raining again?
This August has been dreadful weatherwise, similar to the UK, and the mornings have felt Autumnal for weeks. Today there was mist with a clear blue sky above, it's now cleared and the air is very warm and still, wonderful cycling weather. What's the betting by Friday it will be raining again?
Aren't kids just wonderful?
I've this year old female alpaca, Copper, who I've been slowly working with to get her used to handling but as yet she still moves away when touched. Yesterday my 5 year old grand daughter, Molly was helping me with feeding and she approached Copper, "Careful!" I said,
A bit of a cycle...
Four weeks tomorrow Annette and I are cycling to Beziers, near the French mediterranean coast from Tours, about two thirds of the way up France, west of the middle. No, I can actually read a map, I just can't think of a better way to describe it at the moment. But, I have a map to show you.
Our route is represented by the red line if you can see it. Our trip consists of 10 stages, only cycling 30 miles per day or so in the Dordonge as it's hilly, and a) Annette's never toured before or even carried panniers - but she's been in training since April, and b) we want to enjoy ourselves and not feel knackered at the end of the day.
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