Like Nathan Jones, I’ve been gone too long, and it is time to update my loyal readership (if he’s in) on my plans for this year’s trip.
First, a quick update…
After returning home from France last Summer, I spent a restful few weeks fitting in a bit of paid employment around watching the World Cup and attending the odd international cricket fixture. Cycling momentum was maintained by a day-long (Long Day!) cross-Pennine ride from my home in North Yorkshire to Manchester to mark the start of the football season, during which I learned that YORKSHIRE IS BIG, MAN, REALLY BIG. AND LUMPY: 90+ miles, encompassing both side of the Pennines, before I reached Lancashire somewhere along the Rochdale Canal. I followed that up with a highly enjoyable and successful week-long circuit in Holland with The Baroness in September, before Autumnal torpor and the pressure of work led me to let things slip.
I picked the bike up again in Spring, having by then formulated my plans for June. A warm weather training holiday in Majorca early this month did not go entirely to plan, what with British Airways contriving to send my baggage with all my cycling kit in it to Rio, a great hotel with very accommodating staff and beer on tap, a lovely little cafe that served the most excellent cocktails, and The Baroness suffering a nasty fall; suffice to say, my shorts have been fitting a little more snugly since I got back. I did manage one 70 mile circuit along the North East coast on a rickety hired hybrid bike, which has helped convince me that I’m more or less ready to go. I guess I’ll find out after I set off in just over a week.
This ride has been in my mind for a few years. 6 June 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of the D-day landings, so I thought it would be a nice idea to commemorate that and raise a bit of money for ex-servicemen on the way by plotting a route that roughly follows that taken by Montgomery’s 21st Army Group across North-West Europe in 1944-5. After arriving in Normandy for the anniversary commemorations, I’ll be riding solo from Caen through Northern France and Belgium to Antwerp, where I will rest for a day and meet up with a friend, colleague and recently-retired, long-serving army medic and military historian. Suitably reinforced, we will both then strike West to the Belgium-Dutch border South of Eindhoven, from where we intend to traverse the battlefields and bridges of Operation Market Garden (“A Bridge Too Far”) to Arnhem / Oosterbeek. We will then cross into Germany, and head North-East pausing at Bergen-Belsen, before reaching Luneberg, the nearest town to the site where the Germans surrendered to Monty at Luneberg Heath. From there, we will head South-East to Berlin for a few days R&R.
In contrast to previous trips I have undertaken, the route in Europe is not a circular one, so I will not be able to drive myself and the bike to a convenient UK port – instead, the trip will be sandwiched between a mix of train journeys and some challenging bike rides to get me to the ports and home again. All in all, I expect to cover around 1,200 miles – a substantial increase in distance compared to last year – and climb over 10k metres.
I’ll update this blog as I go. In the meantime, if you feel like donating a few quid to SSAFA, I have set up a Just Giving page (link below). All proceeds, apart from the website’s admin costs (11%), go directly to the charity, and do not in anyway contribute to my expenses, which are entirely self-funded. Donations will provide a welcome boost to morale when the legs are flagging, or lagging from too much beer, and will go to an excellent cause, so please consider it.
More to follow. Adieu, mes amis.
The Trick Cyclist 