Arranged to hire a bicycle this morning as the weather forecast was good. Temperature was 25 degrees Celsius, winds were light, so a good day for a run. My planned route was a mix of off-road and on tarmac (about 30% off road). Sun was getting hot, so after a liberal application of sunscreen, it was time to hit the road.
First few K’s in town were on cycle tracks so easy so far. Then I moved off road where it was a bit bumpy and rocky and apart from a few 4x4’s I had the track to myself. Then the sun started getting hotter, the wind got up a bit, the track started getting really rocky and interspersed with sand – even some 4x4’s started having second thoughts. Cycling on sand was hard, bike sliding a bit and generally unstable. The (few) towns I passed through were not named and there were no signs. Lot’s of 4x4 drivers studying maps and trying to work out where they were – thank heavens I had GPS. So only about 5K’s to the next town so persevere with the sand, potholes and rocks. Then the road turned to tarmac as I passed a lighthouse – relief. Using my GPS managed to work out the correct route and soon was setting off to pass the volcanoes. Sun was really hot now, so after covering a bit of distance, stopped off in a roadside bar for an ice cold beer. Barmaid seem impressed that I had cycled the long way round.
Now moving on to main roads so a bit more traffic and got overtaken by some Germans on flash racing bikes, my rather clunky mountain bike could not compete.
Now moving on to the home straight on a main road. Wind was behind me so an easy run back. A cold beer at the end of the run, followed by a dip in the pool really hit the spot.
Vital statistics : Distance 43km, Duration 3 hours 2 mins, Average speed 14.2km/h, max speed 37.7km/h.
Some pictures taken on route below. The originals contain Geotags so should show location information.
(The small white creature on the saddle is a Teddy Bear (Polar Bear) which accompanied me on the trip).
So where was I? Look at the KML file (link below) on Google Earth to find out…. First person to comment on this blog with the correct location wins 5 “Cycle Points”
http://sites.google.com/site/joewillisinfo/JW04March2010.kml?attredirects=0&d=1 (You will need Google Earth to view this – see below. This is a text file, open in Notepad if concerned)
So after 43km I didn't feel too bad. Legs a bit stiff for an hour or so after the run but recovered quickly. So a run just under half what we will need to do each day – well it’s a start.
