2 MID-LIFE CYCLISTS IN A MOTORHOME: August 2016

Panoramic of Peniscola Harbour and old town

3rd August. We have spent the last 2 days cycling round Calpe checking out the different urbanisations and spent a final afternoon on the lovely sandy beach before we set off for Peniscola today as we slowly head north. Our destination was La Volta Stop & Go, a fabulous campsite that we stayed at last year which has a separate motorhome area but gives you full use of the pool, bar and all the campsite facilities. We needed a few bits from Decathlon so out came the bikes and we set off for the store at Vinaros before returning via Benicarlo to explore the seafront. It was a nice easy 23kms and we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

4th August. I woke up to the most awful smell and was just wondering what I had fed Glynn the day before when I realised the farmer was spraying the field behind us with manure. I must admit it wasn't the best way to wake up!! To escape the smell we got the bikes out again and cycled to Peniscola Old Town before carrying on along the coast road. It was a lovely hilly ride but with no verge to cycle on it wasn't the best road for cyclists, especially as a lot of the road surface was in quite poor condition. We did an easy 27kms before spending the rest of the day chilling in the very hot sun.

Coastline near Creixell

7th August. We have enjoyed a couple of lazy days, cycling only 12kms. We spent a couple of hours watching the Olympic road race yesterday on the big screen in the bar, accompanied by a beer or two of course and then made a lovely paella for dinner. Today we set off again heading for Creixell . It wasn't the most bike friendly area with no cycle lanes but we were only stopping for a night en route to Palamos so we did a quick ride to stretch our legs after the drive, exploring Creixell and then Roda de

Berà, adding another 21kms to August's total. It was quite a nice area, not too commercial or over developed and we enjoyed the ride.

8th August. Today we drove to Palamos through a very verdant landscape of mountains, valleys and vineyards. It was in stark contrast to the more barren landscape that we have seen in some areas. We were delighted to discover that Luigia and Gaetano, the lovely Italian couple that cooked us the mussels last year, were at Empordarea camperpark again. With the aid of google translate we enjoyed a catch up over coffee before heading to the bike shop where we bought our lovely Trek bikes last year. The funny thing was that on the way to the shop to see Núria and Jose Glynn's gear selector suddenly played up and Jose was able to fix it in a flash. Talk about good timing.

10th August. We cycled 22kms yesterday along the lovely undulating road from Palamos to Platje d'Aro. Platje d'Aro was noticeably busier compared with when we visited last year but the drivers were courteous and there was a wide verge for much of the route making it a very enjoyable ride in spite of the intense heat. Today we set off for the French border as we only have a week left until our return ferry. It was an incredibly windy day which made for a tiring drive for Glynn and then we got stuck in horrendous traffic at the border as thousands of shoppers converged on the shops that line the road just before you cross into France. After a half hour delay we eventually crossed in to France and we passed miles of almost stationary traffic trying to cross the border into Spain. It was still incredibly windy when we parked up at Gruissan and too dangerous to cycle so we went for a walk to the local Co-operative Cave where we had purchased some wine last year which they decant into containers. Clutching our empty container we got it topped up with 3 litres of Corbière wine for the bargain price of €5.55 and very pleasant it is too!!

Millau Viaduct

11th August. I have wanted to see the Millau viaduct for some time and today our route was finally going to take us there. To avoid the very pricey toll charge and also to get the best views of the bridge from down in the valley we drove down through Millau itself. The scenery was spectacular with beautiful forested mountains, deep valleys and the view of the bridge which was really impressive. It holds the record as the tallest bridge in the world and was designed by the very famous British architect Norman Foster who also designed the famous London building known as The Gherkin. It was well worth deviating down through Millau as the drive over the bridge apparently doesn't allow you to see the beauty of the construction. As we drove up out of the other side of the valley we headed for Le Cheix, our next planned stop for the night.

Coastline view from Ault

14th August. After 3 days of long drives we arrived at Le Tréport yesterday to discover the Aire was not only full but the road outside was lined with more motorhomers hoping to bag the first vacated space. We headed 2 Kms further to Mers Les Bains and found a space on a lovely little Aire that was very conveniently located close to a small shopping area so we could stock up on food. As we had travelled longer than planned each day we could afford to spend 3 days relaxing and cycling. The weather had noticeably cooled as we headed north so although it was still quite pleasant during the day we had to dig the quilts out of storage for sleeping.

We did a great ride to Ault which involved a couple of big hills but the road was narrow and dangerous for cyclists. We had a couple of inconsiderate car drivers whizz by way too close for comfort which is very unusual for French drivers. From the beach at Ault there were great views of the cliffs and round towards the landing beaches at Somme. After heading home and a quick coffee break stop we cycled to Le Tréport. The coastline is like a little roller coaster as it rises up over the cliffs and then drops down in to the seaside towns making for a very nice cycle ride.

Ready to take a leap of faith!!

On our previous visit to Le Tréport we used the Funicular to take the bikes up to the cliff top above the town but today we decided to cycle up and to be fair it was a lot easier than it looked. The views at the top were breathtaking and we stopped to watch a paraglider getting ready to launch himself off the cliff top. His preparations attracted quite a crowd and after watching his leap of faith over the cliff edge we headed out along the coast for a few kilometres before returning to the cliff top where the paraglider was still lazily circling around above the cliff on the thermals. We had cycled a very pleasant 36kms so we decided to head back and spend the evening watching a film.

17th August. After 3 lovely days sightseeing around Mers Les Bains we headed for Gravelines yesterday so that we would be close for our early Eurotunnel crossing today.

Stunning Belle Époque villas in Mers Les Bains

We had an uneventful journey home until we got near Dartford and discovered that the bridge was closed causing massive tailbacks in both directions. It took us over 90 minutes to get through the tunnel and it was a relief to finally get home. We had a lot to do as tomorrow was going to be a big day and the reason why we had cut our trip short to come home.

Still riding the thermals!

18th August. Today we set off at 6.30am to head for Mansfield. Over the last year Glynn has mentioned several times about selling Herman and downsizing slightly but I have resisted on the basis that Herman was perfect for us in almost every way and in exceptionally good condition for his age. The only downsize is the cost of tolls for a tag axle and as we hoped to explore as far afield as Greece and Scandinavia the ferries would be expensive. Glynn had been looking on Edgehill Motorhomes website which is the garage we purchased Herman from at the beginning of 2014. They had a lovely Hymer B588 in stock which was the same layout as Herman but on a slightly smaller scale. Glynn had emailed Paul and Lee at Edgehill expressing an interest when we were down in Portugal and advised them that we would be advertising Herman from sale when we returned at the end of September. Well the very next day we got a phone call from Paul to say that he had a couple who were looking for their own Herman and could he put them in touch with us. Hence the reason we are now back in England 6 weeks early and up at daft 'o' clock heading to Mansfield. After an exchange of emails we had arranged to meet the prospective new owners at Edgehill today so if everything went according to plan they would drive away in Herman and we would drive away in the B588. After we got home yesterday we emptied Herman and then spring cleaned him, although I use that term loosely as he is always immaculate thanks to Glynn's OCD with cleaning. I felt both nervous and excited as we headed north as now that Glynn had finally convinced me of the sense in upgrading I was going to be a bit disappointed if it didn't happen. Well I needn't have worried as Herman never fails to impress and just a few hours later we waved a sad goodbye to Herman as he left to go to his new home. We then set off back home in the new addition to our family. Exciting times!! Now we just had to decide where to go to test her out.

19th August. Well Glynn still hasn't removed the grin from his face since we left Mansfield yesterday. After a brief discussion we have christened the new motorhome Hermione. As we have limited time to go away we decided that we will spend 2 weeks in France testing her out and we managed to book a nice cheap ferry deal travelling from Dover to Dunkirk on the 5th September. We will spend the next 2 weeks making a start on the decorating and planning where in France to head!!

This is the second year running we have had to cut our tour short, last year we dashed home when we got a buyer for our house and this year it was to buy a new motorhome. I have saved the itineraries that I had planned so hopefully next year we can pick up where we left off. I am really keen to do some cycling in the Alps and I can't wait to see the stunning scenery so we may head that way en route to Spain next year, time permitting as we have to be in Calpe for a special friend's 60th birthday party in May. In spite of the long trips we did heading north towards Calais we still managed to squeeze in a few short cycle rides, totalling 197 kms. Hopefully when we get back to France we will manage to get out a lot more and the temperature should be a lot more conducive to cycling. We have managed over 1100 kms this trip but I had hoped for a lot more so next year, subject to no more crashes, we will be aiming to greatly increase this distance.