2 MID-LIFE CYCLISTS IN A MOTORHOME: August/September 2019

The Needles, Isle of Wight

Alum Bay, IoW

We've enjoyed a very busy summer since we got back from Spain at the end of July. Our mini break to the New Forest didn't quite go according to plan. You would think that a break away in August is a fairly safe bet for half decent weather but not in England. It was cold, wet and windy with short periods of sunshine in-between which meant that we only actually managed one short 30km bike ride to Beaulieu. We filled our time instead enjoying some lovely walks around Lymington and also spent a very enjoyable day on a coach trip to the Isle of Wight. There were huge thunder clouds rolling in and it rained heavily but somehow we seemed to keep one step ahead of it as our coach took us to all the highlights of the island.

Cream tea!!

No visit to the island would be complete without a cream tea so we ended our trip with delicious scones with jam and cream. I like to follow the Cornish tradition and always put jam on first and then the cream.

We have completed everything we had planned decorating wise and the bungalow has been transformed from the poor state it was in when we bought it. There is only the kitchen left to do but that will wait until another time. We have made several trips to Sheffield in between and also managed a short break to see my sister Cheryl and her husband Brian who have moved from Ipswich to South Hetton near Durham.

Storm clouds over Ventnor, IoW

It looks like a great area for cycling so hopefully next time we go we'll take our bikes and do some exploring.

As Glynn's mum has been diagnosed with Alzheimers we have decided not to spend our normal winter in Goa in order to be closer to home so we will be spending the next 5 months in our friends Chris and John's house in Torre de la Horadada, a lovely area just north of the Mar Menor. We had booked the house with the aim that Glynn's mum would be able to come out and have a holiday with us as she loves Spain but sadly she no longer feels able to leave the familiarity of her home. The change in location means we can enjoy a very active winter of cycling rather than our usual one of laying on the beach and we are really excited at the change after spending the last 5 winters in Goa although a little bit concerned at what the weather will be like compared with the almost permanent sunshine of Goa.

Shanklin, IoW

When Jo at Elmy Cycles recommended the Ridley Liz roadbike for me she was spot on and I have fallen in love with road cycling again however I have been struggling with saddle discomfort on longer rides. Over the summer Jo has supplied me with a variety of test saddles to try however with all the trips to Sheffield I have not been able to get out as much as I would have liked. Saddle number 5 performed well on the first test ride but with no time left to ride Jo kindly suggested I take it with me to put it through its paces in Spain.

Boys behaving badly in Godshill, IoW

We left England on 25th September in the pouring rain and had a very tiring journey which involved a 1am start to get to Eurotunnel. After a couple of overnight hotel stops, one at Tours and one just below Pau we arrived at Teresa and David's house in Barx in Spain on 27th September. We are normally in the motorhome when heading over to Europe so it took a few strange looks as Glynn waved at fellow Motorhomers before he remembered we were in the car but he then decided he was going to carry on waving at other Motorhomes anyway. We enjoyed a lovely break in Barx for 3 days which involved Teresa's amazing food, swimming in the pool and chilling in the hot tub.

Gandia fiesta

Talk about the perfect way to unwind after a long journey and the best bit was the change in weather which had just got better the further south we headed and had transformed from wet and grey in England and France to hot and sunny in Spain!! There was a fiesta on in Gandia so we went down to the coast to explore. The streets were decorated and there were various stalls selling artisan goods, amazing selections of food and street entertainers playing music. it was really nice to see and afterwards we wandered down to the harbour area and sat in the sun with a glass of wine.

We left Teresa and David's on the last day of September and drove the final 120 miles to Chris and Johns so that they could show us how everything worked before they departed for England the next day.

The weather was absolutely glorious and we were looking forward to getting out on the bikes as much as possible. We have done a lot of research on the area and there seems to be a nice balance of rides both hilly and flat to keep us occupied over the coming months. Here's hoping the weather is kind to us!!